Being raised in a Hungarian household, George Kozmon was influenced by art and culture from a very early age.
“As a small child, my family lived in Switzerland before coming to the United States,” he said. “My parents were influenced by art and music from around the world and that never left them—or me.”
Kozmon is an internationally collected artist, recipient of The National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship and five Ohio Arts Council Grants. He’s a lecturer in the Department of Art History and Art and a faculty member of the Art Studio program.
In recognition of International Artist Day today, Oct. 25, Kozmon shared his thoughts about the world’s art scene, technology and the influence that art has on students.
How do you view the art scene in 2023?
Art is something that humans have been engaged in forever. The mediums available to artists today in terms of making their art have broadened and the online world has allowed the sharing of images to be much more prevalent than ever before.
Art has expanded tremendously both institutionally and from the individual artist perspective.
How do you see art evolving with technology?
The core of art is both in the making of it and using it to communicate to others. Obviously, you can communicate in a variety of ways and you can also make art in a variety of ways. From the earliest humans putting some kind of pigment on their hands to create their cave drawings to the internet programs today that artists use, the how-to has always been just a tool. Pencils were once considered high tech.
I find myself making art digitally. It’s more conceptual even though I still retain my sense of realistic training. This reflects on the broader direction of the art world, including the introduction of artificial intelligence.
How will the art community feel about artificial intelligence (AI)?
Artists are generally early adopters. They’ll be the first to try new things. If Leonardo da Vinci was alive today and AI didn’t exist, he would invent it.
The intersection between arts and technologies is gigantic and I think that one drives the other. I mean, coding can be very creative. It goes back to communication. Art is about people sharing it and AI is one more way that we learn as humans about the artistic world around us.
How does the Art Studio incorporate student learning about art and in creating art?
We want our students to express themselves in different ways. I encourage my students to explore and experiment. Don’t worry about failure. The point is to make mistakes and turn them into opportunities.
We have a diverse student body who achieve so much and I think art has a different mode of engaging the mind, but it still comes down to problem solving. Doesn’t matter if the student is working on an artistic piece or trying to solve a research problem. We’re teaching from the same toolbox and the Art Studio is a crucial program to have at any university. I’m proud to be able to do my part and to reinforce that art is an important element of getting an education here.
The Art Studio program provides students a major and a minor sequence in pre-architecture for those expecting to continue architectural studies at the graduate level. There are also two additional majors offered in art studio and photography. Learn more about George Kozmon, his art and his career.