New day, new try: answers for an application to an art university

Question

After many discussions I started a new try for answering the questions. Please tell me if I answer this questions now and if there are any (i am sure that there are lots of...) mistakes. Thanks for your patience ...
Tanja

Question:
Content of your work
Please give some information on your artistic points of departure and explain how these are expressed in your work.

Answer:
For me inspiration lurks everywhere. News on TV reporting on a war, that should make me feel safer or a song like “Money makes the world go round” playing on the radio are starting points for my creative work.

I hate the narrowminded hypocrisy, which dominates the propaganda of the “Ligue of Extraordinary Gentlemen” all over the world. They speak of safety and progress and spread angst to get a free ticket for their deadly policies of war and greed. This gap between propaganda and reality is the fertile ground for my work.

I choose sculptering, molding and casting as my favourite techniques as the are best for “cloning” the world. Toys play a vital role in my work, because they reflect what society wants the next generation to be like. At present I build a series of dollhouses, showing dreams turning into nightmares. I put hundreds of casted babies – some of them severly damaged – together to build a decorative stucco work. I hid a plastic soldier between a copy of Dürer’s “Praying Hands” and I arranged copies of heads in an egg carton and equipped them with bar codes for easy handling.

While social developments are one point of departure, me and my social interaction is the other one. I squeezed casted parts of my body into small boxes, but gave them a strong expression of the will to break out. It’s not easy to press me into conceptions and expectations. I casted my lower body and made a penny bank out of it, filled with 75 Euro. This is my market value, I investigated in Vienna’s redlight district.

In the end I paint all these pieces in bright white – the colour of innocence, purity, order and reason. I want my objects to reveal their messages only at closer inspection.

I don’t want to give answers, I just raise questions. The viewer decide, what they want to see and if they want to “slide down the surface of things”.
However, I remain wondering, if anybody wants to have a closer look below the surface.

Question:
Expectations
What contribution do you expect from the visiting artists and theoreticians and/or technical advisors? How would these contact contribute to your work.

Answer:
The *** provides a context that fosters concentration on work, reflection and discussion – thats exactly what I need now, it will let me broaden my horizons.

I expect that the visiting artists, theoreticans and technical advisors bring in their own depth of knowledge in there disciplins as well as there core of experience in the artworld.

Since I worked with/for some artists (***) in the last years I became acquainted with so many different ways of “being artist”, the working process and also kinds of attempts and methods that it is quite difficult for me to point out exactly what I expact from all the “experts”. Just to give a view points:

- Experience & Inspiration: What are their points of artistic departure?
How do they get their inspiration?
How do they manage their carrier?
How did they overcome difficult periods in their art lifes?

- Critiques & Discussions: What do they think about the artscene? Is it necessary
to be part of it?
What do they think about my work?

-Hints & tips: How to deal with different kinds of materials?
What is there special workstyle?
Any tricks ore special materials they use?
Any special shops that offer the “perfect” material?

Ideas and concepts are the starting points in my working process, but for the rest of my way theoretical fundaments and technical expertise are necesarry to reach my aims. An excellent idea realized in an mediocre way anoys me as much as a perfect piece based on poor concepts. I believe this general view to be shared by the ***.

Intensive workshops, in which I have the chance to study the materials, tools, theory and methodology of professional practice at a high level will help me to understand how various art forms complement one another and create practical cross-disciplinary approaches that extend and support my artistic development.

I want an atmosphere of help and advice, where I can focus on new points of view,discussions, controversies, sometimes concrete help … - everything but “fixed solutions”.

I am confident that studiing at the *** will help me gain experience, knowledge and contacts that would allow me to pursue my way as an artist and to narrow the gap between what I want to do and what I can do in both technical and intellectual ways.

MrPedantic · Accepted Answer

Question:
Content of your work
Please give some information on your artistic points of departure and explain how these are expressed in your work.

Answer:
For me, inspiration lurks everywhere. Items as diverse as a tv news report on a war that should make me feel safer or a song like 'Money makes the world go round' playing on the radio can be starting points for my creative work.

I hate the narrow-minded hypocrisy that dominates the propaganda of the 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' all over the world. They speak of safety and progress, yet disseminate angst in order to justify their deadly policies of war and greed. This gap between propaganda and reality is the fertile ground for my work.

I choose sculpting, moulding and casting as my favourite techniques, since they are the best ways of 'cloning' the world. Toys play a vital role in my work, because they reflect what society wants the next generation to be like. At present, I am constructing a series of doll's houses, which show how dreams turn into nightmares. I put together hundreds of babies cast in ??? – some of them severely damaged – to build a decorative stucco work. I hid a plastic soldier between a copy of Dürer’s 'Praying Hands'. I arranged copies of heads in an egg carton and equipped them with barcodes for easy handling.

Social developments are one point of departure; my self and my social interaction are another. I squeezed cast parts of my body into small boxes, but gave them a strong ?expression of the will to break out. (It’s not easy to press me into conceptions and expectations.) I cast my lower body [in ???] and made a penny-bank out of it, filled with 75 Euro. This is my market value. (I did some research in Vienna’s red-light district.)

To finish, I paint all these pieces in bright white – the colour of innocence, purity, order and reason. I want my objects to reveal their messages only on closer inspection.

I don’t want to give answers: I just want to raise questions. The viewer decides what they want to see, and whether they want to 'slide down the surface(s) of things'.

Sometimes I wonder whether anyone wants to look beneath the surface.

Question:
Expectations
What contribution do you expect from the visiting artists and theoreticians and/or technical advisors? How would these contacts contribute to your work?

Answer:
The *** provides an environment that fosters concentration on work, reflection and discussion. These will allow me to broaden my horizons. Moreover, the visiting artists, theoreticans and technical advisors bring to the scheme an invaluable depth of knowledge in their various disciplines, as well as practical experience of the art world.

Having worked with (and for) several artists (***) in the last few years, I know there are many different ways of creating artworks and 'being an artist'. It is therefore quite difficult for me to indicate exactly what I would expect from the 'experts', as artists by their nature tend to defy expectation. But here are a few of the questions I would ask them:

Experience & Inspiration:
What are their points of artistic departure?
How or where do they get their inspiration?
How do they manage their career?
How did they work through difficult periods in their artistic lives?

Critiques & Discussions:
What do they think about the 'art scene'? In what ways is it necessary for the artist to engage with or be a part of it?
{Suggest: other questions about art theory; art history; how these relate to their own artistic experience.}

{Suggest: separate section with several questions relating to your own work.}
What do they think about my work?

Hints & tips:
How do they deal with different kinds of material?
Are there sources of material they would particularly recommend? Is there such a thing as 'perfect material'?
Is there anything particulary unusual or idiosyncratic about their ways of working?
Any tricks of the trade? Or inside knowledge about the materials they use?

Ideas and concepts may be the starting points in my working process; but a sound theoretical basis and technical expertise are both necessary, if I am to realize those ideas and concepts. A perfect idea poorly realized frustrates me as much as the perfectly finished realization of a mediocre idea. I believe this general view is shared by the ***.

Intensive workshops, in which you have the chance to study the materials, tools, theory and methodology of professional practice at a high level, would help me to understand how various art forms complement one another; furthermore, how they can create practical cross-disciplinary approaches that can extend and support my artistic development.

In short, I want an environment of help, advice, and technical expertise, where I can focus on new points of view, discussion, controversy - everything but 'fixed solutions'.

I am confident that by providing this environment, the *** would narrow the gap between what I can do, and what I want to do - thereby enabling me to pursue my own path as an artist.

Tanja7301 · Answer

Hello MrP!
I love the text now! It really sounds like good english!

Just some comments:

"I choose sculpting, moulding and casting as my favourite techniques, since they are the best ways of 'cloning' the world. Toys play a vital role in my work, because they reflect what society wants the next generation to be like. At present, I am constructing a series of dollhouses, which show how dreams turn into nightmares. I put together hundreds of babies cast in resin – some of them severely damaged – to build a decorative stucco work. I hid a plastic soldier between a copy of Dürer’s 'Praying Hands'. I arranged copies of heads in an egg carton and equipped them with barcodes for easy handling."

Do you think it is necessary to describe the materials? They are not related to the topics.

"Social developments are one point of departure; my self and my social interaction are another. I squeezed cast parts of my body into small boxes, but gave them a forcefull (better then strong?) expression of the will to break out - it’s not that easy to press me into conceptions and ***². I cast my lower body in polyester and made a penny-bank out of it, filled with 75 Euro. This is my market value. (I did some research in Vienna’s red-light district.*³ "

*² Is this sentence to much?
*³ What I did: I went to the redlight district and asked men who stopped their car awaiting my offer (???) what they would be willing to pay for me. Any idea how to explain this in my text?

"Sometimes I wonder whether anyone wants to look beneath the surface."

I would prefer something like "I remain wondering" because thats what I do after every exhibition... just standing there and thinking if anybody wants to look beneath the surface.

Thanks again and good night,
Tanja

Taiwandave · Answer

Tanja,

I really like what you have written. With MrP's revisions, the text is shaping up very well. I'd like to comment on the three questions you've asked:

1. Re: descriptions of materials. I personally like these. I think their inclusion boosts the impact of what you've written.

2. You asked if the following (I've modified it slightly) was "too much":

I squeezed cast parts of my body into small boxes, forcefully conveying the will to break out. (It’s not easy to press me into conceptions and expectations.)

I like it. I don't think it's "too much".

3. You asked how to explain having gone to the red-light district. I like what you wrote originally (I made just a slight change):

I went to the red-light district and asked men who stopped their cars to hear my offer what they'd be willing to pay for me.

As a final note, I (personally) don't like "I remain wondering" as the final sentence. I would prefer to leave the final sentence as it was originally: "Sometimes I wonder whether anyone wants to look beneath the surface."

An alternative might be:

As I stand at the end of every exhibition, the same question comes over me: Did anyone see beyond the surface? Do they want to know what is beneath?

Tanja7301 · Answer

Thank you taiwandave,

It´s good to hear that the text makes sence. I am just running mad with this application!

MrPedantic · Answer

Thanks for your thoughts, TD and Tanja! Extremely useful.

I have to log off now but will come back tomorrow.

When do you have to send off the application, Tanja?

MrP

Tanja7301 · Answer

Good morning,

I need to send it before next monday via mail. Do you think we can make that possible?

Tanja

MrPedantic · Answer

Fresh material posted above...

I haven't yet worked in your latest suggestions, TD and Tanja, or checked for tpyos - I'll return to those next.

Before next Monday - think we can do it, Tanja!

MrP

Tanja7301 · Answer

Hi MrP,
I found some more questions for the second part. Shell I put them into the text?

Critiques & Discussions:

What do they think about the meaning of art?Is is determined by the economic, historical, material and social circumstances or by an abstract, isolated genius residing within the visionary artist?
What do they think about the 'art scene'? In what ways is it necessary for the artist to engage with or be a part of it?
How are their opinions related to their own artistic experience?

Aspects of my work:

Lacks my “genius” because of just working with present topics?
How can I find the right balance between form and content?
Do I restrict myself when working monochrom?

Tanja7301 · Answer

I modified the first text and made it a little bit shorter. It also has a new ending - what do you think?

For me, inspiration lurks everywhere. Items as diverse as a tv news report on a war that should make me feel safer or a song like 'Money makes the world go round' playing on the radio can be starting points for my creative work.
I hate the narrow-minded hypocrisy that dominates the propaganda of the 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' all over the world. They speak of safety and progress, yet disseminate angst in order to justify their deadly policies of war and greed.
The gap between propaganda and reality is the fertile ground for my work.

I choose casting as my favourite technique, since that is the best way of 'cloning' the world. Toys play a vital role in my work, because they reflect what society wants the next generation to be like. At present, I am constructing a series of doll's houses, which show how dreams turn into nightmares. I put together hundreds of babies cast in polyester – some of them severely damaged – to build a decorative stucco work. I hid a plastic soldier between a copy of Dürer’s 'Praying Hands'. I arranged copies of heads in an egg carton and equipped them with barcodes for easy handling.

Social developments are one point of departure; my self and my social interaction are another. I squeezed cast parts of my body into small boxes, forcefully conveying the will to break out. (It’s not easy to press me into conceptions and expectations.) I went to the red-light district and asked men who stopped their cars to hear my offer what they'd be willing to pay for me. Then I cast my lower body in resin and made a penny-bank out of it, filled with 75 Euro. This is my market value.

To finish, I paint all these pieces in bright white – the colour of innocence, purity, order and reason. I want my objects to reveal their messages only on closer inspection.

My work is openended. It is a reflection of life - full of contradictions.

Just a question about spelling in the second text:

..., if I am (?) to realize those ideas and concepts.

I never saw this before - is it correct?

MrPedantic · Answer

Fine, I'll work your changes into the text, Tanja!

Just a question about spelling in the second text:

..., if/ I am (?)/ to realize those ideas and concepts.

Yes; it means '...if /it is going to be possible for me/ to realize...' – but much shorter!

All the meaning is packed into 'to'. Strange but useful.

See you
MrP

New day, new try: answers for an application to an art university

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