Artistic inspiration: creative initiatives, what motivates an artist to do what they do?: factors of motivation in the arts

Abstract

When looking at various pieces of art by different artists, art that might be of a common genre or theme, it might be easy to see or perceive the similarities. For example, with abstract figurative sculptures, you might notice the lack of detail or simplification of the figure. Perhaps we see a common use of shapes, either organic or geometric, maybe it's the use of line or how they use different materials and techniques. Either way, different artists can share similarities between different works, but that does not mean they are the same. Apart from the obvious differences in media or materials used, either with the same artist or in a group of artists, it is their philosophy or approach to making art that I will explore here. What influences or motivates them as they work on and create their sculptures? Within this paper, we will discover what motivates individual artists, then compare these findings looking for similarities. I believe that discovering common approaches and motivations used in making art by successful artists can be useful for any individual who wishes to make art of any kind. My approach to this question will come from my earliest teachings and influences and will focus on artists whose work deals with the abstraction of the human figure. I'll research the first artists I studied from my earliest educational experiences, artists like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, who have been inspirational to my work. I will also look at and learn about some new contemporary artists from my current educational experiences, like Stephen Fitz-Gerald and Jeremy Guy. These are artists I choose because of the style of their work, which I found fascinating or very similar to my own work. I also picked a few of these contemporary artists because of the materials they used, some of which I am very interested in using myself. The purpose of the literature review is to read and learn as much as possible about these artists and their influences and to share those findings with the reader.