Who is Eve as an Artist?

Who am I as an artist?
By Eve Schmitt


Not entirely certain. I read a story, in an 8th-grade art class, about a man who did (maybe invented) assemblage, and everyone who knew him said that his artwork eased the pain of his depression, so that he remained alive.

I'm not THAT melancholy, but I do feel more sane when I'm doing artwork. More driven. Focused. 
But that doesn't answer what I'm trying to do, does it? What kind of artwork I want to do?

Hm.

I went full experimental with digital and film photography. That was fun. I got good results. Maybe I do my best work when I'm experimenting with mediums, instead of trying to achieve high technical standards. When I'm trying to meet high technical standards I turn full perfectionist and I spend too much time and effort trying to get things just right and I throw away stuff that might have been good enough and it gets really frustrating and I forget wether I'm doing it for myself or the grade.



Most of the artwork I've done, most of the best artwork I've done, has been for a grade. 

The bit with the digital photography -- that was when I began to do serious artwork on my own terms and schedule. I went nuts with the editing filters on iPhoto. Got some good pics. Discovered a trick to get perfect black-and-white, no greys. Look.

That's me.

But now, with performance work?

With performance work there's no technical standards like there are with drawing or painting -- there is idea, effort, presence, and play, and experimentation.

I've heard it said that all creatures play, because play is free expression, and who wants to spend all day eating, working and fucking? 

and Gary Larson said, in There's a Hair in my Dirt, That play is vital for the mental growth of living beings, because play allows for experimentation, and without experimentation we learn nothing. Ask a scientist.

I'm going to have some fun.