It’s just a movie, it’s not that serious. It’s just some scribbles, a child could do that. I don’t get it, it looks like random things just thrown together, how is that art? It’s common to see things this way. To merely take things at face value and stop oneself before looking deeper at someone else’s work. But for me I’ve always wanted to look deeper into what art has to offer, aside from small laughs or distractions. I have always enjoyed the process of trying to understand what purpose was intended by any given piece of art. In my time as an Interdisciplinary Arts major, I have been challenged, and pushed to put this desire to the test in any medium or form of self expression. I’ve had the pleasure and opportunity to hone and improve my ability to try to see the works of artists for more than just what they mean to me, but for what they meant to the artist themselves and for what the artists wanted them to mean for the rest of the world. This skill has shown me how artists can create thematic messages, self expression and intricate purposeful beliefs and ideologies that exist beyond the surface of the art they make. To evaluate how much I’ve learned in this aspect of thematic and interpretive exploration, I’d like to dive into some of my work from my time at UW Bothell to see what I learned and how I was made to grow or improve my understanding of art.
One of the first assignments I’d like to revisit is the creative writing piece “My House” (BISIA 207, Dana Middleton). Throughout the quarter we had been encouraged to think abstractly and communicate themes, ideas and thoughts in a highly interpretive way. We studied and viewed work of professional writers and delved into the ways they communicated their thematic messages without being straightforward or simple. One could argue that the overcomplexity is a hindrance to the goal of communicating to one’s audience, but for art this is simply not the case. Through this course I gained an appreciation for the depth that could be felt when the artist creates a situation where the viewer or audience has to come to a conclusion for themselves, rather than being spoon fed an answer. When you come to your own conclusions rather than being given the answer, the overall messages, beliefs, ideals and values that are being communicated are more impactful and have a higher likelihood to stick with you. On top of having the message the artist wished to give, by finding an understanding or interpretation for yourself, along the way you apply it to yourself and your own life, which not only gets you to think deeply about the art, but about who you are and who you want to be. Working on the piece “My House” was, for me, the first time I’d been encouraged to really examine the value of complexity in communication, as well as giving me a chance to work on presenting themes and feelings through creative reflection rather than factual statistical examples. This was a piece I had come back to several times throughout the quarter and I would time and time again find new ways to expand on the self expression that portrayed my growth as a person. The clashes and new understandings that came with that as I grew and my beliefs and values evolved ultimately highlighted my ability to constantly improve on myself and my understanding of the world. It was also a display of how much a simple idea could grow and evolve beyond just surface level things when it comes to art. This was in many ways my first real step into creative expression and thought and I’m reminded of that every time I look back on this piece.
Another project that I’d like to examine, in the case of reflecting on the journey I’ve had as an artist in the IAS major, is the assignment “BISIA 383 A Final Reflection” (Naomi Macalalad Bragin). The work for this course revolved around real world professional performance artists with diverse ethnic backgrounds and cultures. As students our work was to focus on expanding our interpretive capabilities. It wasn’t just about what we took away from art or what we valued in an artist's work. It was about trying to understand what the artist’s goals were, what they wanted to communicate and how the performances by the artists were a reflection of the artists themselves. We came to understand that for an artist, everything matters, every choice of clothing, every movement, every action. The setting, the props, the time of day was all a factor in the mind of the artist. And to observe and interpret things through this lens brought us closer to understanding the artists and the values and messages they were injecting into their performative art. This was a really eye opening course for me as an IAS major because it really hammered home the importance of taking in every factor and every detail when evaluating an artist’s work because professional artists try to make every bit of their work intentional. In my final reflection of the course I evaluated my growth through the quarter and the effects that it had on me as a whole. I came to believe in the idea the professor had taught us that everything is a performance. Everything is a form of expression whether intended or not. The way you show up to something or don’t show up to something is a performance. It’s a display of your care or lack of care, or it's a reflection of your mental state. The way you talk differently to certain people is a performance as it expresses the closeness you feel with certain individuals, or it displays your social understandings and skills. When understanding the importance of details in a performance, and then coming to understand everything as a performance of sorts, it helped me on my path to improving my overall interpretation of art as a whole as well as the roles of artists and the thought that goes into their work. In the end, this class had become another natural step in my progression to further understanding art.
For me another important and formative assignment for me as an IAS student was in the photobook I created titled “Self Guidance” (BISIA 250A, Howard Hsu). For this class the professor very outwardly encouraged the mindset that “there are no wrong answers,” at least when it came to art. For this class it wasn’t about what you wanted to express or convey because we were taught that simple basic messages could be just as vital and important as philosophical or deeply complex thematic messages. Wanting to communicate the feeling of self care with images that portrayed warmth, was just as important as wanting to examine existentialism through liminal space and artistic framing. For this photography class, having no wrong answers didn’t mean just do whatever you want and call it art. Instead as students we were pushed to focus more on how we went about portraying and communicating ourselves through our photos. Whether your topic was simplistic or thought provoking and debatable, it wasn’t about the goal, but rather it was more about how you would arrive at your goal. As I learned before, complex interpretive creativity and focus on the details you have control over was already on my mind. This class helped me to take the next step by putting those two beliefs to work in my art. Framing, subject placement, props, external factors, symbolism and creativity were at the forefront of our studies and our projects. For my final project I decided to make a photobook that represented what I had personally learned about self improvement from my past experiences. The point of this project was to convey my thoughts on helping yourself to grow and find peace or reach for self actualization, while also not wanting to discount the struggles that keep us away from those goals. With my photos my intention was to not make light of the obstacles on the path to self improvement, but rather give an honest portrayal of the path I found myself having to take. In the end I was able to put to use what I’d learned in previous courses while also experimenting on a new medium with photographic art.
The lessons I learned from those classes were also apparent in the short film “Plans and Expectations” (BISMCS 472 A, Samuel Yum). Similar to the photography class I felt that this class was like a culmination of my IAS work but with the goal of creating meaningful short films. This assignment as my final for the course particularly stands out to me as I wish to get into the film industry for my career path. This class personally showed me just how little I knew about the actual process of filmmaking. While I had worked on thematic exploration and attention to detail for art, this class gave me my first opportunity to try working on videos as a form of artistic expression. I had my eyes opened to the importance of lighting, environment control, working with actors and acting myself. I also learned how easily sound can be affected, how to storyboard, planning for production and editing video into a cohesive artistic story. This final project wasn’t about strengthening the interpretive and creative aspects of my skill set, but rather this final project and the course as a whole allowed me to improve my technical skills for film and video specifically.
Through my time as an IAS major I have constantly explored the idea of art and what it means to me, as well as what I want it to mean to me and how I can use it to communicate to others. I’ve evolved my creative practices and worked on my ability to add personal depth and complex meaning to my art. I’ve learned about the importance of details and thinking about every factor within your control, because every detail matters to an artist. And as someone who wants to get into the film industry, I’ve gotten experience and practice with using what I’ve learned about creativity, detail orientation, complexity and interpretive communication, and applying it to photo and video in order to take full advantage of the artistic mindset I’ve cultivated here at The University of Washington Bothell.