Creativity from Without

I'd like to talk about people who find their inspiration and creativity from outside of themselves. These are not the people who create based on their past experiences, religion, or unprovoked emotions. I am talking about the people who look to sources such as colors, nature, other artists/works, technology, sounds, and so on for their inspiration. Specifically, I'd like to mention Siebren Versteeg, an American mass-multimedia artist.

I first heard of Versteeg this summer while walking through the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, where his exhibit, "In Advance of Another Thing," was stationed for the summer. Here, in the contemporary section of the museum, my friend and I stumbled upon a room full of strange monitors. Two in particular caught my attention. One monitor was a very large vertical touchscreen with a collage of images that allowed viewers to drag new areas of the collage in and out of view. Essentially, it was an infinite touchscreen. The other monitor was a small, old fashioned TV showing a hand holding a picture, retracting out of the frame, and appearing again with a new picture. The images depicted in the monitors were seemingly random. As it turned out, the monitors were linked to the internet, pulling images from the world wide web and placing them into the pieces of art.

After more research, I have discovered that the images are not entirely random; Versteeg designs the criteria of the images, and they are meant to almost tell some sort of narrative. Not only does he design the criteria, he also designs the compositions and makes his own style apparent while still forfeiting some of his creative control. Technology is one of his inspirations, though it is not simply technology alone. The small television piece, entitled "Boom (Fresher Acconci)," is a comment on the technology boom in our contemporary culture. While Versteeg is inspired through new technologies and observing modern society, he also is inspired by Jasper Johns' flag paintings and Vito Acconci’s video, The Red Tapes. When looking and interacting with Versteeg's work, I felt that he really delved into a new, hardly touched medium: the internet.

Here are the pieces that appeared in the exhibit, the two first ones are mentioned above.
http://www.siebrenversteeg.com/work.asp?uid=94
http://www.siebrenversteeg.com/work.asp?uid=70
http://www.siebrenversteeg.com/work.asp?uid=96
http://www.siebrenversteeg.com/work.asp?uid=100

Additionally, check out the RISD Museum website. The museum itself is very impressive.
http://risdmuseum.org/Default.aspx