Failure Paper

I would have to say that my biggest failure this semester was my piece for micro-project 3. Out of everything I’ve made this semester that is the one piece that I still don’t fully understand myself. I mean I understand what each part of the piece signifies and what it says about me as a person. But I don’t think that this layout or design of these components contributes anything to the piece. I might as well have just put these pictures side-by-side in Photoshop and submitted that. As for how I would improve that project, I guess I would have to see what comes to me during the process.

However, from this failure I think I understand a little better how to create meaningful art pieces. I was trying to plan out my picture before I even had the components; I had a clear image of the picture and didn’t leave any room for spontaneous decisions. Having said that I think that what I learned since micro project 3 has lead to my greatest successes this semester. For these past two micro-projects I’ve started them with no plan, and no expectation for the piece. I found that when I stopped thinking about what I’m doing and just worked, everything somehow tied together in the end. The flow and harmony that I tried to create in my artwork by planning out every step only came through when I stopped trying to force it. More specifically, I think my greatest achievement this semester (in terms of micro-projects) was MP5. Maybe it’s because I found a way to tie it back to my favorite subject, physics, but I think that photo “speaks” to me more than my other work. From this success I think I have a greater appreciation for the process of constructing your piece, rather than just trying to skip ahead to the final presentation.