| Author | Message | ||
     Whatever |
From http://www.hrgiger.com/ Here is an example, for the enlightenment of everyone: I'm an aspiring artist and a big fan of Mr. Giger's work, and was wondering if you could possibly give me some advice? Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated, particularly if you could guide me as to what courses you feel would be of most benefit to me. Dear Aspiring Artist: Here is my advice. Think of it as a five-year plan: Take whatever courses you find the most interesting. Study closely the work of the Old Masters. Stop making art that originates only from your own imagination. Stay with one technique until you perfect it. On any given day, always be in the middle of reading a book. When you finish one, start the next. Fiction, nonfiction, biographies, autobiographies, history, science, psychology, or how to build a kite. Anything but go easy on the comic books. Buy and read the first 6 pages of newspaper every day and also the editorial commentaries. Skip the entertainment section. Su Doku is fine. Do the crossword puzzle. Fill up a sketchbook every month with pen or pencil drawings of the world around you, not from your imagination. Buy a book on figure drawing. It's the only art book you will ever need. Until you can draw an accurate portrait of someone, you don’t know how to draw. Stay away from the airbrush. You'll never master it, hardly anyone ever has. Visit every museum in your city. Often, until you have seen everything in it. Every kind of museum. Not only the art museums but, of course, those as well. Forget about contemporary art by living artists, at least for the next few years. Stay away from most art galleries. Go to art auctions. That's where the real action is. Learn to play chess. Take a business course. Talk to you mother or father at least once a week. Stop going to the movies until you have rented and seen every film on this list. http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/the_comple te_list.html Do not watch television unless it’s the news or documentaries. Do not use an Ipod. No video games, either. Learn a foreign language. Learn to cook. Spend 8 hours in a hospital emergency room. Save up money so you can travel to a foreign country within the next five years. Do not litter. Avoid politically correct people. Vote in every election or never dare to utter a political opinion. You are not entitled to one. Buy a digital camera and take photos every day. If you see nothing interesting to photograph, you will never be a good artist. Keep only one photo of every ten you take. Delete the rest. It will force you to learn how to edit the garbage from your life, to make choices, to recognize what has real value and what is superficial. Visit an old age home. Listen to classical music and jazz. If you are unable to appreciate it at least as much as contemporary music, you lack the sensitivity to develop into an artist of any real depth. Go to the ballet. Classical or Modern, it doesn't matter. It will teach you to appreciate physical grace and the relationship between sound and movement. Wake up every morning no later than 8 AM, regardless of what time you went to sleep. Learn to play a musical instrument. Learn to swim. Keep your word. Never explain your art. People who ask you to do so are idiots. Never explain yourself. Better yet, never do anything that will, later, require you to explain yourself or to say you're sorry. Always use spell check. Stop aspiring and start doing. This will keep you very busy but it can't be helped. In my opinion, this is how you might, possibly, have a shot at becoming a good artist. Hope this helps, Les Barany | ||
| Court |
Nice. I took a bit of time the other day and read one of my favorites. I am NOT an artist but have 3 or 4 good friends who are . . . they constantly amaze me. If you want to talk to one of the best . . . she'll deny it . . . visit with Erik's wife at Homecoming.
 | ||
| Geforce |
I have been fascinated with H.R. Giger's work ever since I saw the movie ALIEN. In my office I have about a dozen of his works all framed. *They are the small portfolio ones* You can get lost in his work. Like it or not, Giger is the "master mixer" of biology and machine IMO. | ||
| Reindog |
Great post which is making my day. (Message edited by reindog on May 15, 2010) | ||
| 46champ |
If everyone followed that list we would be as close to utopia as we would ever get on this earth. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Where is the advice for get a job, work hard, earn money? I guess utopia is filled with very interesting bums. | ||
| Danger_dave |
List might make a better person (the intent) but as for artist - Warhol was bigger - on Cocaine and Scotch. Koons on ego. Some great art is also a right bastard and the Zeit Geist has many forms. (Message edited by danger_dave on May 15, 2010) | ||
| Glitch |
Ego powers many things. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Some of the best artists I've worked for have been reasonably loose units. And then there's the gay thing, not that there's etc etc. | ||
| Danger_dave |
You know what it's like Glitchy. Can't remember where I read it but 'Designers are the Artist's laborers' works for me. What I was trying to say is that not all art comes from being a good soul. Advice to the contrary is not easy to humanely dispense though! (Message edited by danger_dave on May 15, 2010) | ||
| Ourdee |
Sounds like it is more important to recognize the art around you, than to dream some up. LOOK +1 | ||
| Danger_dave |
Robert Hughes' assertion is that much great art is the bridge that connects two previously unconnected ideas. | ||
| Glitch |
I gotcha Dave.  I like what Char posted. Pretty much sums up what I learned from "Drawing from the right side of the brain" or "Try not, do, or do not" Yoda | ||
| Blake |
I've yet to find any man-made art that comes close to the beauty of one of the trees in our front yard, or any of the trees in our back yard, or the beach, or the mountains, or my girlfriend's smiling face, or a simple uncut blade of grass. Documentation of creation's art is probably my favorite "art." But it's more documenting that which already exists versus creating something new. I guess the work of some painters could be considered to fall into this category, especially those who lived before photography really took hold. Art purely for art's sake can be very interesting, but for me is WAY over-rated. Now craftsmanship is a whole other deal in my view. I guess that for me it comes down to the difference between contrivance versus creation. | ||
| Danger_dave |
For half a century, photography has been the art form of the untalented. Obviously some pictures are more satisfactory than others, but where is credit due? To the designer of the camera? To the finger on the button? To the law of averages? Gore Vidal | ||
| Danger_dave |
Was Van Gogh the first Emo? | ||
| Whatever |
What I like about Giger's website is the shots of the Bars he has... just trippy shit to sit there in the lap of an alien life form and drink a beer or coffee would be totally surreal and entirely worth the trip... I wish I knew about him before I went to Europe in college... but, my boy Lance, introduced me to him... imagine making love to a punk rock artist while one of those aliens is staring at you from the walls... it was always sort of creepy... his stuff makes my skin crawl, but I can't stop looking at it nevertheless...  Fatty, try making a living as an artist or a writer and then criticize... it is not so easy as most of them are totally mental drunken and impoverished and don't get famous until after they die! Just sayin' Every occupation has its purpose. | ||
| Gregtonn |
"Ego powers many things." Most of which are about to crash._Greg | ||
| Danger_dave |
 | ||
| Blake |
I've never liked Gore Vidal. Seems like a pompous ass. There's as much skill and art involved in really good photo journalism as any art form. There's undeniable arrogance in elevating the contrivances of man over creation, I think. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Fatty, try making a living as an artist or a writer and then criticize... it is not so easy Try making a living, it is not so easy. If someone feels compelled to produce "art", great. If someone is willing to pay for it, even better. To make a statement "I want to be an artist" without the benefit of commercial viability seems ridiculous. Maybe fewer artists would be less mental, drunken and impoverished if they spent at least some time considering their own economic viability. | ||
| Danger_dave |
>>considering their own economic viability.<< 'Flawed genius' isn't a cliche because it's so rare. The juice required for 'the Piece' is where the Ferry man is paid. The rest is incidental. Easy to forget whole life balance, Daniel-San. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
whole life balance Absolutely! Only on Star Trek are people able to pursue their interests without regard for economic viability. You, Dave, are talented at what you do. You are able to make a living doing what you love to do. If no one would pay you for what you do, you'd still create your art, but you'd still find a way to pay the bills. The rest of us have passions and interests that we'd love to get paid to do, but we don't get to claim professional "whatever" and expect that we should be able to concentrate solely on that simply because we are passionate about it. The cave paintings were done AFTER the hunt was successful and their bellies were full. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Designer. I set the fee before the job and usually follow a brief with the intention of solving a set problem as artistically as possible. Photography, graphics and writing are tools to accomplish. It's a long way from being 'driven' like the Fine Artists. My favourite Artist was a junkie who I'd have little time for from reading the biography. But the paintings are astounding. whereas I'm a great guy :-P | ||
| Blake |
Great guy beats astounding "art" every time!  |
