Media….does it matter?
November 18, 2007No, I do not mean media as in television, newspapers, magazines, etc…
Instead I am referring to the raw materials in our art. The media of choice.
How important is our choice of media and our ability or inability to focus on just one?
Some art “experts”, and you know who you are, would tell us that we MUST pick one medium and stick with it. We MUST be steadfast, predictable, and focused in order to produce a body of work that is congruent and meaningful.
Blooey. What a bunch of hogwash eh?
I agree that we must become focused in our work and that we must be able to , at some point, produce a “body of work” that is cohesive and connected. Our expressions must tell a story and must make sense outside of our own minds. How we arrive at that place is where I disagree.
I think that if we limit ourselves to one or even two or three media only, then we are closing our creative selves into a little box where “Impossibilities” (remember those mythical creatures we talked about earlier?) are able to creep into our minds and bind our muses with limits and liabilities.
Rather, we should allow ourselves to create in as many media types as we need or desire. If we can do this, we can allow ourselves to honestly find the one or two where we feel the most comfortable, and can use those as a basis, a foundation, for our art. From that base, we can incorporate infinite forms and ideas to bring about our creative vision. We are limitless in our abilities and infinite in our artistic connections.
I have found that by incorporating many media and many forms into my work, I am able to more honestly express an artistic thought than if I were handicapped by one or two forms. You know how sometimes a word is easier to say in another language? This is the same. Some things are “easier to say”, or “better expressed” in a different language- or medium. By opening ourselves to new methods and materials we are learning a new language that can only allow us to expand our artistic vocabulary.
My foundations are chains and glass. From that I can expand to include sculpture in three different media, wire work, filigree, weaving, and more….. how boring would my work be if I only allowed myself to put a glass bead on a chain? Oh the horrors!
So…by all means, become finessed in one or two media, learn them inside and out, and master their manipulation. Then, free yourself into the endless world of creativity by learning a “word of the day” in a new “language’!
Have a great one….and BE great!
Until next time….
Lori B.
