Your instructors here at Kent State (and gallerists and curators and art directors and grad schools) will increasingly be asking you about what a single piece is “about” or what your work in general is “about” and that can be a tricky question to answer. It’s hard to separate your impulses from your intellect but that’s exactly what you have to do in order to get a grip on your future work and your career.

When I introduce new artists to class, like Wim Delvoye, my intention is to give you some new visuals but also to give you another example of an artist who has explored a particular theme (or family of themes) extensively. Unfortunately, it’s not always clear exactly what the heck you are looking at. It’s pretty clear that the picture below is some kind of fancy bulldozer, but what is it “about”??

This is where reading actually kicks in. All of these artists have big national and international careers and they have written and spoken about their won work a LOT! Wim Delvoye is loved, hated, and everything in between. His work has been offensive, controversial, and a big crowd pleaser at the same time. Dig a little until you actually understand what the artist is doing. It will help you to identify similar impulses and themes in your own creative self and help you to start answering that question about “why” you are doing what you do.

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