Amber Perdigon: Influences in Art Practice

 1-Who are the 5 artists you chose?

• Raymond Pettibon
• Margaret Kilgallen
• Gabriel Orozco
• William Kentridge
• Yinka Shonibare

2-What were the themes the artists addressed about making work?

• Pettibon created several illustrations for punk band album covers, and he's known opened the door for drawing to be recognized as a main art form and not just the sketch before the painting or sculpture. He also created an art form of his writing, meaning that much of his illustrative works are filled with written text. He believes the written word and imagery go hand in hand with his medium. He also seeks to let his artistic process flow fluidly and he values narrative.
• Kilgallen has a passion for illustrating inspiring women who are lesser known. Women who do 'small things' and still have an impact on her. For example, Matokie Slaughter, Algia Mae Hinton, Fanny Durack, etc. She also train-marks and practices the art of graffiti.
• Orozco and photography was the video I focused on and learned that he found photography (stressing he wasn't completely and utterly reliant on it), to be a useful art tool in expanding his art medium and types of projects. He also sought to understand something "totally" and see as many faces as possible of an object in one place.
• Kentridge worked primarily in charcoal illustrations that he animated in a stop-motion sort of process. He fully went into his craft with the idea that he would illustrate his experiences in life, and he actually learned that his ideas and his stories were worth watching by the greater public. That idea reinforced his motivation to stick with his passions. He made little shadow puppet shows, which is also very cool.
• Yinka is a very political artist and explains that he seeks to pull people into a fantastical world, away from the ugly realities of discrimination. 

3-What were the challenges the artists faced in making their work?

• He couldn't draw a straight line! I quote from Pettibon directly. In all seriousness, he discusses how he manages to strike a balance between humor and anger. Much of his works appears to depict some amount of discontent, specifically when touching on more political subjects. He's explained that he doesn't typically gravitate toward politics, but he makes observations and satirizes them from a somewhat impersonal level. I found it surprising that he didn't really pour too much of his own personal feelings into his works.
• Kilgallen sometimes struggles with the highs and lows of artistic inspiration, but she finds that the idea of introducing these women to the public and how she might inspire other women reignites her passion for her art practice.
• Orozco explains that, despite using photography as a sort of "sketchbook", he doesn't carry a camera with him or even take that many pictures by himself. Though he enjoys having his camera-sketchbook, it's challenging to rely on it wholly to use in the process of all his projects.
• Kentridge seemed to have struggled with his ideas of who he wanted to be when he grew up. It's common to sort of force someone to quickly choose who they wish to be and how they'll profit. Kentridge wanted to be a number of things, and it wasn't until his late 20's that he went full tilt into choosing his art craft as his life's pursuit. This goes to show how passion, dedication and persistence could make or break an artist. How the content they produce and how it resonates with audiences also plays a role.
•  He always wondered why it was that he needed to experience the world differently from his white peers when he moved to the UK and that inspired him to create a world in which this wouldn't be the case. So, while this wasn't a bar for him to overcome, this drove him harder to create art.

4-What were the inspirations you drew from the artists?

• Something I noticed with Pettibon was that his mistakes weren't taken as things that needed to be fixed. Mistakes such as drips or spatters were just something that he worked around and allowed them to give the drawing character and more energy. I'd like to embrace my mistakes and make something new and fresh with them, rather than being so rigid in what a final illustration might have looked like in my head.
• I find it quite inspirational to see how Kilgallen works around her struggles of art block/art slumps. For however difficult it is to deal with, she manages to dust the block away with self-discipline and a drive to see her goals met, both long-term and short term. 
• Photography is an important reference! I've always tried to use photography in my work as reference to make sure that what I illustrate has some level of realism to it.
• Kentridge is an intentional, deeply complex and determined artist. His art is something he chose no matter the paycheck he expected or didn't expect. It was never about becoming rich, but about telling his story and an outlet to release his experiences. Very cool.
• Yinka's attention to detail and his ability to have his art take up space is something I find very inspirational. While I enjoy talking about my personal projects, I still need to be loud about it. As someone who wants to bring a comic to an audience, I need to announce my presence and speak with confidence about my work. That in itself can go very far.

5-What were the things you would like to incorporate into your own work after watching these videos?

In my own work, I'd like to find the balance between incorporating my own political believes and tying them inseparably to my art. Now a days, it's become nearly impossible to separate my thoughts from the current social and political climate. Unlike Pettibon, who is very emotionally detached from his own pieces, I feel inspired to write and illustrate stories that highlight the good in the presence and visibility of minorities or peoples without a voice. I've noticed that there is a positivity and enjoyment in recognizing your own life and identity in media and how it's even better that that identity is recognized with research and respect.

I also want to take more pictures and keep more references for my comic work. While I keep a Pinterest with many photographic references, for example, anatomical poses, architecture, and fashion photography, I seek to expand my references to lighting studies, color palettes, and expand my cultural visual folder. I've gotten quite a bit of medieval fantasy fatigue. I want to write a story that a broader audience can see themselves in.