needing a consistent identity rather than a consistent aesthetic
This is only a half-formed thought at the minute, but I wanted to get it down so that I had something to reflect on at a later point.
As I've been adding art to my art page, I began to take notice of style and consistency and how much these had on my thinking as an artist.
Obviously, style is massively important in the art world; being recognised amongst the millions of others while consistency gets authority and respect over the work you're creating.
The problem I have with this is that as a creative, my tastes, ideas and interests vary wildly day-to-day and month-to-month, and I don't want to be limited.
In short, style and consistency feels limiting to me as I'm not a static person.
This started bringing me down the route of identity over aesthetic. This is a thought I can get behind. An identity can change, shift and adapt based on new influences, it can be a true reflection without having the need to be a 'style' or as I'm now thinking of it an 'aesthetic'.
I think that's a trap that a lot of artists fall into, they think of their style as being the aesthetic of their work and not the identity behind it. While aesthetic can be important, I don't think that's what we should aim for.
You look at my art page and you'll see that I enjoy creating abstract art, grunge typography and using a lot of swearing. Check out my design work and it's a lot more clean, minimal and has a clear Swiss influence.
My identity as a creative isn't fitting neatly inside a box, it's not just creating one thing in a set style and thinking job done.
If I were to think about my identity as an artist currently, it would be to create work that feels:
- Authentic
- Rough
- Honest
- Fun
I probably could find a way to make that into a 'style' and work until that's all I'm known for, but in a few months time, I might decide to lean more into the clean, minimal work that I tend to use for my design work.
I can still adhere to my identity as a creative, but I can also add new things, or change them out completely if they're no longer serving who I am as a creative.
And I like the feeling of freedom I get from thinking about it in this way.