Mar 01 2010
Jan 11 2010
Choosing a Mission
After reading “Choosing a Mission” and looking at the additional materials posted on the blog:
- Summarize what mission each artist in the chapter is pursuing.
- What inspired each artist’s mission?
- How is each artist’s mission embodied in their artistic practice?
- What need does each mission fulfill?
- Which mission appeals to you most, why?
- Post your answers.
Dec 17 2009
What is Your Mission?
A Constitution embodies the mission statement of a nation or a group. Individuals who formulate principles to guide their decisions and unify their efforts also have missions. Artists are prime candidates for mission-forming because art is not created “on automatic,” on “remote control,” or on “cruise control.” The act of making art is willful and intentional. Conducting a quest to define a mission is one of the primary tasks of being a student artist. – In the Making: User’s Manual, p.15.
Study this list of artistic missions – which ones apply to your emerging practice as an artist? (In the Making: User’s Manual, p. 15)
- interpret/question
- mirror the obvious/expose the mysterious
- describe the here-and-now/anticipate the now-and’then
- intensify reality/afford an escape
- issue a warning/offer a solution
- provide a means/produce a product
- induce passivity/incite rebellion
- explicate dystopia/envision utopia
- solve a problem/create a problem
- stabilize society/disrupt the status quo
- provide solace/provoke anxiety
- initiate joy/engender sorrow
- offer entertainment/offer instruction
- escape from reality/engage reality
- discover truth/create fantasy
- relive the past/anticipate the future
- do your duty/delight yourself
- seek self-fulfillment/undergo sacrifice
- learn/teach
Write a draft mission statement based on your private contemplations and the items you have circled on the list.
Post your statement. We will discuss them in class on (date)
If you’re having trouble determining a mission, visit p.15-16 of In the Making: User’s Manual to see examples.
