This final critique felt very different than the other two I have had.  Going in, I felt much more confident regarding my work, and excited to hear further feedback after applying many of the suggestions I received.  My critique was the final critique of the semester, as well as it might have been the final critique at Biola for many of the students there.  So, many of my peers seemed restless throughout the entire evening.

All of that aside, my choice of materials seemed to be a vast improvement, as well as my composition and scale.  Moving forward, I am considering the following: 

Consider shifting either the scale of the paper or the scale of the drawing.

I need to consider the framing for the rest of the pieces.  Ideally life size.

Perhaps consider installation placement on the walls, perhaps at accurate eye level.

Overall, my piece was well received and I am excited to move forward to larger pieces.

My current plans for summer are:

Fulfill my internship requirement

Sketch often and develop a plan for the rest of the images.

I want to have complete sketches for each composition, so that when the semester comes, I will already have the image in mind.

Finish 2 drawings a month, beginning in June.

Seeing more shows in the gallery has definitely made the idea of my own show become more real for me. I like the idea of doing a multimedia show like Jess Byrd’s, but the idea also intimidates me. Additionally, Zehavi, Luke, and Jon Anderson advised me to choose which mediums I use in the show wisely, and mostly to stick with what I know.

During my senior thesis proposal presentation, those three helped me hash out my idea and define Korean culture and American culture as the “ground” of different images, and define the “figure” as something specifically Korean American, and accentuate it through color. That concept helped me put one of the final nails in my concept.

They also advised me to do installation really only if It will conceptually help my show, so the wide kitchen idea I had earlier was maybe not the best. It would also overshadow my minimalist photographs, which I don’t want.

But in any case, I’m learning how to practically apply what I observe from critiques of my own work and others’ work in a more focused way. My work is coming along nicely because I learn from both the mistakes I see and the advice I absorb.

My second critique was a lot more focused than the last one, mostly because my work and concept have progressed significantly. I have decided to make work focused on the acts of accentuation and blending in that Korean Americans like me tend to exhibit when in both settings of Korean and American communities, and the feeling of “not being Korean enough” or “not being American enough” for the opposite community.

My work is all going to be shot in the studio and manipulated in Photoshop. Because the Photoshop-only composite was not received well in critique, I will not be using that method. Additionally, I will be printing my photos very large, at least 3 feet wide.

Critiques are becoming more of meetings of impending doom for me, but maybe that’s because I’m not at the same place in the art making process as the culmination students are right now. 

Crits have become more focused on what the artist needs help with, and we have luckily started letting issues go that don’t actually matter. Taking on the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” mindset has helped us become more efficient. I’ve adopted this kind of mindset into my own practices for the sake of time.

Still, the biggest concern I have for my own critique next week is that I will not have enough work to present at once. Especially because the only way I have been able to present my work is through projection and there is only one practical projector in any crit room, I have no idea what I will be doing for presentation yet. That scares me. I’m researching the heck out of video art installation and hope to have at least a mini version of what I want to do.

Critiques are constructive assessments of a piece or pieces of art to determine its quality in technique, meaning, and proficiency, and to offer suggestions as to how to improve the body of work. Critiques often assess if the artist achieved their goals in artmaking, but also consider the artwork at face value.

I most related to Jess’ critique of her island and projection because I intend to do something with similar media, at my current stage of production at least. Understanding how people viewed a projection on an object was helpful, and offering my own suggestions as to how the shape of the projection informed the object helped me brainstorm for my own projects.

The most challenging critique so far for me was Haley’s found object critique because I do not personally connect with her methods or her concept. I thought her concept was veiled and weak, and I was not sure how to properly address her art. I also do not personally connect with found objects staged in a commercial way — I think that claiming that as art for a senior show might be too simplified. I did not agree that that was a strong enough concept to be put in a gallery, but I did not want to offend the artist or those who were defending the artwork. 

I used to believe that the artist’s intentions for their artwork were primary and should be heavily considered in a critique, but I’m starting to realize that the viewer’s intentions are just as valid. The artist may have made something that works better out of their subconscious motives than their conscious intentions, and the viewer may pick up on that better than the artist can. Therefore, the artist and the viewer should view each other humbly as equals and take each other’s opinions into consideration.

Do you think you were generous to your classmates in the critiques so far? Why or why not? What do you think would help you to be more involved and engaged in the conversation?

I have tried my best to be an active engager in critiques, even though I usually have work to do immediately that night. Even if I am looking at my computer, I am actively listening to what other people are saying, and I don’t hesitate to contribute or refute an opinion that I find necessary to share. I even feel as though maybe I overshare my opinion and add to the noise of our critiques, so maybe I ought to let other people speak more. I do not want to overpower the conversation, as I sometimes tend to do.

What does it mean to you to make art in a community? How does artwork made by other artists affect what you do as an artist? How can you take better advantage of the built in art community you have at Biola?