One of the reasons we love the Summer Arts Program is that it attracts students from many different disciplines, filling the villa with a uniquely diverse cohort. We think it’s exciting to find out how students who spend a majority of their time studying other subjects think about art making, and how they claim identities as artists. We asked some of our Summers Arts students to reflect on what it means to be an artist: read on to find out what they said!

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Lauren Carter: University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music

What does it mean to be an artist?

I can’t say that I truly have a definition for this. I wish I could somehow nail the term “artist” down into a couple words or phrases, but I believe it to be much broader. So here is an attempt. I think an artist peers into the great, vast unknown we call humanity, sees inspiration, and then creates. What they create is then put on display   to evoke some sort of a reaction. Artists’ are the mirrors of society. Their creativity is a unique reflection of the world.

What have you done here that has made you feel most like an artist?

The commedia class has been the most enlightening experience for me here. This style of acting and theatre has completely placed me out of my comfort zone, but it has provided a whole new viewpoint for me. Throughout the process, I’ve thought a lot about how commedia parallels real life. In a way we all wear masks that depict a role.  Within these roles though, you are free to live and act as you wish. We do this in our everyday lives when we play multitudes of roles such as the obedient or even the lover. This of course is the basis for commedia. In many ways, people go to see commedia to laugh and escape into a fantastical world in which the basic needs of food, hunger, and love are exaggerated to level 150 (I mean you can literally not go too big in this style of acting), but they also come because it shows life.  Perhaps I’m not the next great commedia actor to ever grace the halls of ADA, but I certainly have felt the ways in which commedia lets artists show pieces of humanity and perhaps has you laughing so you can forget you are actually witnessing humanity.

How (if at all) is your experience here changing the way you see yourself and interact with the world around you?

To become a better actor, you have to become a better person. This summer has allowed for theatre training, mask making, traveling through a haze of being exhausted, hungry, eager, and excited. (A considerable size wave of emotions that changes too many times that I would like to admit). All these experiences are shaping a great experience that in turn is changing the way that I view the world and act within it. One of my favorite quotes has always been to “do something every day that scares you.” This experience here in Arezzo has accomplished that.

In what way do you hope to challenge yourself as an artist before leaving Arezzo?

I think in many ways, this program challenges you every day. It has certainly challenged me by asking me to act harder, be bolder, go above and beyond my comfort zones, and yes to even make a mask. Who knew I could be this crafty? I certainly didn’t. I came here with preconceived ideas, but what I quickly learned was that these expectations inhibited me from success. If there was anything I challenged myself to do at the beginning, I now repute that by replacing it with a new challenge. Just work hard, enjoy the beautiful sunset, and put myself in situations that make for good stories.

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Joseph Benton: Hendrix College

What does it mean to be an artist?

This is a really hard question for me because I never thought of myself as an “artist.” I love making things and generating a final product but I usually don’t have a conscious design in mind when I’m creating something. Lots of the things that I make are “doodles” — the results of me playing around with materials until inspiration hits me.

I think being an artist means having fun while making something. It doesn’t matter if it’s “good,” or meant to be enjoyed by other people. As long as you love making the thing, then it’s art.

What have you done here that has made you feel most like an artist?

The mask making class allows me to work with new materials and create something that is very new to me. (Commedia mask). The process of learning new methods to create something gives me so much joy. I think that’s what art is about for me.

How (if at all) is your experience here changing the way you see yourself and interact with the world around you?

The exposure to a new culture has been an eye opening experience for me. This is my first international trip so I have learned a lot about being comfortable in unfamiliar situations. I have definitely lost my fear of making a fool of myself in public places.

In what way do you hope to challenge yourself as an artist before leaving Arezzo?

I hope to learn more techniques outside of class, as well as creating a better commedia mask. There is a difference between creating a good mask and a good commedia mask. I think understanding the history and culture of commedia dell’arte would give me much more insight into the design process of professional mask makers.

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Cora McCain: Hendrix College

What does it mean to be an artist?

To be an artist, especially in a place far from home, is to learn and adapt your creativity to express and honor your surroundings. Whether that is to paint a picture or master a traditional italian acting form, learning is a huge part of being an artist. I myself am not inclined towards traditional art forms, I can’t paint or sing. However I honor my artistic side by being open to new things and trying everything. Being an artist is not limited to a paintbrush and canvas, which I think is the beauty of art.

What have you done here that has made you feel most like an artist?

One of my classes is a documentary film course. I have never been behind a camera much less in front of one, so the experience was entirely new to me. I embraced the newness though and took advantage of the opportunity that is at hand here for me at Accademia. I am really enjoying the challenges I face with this new art form. I know however that i have a support network to help me, and friends here at Accademia to encourage my learning.

How (if at all) is your experience here changing the way you see yourself and interact with the world around you?

My time at Accademia has changed the way I feel about new experiences. Because of my lacking artistic skills I was afraid that I would be the only attending student without any artistic talent. I believed that I was going to be thrust among amazing artist in a new place and be expected to already be a master of my craft. What I found instead, was a mix of talents and interests spanning across many disciplines and a safe space to explore my own talents, with a great group of kids.

In what way do you hope to challenge yourself as an artist before leaving Arezzo?

I have already challenged myself as an artist in Arezzo, by getting on the plane in the first place. Artisity is out of my comfort zone, but it is something that I knew I wanted to explore about myself. Learning and adapting to a new culture is already difficult without the added weight of trying to create art. However I already feel, and known, that this experience is going to be so rewarding and enlightening. I am a double major in Economics/ business and Anthropology. Two pursuits that could be seen as very unartistic, but I knew that they would not hold me back in exploring my artistic side here in Italy! Especially at a place like Accademia where the environment is so open and inviting for exploring art, even if you aren’t an “artist.”

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Jamie Buitelaar: Yale-National University of Singapore

What does it mean to be an artist?

It means playing with intentions. Art in whatever form, to me, is just a space to place an action – whether it’s trying to communicate a certain idea, or to manipulate or warp or question something that already exists.

What have you done here that has made you feel most like an artist?

Everything I’ve done at the Accademia has been a first for me. I’ve had to learn an array of skills I didn’t have, and it has given me a new way to approach whatever I want to generate from whatever art I produce. Being unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the work I’m doing is possibly the most artistic thing I could have asked for.

How (if at all) is your experience here changing the way you see yourself and interact with the world around you?

Spending four to eight hours a day focused on the creation of art, on the learning of skills, in a specifically structured environment makes them both these tasks infinitely easier and more interesting. The tangible beauty of the space helps a lot as well, as art inspires art, and being surrounded with other like-minded thinkers allows for the growth of incredible ideas.

In what way do you hope to challenge yourself as an artist before leaving Arezzo?

I would like to create a piece of art that is necessary and that has a particular space in the world. To achieve that with art forms I was not familiar with before this summer will be challenging, but I hope it will also bring out the best artist in me.