School of Arts and Architecture at UCLA

UCLA ART

One of my central reasons for wishing to study art at UCLA is creative and imaginative exploration. I have always been fascinated by all aspects of art, including art theory as well as the technical side and processes of art itself. These two areas, art theory and art practice, and the interaction between them constitutes the fulcrum around which my fascination with art revolves.

I view the theoretical aspect of art as essentially an exploration of the world around us, as well as the way we relate to this world from various perspectives. These perspectives include our psychological, sociological and spiritual relationship with the world which is mirrored in the various theories of art.

I am particularly interested in the Surrealistic school of thought and art. As Andre Breton, the founder of the Surrealism stated "The admirable thing about the fantastic is that it is no longer the fantastic; there is only the real." And as he says in the famous 'manifesto', "I believe in the future transmutation of those two seemingly contradictory states, dream and reality, into a sort of absolute reality, of surreality ... " (Chipp, H. 1968. p.414) The idea of a synthesis and a "transmutation" of reality and fantasy was a motivating force in my understanding of art.

Through my interest in Surrealism I also became interested in the works of Giorgio De Chirico and his famous paintings of empty town squares and buildings. The idea of Surrealistic architecture and the artistic relationship of form in space, as well as negative space led me to an interest in sculpture. I became interested in the way forms created an environment and worlds of mood and feeling; as can be seen in many of Henry Moore's sculptures. My personal view of is that all art forms create spaces or environments which we can explore and which not only excite the imagination but also lead to an understanding of reality.

This interest in sculpture and especially in the more practical and technical side of sculptural art became combined with my views and interests in the environment and eventually melded into a desire to study architecture. I became interested in the Bauhaus school of architecture which further motivated me towards a study of this discipline. However, I am firmly convinced that architecture is reliant on and intimately linked to other forms of art and theory. I therefore feel that an overall and in-depth understanding of the various art forms is essential.