I found it fascinating to differentiate between big idea, theme, and subject matter. An artist can maintain a big idea as a thread through all their various projects, while delineating different themes, and using altogether different subject matter depending on the project. I suppose that as we are all individuals, a big idea may be something that is critical to who we are and how we see the world. Not unlike Paul Pfeiffer's work continually revisiting the themes of unmasking and reality. No matter what his subject matter: whether athletes or nature, he emphasizes the peripheral in order to highlight the frivolity of many things upon which humans fixate and adore.
"Rules and systems represent human attempts to impose order and meaning." This concept from the creative yet systematic work of Jennifer Bartlett seems more akin to a designer's approach than it does an artist. Those two disciplines overlap, yet I think many feel that creativity is stifled, if not absent altogether, if something is too regimented. The process we are undergoing with doing word associations, rough drafts of our works, and photo hunts--all add to a process that in fact aids the creative process, however regimented it may feel.
I understand how a designer can focus on research toward a specific end, and I am experiencing now how an artist might do the same. For someone who doesn't consider himself an artist, this is very encouraging for I may actually end up with a thought-out and effective final project.
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