GolemAura.com
art by Ernest King
Artist Statement
| Artist Statement Ernest King (Photo Manipulator) I was having trouble writing an artist statement so I went on the Internet to find out how I should go about doing such a thing. I was informed that I should write it as if I was making a Nourishing Stew... that's right, a Nourishing Stew. Please do not eat this statement, I believe if one was to print out this article and eat it the ink would probably be toxic and the paper would have a fiber value of -3. (Eat a nice bran muffin or have a bowl of oatmeal, I do believe that would work out much better) Now I'm suppose explain my favorite tool and why. I do photo manipulations, so I guess my most important tool is my camera. The laptop computer I got for my Birthday is my favorite tool, (not because it has a huge memory and I can do large projects on it) but because it was a present. According to the next step on the web I need to clarify what I like
best about what I do. The easy answer is everything but that would be
a fib. Nothing is more annoying then spending a few hours on a single
photograph, trying desperately to balance out the color and shapes and
having the computer freeze up at the last second and losing all that
work. (This actually most often is a good thing because if I work on a
picture too long it ends up looking like some of the background scenes
from the original Star Trek Series or a person who just escaped from an
asylum and hadn't bathed for a decade)
What do I do differently from the way I was taught? Why? When I went to College for Art we had a professor who didn't really teach art "by the book". He gave out a sense of art. To explain what he meant to me and how much he influences my work would take a life time. I often goofed around in his class, as is the the norm for a college freshman. Then one day he explained a piece he designed in 1986. I'm going to cut and paste the write up verbatim from the web site because I have no writing skills that would bring it justice: My Inspiration Fragments: Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Tribute www.thehighground.org The southern point of The Highground plaza is dominated by the sculpture honoring the service and sacrifices of Wisconsin's Vietnam veterans. Winning a nationwide competition sponsored in 1986, Robert Kanyusik's sculpture, "Fragments," was chosen from over 100 entries. The statue consists of four mutually supporting interlocked figures. The figures are fragmented recognizing the fragmentation of lives not only during war, but also in life. This is the first veterans memorial in the United States to include a woman in the statuary. She is the tallest figure and wears a helmet to show she is at risk. The poncho the woman wears flows out from the back of the figures, carrying under it bundles of bamboo-shaped bronze rods, each inscribed with the name of one of Wisconsin's Vietnam casualties. Although the names were never meant to be read individually as are the names on "The Wall" in Washington, they were always meant to be spoken collectively. They are given voice by the rods which have bronze wind chimes hung between them to cause the sound of their sacrifices and service to be carried to all who visit when the wind blows. The statue is placed into a replica of a Wisconsin Native American burial mound to remind us never to bury away the service of all veterans and never to let the memory of that sacrifice die. In the background you will see a M-16 that is broken apart and missing the trigger assembly. The M-16 when raised in this fashion indicates a person down and medivac needed. Inserted in the M-16 is a piece of orange stained glass to remind us of agent orange. During tours many talk at length about its symbolism. Robert Kanyusik (Yes, the students, me included, called him Robert "Can You Say That" all the time and not once did I ever see him show any sign of annoyance). was my favorite instructor. Looking back, I realize that this great gentle man who ended almost every presentation with the phrase "All, in the Realm of Art," secretly knew exactly what he was doing. It's been over 20 years since I had a class with him, and to this day his words still echo in my head. I salute him for teaching me to understand shape, form, design and color, and I hope that my work reflects that training. His guidance will be held by me with great esteem and I am blessed for knowing him. (Thanks Bob!) Though I was the Art Director of my College Newspaper and took several diverse art classes, I never really took any photo lessons. Mainly because of my eye sights inability to look through the view finder. I enjoyed all my lessons and worked in the Art Industry for over 15 years (I worked with the art of Master Artist John Kiraly of Key West and met with the artist on several occasions). I branched into the digital photo avenue due to a bit of serendipity. I was getting paper supplies for my computer when I walked by a digital camera display (the cheapest at that time was $800.00 ea) and there was a camera on clearance because it was the last one and was discontinued. I got it for $175.00 and it came with the Adobe Photoshop program. The rest is history. I work with a sports group as their ad designer and team photographer. They have been a blessing in allowing me to travel to interesting places to collect photos. I was born in 1967 and have 5 brothers and 4 sisters. I am the youngest of the 10 and now in my 40's. I notice my middle is thickening and my hair is thinning. That's alright, as long as I have my camera I'll be okay. -eKing |
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