Art 310

Overview

For this week’s open exploration, I spent some time looking into the work of Candice Lin, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, and Ragnar Kjartansson. I was drawn to these artists because even though their mediums are pretty different, installation, mixed media painting, and performance, they all seem to be circling similar ideas about history, memory, and how the past shapes the present. I was interested in how their work invites people into an experience rather than just asking them to look at something from a distance.

Candice Lin’s work really stuck with me, especially pieces like Hard White Body (2017) and the later installation Sleep, Rot, Rest, Weep (2021). She creates these sculptural installations using organic materials and pigments, and a lot of the meaning in the work comes from digging into historical contexts and narratives. What I found interesting was how different those two works felt visually, yet they were still very clearly hers. The shift in the work over time shows how much process and research shape what she creates. Something one of her students said about her being “beyond a teacher” really resonated with me too. It reminded me how powerful it is when artists and educators create experiences that live inside of people. One of her quotes that really stuck with me was about “creating experiences that live inside of people” and how art can be “changed and transformed over and because of process.” That idea—that the process itself changes us—is something that feels really true both in artmaking and in life.

I also looked at the work of Njideka Akunyili Crosby, whose work is layered in a completely different way but still deeply rooted in history and personal experience. She works across painting, drawing, and printmaking, often layering images, textures, and references together to build these really rich visual narratives. Her work often pulls from Nigerian and Western cultural imagery, blending them in a way that feels both personal and historical at the same time. One thing that really connected her work to Candice Lin’s for me was how both artists use the past to inform the present. Their work feels imaginative and layered—not just in materials, but in meaning. One quote from Crosby that really stuck with me was when she said that “the small details matter… we are cemented in the everyday moments.” That idea made me think a lot about how the quiet, ordinary parts of life can actually carry so much meaning.

Finally, I looked at the performance work of Ragnar Kjartansson. His work approaches history and storytelling through performance, which adds another layer of expression and imagination. Something that really stood out to me in his thinking about art was the role of play and exploration. The idea that artmaking is freedom and that we can try things, experiment, explore different versions of ourselves. One of his quotes that stuck with me was that “being a visual artist is the ultimate freedom profession.” That idea really captures what connects all three of these artists for me. Even though their mediums are different, they all use art as a way to explore history, imagination, and the freedom to create meaning through process and experience.

Concept Map

Reflection

What surprised me most while working through the concept map is that none of these art forms are really my personal style, and honestly they bring up a lot of fear for me as an artist. Installation and performance art in particular feel very unfamiliar and vulnerable compared to the kind of work I normally make. At the same time, hearing these artists talk about exploration, play, and transformation through process made me realize that maybe that discomfort is exactly the point. Instead of avoiding it, I actually feel inspired to open myself up to trying something that would feel pretty radical for me creatively. Even if it’s outside my comfort zone, there is something exciting about the idea of experimenting in ways that are completely different from what I usually do.

As I organized the concept map, one of the biggest things that stood out was how all three artists connect their work to the past, even though their mediums are very different. Candice Lin explores history through immersive installations, Njideka Akunyili Crosby layers cultural references and everyday moments into her mixed-media work, and Ragnar Kjartansson uses artists from the past for inspiration, performance, and imagination while exploring identity and experience. Placing their ideas around the central theme of art as experience helped me see how each artist is connecting the past and present in different ways. Themes like history and memory, layered meanings, imagination, and process all branched from that center, and a visual mapping of those connections made it clear how closely related their ideas actually are.