Originally published in print March 2021.
We decided to conduct a survey in order to acquire a better understanding of the individuals that make up Trinity’s creative community, as well as their artistic tastes. Below is a compilation of the responses we received. We have condensed them for clarity.
Do you consider yourself an artistic person? How so?
It may not come as a surprise that every respondent to this survey on artistic taste noted that they were, in fact, artistically inclined. Many seemed to indicate that creativity was an intrinsic part of who they are, with one person remarking that they “view everything with a creative disposition”. Another person explained that they “believe in the old idea that practicing life is a kind of art requiring attention to style and attitude”. A majority of respondents stated that they enjoy visiting galleries and creating art through various media, including drawing, scrapbooking, knitting, photography, and making music. Some of the respondents clarified that they study the arts in college.
How would you describe your artistic taste? If describing your artistic taste seems too difficult, what might your favorite works of art have in common?
The descriptions of artistic taste noted in the survey were generally quite specific, and ranged from aesthetics (“Soft, feminine, and pastels”) to art movements (“Futurism and Absurdism”) to quite abstract (“Raw, clear-cut emotion”). One respondent referenced the way that their favorite works “engage the mind and make you think”. Similarly, another respondent enjoyed the way that art “challenges you to create your own meaning”. Three respondents wrote about not having a specific artistic taste, one of whom specified that their taste is very eclectic, comes mostly from Instagram and Twitter and has much to do with “composition and the use of color”. One stated that they gravitate towards “art which is aware of itself and the community it belongs to, whether that means it expresses an identity, explores history, or tries to make some sort of political effect on the world”.
Do you have any particular inspirations, or favourite artists/architects/designers? Feel free to name a few.
Various creators of fine art, including Carrivagio, Botticelli, Picasso, Lee Krasner, and Gerard Byrne, were mentioned. One respondent remarked upon their affinity for the “multimedia post-punk generation: Kathy Acker, Derek Jarman, Mapplethorpe, or performance artists like Genesis and Lady Jaye of the Pandrogeny project”. Other art movements that people felt inspired by were Bauhaus, Symbolism, and Pop Art, in addition to the Italian Renaissance, Abstraction and Expressionism. The influence of social media upon artistic taste and its capacity to acquaint us with lesser known artists was noted by one person, who spoke of their favourite creators being “small digital illustrators on Insta[gram]”. Some cited creators of media other than traditional art as their inspirations, such as “Seamus Heaney, Richard Siken, and Alice Phoebe Lou”, “Philip Treacy”, and “Brandon Woelfel, Wes Anderson, and Teuta Matoshi”. Two respondents found their inspiration in those they know well, citing their friends.
What do you think your artistic taste says about you? Do you think that the clothes you wear and the way you decorate your spaces, the objects you choose for them, is a way of reflecting these tastes in a physical form?
The responses to this particular question were quite varied, with some respondents claiming that they manifest their artistic tastes physically, and others saying that they express their taste solely through art they create rather than the clothing that they wear or the way in which they adorn their space(s). Some felt that their self-expression was tied quite directly to their artistic inspirations, and that finding new inspirations helped them discover a new part of themselves, with one person remarking “when I’m truly wearing what I want I am my happiest”, and another statting that “if I had my own home it would look like a Pinterest page”. Another respondent felt that their self-expression was more loosely linked to their own life experience, especially considering that being “a queer person who grew up in a very conservative environment”, there “wasnt a lot of media […] that reflected who I was”.
OBLIGATORY COVID Q: Young people have been jolted pretty severely by the pandemic, as has Dublin’s art scene. In what way(s), if at all, do you feel your artistic tastes and methods have changed/developed, in a time synonymous with stagnancy?
The responses to this question were very varied, understandably! ‘Improvise, adapt, overcome’ seems to be the underlying approach that many of the respondents to this survey have taken with regard to creating under lockdown, with quite a few describing the ways in which they have modified their artistic processes, or changed mediums entirely. One person has “diverted towards illustration”, a newly found skill, from photography; others have been putting more “focus […] on social media and Etsy art sellers”, or have been “producing more [and] making things for friends”. One respondent spoke of how the perspective from which they create has completely changed, saying that “I used to mostly create to work towards some future goal […] being stuck in one place has made me think about said place and all the ghosts around me here”. However, others described how, within the doldrums of these lockdowns, their artistic process has “flatlined”, and that this artistic fatigue alongside the “pressure to be doing stuff” has led to feelings of guilt. Two respondents lamented the closing of museums and galleries, which one respondent claims have been “left behind big time”, despite the shift to online events.
What we gleaned from this survey, and found particularly interesting, was the marked difference in how respondents felt that their artistic taste related to themselves. Some considered their artistic taste an extension of their personality – as intrinsic a part of them as their beliefs and values – while others indicated that it is something less representative. The large range of tastes expressed in responses was enlightening, and a testament to the diversity of individuals at Trinity. Those for whom creating art and developing artistically is a collaborative process have felt that they have been unable to evolve creatively, while others, who engaged in solitary creative activities pre-Covid (such as photography) seem to have adapted more comfortably. Although Trinity’s creative community has been reduced to its core operations, the people that make it what it is continue to evolve.
