Science Fiction
Cinema
Philosophy
"What inspires you? Why?"--these are common questions that an artist hears sometimes all to often, but they are questions that ought to be answered. Claiming the title of an artist almost immediately warrants these questions to be answered. So what inspires me you say? Well, a hell of a lot of things inspire me--new things almost everyday, but I don't have the will power nor does anyone reading this blog have the time in their day to sit and read for hours about what intrigues me in the most finite of detail. So, for the benefit of you readers and myself alike, I've broken my inspirations down to a core of three: Science Fiction (as a general genre), Cinema, and Philosophy Science Fiction The genre of science fiction intrigues me so very deeply. I can remember being a child and looking at the covers of my Dad's sci-fi novels and films; wondering, at the young age of eight, what it might be like to exist in that world. Beyond the compelling imagery that books and films like, Robot Visions, Dune, Blade Runner and Alien, had as their cover art, the content that I discovered in the genre of sci-fi compelled me further as I matured. Narratives of first contact with extra-terrestrials, robots gaining consciousness, and coping with time dilation--these stories, while dealing with inhuman components, all dwindle back down to a central question of what it mans to be human. The metaphysics of the genre is very human indeed. The concepts that sci-fi undertakes are concepts that I too undertake into my art practice. I believe that people should be cognizant of humanity's interaction with emerging sciences and technologies and how these new developments are altering the evolutionary processes of our species. Cinema Film has always been a huge part of my life and more recently I have been incorporating it into my art practice. Particularly, what I enjoy so much about film is the way in which a cinematographer can capture the scope of a moving composition. Formally speaking, the work of Director of Photography, Freddie Young in Laurence of Arabia (1962) [right image] has influenced the compositional components of my art. Additionally, film has a way of capturing vast ideas and composing them into a frame of time to which a viewer can involve themselves in. Then, upon the film's end, one can take these ideas with them and ponder the concepts on their own. I try to utilize this method in my art. My paintings and sculptures tend to take on large humanistic concepts and theories, and I don't expect a viewer of my work to grasp the concepts right away. My hope is that, through viewing my work, I've planted an idea in one's mind through the uses of visual images and objects and now it's the viewer's job to arrive at their own distinctions--I'm only creating a visual framework to lead you to new conceptual distinctions. Philosophy My most recent inspiration is Philosophy. Along with my Fine Arts degree, upon graduation, I'll also be receiving a minor in Philosophy. My academic knowledge of Philosophy has indubitably changed my life views as well as my art practice as a whole. What I particularly take interest to is the ethical issues that arise with emerging science and technology. For example, could, in the near future, a computer evolve to be sentient? And if so, does this machine have rights, equivalent to that of a human? If one takes the time to research what computer scientists and engineers are up to at leading research facilities across the world, a conscious computer is not too far from becoming a reality. By integrating classical ethical theories in the likes of Kant [left image] Hume, and Mill and placing their theories under the context of emergent technologies, you get a cook-up of a conversation that can get heated pretty quickly. By integrating these ideas into my visual art, I am attempting to create a dialogue about ethical issues that are not too far off in the distance. In my recent Thought Experiment, series I've been realizing that these subjects (artificial consciousness, creating sentient machines, mapping the human brain to refute the existence of free-will, etc.) are uneasy to many onlookers. These are touchy subjects because they force one to rethink what they've previously understood to be human. This uneasiness to my work's concepts, contrary to what one might think, is inspiring me more--the reactions make me want to push the ideas further. I think that the fact that, when someone sees an artwork that questions the existence of free-will and has a negative reaction to the idea, tells a lot about who that person is and what it means to be human.
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Here's a small glimpse of what myself and some other great artists have been up to the past few weeks. We're taking over the Martin Wong Gallery at SFSU and we're not treading lightly by any means. Don't want to reveal too much, as it would be a disservice to the work. Very excited to open the doors and show everyone what we've been up to. More on that and the inspiration behind my latest "Thought Experiment" mural (pictured on left) coming soon. Cheers!
I'll be honest, the art making, since the end of this last semester, has slowed significantly. This is the last piece iv'e worked on and still cant find it in me to get back into it. For a while I was beating myself up that I hadn't made any newer works, but really why force it? For me, making art isn't this rambunctious nervous tick that I spontaneously crank out every second of the day. Actually quite the opposite, I take my time with each piece. I like it that way. When I work on paintings it's like having a conversation with a really good friend or someone of the opposite sex that I'm interested in. When I paint I'm calm, excited and nervous all at the same time. For this particular painting I wasn't really any of those, I was more confused and a bit frustrated, I think that's why I'm not too happy with this piece. That's not to say that I wont finish it, but it need to take a bit of a Hiatus for now. Next week I start my last semester of my Bachelor's in Studio Art, so we'll see where these next few months take me. This was an experiment. The reason I began this piece was because I had an interest in painting on metal. I wanted to see, firsthand, the interaction oil paint had with sheet metal. Then, by engaging more into the surface I was using, I began thinking of the materially of metal as an idea. Metal rusts, deteriorates and ages with time. This lead me to the idea of entropy--all matter goes from order to disorder throughout time. With that in mind, I mimicked my painting technique to illustrate that process. Once I finished the 5 pieces I left them outside to further deteriorate. I then hung them in a gallery space to be viewed. For me this is still an experiment. I may or may not explore this idea more, but for now, it will stand as is. But a question still lingers: Is it painting as entropy or entropy as painting?
(Paintings shown as a series below) Howdy, It's been a while.I've been extremely busy lately with school, art, and just life in general. That's why the art making has been lagging. BUT in the past couple days I have been back into my groove and working on a big one. I'm excited about it. The piece will be a part of my, still ongoing "Thought Experiment" series. This series started in 3 dimensions and now is finding it's way into figurative painting. I still have more to say with this seiries, so this won't be the last installment, but, I think this newest piece will be my most developed, both in terms of form and content--more on that later. All for now. Jake Here's a preview of a new seiries that I'm currently working on. From a strictly formal standpoint, I am very intrigued by the relation of the nose and mouth as well as the numerous expressions it can express. Who knows what this will all amout to, but as of now I'm going to let the obsession take me along for the ride. Thank you for looking and enjoy your week! -jake Greetings!
To those of you who are actually reading this, I thank you greatly. I have totally redone my site, though it is still very much under construction. Here I will compile all my work in one spot, rather then it being splattered throughout the chaos of social-media. In this blog portion i'll post updates, works in progress, selfies, food porn, and all that other meaningless crap that the world is so obsessed with these days. Anyways, thanks for dropping by and taking the time to look at this, you're a cooler person now because of it, I promise. |
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