...The Role of an Artist...

I believe that the role of an artist is to help the world to see. I think that seeing is something that people do not take the time to actually do. Sure, mostly everyone can see, we have basic eye sight, but how many of us look deeper and see how people and objects in our world interact? I think the role of an artist to grip their viewer, bring them in, and teach them to really see. When I am faced with a new project or piece, I choose my subject matter. Part of my process is to study that object and get to know it. I wrestle with it, learn a lot about it, and most of all see it. See it for what it is. I feel like when I finally display my piece, I am inviting my viewers to see and join me in my process. They are forced to deal with my piece and it's subject matter. I can draw attention to what I want my viewer to notice most. Of course, each viewer will come out with a different idea of what my piece means, but in the end, I was facilitating a journey to really and truly seeing an object for what it is. As far as the video we watched in class, I think it ties in with my idea of an artist. I think videography is definitely an art. This video stated opinions, facts, and problems. The viewer was forced to deal with the subjects brought up in the video. Now, the viewer could either choose to reject or agree with what the video was saying, but they still had to deal with the subject.