Life and Works of Michael Alan - Essay Example

The artist chosen here is Michael Alan, who is an American personality who was born in 1977 in New York City. Alan has reflected his creativity through various modes like paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints, videos and performances. Michael Alan had his first solo art exhibition in the Chelsea gallery and was consequently published on the cover of Elemental magazine. The exhibition named “Artsiety” displayed 90 of his works and brought awe and inspiration into the mind of art lovers. He has presented his work in many solo exhibitions throughout galleries in New York City. Moreover, he has acquired masters from the Pratt Institute of Brooklyn and from the New York School of Visual Arts in New York City. He has also conducted many drawing exhibitions, music and video performances, and press coverage and received honours and indulges in the teaching profession.

The actual artistic work of Michael Alan is painting, drawing and sculpting. According to Alan, “Art is a combination of harmonious opposites, close observation, catharsis, a means of communication and a radical juxtaposition of dimensional elements”. The drawings of Michael Alan depict the transformative energies of performers and spaces considerably. He utilized in his artwork, materials which are assorted including prints, casts, discovered objects and paints. The sculptures built by Michael have the quality of beauty and efficacy which can pull any art lover with ease.

Michael Alan is an artist who gives importance to the mystical power of space and elements of nature. He portrays himself as an alien and one who holds a connection with out-of-the-world experiences. He believes that his artistic works are different dimensions of the energy of space and human beings surrounding him. According to him “The energy within spaces and human beings are like immeasurable driving force which gives shapes and sizes to my paintings, drawings and sculptures”. Michaels's artistic perspective is that the world is a space station where different energies with different magnitudes collide with each other to form creative forces.

Artists always have a major impact on the culture and values of a society or community. Michael Alan believes that he is a person who lives on hope. As per Maliszewski (2012), “I hope, I am not Michael. I don’t care about anything else. You are hope“. He spreads this positive message to his family, friends and community that if a person is hopeful then his life will be lively and vibrant. In general, if we consider the statement of Michael Alan, he is a hundred per cent right in putting hope as a centrifugal force in nourishing life and in developing human relationships.

The intention of Michael Alan in making the work is to let the world know about his creative thoughts and ideas. A creative work or an artistic piece always essentially has a message for art lovers and common people. An art piece also can transform the elements of nature into reasonable social messages and ideas. Michael Alan describes his work as his love for nature and as a medium to project different paradigms of issues happening in everyday life. The artists create art pieces in an attempt to show the world that they admire nature and their living spaces in a creative way.

Artists use their art to explore their creativity and display their artistic skills to the general population. Art always had a positive impact on the personality and status of an artist. Michael confirms that being an artist has changed his entire living style. He mentioned that he has become more realistic about creativity and has gained popularity and a recognized position among art lovers and common men. According to him, his living style has become more serene and peace-loving. He has developed an eye for detail and became more cautious and selective in life.

Art is a creation which comes from the mind and soul of an artist. It is a general feature of artistic work to reflect the cultural identity of the artist’s community or country. In a real sense, Michael Alan’s work depicts the life of New Yorkers and the way space has an inbound connection to them. The drawings and paintings of Michael show the cosmopolitanism of New York City and its inhabitants. According to TIDE, “Art is a kind of thinking/making which enables people to form and develop their identity. It is a self-affirming activity which helps us to interpret, think about, add to or challenge our cultural life”.

The interview with Michael Alan has created self-awareness in me in a high proportion. When he described his working style, I understood that one needs to be more alert and cautious in daily life. If we are aware of our senses we can notice and appreciate many minor details in life. Through his interview, one can acknowledge that even though people are separate entities from the environment and the people they interact with, the self has a thread of connectivity with everything in nature. Michael Alan shows his emotional bond with nature and creative energy which allowed me to think of the abundant power stored in me to enhance my personality and social behaviour in connection with nature and people.