September 4, 2013
Elizabeth Murray
Quotes
“I have been cutting out shapes, and kind of glomming them together…and letting the cards fall where they may.”
It is always good to have a central idea of what you are going to do and Murray always makes sketches of her ideas beforehand, however her work is always in process and vulnerable to change at any time. She even said that painting is trying to make something happen with a type of fluid that is constantly, somewhat out of control. She tries to harness that energy and combine that with the shapes she uses in order to make these conflicting entities work as a whole.
“My fantasy was that I would get to a certain point, and I would know what I wanted to say, and then it was ‘psht’. You were on this straight and narrow road, and you would never swerve, and you would just do your work then, and that’s not the way it is at all. You get off the path, and get back on…and trip along, and then suddenly you stumble, and you’re back on again, and I don’t think that process ever ends.”
Many times a person will feel this way about anything they do. This quote can be applied to any area ranging from art to science to math to music to sports. People find themselves in a slump no matter what they are doing. Practice is perfect and children need to know this. When something seems hard, and they think they cannot do it because they are not good or someone else is way better, they need to realize they have not had nearly enough practice. I wondered why I was so bad in science and really good in art and I realized I refrain myself from doing any science activities. All the hours I was not committed to, led me to be unfamiliar with the basics.
“I think it’s really very similar to how a kid plays.”
Murray even said herself that her work often involves the juxtaposition of various cartoon-looking shapes. Her work is chaotic, yet controlled. It looks messy, yet there is some unifying theme to all the mess. I can relate this to looking at a child’s room. When their rooms are messy, there is almost a story that can be told. If you look at each object lying around the room, you can somewhat piece together their characteristics and mannerisms. In Murray’s work, each piece works together in the same way, making each work and story unique, which is up to the viewer to decide.
It is always good to have a central idea of what you are going to do and Murray always makes sketches of her ideas beforehand, however her work is always in process and vulnerable to change at any time. She even said that painting is trying to make something happen with a type of fluid that is constantly, somewhat out of control. She tries to harness that energy and combine that with the shapes she uses in order to make these conflicting entities work as a whole.
“My fantasy was that I would get to a certain point, and I would know what I wanted to say, and then it was ‘psht’. You were on this straight and narrow road, and you would never swerve, and you would just do your work then, and that’s not the way it is at all. You get off the path, and get back on…and trip along, and then suddenly you stumble, and you’re back on again, and I don’t think that process ever ends.”
Many times a person will feel this way about anything they do. This quote can be applied to any area ranging from art to science to math to music to sports. People find themselves in a slump no matter what they are doing. Practice is perfect and children need to know this. When something seems hard, and they think they cannot do it because they are not good or someone else is way better, they need to realize they have not had nearly enough practice. I wondered why I was so bad in science and really good in art and I realized I refrain myself from doing any science activities. All the hours I was not committed to, led me to be unfamiliar with the basics.
“I think it’s really very similar to how a kid plays.”
Murray even said herself that her work often involves the juxtaposition of various cartoon-looking shapes. Her work is chaotic, yet controlled. It looks messy, yet there is some unifying theme to all the mess. I can relate this to looking at a child’s room. When their rooms are messy, there is almost a story that can be told. If you look at each object lying around the room, you can somewhat piece together their characteristics and mannerisms. In Murray’s work, each piece works together in the same way, making each work and story unique, which is up to the viewer to decide.
Academic Vocabulary
- Glomming / Juxtaposition
- Shape
- Color
- Shape
- Color