Art production, for me, is a meditative act. It’s about sitting down, spending time with materials, and letting them dictate the outcome of the work. I never have an idea in terms of how I’d like the finished object to appear. I cannibalize old, failed artworks, studio debris, etc. and repurpose them to produce more aesthetically and formally effective objects.
Philosopher Martin Heidegger draws a distinction between objects and things. An object becomes a thing when it can no longer serve its common function. This idea resonates with me since I’m concerned with maintaining a sustainable studio practice to produce artworks out of things that no longer maintain their status as effective art objects.
I think of my studio as a kind of closed system. The less I have to rely on things outside of it, the better. This reiterates the idea of sustainability. I don’t have to use things like money to acquire materials and through the meditative act of art production, artistic failures can become successes.
I received a BFA from the University of North Texas and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I am an occasional curator and an instructor of art at Amarillo College and West Texas A&M University.
Rob Weingart
September, 2018
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