Essay #2: Collaboration

This project, though extremely time consuming, was overall a beautiful, fulfilling experience. As with any creative project, there were also numerous challenges that I was forced to face as an artist. This particular project was a collaboration of art between a member of the theatre class, Nicole Bocchi, as well as myself, a member of the beginning drawing class. Because Nicole was very busy with theatre, we actually never had the chance to meet in person to discuss the project in order to exchange ideas about the piece she wrote, as well as my ideas about how I might interpret it. The communication process was not by any means productive, as we didn’t actually speak until after I had finished. In some ways, this was slightly challenging due to the fact that ideally, our teachers would have wanted us to meet and act as more of a partnership throughout the project. On the other hand, however, this was also an area of familiarity for me. Though it might have been entirely helpful to have the writer of the piece’s input, I truly loved having the freedom to interpret the piece in any way I wished, instead of having Nicole explain it to me, backstory and all. The point of art, I think, is for viewers to look at it, to feel it, and to interpret it for themselves, whatever that may mean to them. I’m not sure it matters whether observers know the actual meaning behind the piece or the reason that the artist created it. It is beautiful to see how viewers see an artists piece, simply because there is no explanation – they are forced to see it through a lens that their subconscious urges them towards. That being said, without Nicole’s input, I interpreted her piece freely and I believe I was able to create something beautiful those other viewers will be able to relate to in collaboration with Nicole’s piece. All in all, I wouldn’t have changed anything about how this project played out.

Carrying out preliminary research (finding artists or pieces with an aesthetic that captured the essence of the scene) was exponentially helpful in providing an initial direction. I was able to search for artists or pieces with the specificity of certain media I considered using. I could more productively narrow my focus on the piece in order to gain a sense of what sort of emotions I wanted to capture in my work by researching similar pieces to what I was initially thinking.

As a final product, I believe that I was able to create an emotional, dark series of pieces that captured the essence of the scene my collaborator wrote. I am very happy with the end result. It ended up being very different from what I initially believed might be the outcome. I believed that this project might have been the death of me; I thought that because of my skill level in drawing (I have almost no experience) and the parameters of the project, I would fail. I was extremely unsure of my ability to successfully capture the substance of a writer’s piece. Nevertheless, I was able to do so despite my uncertainty. If I had more time to work on my project, I wouldn’t change anything about the drawings themselves. I had more than enough time and managed it well. I worked long and hard on the drawings I created, and I am proud of the work I have done. If I had the means, I might change the way in which I sealed the charcoal to the paper, in order to maintain it long-term.

In general, I had a lot of fun throughout this project. I vastly enjoy going into the art studio, turning my music’s volume all the way up, and losing myself in the artwork. This specific project was different, however, because I had the freedom to create whatever I envisioned. I knew it would be something I identified with, using a medium I loved, and all the while associating with Nicole Bocchi’s piece. It could be anything that came to mind – it was a very freeing, expressive and even moving experience. I feel that from it, I have gained an insight on what it means to be an artist. I felt free as I moved through my pieces, finding that my ability to be creative was greater than I thought possible. My mind wandered, and I let it. I now believe this is the only way to create something beautiful from nothing.