Thomas Temizer
BA, Visual Communication
Statement
My project, Growing Pains and the very medium it was made in is meant to be symbolic of growth in general. I have not always been a good version of myself and there was a long amount of time where I was generally very unhappy and not knowing what I was really doing with my life. Now that I am done, for now, with my life spent in education, I wanted to represent how I feel I have changed and convey my feelings from those times. And forever I had always wanted to be an animator, although that is still a far-off goal, I feel confident enough to at least start pursuing it at the very beginning now. It is that which I also wanted to show and thus my choosing to tell this story of growth through animation plays into the very conceit of the project itself. For me this project is a symbol of me moving on to the next phase of my life, and expresses the hope and intent to continually improve. Something ends, something begins as the saying goes, so even the rough sort of aesthetic my animation has, I think of being symbolic of that idea as well. The start of something that will only get better with time and effort. I now see those unhappy times in an almost wistful sort of way now, as having been necessary in making me what I am now, so I also did not want to represent that past in a dark sort of way either, but in an almost sort of child-like way. It is my current perspective on the past after all.
Bio
I have always greatly enjoyed the arts in general and from an early age I knew I wanted to make a career out of it in some way. Animated movies, shows, and comics have particularly been inspirations for me wanting to pursue a creative career. Such things can be seen as influences in the vast majority of my work. I try to infuse a vibrancy and a pop to all the pieces I make. Growing up in an insular part of Cincinnati Ohio might be part of this display of energy that I try to use. I felt stifled there; however, it is also reflective of the energy that I personally want to emanate to those around me. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t, but it’s what I strive for. I want to be able to inspire those around me and I want my work to one day have the same effect that the comics and shows of my childhood, and now, had on me. I also like toying with the idea of gender norms, showing that there isn’t one way to be masculine. Many of the things I like exhibit this same idea, in terms of the media I consume. But this can also be seen in the hobbies I pursue as well. Hobbies such as boxing, and formal partner dancing, two things that often will be placed on the extremes of being either macho or effeminate. However, I don’t want to pigeonhole myself in playing with such ideas. Thus, this semester specifically I have tried to break away and experiment with other ways of expression in my work, this capstone project being one of those examples of me trying something new. I hope you enjoy what I have to offer.