Syrenichol
www.syrenichol.com came into being in 1997 when my interests in art became strictly computer based. Web design experimentation, development, and understanding was underway for me as an individual and for the entire world wide web. I became entangled in surfing endlessly, gazing and drooling over the colorful and artsy pages... while taunting and gawking at the many badly coded and designed sites (which at the time included my horrible first attempts).
The web was more about collaging then. No one cared about placement. Hardly any of us were trained in design concepts or were naturally talented in such areas. Yet somehow, since the mid-90s everyone's ability to design for the web has increased significantly. I almost never cross a page that has images on top of text on top of images. Then again, it may have to do with my withdrawl from such surfing and the ways in which search engines have grown.
And yet it hadn't dawned on me, through all of this obvious development, that everyone takes from everyone. ART IS COLLAGE. It's a collage of perspectives and artists' techniques from past to present. No one person has come up with a totally unique concept. Even in our primative evolutionary stages we interpreted and perceived and created from that which already existed.
So it seems, except for the big bang concept, something must exist in order for things to be created.
So why is it that I feel so guilty when I look at someone's art work and consider recreating it or the style? There's all these copywrite laws afterall, but unless it's an exact duplication, there's no harm in being inspired by someone else's creation.
In college/school I had struggled to find my own style, to be apart from everyone else. I didn't want to enrage my peers by jumping on their style. I was so blind to the notion that using a technique or style can be a positive inspiration or a means to success. Meanwhile I watched TV and noted all the similarities. The art that defines this time period, this generation, and contemporary pop culture. That style I've fallen for which collages contrasting illustrations with leafy decorations and colorful paints (splashes, sprayed, and watercolors).
And now I'm kicking myself in the head for not jumping on the boat. Who's going to stop me? How else should I improve upon my own works of art, if I don't even attempt to explore the contemporary styles/techniques with those I've already learned? I suppose I could try to surpass it and find my own techniques, but that might not pay the bills as easily. Besides... I'm sick of my dull colored portfolio.