"Artist Statement
Writing is an important component of being an artist. As part of your application, you will be required to upload an artist's statement, which we will use to assess your ability to compose an essay, as well as the manner in which you use text as a tool.
Use your statement as your way to represent yourself and your work. We are interested in finding out more about you, your art-making practices, and why you are a strong candidate for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's (SAIC) undergraduate program. Please also include information about community service projects, exhibitions you have participated in, or any other activities that contribute to the making of your work"
The Fibonacci sequence is a mathematical algorithm able to predict the exact pattern found throughout countless structures within our universe. One might argue this underlying algorithm subverts from the previously mysterious nature of an object and by taking the secrecy out of these natural processes renders them predictable and mundane. However others might believe that instead it enhances the designs by interweaving all of these previously believed separate entities into one connected tapestry of existence. As an artist, I realize it does both of these things. The privileges of modern technology has allowed humans access to expansive scientific knowledge, however it comes with the price of internal conflict as one's modern sensibilities and primal instincts are turned against each other. This place of paradox between as intuitive sense of connectedness and critical sense of introspection of the world around me is what drives my need to create. Through my work, I explore the unique position mankind holds within the universe's multiple levels of experience. By navigating through psychological, scientific, and natural concepts I hope to illustrate and examine mankind's constant manipulation of itself and surrounding environments.
The materials I gravitate towards are canvas, wood, natural rope, organic matter, and mirrors for their elegant simplicity and versatility. Through the use of these materials I reiterate the idea of constructing scientific concepts from natural materials, a common theme throughout my work. I aim for a minimalistic aesthetic not only as a design choice but also to promote the viewer's experience rather than a physical object. I have explored artistic mediums such as performance, installation, and assemblage, however, I am most interested in the interplay between these different forms of expression. As I've evolved as an artist, I find my work progressing towards a more universal interactive experience. I design with all five senses in mind and try to include physically interactive elements in order to create the experience. I am fascinated by the manipulation of spaces and see its power to place the viewer both as an audience and an element of the piece itself. I choose to include interactive qualities in my pieces becauseI feel mankind's predisposition on touch based learning is neglected in much of modern art and I see it as a catapult to convey my message to a wider audience.
My inspiration transpires from questions posed to myself and society. Questions which perhaps will never be answered leading their ambiguity to fuel society's already vague nature. However I revel in this ambiguity because through the countless definitions and theories referenced in my work I realize mankind's desperate search for meaning. My creative process begins with both internal and external observation and my natural tendency to seek and connect different ideas around me helps to identify any underlying concepts. I then deconstruct each concept, what it means to me, to history, to the dictionary, and to society. My goal is to pull apart every individual component in order to see its true essence and build it back up again. The questioning and deconstruction of concepts around me are critical to the messages of my work and my goal as an artist, which is to ask, rather than answer. The School of Art Institute Chicago offers a unique and powerful platform to pose these questions because their beliefs already align with many of my own. If selected to attend SAIC, I believe the progressive and interdisciplinary nature of my beliefs coupled with my strong drive to learn and create will help me reach true creative innovation.
Giovanni, instead of discussing the Fibonacci Sequence at the start of your essay, why don't you just immediately discuss your scientific inspiration instead? The mathematical equation you present at the start, although interesting to read, takes too long to get through before you even get to the sentence that introduces your own artistic thoughts in relation to the sequence. Instead of having to explain the sequence and its importance to your art, just discuss your art.
If you go directly to a discussion regarding your art, you will find that you will then be able to focus on the other aspect of the essay that you did not properly represent, actually, you did not represent it at all in this essay, I speak of the following instruction:
Please also include information about community service projects, exhibitions you have participated in, or any other activities that contribute to the making of your work
While you explain where you get your inspiration for doing your art work, you don't really explain how this type of activity has helped to make you a better person and develop a marked sense of community through your life experiences. You should mention things like your charitable activities, or civic work that has inspired your art in order to better represent the aforementioned aspect of your prompt discussion. Without a reference to it, your prompt does not come across as completely informative as an introductory tool.
