Art for Art’s Sake
Friday 12 Jan 2007
Looking through my recent posts, I see that in my Resolutions post, I failed to include my resolution to get back to my artistic roots. Believe it or not, before this became a business, I was more than image creator… I used to sit in front of the computer for hours, creating images with no client in mind. I made images for the sake of making images.
I spend a good bit of time nowadays looking through design books and trendy art magazines doing research for this project or that, admiring the work of other designers, photographers, and artists, missing the joy to just put my work out there…
Like many designers, I became a slave to my work… Book keeping, collections, proposals… No longer excited about designing because it’s become more about clausterphobia inducing parameters than self-expression. I’m in the middle of great book (look for a review soon) called “How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul.” Despite the title, it’s not about being successful without having to make a deal with the devil, but more about how to maintain a level of personal satisfaction in doing corporate design.
One of the key elements I’ve picked up on throughout the book is a need to keep the most mundane of projects “personal” on some level.
I like that. So though my schedule may not allow me to freely walk the town like I used to, taking random snapshots of beautiful architecture or people, or design a new wallpaper for my computers every week, or paint like I used to love to do. I am going to try squeeze a bit more of me into the work I do. And yes, I am going to do my best to make more time for personal work and to just put it out there, because as an artist I believe this is how we grow to become better artists.
