William Evans
My four years at USF as a design major has led me to explore experimental and conceptual practices. I enjoy creating art that challenges me. Art that is uncomfortable to make focuses me to grow. I am passionate about painting, drawing, and learning new forms of art. I like to play with colors and I draw a lot of inspiration from nature. Seeing how different organisms have adapted to unique ecosystems has influenced me to experiment with new forms of self-expression to become a more well rounded person and artist. Bringing together communities around art is very important to me. Art is one of the best ways to help people see how similar we all actually are. The universal human experience is often best communicated through art. Universal human experience is the fundamental, shared areas of life, for example, birth, death, love, fear, and the search for meaning. These fundamentals transcend culture, geography, and history. That’s why, over the past couple years, I’ve been working for art galleries and design firms to bring art and design to the public. I’ve produced public art for Wowhaus Art and Design, Galeria de la Raza, USF and Amelia Incorporated.
Skateboard Obstacle
In a world where people are growing farther apart, an interactive piece of art that brings people together around a common challenge is important. Community in this piece is one of the main components because the skate community is such a vibrant and strong one. I want to push that community and show people how skaters work together to create their own specific art. This skate obstacle allows the skateboarder to use it in their own unique way. This transforms the art into something that each skateboarder can customize and connect to differently. Each skater will use it in a different way while the obstacle will create an environment of play and experimentation.
Play and experimentation brings people together. Most art isn’t supposed to be touched and changed but this public piece of art is supposed to be explored and used. It’s not permanent, just like life. Further making this piece part of the universal human experience. Life is impermanent, challenging people to try to live it to the fullest. The skate obstacle is also impermanent, challenging skaters to use it to the fullest. An art piece that connects to life is valuable because the world seems to be moving away from life and prioritizing money and power.