Week 1 Readings

Making Art, Making Artists By Wade Saunders

"Work moved faster when an assistant is involved. Change is often easier, because you will more readily destroy something the assistant has done than something you have made." -Wade Saunders, p. 75

I had heard of artists having assistants help them with some of their larger and more time-intensive pieces of work, but I had no idea that so many artists actually had assistants who would be responsible for a majority of the labor done on most of their pieces. I enjoyed the interviews with different artists and assistants and how they talked about going about their work. Some artists seemed to have more of a closer relationship with their assistants, personally helping or advising their assistants with their own art outside of work, while other artists seemed to want nothing to do with the assistants outside of the studio. As a sculptor, I see an opportunity to learn a lot about technical detail and working on large collaborative projects in an assistant position and wouldn't mind working as one or hiring one.

Procrastination By James Surowiecki

"Academics, who work for long periods in a self-directed fashion, may be especially prone to putting things off: surveys suggest that the vast majority of college students procrastinate" -James Surowiecki, page 110

I found it interesting how the number of people admitting to have difficulties dealing with procrastination has quadrupled between 1978 and 2002. I know certainly well that many college students, myself included, have issues dealing with procrastination and getting things done on time, even when we know very well that "Procrastination doesn't pay"(Alex Taylor).

Whether procrastination stems from ignorance, failure to plan appropriately, excessive planning, failure of will, or inability to plan long-term goals, I believe a majority of people are conflicted with some form of procrastination at some point in their lives.

I should probably start looking into that software program that shuts down internet access for up to eight hours, Freedom(how appropriately named)...