Skip to content
  • about + contact
  • what I write about
  • some things I’ve done
  • art instagram

Receive new posts by email.

Join 1,572 other subscribers

Search the blog

Archives

satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia

  • about + contact
  • what I write about
  • some things I’ve done
  • art instagram
  • creative philosophy

What is art? (Artist statement, part 2)

satsumaart 27 March 2012 11 Comments

What is the purpose of art? To reflect life in its infinite individuality -- in its infinite, resonant similarity -- to be simultaneously more vivid than life, and yet so colorless by comparison that we always return to the real thing.

(See yesterday’s post for Part 1. Part 3 will be posted tomorrow.)

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Categoriescreative philosophy
Tagsart, artist statement, calligraphy, Painting, purpose, watercolor
Previous
What is life? (Artist statement, part 1)
26 March 2012
Next
Who is the artist? (Artist statement, part 3)
28 March 2012

11 Comments

  1. higuerita 27 March 2012 at 12:11 pm

    I am loving these so far!!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

    1. satsumaart 29 March 2012 at 10:58 am

      Thank you thank you, Alison!! I have been so happy, creating these — it gives me a huge, gratifying sense of my own power and purpose to be articulating my mission statement in such a way. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

  2. Who is the artist? (Artist statement, part 3) | the Satsumabug blog 28 March 2012 at 10:03 am

    […] RSS ← What is art? (Artist statement, part 2) […]

    Reply

  3. Who am I? (Artist statement, part 4) | the Satsumabug blog 29 March 2012 at 10:00 am

    […] also: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Part 5 will be posted tomorrow.) Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailPrintLike this:LikeBe […]

    Reply

  4. ceezpaul 29 March 2012 at 11:39 am

    At this stage, I need to embrace my artistry.
    Your work is encouraging. Keep at it!

    Reply

    1. satsumaart 2 April 2012 at 11:09 am

      Thank you for the encouragement, Ceezpaul! You too — keep going. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

      1. ceezpaul 2 April 2012 at 2:46 pm

        Welcome…

        Reply

  5. Chelsea 29 March 2012 at 6:24 pm

    This statement is really lovely. I love the word “resonant”, and I think you’ve managed to paint a picture here with your words as well as your watercolors. I really love this series you’re doing. I’m curious what your process is – do you write things out and then watercolor them, or let them come as you’re painting?

    Reply

    1. satsumaart 2 April 2012 at 11:24 am

      Thank you, Chelsea! I love “resonant” too, not just as a word but for the associations it conjures. In downtown Berkeley there is a giant tuning fork with a little bowl-shaped bell on it that you can listen at. Around the same time that I discovered the tuning fork, Erik and I went to hear the premiere of a quartet by one of his music teachers, called “World a Tuning Fork” and inspired by a line in one of her husband’s poems that goes “world a tuning fork/lift-up-over sounding.” So when I think “resonant” I think of that exciting, receptive time in my life; I think of music; I think of poetry; and I think of standing in an urban center listening to the pitch of the world. ๐Ÿ™‚

      As to my process, it varies piece by piece. With this one, and with “Chickens,” I did the writing first, and that underwent a number of revisions before it ever made it to a visual draft. But then text that reads well doesn’t always look well on the page, so usually I do some on-the-fly revision when I’m painting too. So each of the installments in this artist statement went through several written revisions as well as a couple of visual drafts. But sometimes I let the writing flow a little more freely — when I made the Tisha book that was completely spontaneous writing, though I plotted out some of the drawings before I started the writing.

      Reply

  6. walterwsmith3rd 4 April 2012 at 7:40 pm

    Beautiful Lisa. Art is a complexity and a simplicity, just like life. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

    1. satsumaart 4 April 2012 at 9:30 pm

      Thank you, Walter! That’s what I think too. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia
    • Join 683 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: