My name is Henry Earls and I am an 18 year old artist and designer from Bloomfield Hills Michigan. I was born and raised in the utopian artist community and the “birthplace of American Modernism,” Cranbrook Academy of Art. From birth, this graduate level art community has engaged me in advanced art and design culture. My life at Cranbrook has inspired me to pursue higher education by granting me a unique insight into the importance of art and design.
Cranbrook has provided me with an omnipresent artistic environment. Since birth, I have been influenced by great artists from my community like Nick Cave, Chris Shank, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertioa, Maija Grotel, Cleon Peterson, Daniel Liebskind and Beverly Fishman. Furniture in our home was conceived and crafted by Florence Knoll. The sculptures next to my house were made by Carl Milles. My neighborhood was designed by Eliel Saarinen. Additionally, my participation in the Art Academy community has allowed me to travel with graduate students to New York and Chicago. During these trips I’ve met with top designers and artists including; Faile, Karlsson Wilker, Struggle Inc., Anne Vieux, Studio Lin, and Rick Valecenti. As an aspiring artist and designer, these studio visits have profoundly affected my insight into the many ways art and design is practiced in 2020. The Art Academy has also allowed me to work as a designer and artist through granting me the opportunities to collaborate with graduate students, professional artists, and through allowing me to do design work for the campus. Cranbrook has immersed me in graduate level critiques, lectures by world famous artists, and performance pieces. After 18 years of being surrounded by an artistic community, my background has taught me an invaluable lesson.
Culture turns grey with the ash of mediocrity and monotony. Art and design is the antidote to this grey. Beauty and design are significant because they wake humanity from the vegitative slumber of our media saturated lives. Artists and designers can play a critical role in crafting a cure to systemic tedium. Art pieces and design objects are the bricks by which design communities are built. Through the creation of art pieces, culture slowly morphs into a design environment. Through powerful art and design, the broader culture slowly morphs into what I have experienced at Cranbrook — a true community. My hope is to deepen my understanding and skills in art and design to help our culture wake from its catatonic state. Like Henry David Thoreau I’m deeply concerned that “the great mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” My experience in the Cranbrook community has led me to believe that art has the power to breathe life into the broader culture.