Rebecca Armitage | Contributing Writer

On Monday, Oct. 6th, international artist Steve Joy discussed his artwork and his inspiration with a full house of Buena Vista University (BVU) students and faculty in the BVU Art Gallery. He began the event conversing about the previous places he has studied, ending the night showing the student his website featuring his artwork, as well as a biography for the students who were interested in learning more about his work.

Following the event, a short reception was held, in which Joy briefly talked with the students and faculty, one-on-one, about any individual questions they had, as well as set up time later to meet with him to discuss their own artwork.

Joy, originally from England, has studied and exhibited in places like Britain, Norway, Spain, France, and Japan. He originally joined the Royal Air Force and traveled extensively, including being stationed for two years on a small tropical island inhabited exclusively by men; where he discovered “The Masterpiece,” which inspired him to be an artist.

Joy explained why art is important to him in his talk.

“Anything that no one else is doing is usually worth doing,” Joy said.

He eventually ended up in a prestigious art school, in which he was able to request a fellow professional artist to instruct him. He was then in a monastery, inspired by Japanese calligraphy, and the monks there would allow him to pick up a paintbrush for several years. His life experiences have been very inspirational to him, yet he is humble about his talent.

Junior Lacey Vokt attended the artist talk, and she was in awe over Joy’s work, even though as a Physical Education major, she is far from the arts.

“I thought it was amazing that he travels all over the world. He works wherever he wants to work,” Vokt said.

His recent pieces are primarily conceptual, in which the interpretation behind the piece is more significant than the actual piece. He credited Richard Serra and other artists with the field as his inspiration.

Joy ended the presentation with a question for students to reflect upon.

“What does it means to be an artist today?”

Graphic by Justice Gage