A Day's Journey Week 1
I’ve enjoyed reading your thoughts on A Day’s Work. There seems to be a trend of desiring a bit more explanation. First of all, for those of you worry that you “don’t get it,” know that you’re not alone, but also that art isn’t about “getting it,” because that implies that once you’ve “gotten it” you are done with the piece of art. If I am intimidated and/or confused by a piece of art, a place that I often start is finding a part of it that delights, angers, or intrigues me. Ask yourself what about it prompts that strong reaction, and you’ve gotten the ball rolling. Ask someone else how they respond and you're off to the races!
There are also those of you who are craving a cohesive theme and I want to tackle that today.
As you may have gathered from The Salon the way that I work is to create something analogous to a controlled experiment. I assemble artists who I know will create exciting work and set the parameters in which they’ll create and inspire each other. I did so with A Day’s Work, setting the parameters of a specific day, the 24 hour limit, and the puzzle piece/full draft.
Looking back at the results, I am struck by the dual themes of transformation and surprise.
I knew each of these artists well and have worked with them repeatedly. When I saw their “puzzle piece” inspiration, knowing their work I could surmise a direction which they might go. Still each morning the new art waiting for me in my inbox was never what I had expected. I was delighted and surprised me by the metamorphosis from inspiration to creation.
A few examples:
I am delighted by how Meg transformed form (Angie’s embroidery) into content.
I am intrigued that the image one sees in Angie’s “Stiff As Line,” morphs on the basis of whether you read “The Swimmer” or “Embroidery” beforehand.
I was sucker-punched by the reappearance of body image critique in “Tough Cut.” John had not had any access to “The Swimmer,” and the lines that inspired Angie’s work. To my eyes, that explicit idea had lain dormant in Angie and Meg’s, and so when I heard John’s speak his opening line I gasped.
“A Day’s Work” was a work of process and transformation. I had the distinct pleasure of bookending this series writing the first and last pieces of the week. It was uniquely liberating to hand off my work to another artist and to be given inspiration by a colleague. The creation of the two pieces felt radically different to me, transformed by our “telephone game.”
Thanks again for going on the Day’s Work journey with us!
Julia
There are also those of you who are craving a cohesive theme and I want to tackle that today.
As you may have gathered from The Salon the way that I work is to create something analogous to a controlled experiment. I assemble artists who I know will create exciting work and set the parameters in which they’ll create and inspire each other. I did so with A Day’s Work, setting the parameters of a specific day, the 24 hour limit, and the puzzle piece/full draft.
Looking back at the results, I am struck by the dual themes of transformation and surprise.
I knew each of these artists well and have worked with them repeatedly. When I saw their “puzzle piece” inspiration, knowing their work I could surmise a direction which they might go. Still each morning the new art waiting for me in my inbox was never what I had expected. I was delighted and surprised me by the metamorphosis from inspiration to creation.
A few examples:
I am delighted by how Meg transformed form (Angie’s embroidery) into content.
I am intrigued that the image one sees in Angie’s “Stiff As Line,” morphs on the basis of whether you read “The Swimmer” or “Embroidery” beforehand.
I was sucker-punched by the reappearance of body image critique in “Tough Cut.” John had not had any access to “The Swimmer,” and the lines that inspired Angie’s work. To my eyes, that explicit idea had lain dormant in Angie and Meg’s, and so when I heard John’s speak his opening line I gasped.
“A Day’s Work” was a work of process and transformation. I had the distinct pleasure of bookending this series writing the first and last pieces of the week. It was uniquely liberating to hand off my work to another artist and to be given inspiration by a colleague. The creation of the two pieces felt radically different to me, transformed by our “telephone game.”
Thanks again for going on the Day’s Work journey with us!
Julia
