Josef, The Creative Force!

Well hello there old friend, long time not chat! I just thought I would blog as I haven't done so in absolute ages and I have a whole day off! woop! and nothing to do! bad times! I just cant believe how fast the time has gone this last couple of months and how much crazy stuff has happened, both art-wise and also life-wise. Where do i start? well I suppose i should start with the new direction my art seems to be taking at the moment, I think its quite interesting, what do you think? Please comment, I would love to hear some feedback! 


After much deliberation, many litres of coffee, thousands of Skittles and exceedingly long tutorials, the way in which I have started to approach my work has evolved considerably. I've always struggled with finding my unique place within the art spectrum. I've always enjoyed doing everything: fashion, painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, performance, photography, print, video media, the list goes on and on. Ive been very lucky in the fact I have a "style" which seems to run through all my work, no matter what I throw myself at. Due to the set up of my current course I have really honed this "style" down to what really makes me happy and what I want to 'say' as a creative person, my artistic voice as it were. In sight of all this I have now been able to apply this to all my practises and I have a better understanding of what I want to achieve.


Stay with me, haha, I know what I'm babbling is a little 'dry', but hopefully it makes sense. I'm now going to put a few images in to make this post a little more interesting.


Recently, I have started to developing the drawings and painting to the next level, and developing a wider creative output, which hopefully, will allow all areas to influence each other. Its getting very exciting at the moment, everyday at Uni is always something new, and this I have found really rewarding.  Having something always on the go allows the ideas to bounce around and i find it really refreshing. I have never experienced it before, and its really inspiring, maybe this is the professions for me after all! 


I have recently been working 3D developing the nutty characters from my drawings, and bringing them into real life! a spooky idea, instead of having this very postmodernist idea by which I cant find any meaning within the world, I create my own world. In a sense I'm making my ideas a physical thing, so then do they become more substantial than just ideas, or are they still just symbols, by which we keep re-authoring and still have no meaning?! This endless cycle off sampling and not really engaging with anything keeps occurring, am still lost or have i found myself within the world?! confusion, but good confusion! :D 


I have no idea how these characters or ideas are going to unfold, but a few ideas have been thrown into the mix which I can develop, and possibly make a more commercial (uhrg!) stance towards my work. 


I have recently been offered a role as a creative director within a music video which is quite exciting. By having a musician involved it allows me to bring in another dimension to my work, sound, which is something I have not really looked at before. I have recently taken a keen interests within the whole 'pop culture' area, looking at music videos, fashion shoots, advertising, and how artists have become a sort of 'fashionable' gimmick. Notable people within the industry are the likes of Lady Gaga, Terry Richardson, David Lachapelle, Annie Leibovitz, Floria Sigismondi to name but a few. The whole idea of getting involved in projects (music, fashion shoots, adverts, shop window displays etc) and bringing your own 'style' to the table is perhaps something I could evolve within commercially. Collaboration is something which is something that has really interested me, and now having many strings to my bow, I can approach commissioning with more clarity and ease. But obviously this is all who you know, and networking is a key factor here. I think this video will definitely help in getting my name out there. I like the idea of being a creative force, maybe that could be my motto, I'm Josef, a creative force! =D


there have also been other discussions about creating consumable goods, as I have the imagery to develop within this area. T-shirts, clothing, badges, prints, bed covers and even mugs are all a possibility! I quite like the idea of developing within this area and developing more kitsch related memorabilia; I think it adds another dimension to my work, and re-authors my ideas, something I try to achieve in my work anyway. I also like the idea of the objects becoming "fashionable", it would be very ironic that my work, that tries to show the world up for what it is, actually become part of this whole madness! 


I have also added a few photo shopped images to this post, whereby I have superimposed my sculptural characters on top. I know this isn't a very original idea (The Chapman Brothers for example), but again it reiterates this whole re-authoring concept. Just being creative and getting my ands on things is something I'm passionate about, and who knows, someone might like it and decided they want it! fingers crossed! 


Right I'm going to leave it there as I think I have babbled enough, check out my Twitter and Facebook profiles for more creative stuff, and more up to date stuff! I will make a conscious effort to try and record my ideas on here in more detail as I think its really cathartic and helps me concentrate my ideas better. So yeah, goodbye for now, keep popping back! thanks for the support! 


Twitter ->  @josefhoccom
Facebook -> www.facebook.com/JosefHoccomArtist