Fine Art Personal Statement Example 2

To me, art is like a mystery which is to be solved. I see an artwork as the concentration of an idea or concept into a physical entity. The idea or concept is rarely evident through just looking at piece; it requires analysis or scrutiny to interpret it. This is why I am rarely happy with a piece of art unless I can see some meaning behind it. Whether it is my own or another person's, I feel a great satisfaction when I discover an underlying theme or message; deliberate or not. It is like poring over a cryptic riddle or a puzzle for time until all at once it falls into place.

Perhaps it is my obsession with problem-inducing things: cryptic crosswords, chess, Rubik's cubes, poker, cribbage and scrabble that have induced this vision of art. It is the same either way. If I am looking at a Mark Rothko painting, Rothko has set the puzzle to be deciphered and I am attempting to solve it, even if the answer is as simple as, 'a perfect combination of colour'. If I create an artwork, it will have hidden parameters evident only by scrutiny. It may be easy to interpret or it may be difficult, it doesn't matter. I don't mind if people don't interpret it the way I intended; only that it makes sense in their own minds and that it gives them that same sense of satisfaction that I get when I solve a puzzle. You could say that that is the ultimate motivation for the art that I produce.

This theme has also played a strong role in the work that I have been doing over the past year in my Art Foundation course. In the last 'self'-orientated project I focussed on my fascination with playing cards and chess combined with the physical aspects of my life. This has developed into my current project that concentrates on aspects of chance (chess, playing cards) combined, symbolically, with aspects of purpose (religion, gods, fate, strategy) through many different mediums, including customised board games and sculptures. I am intrigued with hidden meanings, so I am looking at artists such as Joseph Beuys and Leonardo Da Vinci who are known to use a lot of symbolism in their work.

My current work has developed from many of the foundation course projects I have done since the beginning of the year. I feel that this year has been a significant indication of what path I want to follow in the future. I initially enrolled with the mindset of trying it out and deciding what to do later on in the year. I have worked hard at keeping up with work and have enjoyed being able to develop my own ideas creatively over the last two terms. The foundation course has already taught me how to be broad-minded about what art can be, and the learning process has been somewhat enlightening. Ultimately I have enjoyed the course; whether it is experimenting with interesting ideas in my own space, sharing ideas with my peers about what we are doing or constructing sculptures in the workshops. Upon having wandered around the degree student's areas a few times just to look at the work that is being produced I feel a connection to what they are doing and what I am currently learning about and it makes me want to go further with my work. This is why I wish to continue on at the degree course. I believe it will challenge me and help me to evolve the art that I do to an even further level.

Since October 2007, I have had a Saturday job working as an assistant in a butcher's. This job requires me to make deliveries, clean the shop, serve customers, prepare meat and I often help out at the hog roast functions that the shop hires out. I have done my best to work hard at this, as it is the only proper job I have had apart from a paper round. Alongside attending the foundation course I feel that it has made me a much more organised and confident person in terms of arranging my life. I have definitely enjoyed working there as much as I have worked hard at it. To resound the work I have done I have been offered more work at the shop and at supervising hog roasts during the summer.