My source of inspiration

 Andreas, It is good to see you again. Not a surprise though anymore, I am a photo minor after all… and you’re basically my advisor for seven different things. Anyways.

My inspiration for photography is somewhat silly but also core to who I am, it’s in my philosophy for what I think art is, being that art is life. Not that it’s so important that it consumes me but more that everything we do, we see, and we think is art. When I stare at a leaf I see the life its lived through the patterns of its veins, when we look at the rings of a tree we see the span of its life. When you dance through the hall or stride forward you’re creating art, your largest spanning masterpiece, your life. Everything you do affects that piece, whether it’s conscious or unconscious, and that impacts my art profoundly. If I’m sad more than likely it will leak into my pieces, if I’m joyous the same. If it’s rainy I may be inspired, but differently than if it were to be sunny. To be more specific I find that every breath, every piece of homework, even every word I say is my art, and in that sense everyone alive is an artist, brushing themselves into existence. We are born without purpose but create one, a canvas is blank when its made but is turned into a masterpiece, one we can appreciate whether its a grand work of skill, or a simple piece by someone we love.

To move from there I would speak with less metaphor and more specificity. You know most of my pieces are made with people I know, and inspired by them, I take many photos of my friends, of people, once again leading back to my inspiration, a person is the grandest form of art there is, so much complexity in one and there’s billions on the planet, I also find that by taking photos of someone in a way we open our souls to each other, and our thoughts on that person. When you pose them your subconsciously showing the way you view them, when I painted over them I brought out my feelings on those people, and the colors that I relate with them. My art is my form of therapy, whether that be singing, photography, painting, walking, or any other activity I may participate in. Life is the balm to my soul, as well as the cruelty, one that deeply affects my art.

I could possibly speak more on this but I think that if I were I may begin to repeat myself so I will instead speak on an artist who has profoundly impacted me, or maybe just made me feel more in tune with how I see art. That artist would be Sigmar Polke, an experimental artist who does many styles of art, and specifically was there for my Analog Photo 2 final project. He inspired my works and my current favorite style of art, photogram painting, as well as my first inspiration down this path, chemical paintings. 

Sigmar worked with analog photos somewhat during his career, in a way that I feel a connection to, his photos feel loose, but their subject is always vibrant or interesting. His photos captivate me with a sense of nostalgia, but not always the same feelings and seem to reproduce a childlike state of wonder.