Make an imprint. | Sopheap Pich | The Art Assignment

Pre-order our book YOU ARE AN ARTIST (which includes new assignments!) here: bit.ly/2kplj2h
In which we meet Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich and receive the assignment to make an IMPRINT. We filmed with Sopheap at Indianapolis Fabrications while he was in town installing a new work for the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
INSTRUCTIONS - Imprint
1. Choose an object you find interesting
2. Cut it, making a flat surface
3. Dip the cut surface in paint
4. Press it on to a piece of paper repeatedly to make an imprint
5. Upload to you social media platform of choice using #theartassignment
6. Fame and glory (your work may be featured in the future video)
Find out more about The Art Assignment and how to submit your response: theartassignment.com/

[@CashCatMoney]

Not going to lie I started to scream uncontrollably when I realized there was a prominent artist that shared the same heritage as me. Thank you so much for showcasing this brilliant artist.

[@ooRChum]

I had this same reaction!

[@theartassignment]

This is so great. I'm so happy to hear it! Thank YOU for watching.

[@carlycolville1165]

"Find an object that you find interesting...." Me: My Cat! ".... cut it in half..." Me: oh

[@davidshi451]

No animals were hurt in the making of this art...

[@HamzaSayedAli]

I was thinking of my hand and didn't completely dismiss the idea yet...

[@sarabey6251]

QTHERESSERECTION twitter.com/HalfPics/status/392709796488810497/photo/1 Why don't you look at this and maybe it will help dismiss your thought. :)

[@HamzaSayedAli]

Sara Bey I'm scared to click it. I just will use my imagination... AAAHHHH!!!!! Okay. I'm not doing that. I'll keep looking for something else. Thank you.

[@davidshi451]

Sara Bey Er, well, try not to cut your hand while doing this. Unless you have a very, very good reason to.

[@magorzatakowalska9437]

It would be so awesome if every museum had a room for showing short interviews with the artists about the art they currently display. It would be so much more understandable! I love what you do here, it's like showing the new and more beautiful side of art:)

[@Sproutlines]

Aah this is kind of a tangential comment but I just wanted to thank the people at Art Assignment for featuring a Khmer artist. As a young 2nd generation immigrant Cambodian, we rarely get to see any of our culture or our people celebrated in western media or any media at all really. It really means a lot!

[@davidshi451]

Actually, it's totally relevant! KZbin is a great platform for hearing voices that we might otherwise not hear from. Your comment is a testament to how important it is to have diversity in our media.

[@yesknopemaybe]

My favorite assignment yet! For me, the most interesting part of his final print is the area where two imprints got a little messy and ran together a bit. The "imperfection" is a big part of why the print is so beautiful.

[@davidshi451]

I liked that too! The negative space that was created is also really eye-catching. An imperfection is only how you define it, after all.

[@kungpowchou]

Been really loving this series! I really enjoy how it challenges the common misconception that art is simply something restricted to things like painting or sketching. I used to be so confused by abstract art and such, but you guys really opened up my eyes to how artists think and express through their work! DFTBA!

[@davidshi451]

I know, right? Thank god for Sarah Green and PBSDS! These videos have certainly helped me to appreciate the art making process more.

[@gwcgwc1]

Hey everybody, when Sopheap Pich gives you an assignment....you do it. I'm not joking. Seriously, do this assignment.

[@kbender3626]

I have watched every Art Assignment and simply think about them, but today I watched this in bed and got right up and did it! It felt good!

[@davidshi451]

I’m really digging the physicality of this, and of art-making in general. I really miss doing hands on stuff, which hasn’t really been part of my schooling. In a way, working with your hands sort of brings you outside of yourself and your daily life. To me, working with your hands and working with your mind are just two sides of the same coin. It can be intimidating though, especially within the sterility of modern life, which is why we need The Art Assignment as a stepping stone.

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

Hey, I've seen you writing very interesting and insightful comments on these videos (and I really enjoyed our conversation about eye music last week). May I ask, what's your background in art and music?

[@davidshi451]

Oh gosh, my background? In art, nothing at all, just a few art classes here and there. In music, I used to play violin, but that's about it. I just like to explore interesting ideas that I hear about, trying to educate myself in different way. I really enjoyed our conversation too! What about your background?

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

David Shi That sounds really cool! I like when people are informed, creative, and engaged without having to be professionals in specific areas. I have no background in art. I am a musician with a Bachelor's in Music Ed, a Master's in Music Theory and a Master's in Vocal Performance. I'm a soprano, and I play the harp. I taught at a Catholic school for three years. This fall, I'm going for a PhD in Music Theory. I really like how the Art Assignment is making me think more about contemporary art and contemporary music, because I have been dismissive of both in the past. I also like how it and other KZbin education series help people to educate themselves in areas outside of their jobs.

[@davidshi451]

nadiact1000 Thank our lucky stars for KZbin! Khan Academy also has a lot of Art History videos, oddly enough. I like learning, but school is starting to feel more and more like busy work than anything else. Mike Rowe is doing some cool activism for trade schools, arguing that for many students they're a more viable option.

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

David Shi I heard an interesting story about trade schools on NPR a while back. I think they were bringing tradespeople over from Germany to run the places (can't remember what field they were talking about, though). I really think we do need to get back to a trade school method for certain jobs and value trade school educations more than we do. I'm very interested in alternative teaching methods although I haven't used them much in my own teaching. Hopefully I can be more creative in incorporating such ideas in the future. Good luck with school! What profession do you want to go into?

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

I really like the idea of bringing art back to its roots. Not all art needs to be grandiose (much as I love art like this). Sometimes it can be simple, made with simple materials. It seems like, in this day and age, we must own the most specialized stuff. We must have nice, expensive things. Few people (including myself) make our own clothing, furniture, or art. In my own life, I feel the dichotomy of wanting to buy things I don't really need (or truly want) for convenience or pleasure and the desire to make my life simpler (which also ties into my cheapskate nature).

[@davidshi451]

Art belongs to everyone, after all.

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

David Shi Absolutely true. It's important to remind ourselves of that.

[@davidshi451]

It's kind of weird for me, because after having moved so often, I don't really have that many possessions, nor any mementos that I have a personal connection. I think what's more important is that the environment you inhabit be rich and interactive, allowing fuller possibilities. It's a reminder that we should all get out of the house more often, and touch the grass.

[@nadiact-ie5hy]

David Shi I'm moving far away soon, so this is on my mind a lot. Kudos to you for being more unattached than I am. I'm not taking a car, so I'm going to leave a lot behind and buy (maybe make, we'll see) new stuff when I get there.

[@davidshi451]

nadiact1000 Being unattached has its pros and cons; yes I'm not tied down as much, but at the same time I don't have a strong social network. But, you got to take what you're given, I suppose.

[@divicool72]

Two things that come to mind: - when you cut an apple in half, and you can sort of either cut it the "normal" way (vertically) and get a very apple shaped print, or you can cut it horizontally and get a pretty bland circular shape but with the star shaped seedy bit on the inside that always rather enamoured me as a child. - things are cool when you slice them, like when you slice cones and you get conic sections - ellipses, parabolas or hyperbolas, and you can get different looking ones with different properties depending on the cones themselves. Idk I just like the idea of exploring an object with its 2-dimensional cross-sections...you end up with a kind of shadow-work.

[@davidshi451]

It's like that photo series that's been floating around, of objects in cross section via sander… This has a real Flatland vibe to it, now that I think about it.

[@davidshi451]

I’m glad you guys are including such a diversity of artists in your series, it’s great! It certainly makes KZbin a more interesting place to be :)

[@ShelbyD920]

The "Please Do Not Touch" sticker on the laptop makes me endlessly giddy.

[@davidshi451]

I just really love the book case. Knowledge is seductive, after all.

[@thevulcanvlogger2093]

I have no excuse to not do this Art Assignment, therefore I shall do it. This is a very interesting assignment, and I think that I shall enjoy it.

[@VideoNozoki]

"Creativity is necessary for the health of the body." (Spock - Return of the Archons)

[@davidshi451]

VideoNozoki A+ quote

[@thevulcanvlogger2093]

VideoNozoki An appropriate quote for the situation. I applaud you.

[@davidshi451]

I haven't seen that episode, but it's very telling that even the highly logical Spock appreciates creativity.

[@Devosgame]

I really love his art; simple, natural, creative. Perfect.

[@ievavaicekauskaite4203]

Wow. That painting he made is beautiful.

[@davidshi451]

I'd like to nominate TAA for some kind of Internet award, please!

[@davidshi451]

Perhaps a Shorty award, or a Webby? Creative Arts Emmy Award, like the one The Lizzie Bennett Diaries won?

[@naomibelet]

his artworks are beautiful! I love that they're made from anything.

[@TylerMayMedia]

This is a great assignment! I love Sopheap's work! The bamboo interactive sculpture he has at the IMA is one of the coolest things to see. I can't wait to see the things that people create with this assignment!

[@hempriy6760]

This is my excuse to cut up a bunch of fruits and vegetables and make dorm decor and a huge mess! :)

[@davidshi451]

I think the level of fun is directly proportional to how much of a mess you make :)

[@Chouetterargentee]

The thing about art stores is interesting to me because I've had the experience of growing up in a rural area with no art stores nearby and learning to make art and enjoy making art with the things that were available to me, and honestly I find it a lot more fun that way. It's more difficult for me to create things while surrounded by things that are purely intended for the sake of making art, actually, because tools don't inspire me and I don't feel much of a personal connection to them. Maybe this is just because I see the process of making the piece as part of the piece-I do tend view it as a story or a narrative, unlike Mr. Pich-but I find it's more fun when I'm making a mess in my bedroom and using nail polish because there's no paint that hasn't dried up rather than working with good quality materials in a studio. Actually tbh this is also probably just because I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to art and professionals intimidate me. But I still think it's interesting, and I'm curious as to whether anyone else has the same problem of not being quite as creative in a professional setting.

[@TheDreadfulCurtain]

I have to say the Art Assignment program is really inspiring me. Well done to all involved in the making of it. More please, a hugely beneficial enterprise all round, life enriching.i love it.

[@saranna00]

I love how this is kind of a printmaking assignment but without the need for facilities or a press or chloride or anything.

[@mollykr11]

Okay, so I'm going to try to use my words and describe what has been going through my head which was inspired by this art assignment. When Sopheap Pich asks us to create art by cutting an object, dipping it in paint and making a series of imprints to further our study of that specific object, it made me think about a definition of art that I've never thought of, and never heard anyone discuss before (Please tell me if someone has thought about this before). So my definition is: Art is when a thing (human, animal, whatever) interupts the "normal" pattern of another thing (human, animal, whatever) and creates something that would not normally have been created. An example is when a person (thing) cuts down a tree (interupts normal pattern of tree, which is to grow) and makes a chair. The process, the end result, and the steps in between are all art. Now, I like this definition for a lot of reasons. One is that this definition does not tell you whether or not the end result is beautiful; Because art does not equal beauty, and beauty does not equal art. Something created by a human isn't necessarily beautiful, and something beautiful might just as well be the pattern itself, or something that's pattern has not been interupted. I feel like this definition encompasses everything that anyone could call art. I would love to hear others' thoughts on this, and/or if this definition could somehow be narrowed without excluding anything that we think of as art. I hope that made sense, and I would really love to discuss this further with whoever is interested.

[@laharipullakhandam6798]

I absolutely adore this!

[@jenyme4ever]

gonna thy this one as well, I love this approach to art, and it looks so fun

[@Cakingit213]

I remember seeing a tree carved out of a tree (Giuseppe Penone's Tree of 12 Metres) in the Tate in London thinking it was so awesome! My favourite piece there!

[@ARTiculations]

Oh man this looks like so much fun. Can we use multiple objects and/or multiple colours?

[@brianbernhard1697]

There are no rules in art. Do what you want! I'm sure TAA would agree with me :)

[@davidshi451]

Brian Bernhard Absolutely, this series serves as a great stepping stone for us Interneters. Also, I'm totally using the TAA initialism from now on :)

[@duckpondwithoutducks]

Love this show!

[@BenWrightsamui]

Such interesting and beautiful art with such simple materials. I love it

[@cutecow7493]

"Find an object that you like" me: Oh a book! "Cut it in half" Me: haha noooo, new object..

[@davidshi451]

You could also just paint the edges of the book and make an imprint that way…maybe not on your favorite book, though.

[@SenshiSunPower]

A water damaged book could make some really cool shapes.

[@ArachneGothic]

ah Penone's work was in the Art Gallery of Ontario!

[@ARTiculations]

Oh yes I remember this from a few years back. I think it was on display just before I started working at the AGO.

[@ArachneGothic]

oh you work there! oh I'm so jealous! Right now I'm going to school for art history. It would be my dream to work there too.

[@ARTiculations]

rowan4rouge It's the best :) I have some vlogs about some current shows if you're interested in checking it out. And feel free to drop by if you're in the city. The new Alex Colville show is supposed to be fantastic.

[@ArachneGothic]

Right now I'm in the States, but I really with I could. Thanks I'll defiantly check your vlogs out :)

[@davidshi451]

We totally need to translate TAA into other languages!

[@lorenabpv]

seconded

[@BlackInLady]

David Shi Yay but what's great with it, you know, is that they speak so clearly that practically everyone who has studied a bit of english can understand them (but subtitles could be really great, yes)

[@dorkboi267]

You *can* cut lots of things in half. Weather it is a good idea or not... depends.

[@joshuashain5891]

Lol, heads up, though it's whether. Although language is meaningless and I know what you mean.

[@dorkboi267]

@@joshuashain5891 shame. I knew that too.

[@piersmartin5600]

Did anyone else notice the mistake in the credits...? Lauren Zoll is stated as the artist instead of Sopheap Pich, she just can't get enough of The Art Assignment.

[@theartassignment]

Oops! Good eye. Sorry about that.

[@youshouldnteatsoap]

This is really similar to a project that I've just finished (thought I haven't had a chance to install it in a space yet). I've done lots of prints of leaves with paint and a few clay castings. But this is really cool! I'll have to give this version a go

[@davidshi451]

Make sure to share it online!

[@youshouldnteatsoap]

When I have the time to set everything up properly and take good photos I will :) thanks

[@davidshi451]

Arte Povera definitely relates to the democracy of art that Hickey talks about in Air Guitar, which I still need to finish! And apparently, scientists have discovered that Picasso used commercial paint himself: www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/picasso-used-common-house-paint-scientists-say.html?_r=0 I think that gives us all a little more confidence to try out paint, in whatever form.

[@Boopadoopap]

There is a channel featuring the yeti?

[@fossilfighters101]

...Why is there a deleted video in the Assignment Episodes playlist? Was that the vidcon video?

[@PogieJoe]

Can we nominate innovative artists in our area to possibly be on the show somehow?

[@theartassignment]

I'm always open to suggestions! I read the comments so you can always share them here.

[@grilljones]

do you make all the art assignments?

[@trishakumar9450]

Thanks for the video! I have a question about 'Arte Povera.' Doesn't Penone's iron casting count as use of conventional or "elitist" material? Creating an iron cast of his own hand would need extensive equipment, right? Or does it's combination with a tree, thereby making it art only with the tree, reclassify it as 'arte povera'?

[@theartassignment]

I think it's important to see 'Arte Povera' as a term applied by a critic to a trend he was noticing, and not a club with rules the members must abide by. I think it's more of a general approach--getting out of the museum or gallery, thinking about the materials around you, and intervening in some way. Bronze is most definitely a traditional art-making material, but its application was completely novel. Thanks for commenting!

[@jimbruce1744]

Where is assignments being shared outside of FB and related?

[@curiousKuro16]

This is interesting, in a way, but it reminds me of potato stamps. Almost all the interesting things in my house are either hollow (and would leave bad imprints if cut in half) Or books. And I don't wanna cut my books.

[@davidshi451]

Actually, looking at some of the recent submissions, it seems hollow objects make some of the most interesting imprints!

[@HettyViolet]

I'm going to be trying this assignment, i can tell I'm going to get messy.

[@Grayhome]

Where do you get paint, if not at an art supply store?

[@davidshi451]

Commercial house paint is usually available at hardware stores like Home Depot. Ink could also work for this, or even crushed berries/ketchup. Someone should totally use ketchup for this.

[@Grayhome]

Maybe mud or grass? I'd really like to do this without getting any store-bought products if possible.

[@davidshi451]

There's a grand tradition of making your own paper/ink, try it out!

[@HamzaSayedAli]

Dollar stores have some pretty high quality paint for really cheap. Where I live, you're never too far from one.

[@julianmontes8860]

Tyler Graham We did that once in our art class and it was fun. We also used food and drinks for coloring.

[@oneeyedhusky]

If my object is a seashell can I break it instead of cutting it?

[@HamzaSayedAli]

Anything goes! Break all the rules! Break all the shells!

[@davidshi451]

Really, the only requirement is to makes some art. Keeping within the rules of the assignment is nice too, but only when it serves to make the art more interesting, instead of hindering it.

[@oneeyedhusky]

Thanks guys!

[@davidshi451]

No problem, always happy to help!

[@meharmakkar9710]

Samrita Menon we could do this one too :D

[@davidshi451]

If you truly cannot get any paint, use ketchup.

[@hempriy6760]

I wonder if art created by computer would be considered elitist...