Museum/gallery visit Quarter 2 and 3

1) Whether you choose painting, film, or digital design as your medium, it is important to trust yourself with this decision. Jedd Novatt, for example, uses steel for his sculptures because he likes the immediacy of this material. Being able to create something rather quickly fits his personality. When Novatt was a young artist, people used to tell him to use mixed media because it was popular back then. So he was thinking, “Why can’t I just do what I want to do?” Every artist has a natural connection to a medium that he or she uses for self-expression. What’s important is that you trust your instinct: use material to free yourself.

2) Looking at art helps one to become a better artist. If you go to a museum and see a painting that you don’t like, don’t ignore it. Go back and ask yourself what it is that you don’t like about it. See if you misinterpreted it or missed any details. Not only will you learn something about the painting, but also rediscover yourself. Part of our job as artists is to get out of our own way of thinking by having no prejudice against the things we don’t like. 

3) It is not impossible to sustain yourself financially as an artist. When Jedd Novatt first started his career, the art world was very different from what it is today. It wasn’t common to start selling art right after graduating from college. Instead, people believed that it was important to give themselves time to develop artistically. This idea was central to his experience; he let himself make a lot of mistakes before creating something that he was proud of. Novatt didn’t make a hundred mediocre things; instead, he made one good piece. This is why when he had to wake up to this boring “I have to make money” reality, I had that one thing that would sustain me.

4) It shouldn’t be that difficult for people to tell if they should pursue art because being an artist is a career. If you choose to make art but be a doctor or a lawyer, that’s great, but those who live and breathe art are too consumed with their next work to be able to focus on anything else. Being an artist means that you have to keep creating art no matter what. When no one is interested in your work and life gets difficult, excuses start coming up: “I stopped because I had to make a living.” Jedd Novatt believes that people quit because they weren’t meant to continue making art. If art is really what you want to do, you’ll find a way to do it. If it’s “sort of” what you want to do, you’ll find an excuse to not do it.