FINAL source Statement

Matt Howley
Visual Language II Final source Statement
4-30-09
Throughout this semester, I have adapted and changed my source idea to match the requirements of the current project. What I began with was a simple idea of a personal journey. In my initial photos, I interpreted this source in a very literal fasion: my photos were of pathways around the city. As time went on, my method of documenting my source through photography changed very little. However, I was still learning about how to draw upon internal inspiration for artistic purposes. Essentially, there are many different levels upon which a source idea can be represented. As I first demonstrated, one can create art that is ‘literal’ in a sense that the art stands for itself and it is what it is. When it came to my artist book project, I had already begun to move my source in a new direction. As an illustrator, I was eager to create a series of drawings to represent my source of a journey. But this time, my source had significantly changed. I was taking into account the ‘broader scheme of things’ involving seasonal change, life and death, and humanity.
The idea that I had began with was very simple and concrete, but after making the artist book, I tried to not be a slave to my source and instead create something from whatever my current inspiration was. In this way I could enjoy the process of art-making much more than I previously had. Ultimatly this is my goal whenever drawing or painting or creating. In order for me to reach peak success in a work, I must learn to enjoy it. And that seems to be what the video project was all about. I took footage of what amused me while still maintaining adherence to the project guidelines. Because of this I allowed myself room to enjoy my work while still completing the requirements. My source changed drastically in the making of my first video, from cyclical changes in pathways to the subjection of one’s path to greater forces of nature. In my video I represented this by playing god with the motion of different subjects in the video. The editing techniques I used to accomplish this goal I thoroughly enjoyed. Nearing completion of my final video project, I have been forced to balance meeting the requirements while still enjoying and exercising my creativity. This has been a difficult task, yet it is one that has taught me a profound lesson in art making.