An insight into the mind of an artist

Media arts students and other festival goers were treated to an insight into the mind of an artist and advice on how to make it out in the real world by Ben Pearce at SPARK this week.

Pearce, who majored in sculpture at Wanganui Quay School of Fine arts and is featured in Warwick Brown’s book Scene this Century, drove down from Napier to make the talk.

“I made a promise to myself that I would not pass up the opportunity if it was offered to me,” he said.

The sculptor who has art held in private collections across the country and overseas spoke of the inspiration behind his work and said that he hoped to transfer some creativity to those attending the presentation.

He uses the medium of wood due to an allergy caused by a toxic overload due to spray paints while still at art school. He says that wood is also a good material to shape and manipulate. His sculptures are derived from childhood memories and are a representation of the body, mind and soul. At his presentation he spoke of one of his shows where he combined parts of the human body with the idea of childhood. This was by wooden organs and body parts hung from old metal chairs. They were a reflection of his childhood struggle with asthma and a stutter. He believes that the things that we make are portals into an aspect of the human mind. His art allows him to disconnect parts of the body and look at them. “It is a way of relieving the lungs from the body,” he said.

The engagement of the viewer to the artwork is important to  Pearce “I hope that the viewer will be able to experience childhood through the work, and engage with the work like it’s a human being as well as feel sorry for it.”

Pearce told festival goers that the most important part of doing anything is the reason for doing it. “Get a drive, a spark for doing the work, don’t compare yourself to others or worry about becoming famous,” he said.