February Digital Magazine

39 february issue
Capturing an Artist
What is the purpose of art, or does it have one? The
first piece in a series about artists at Oakton.
When a sculpture of a banana taped to a wall sold for
$120,000, journalists and pundits on social media exploded
with outrage. At face value, their anger makes sense: charging
thousands of dollars for a banana and duct tape inarguably
ridiculous. But, the piece was intended to ask a larger question
about the role of the artist in an age dominated by art
with “meaning”. It questioned whether art needs to carry
meaning, and as a result, whether artists should be considering
the intention of their pieces beyond simply creating. Can
blocks of orange simply be squares? Can faces simply be faces?
Can artists simply create without a larger purpose? That
question might just be worth $120,000.
This series attempts to understand why artists create and
the implications of their work. It features artists within the Oakton community
and a number of interviews about their perspectives on art in the 21st century.
When first looking at Tyler Chapman’s
Instagram feed, the black
and white pictures of pedestrians
stand out against the platform’s typical
cute selfies and dog pictures. An
award-winning photographer, he’s
crafted an early style of high contrast,
urban-inspired pictures. Below is an
interview with him.
What inspires you to create your work?
The artist that inspires me the most is
the filmmaker and painter Harmony
Korine, his abrasive and dark yet comedic
quality to his work inspire a
desire to constantly disregard boundaries
set by society.
What is the goal of your artwork?
To break down any barrier usually
felt in our society; I want my work to
confront the emotions of my audience
before they have an idea or thought
of what they are viewing. I enjoy the
idea of targeting emotions because
it is how I provoke thoughts that one
could relate to the ideas explored in
my work.
What do you view as the purpose of art?
The purpose of my art is to give a
voice to those who can’t or won’t
speak, this includes myself because
there are certain ideas I can’t express
in my written work. But those who are
silenced by the rest of society usually
have the most interesting, important
and thought provoking stories to tell;
so why not attempt to put the pieces
together and create a visual story
What is the piece you’re most proud of?
My photography series, which I started
last year, that explores the mindset
of someone who is suffering from
mental illness and suicidal thoughts.
It is not only a very personal project
that is very dark in its visual aesthetic
but a project that I chose to keep
uncensored and confrontational in
its visuals. I am still not proud of it
(due to various elements that aren’t
perfectly thought out), but that just
means it’s unfinished and I suppose
all of my projects composed of still
images are unfinished for the reason
that my ideas are always changing.