During my Bachelor of Fine Art, we were not given the option of declaring a discipline, So I simply worked in the studio and made a myriad of different objects and drawings and photographs and whatever I felt like best suited my current exploration. Most of the time now I am thankful for the broad knowledge I aquired whilst letting my mind wander in and out of sculpture, painting, design and wherever else, but on occasion there are draw backs to being a "multidisciplinary artist".
Pros:
- Nothing is ever off limits
- You can keep a very open mind
- You can choose the method to help the message.
- You can talk with some authority about a wide range of methods. (I impressed a friend with my random knowledge of the book binding process the other day)
- you have a larger range of failures to learn from.
Cons:
- Its hard to have a consistent style, (in this age of social media it feels as though all my work should match make a more aesthetic instagram feed,, not the case..)
- the idea of self branding is scary, (everything looks so different and who the hell knows where I'll end up next)
- it means that you own a lot of different things,,, I don't want to say the word "hoarder" but at least in my case there is a solid chance I will end up using these things one day.
- you want to/do own anything with creative potential, (I store my studio lights next to my potters wheel, next to the drill press.)
- finding a place to live is a nightmare... the sheer amount of stuff is daunting.
