Undergraduate / 'Life of an artist' - UT Austin Topic D Essay [3]

Prompt:
Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?

Essay:
All my life I knew that I wanted to be an artist. I did not know what kind of artist I wanted to be, but I knew that I wanted to be a part of that glorious world of visual stimulation. So as my junior year of high school was coming to an end, I decided to try and find my passion out of all the different art careers. After hours and hours of research and self-reflection, I came to the conclusion that design was my strength and passion. However sadly I found that I still lacked the artist's eye that every artist requires. That all changed when I was introduced to photography.

When I first signed up for photography, I never expected myself to be so affected and inspired by it. I had just planned to take it as a fun class where I could let go of all the stress from my difficult classes. But as I learned more about composition and lighting, I found myself gaining a more artistic point of view towards life. Especially when I picked up the Pentax film camera for the first time, I felt like I had finally gained the artist's eye. I had been given an assignment with an abstract theme and my job was to focus simply on lines, textures, and contrasts rather than subject matter. Since I had no way of transportation, I had to reluctantly walk around my apartment complex for my pictures. Before that day, I had always considered Arlington as the most mundane, ugly city ever. However when I started viewing the world through my camera's viewfinder, everything changed. Streets became powerful lines; buildings became mighty shapes; trees became beautiful organic creatures. All the stereotypes and prejudices I had held against Arlington came crashing down as I took more and more pictures. By the end of the day, I was proud to say that I lived in Arlington.

Ever since that day, I have gained more and more interest in photography which I think has the ability to make something boring look beautiful. Photography has also really impacted me as a person interested in design. Now using my eyes as my viewfinder, I try to view the world as different color schemes, or a symphony of lines, shapes, and color. With this new point of view, I find myself a great student in my art classes, something I could not have said just a few weeks ago. To improve my design skills further, I have educated myself about the different color theories and design principles. After everything, I feel like I can actually say this now: I am an artist.