The art of collaboration and why I love musicians
Recently I spent a few days working with another artist on ideas for a new collaborative project. We brainstormed together and addressed technical issues surrounding the media we wish to use. It was a productive three days and we ended the session with strong jumping off points in which to proceed.
Marriam-Webster defines collaboration as: “ to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor” For most visual artists, the process of creating art with others doesn’t come naturally. Western society tends to focus on the work of the singular artist. When viewers are confronted with jointly created work they often question the authorship and analyze the precise contributions of the individual rather than take the work in as a whole. This point of view can presents a barrier to what the work is really about, and does not consider the symbiotic relationship of the artists involved.
The art of music inherently sidesteps this creative issue as it’s nature is strongly collaborative to begin with. I admire musicians. Their ability to “sit-in” with others and add their own voice to the mix in real-time is something I find inspiring. Thinking about musicianship strengthens my desire to contribute to the visual conversation in collaborative art making. It provides me with a positive perspecitve in which to frame the process of co-creation.
Collaborative work is never easy and involves embracing fundamental emotions such as respect, trust, and communication. It takes courage to express your own points of view, while at the same time offering opportunities for the other to do the same. Once the creative process begins and the creative juices start to flow, it is hard to contain the energy that begins to build when combined creative forces meet. Letting go of pre-conceived ideas and allowing the work to develop a voice of it’s own is what I stretch for in my collaborative projects.
What do you enjoy about collaborative work? Leave your comments here:
(art: Collaborative Screen Print They Know by Lyn Bishop, Jacques LeCoultre and Taro Tsuzuki)
Tags: co-create, Collaboration, Musicians
July 20th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I suspect collaborating on a single piece of visual art adds all sorts of new dimensions to the process. I’ll admit, I’ve never tried it.
You mention music - dance is another art form where these is a lot of collaboration.
There are 3 artists (2 painters and a sculptor) here in Sonoma County that do an interesting collaboration each year. They pick a theme and the 2 painters work up 8 sketches each and give them to the sculptor. He then uses them to create sculptures. He then gives the sculptures to the painters (switching them so they receive the ones inspired by the other painter’s work) and then they create paintings inspired by his sculptures. While they are not working on a single piece, the resulting body of work itself is a collaboration. They’ve told us that crossing mediums like this is extremely challenging because they have to interpret what the other has done while remaining true to their medium. Their new show is in another month - unfortunately I’ll be out of town for the opening.