Morgan Price

There is a romantic notion between artists and their work.  No matter how many times things don't turn out in the studio, there is still hope to get a physical thing by the end of the day.  This is crucial to being fueled as a maker.  You also have to have fun.  Sometimes we are consumed with overbearing stress from the world around us and its nice to be able to have fun (or add to the stresses) of our own creation.  Either way we are growing.  Although being in our little bubble is fun, we also need to communicate to the outside world through the work.  This adds to the feeling of doing something mindful and worthwhile.

Morgan Price
University Galleries
Research Colloquium Lecture

Morgan Price is the Assistant Professor of Art at Illinois State University where he teaches Lithography.   He recently was a part of University Galleries' Research Colloquium Lecture Series.  In the paragraph above are some things that Morgan was talking about in the beginning of his lecture.  He started the conversation off with, "Why do I make the art that I make?"  Having fun was the first one.  Doing something worthwhile followed and ended with communication (effectively).

Morgan wants his work to reside in a rundown greaser apartment that is too cluttered to clean and the people inhabiting this space don't care enough to clean it.  He is very comedic with the sincerity of his work.  You can see the relationship between Morgan and his work.  It is romantic.  In a Beetlejuice kind of way.

Morgan Price
'I Don't Give a Crap'
2013

Two things that that Morgan gets excited about are tools and processes.  These are some of the reasons why I am a ceramicist.  The repetitive nature can seem like a nightmare, but its actually ritual. Collecting tools is fun too.  Also the joy of discovering is also something that Morgan holds dear. Even the smallest discovery can lead to other things or ideas.  Morgan is an advocate of learning, growing, and collaboration.  Humor is a big part of Morgan's work too.  As you can see from the image to the left he has no problem letting it all out. He finds the structure of our society to be funny.  Mainly how context dictates the significance or severity of something.  For example high impact sports (boxing, mama).  In these sports people are glorified for violence, while if that happened in another scenario it would be seen as bad.  Morgan believes it is important to make fun and laugh, to an extent.

Why make work like this though?  Well it's a preference for Morgan.  There are some things that he can not explain.    Like why he likes lumpy stuff and strange faces.  It is something that had always peaked his interest.  

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Seeing Morgan talk was phenomenal and a breath of fresh air.  To see someone that is so passionate and invested in their work is something special.  Also the sincerity and humor of his work are something amazing as well.  During his lecture he talked about a lot of the romantic things that go on in an artist's life in the studio.  Some things that get passed by easily.  Im glad he refreshed my memory .