Artist Profile: Brian Hoffer
One
night during the winter of 1996, a strong, blustery snowstorm knocked out power in much of
New England, and Brian Hoffer found himself finishing homework by candlelight in a very
dark house. Pursuing his art as a high school student, Brian has felt in a very similar
situation at times -- there are times he has had to create his own illumination. The
17-year-old senior's high school in Wayland, Massachusetts, while an excellent school,
offers only one art course and no Advanced Placement Studio Art classes. As a junior,
Brian decided to take the AP Studio Art Examination on his own. He went to his guidance
counselor, who requested the Studio Art poster and forms so he could learn about the
portfolio requirements. Then, working with the school's art teacher, he arranged for an
independent study so that he'd have at least 45 minutes every day in school to work on his
portfolio. AP, Brian says, "was nice because it became a vessel for me to work."Brian completed his drawing of a human figure, which merited a 5, for the AP Studio Art General Portfolio. Most of his art pieces have been figures. "Sometimes, even though it's my primary focus, it's not the most fulfilling....I see drawing figures as a necessary step to learning. Sometimes a drawing feels like a study, sometimes it breathes. It gives me a perception or it lets off a feeling," he says. Brian started this drawing in an independent life drawing course he took in Massachusetts. The subject, a painter, "took a really great pose. That really helped. The pose was successful in itself. It was kind of squarish, and I liked that. I normally work with lots of light and dark. I thought this was one of my drawings that felt." Studying the figure, he adds, is a "very time-honored thing to do. It's a very strong thing to do."
To pursue his art, Brian has packed up his pencils and brushes and traveled many miles each summer. Since he was 15, he has taken courses throughout the United States "in drawing, painting, ceramics, glass" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Colorado College, the Art Institute of Chicago, and elsewhere. He has been drawing since he got his first sketchbook in kindergarten. "I pursued art as a little kid, but I thought I didn't want to starve. Then it turned into a real passion for me," Brian says.
As a senior in the 1996-97 year, he is busy working on his AP Studio Art Drawing Portfolio as well as the demanding portfolios required for art school applications. His feverish work for the latter has paid off: He has been accepted to the Cooper Union School of Art.
"What I am doing right now is experimenting as an artist. I do live in an artistic vacuum, so I think, "'what do I do next?'" Brian says. He feels he has chosen a definite path to become an artist, but he finds it's not always easy to talk to friends about it. "Part of why I want to go to art school is to go where art is today," he explains.
Still there is little doubt that all the hard work, time, and miles are worthwhile: "When I go away somewhere and do art, I find it gives me satisfaction. It's very satisfying when you have something you've done, and you have a physical object that you can show to people." As he says, "When you make art, you are saying something about yourself and about your culture."