Thanksgiving Break
My break is finally here! I have gone without so much as a day off since the second week of school. And now, I have nine days of pure, uneventful bliss to look forward to.
Okay, so that’s not entirely true. I have nine days without school, but they’re not going to be completely uneventful. I hate it when professors give you a bunch of work to do over breaks. It’s just cruel. I mean, I guess that in the real world, you don’t ever really get a huge chunk of time to do absolutely nothing, but I’m not in the real world yet, and I’d like to hold on to this relatively easy time in my life as long as possible.
My classes are going so well. I love ceramics. We’re throwing on the wheel now, and I’m loving it. It tears your hands up, but I love being able to make two or three cups/bowls in the span of a couple of hours. I find more satisfaction in making functional items. I like to make the purely sculptural things, don’t get me wrong…but I think that you appreciate something that you can use everyday more. If it’s pretty/beautiful AND you can use it, then it’s better. Or maybe that’s just me.
What do you guys think? Is a functional work better than a non functional work?
P.S. – I just found this. It’s a video for the song Bodysnatchers by Radiohead. It was made using the Zeno Music Visualizer and it’s amazing. You should check out some of it!
http://glennmarshall.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/bodysnatchers-zeno-music-visualiser/
25 November, 2008 at 6:29 am
oh man! what a fun question!
i think that it brings about the often-debated question of “what is art and what is craft?” (i think SIU offers this as a class every so often, and you should take it if you can!).
i feel that most functional works qualify as “craft” because they require a more dynamic form of thinking — the application of physics and other forms of science that i fail out of almost immediately — rendering them, well, useful; whereas non-functional works are usually done to make statements and require critical-analytical thinking (easier for chem flunkies like me).
personally, i think i’d feel much more accomplished if i were capable of creating a functional work — but, generally, the creation of them really frustrates me and i give up. however, the non-functional pieces that i render are usually very cathartic and i feel much more attached to those than the few sculpture/ceramic-based pieces done.
i guess it all depends on the person and his/her grasp of mass and volume. i notice that more productive, extroverted indivuals produce 3-D art, while introverts seem to stick with 2-D.
also, OMG AMAZING VIDEO. i love radiohead…!