MOVE Screen Print & Viewing Art
As I was getting my teacher portfolio ready for a final project for class, I had to go back through my work to find what examples of my art I wanted to include. I found this screen print from about a year and a half ago or so, and thought I would share it here =) Around the time I made it, I was THISCLOSE to hitting bikers with my car DAILY. Seriously, they would ride out in front of my car, go through stops signs, jump in front of me in the dark when they were nearly invisible, etc etc., and it got pretty stressful to almost kill someone on a bike everyday. So no offense to any of you bikers out there, I just don’t want to accidentally kill anyone!
During the critique, I remember that most people got the impression that it was a call to action, that I was saying that people should get on their bikes and move more. That works too, and that’s actually something that I really like about art: that everyone can interpret it in their own way. It really doesn’t matter at all what the artist’s intentions were (although sometimes it is nice to know) because a viewer’s relationship with a work of art is a very personal thing.
Even if an artist creates a work of art with the intention of conveying a certain message, that message will mean something different to everyone who sees it. It makes me think of this series, and how I was expressing a very specific feeling while I was working on it but that I’d rather have people see it in their own way.
What do you think? When you look at art, would you rather look at it in your own way, or know exactly what the artist was trying to convey? As an artist, would you prefer people to see it as you intended? Does it matter?
Let me know =)
I almost always want to know what the artist’s intent was in making their work. It helps me understand it better. Plus, for a lot of art I can make up my own ideas of what it means, but be totally and completely wrong. It’s sort of like when you’re a little kid and watch Disney movies, and you laugh at the jokes and enjoy the movie, even if you don’t catch everything. Then when you grow up, you understand those more “adult” jokes and realize what the story really means, and it can completely change the whole movie for you! Art is like that, too, I think.
Personally, I saw this one as a “get on you bike and ride” type of statement… so it was funny to hear your view on it! “Get out of the dang way!”. hahaha. When looking at art, I love to have my own interpretation on it but THEN hear where the artist was coming from. It adds more meaning to it because you can then look at it BOTH ways.