Creative Though & Artistic Process Gilliam

ASSIGNMENT: Visual Art Final Project

T 2/24 In Class Presentation

In his book “Accidental Masterpieces,” Michael Kimmelman says "art is out there waiting to be captured, the only question being whether we are prepared to recognize it." In this spirit, you are to select one of the two assignments below as a final project for this focus on the visual arts. In both assignments, you are to keep a reflective-journal, create some form of art and document the same electronically. In addition to inviting one of the mentors to provide you with feedback, each student will write a critical response to an assigned classmate’s project.

Assignment ideas

1. The art of an experience.

This is designed to give both yourself and an audience a new perspective through an artistic endeavor. You must seek a new experience for yourself by immersing yourself in something foreign. It can be something small like having a series of meaningful discussion with a stranger. You might sing a musical number outside of the Alamo in front of tourists. It could be something grandiose, like Ray Edward Johnson throwing hot dogs from a helicopter. You are to record your moment or experience in order to share it with the class. However, it is in the moment that the art “happens.”

The point is to make an experience into art.

2. Inspiring locations.

Move beyond your routine and create art in a new place. Look for an interesting location on campus that is unfamiliar for you. It might be outside, on a street corner, on the roof of a building, in a crowd of people. In this place create something (not necessarily representational) that embodies the emotions of this location. We are looking for true emotions, which could range from a sublime experience to melancholy to disappointment! Its okay! This is about real experiences and emotions.