"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein

Cliché? I think so! But important to realize none the less.
It is my belief that a true artist must completely explore, comprehend, accept and facilitate all sparks of creative thought. Art is a way of reflecting on our imagination, beliefs, gained knowledge and understanding of the world around us. Without a fundamental understanding of art and its disciplines, we wouldn't be able to express our individual ideas or culture as a whole.
Art must be viewed in the broadest sense of its meaning. It is an artist's duty to acknowledge and proliferate all forms of art - not just visual art, but performance, theatre, music, dance, language arts, culinary arts and the physical arts as well - even if they pursue mastery in only one or two specific disciplines.
Now I sure as hell don’t think my art is more important or meaningful than any person, be it Giotto or some random, Hispanic third grader, but I would have to say I was kind of disappointed in some of the Material Invention projects we looked at this week. I was expecting everyone in the class to have a firmer grip on exactly what they wanted to do, and develop their pieces like they would any other fine artwork they would work on.

Given, I myself didn’t develop my work as well as I would have liked, given the restrictions, but I still think I have a lot firmer grasp on how to manipulate content, form, or even the overall composition of my art work for a more powerful or aesthetical response. I’m very critical of other people doing a good job, and I know it sounds kind of doucheish, but I want everyone to realize that you are making this art for me too. So do a good job! You have lots to offer and I want to learn something from you!

As for our Meaning lecture, thanks Stephanie, Drake and David. I enjoyed sucking on your brains!