Last Thursday, the morning after the talk at Gallery 114, HCC Ybor, I awoke with so many thoughts about our discussions the night before. One week later some of the thoughts linger.
It was a lovely, casual conversation about how 3 artists from the show, Fractured Spaces, handle different aspects of our artistic practice.
Afterwards, one of my friends, (And this was constructive criticism, which I love. If your friends won’t help you grow, in a loving supportive way, who will?), said I should tell more about my work so the viewer can better understand what my story is. She said I give just enough information, but not quite all of it, and she yearns for more. I just love hearing stuff like that, as it makes me think deeper to understand what I am doing, what approach I like and what I won’t do.
After turning that suggestion inside-out, backwards, and every which way in-between, I understand myself better. And I won’t do that. I won’t tell all of the story. This has been a conscious choice, but evidently one so ingrained that I don’t explain it properly. So, now I will.
If I tell you everything about my piece and the story behind it, you might understand me better, but where does that leave you? You will be excluded from inserting yourself and your story into the work. You’ll be hearing me, but you can’t fit inside the piece to experience your story.
The piece is then just a one liner. But I want YOU there. I want you to be a part of the story. My work doesn’t all stem from personal experience, most of it is from conversations I’ve over-heard, things I have observed, etc. It isn’t about me, it’s about all of us, our collective stories.
And I want you there, we’re doing this together. Please feel free to tell me all of your story within my work, I do find that fascinating!
Thanks for joining me!