Doing the werk
I haven’t blogged in a bit but that is because I went on a fun trip to Whistler, BC and I have been very focused on my wimmelbild projects lately. Sometimes I refer to it as “Wimmelwerk” because of how engrossed and in the flow state I get with drawing them. I have really found contentment in the process and also in taking my time (which is very different for me).
The Craft:
No, not the movie, but that’s cool too. I mean I’m starting to view my work on wimmelbilds as a craft now, I have a process and I don’t feel like I’m searching for something unattainable anymore it is a lot more about just doing the work, making the artwork, and improving. I definitely get enamored and inspired by seeing an old master at something random like wood carving, glassblowing, tattooing, origami, or woodblock printing go through the process of their craft and making something they may have made hundreds or thousands of times before but they do everything with such care, precision and a sort of patience I just find awesome. This I think is the “Mastery“ I have always been seeking in my own art but was never convinced I had enough direction to even get on the pathway towards mastery of something but now, I think I’m on the beginning of that path at least. I just want to learn more about wimmelbilds and improve my technique, that’s it.
Social Media Revisited:
In the past, it was much harder to resist the pull and cadence of the social media algorithms but lately I have realized just how much social media actually “sucks”. I do mean being deeply engaged in social media sucks the drive, creativity, heart and soul out of what you post and turns it into content. Your artwork just becomes a blip on the radar sweep of content only to be reposted or just disappear unless it somehow goes viral.
The fabricated demand for content combined with an unknown quality of engagements with viewers was never the type of satisfying external validation anyone wanted as an artist it’s just all that the rather parasocial nature of a social media presence can provide and it is ultimately what the platform holders want. I suppose that was always the aim of hosting user generated content but I’m not working for them figuring out how I can better market their platform, I’m working for myself here. Maybe it’s coming back from my recent trip that has spurred these feelings more. I recently talked to someone who has a daughter who is very skilled in acrylic pop surrealism and I mean gallery level work and like everything else I thought wow she would be super popular if she posted on social media but then I caught myself, so what? Maybe that isn’t what she wants or is looking for in her work and her work still exists even if it’s not everywhere on social media. Social media sort of brainwashed us to think if it isn’t on (insert platform here) it must not exist.
I’m not a content mill, cranking out work for someone to scroll through in seconds and get bored with, I’m working on my craft. So I’m treating social media differently, it’s not a replacement or stand-in for interactions with real people who like my art it’s a place to display my artform. The online community is still just online and not as fulfilling as having a real community of people to connect with.
