AHC: Can you tell us a bit about your process, themes & inspirations? Ariana: My process is always shifting, but one constant is I rely heavily on my intuition to make art. The theme of my work is skin and the body, specifically my experience in my own skin/body. I use this experience as inspiration. I pay attention to what I'm drawn to, what catches my eye, what makes me think. Sometimes I'll have a basic design idea and then once I get working on it, it totally morphs into something bigger than I could've imagined. I let the process guide me as much as I'm guiding it. AHC: What first drew you to art? Was there a specific moment in your life or turning point where it became clear to you that you were being called to create? Ariana: In college I was a double major in art/photography and psychology. I realized that I could find more answers and options in art than psychology, and things made more sense to me in the art space. Luckily I had great professors in both undergrad and graduate school that encouraged and challenged me, helping me find and trust my desire to make art. Then once I realized the potential to make a difference with my work, there was no turning back. AHC: Who are some of your artistic influences? Is there anyone outside of the art world who has had a huge impact on your work or who just generally inspires you, writers, filmmakers, musicians, philosophers etc? Ariana: I really love the work of Janine Antoni, Yayoi Kusama, Eva Hesse, Cindy Sherman, Louise Bourgeois, Ana Mendieta, Hannah Wilke, Deana Lawson, Wangechi Mutu, and Carolee Schneeman, amongst others. The way they're unapologetic about their physicality, femininity, and the beauty and grossness of being human really speaks to me. I've always loved music--hip hop, experimental/electronic music, R&B, etc. People like Grace Jones, Mary J. Blige, De La Soul, Herbie Hancock and Kraftwerk are some favs that come to mind. Also, reading Nietzsche, Gloria Steinem, Freud, Jung and various artist's writings has inspired me over the years. As has looking at anatomical models used in the medical field. AHC: In turning an involuntary physical condition (dermatographia) into a form of self and artistic expression, what, for you, have been the most profound effects in this approach, do you feel it has empowered or help lessen the sense of helplessness that might otherwise loom heavy over such a condition? Also could you talk a bit about the support you give to others with this condition on your site Skintome? Certainly providing a platform where a community of people are able to share their stories or fears and where you are able to offer advice and empathy must be very humbling and rewarding in ways that are hard to measure. Ariana: In high school and college I knew I had some kind of skin condition that caused my skin to welt up, but never knew the name. Luckily I saw a doctor that knew what it was! She told me the name and I was able to find out more about dermatographia. There are many people who have the condition and don't even know what it is. They feel alone and helpless in their experience of it, so I've made it my mission to spread the word about what it is and how to treat it, so people don't have to suffer alone. My work has reached an audience all over the world (which always blows my mind!). No matter the culture or location, everyone has something about their skin/body that they're uncomfortable with (dermatographia or not). I've created a space for people to unite in their self-consciousness, share how they feel, and also share self-care tips and stories about their skin. And yes, it is humbling and rewarding in ways that are hard to measure. It's been the best thing to come out of my artwork! I love connecting with people and learning their stories. That's where the name Skintome comes from: stories (like tomes) of sensitive skin. AHC: Could to talk some about your work as an artist coach, and what you find most rewarding about this role of helping other artists to clarify their vision, trust their voice and find the compass points, the true Norths of their artistic stories? Ariana: With my artist coaching I help people discover how to make powerful artwork that organically reaches a wide audience. It's all about looking within and to your own experience for inspiration--this has been my path and has been such a rewarding experience, I love for others to know what it feels like. I also offer support to artists, reassuring them that they're on the right path. Within that support there's guidance and feedback on what they're making. AHC: You write that "a body is an index of passing time" and that it tells the story of "How we have laughed, loved, healed and grown through the lines, the moles, the blemishes and scars." I love this description and I think it holds true for all of us in ways that, perhaps, we don't always take the "time" to think about and to really take seriously, to listen to the story that our body's and our skin are telling us. Could you talk about the importance of the body's narrative? Ariana: Paying attention to the body is one of the most important things we can do as human beings. Not just for art making, but also for our health. When something goes 'wrong' with us, it's often the body's way of asking for help. Maybe you need more veggies in your diet, more sleep, less sugar, more water.... or maybe it's a deep tension that makes itself known. Like some kind of trauma or grief that still exists within and needs to be released. The body holds so much information! We're like walking books, waiting to be read. I'm always amazed at how awesome bodies are! AHC: What is the first work of art you encountered that took your breath away? Ariana: Hmmmm that's a tough one. I can't remember one piece in particular, but I've always been drawn to work about the body--especially by women. Anything that makes me tingle, or reach a certain awareness about my own physicality, will take my breath away. I love it when that happens!! Carolee Schneeman's Interior Scroll certainly does that. As does Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Room, Janine Antoni's Saddle, and Hannah Wilke's and Cindy Sherman's self-portraits. Also, years ago I saw an Eva Hesse retrospective at SFMoMA that helped me see how poetic art can be. That entire show took my breath away. AHC: Do you have any upcoming exhibits or new projects you'd like to tell people about? Ariana: I'm in a show at MassArt in Boston that just opened this week. Also, in October I'll have a solo exhibition at NYU in the Medical and Science gallery. You can find out more at http://arianapagerussell.com/vitae/. Also, feel free to sign up for my mailing list at either arianapagerussell.com or skintome.com to stay abreast of my art news :)
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9/19/2016 3 Comments Two Poems by Alexis Rhone FancherThose were strange days, now that I look back at them. (Murakami Cento Love Poem #2 -All text taken from Haruki Murakami’s, Norwegian Wood) 1. Things are not going well at home, she said. She had slimmed down, as if she had been hiding in some long, narrow space. I said, I'm not sure that has anything to do with love. 2. Wildly chopped, her hair stuck out in patches and the bands lay crooked against her forehead, but the style suited her. 3. Its' true, she said. Don't you think I'm terrible? Cold-hearted? I didn’t feel anything. 4. I was always hungry for love. She must have been exhausted. 5. Do you love me? Will you remember that I existed? 6. I returned to that small world of hers. I could feel the outline of her body in my hands. 7. Always, I said. I'll always remember. I still don’t know why she chose me. poem for my new boyfriend with oversized blue lips tattooed on his neck Is it your ex’s’s pout? I wonder. Blue and on your neck. Full lips, parted like an invitation - a visual love poem. Daytime, I keep to your good side, your skin unsullied. But in the night while you sleep I match my lips to the imprint tongue the moue of my predecessor’s mouth, lick her salty legacy, and come up thin. I can’t sleep for wondering if she’s for real, if she wore your pants, mouthed your prayers, sucked you off like a Hoover? I want them to be some stranger’s lips. Clip art, a souvenir of a 3-day bender in the company of sailors. Instead, after whisky and kinky sex, one night you let it slip: how just before she kissed you off she led you on a leash, sat you in the chair, cupped your chin, imprinted her lipsticked kiss on your neck’s throbbing pulse, and ordered the tattooist to begin. Bio: Alexis Rhone Fancher is the author of How I Lost My Virginity to Michael Cohen and other heart stab poems,(2014) and State of Grace: The Joshua Elegies, (2015). She is published in Best American Poetry 2016, Rattle, Slipstream, Hobart, Cleaver, Public Pool,The MacGuffin, and elsewhere. Since 2013 she has been nominated for seven Pushcart Prizes and four Best of The Net awards. Alexis is poetry editor of Cultural Weekly.www.alexisrhonefancher.com 9/18/2016 0 Comments Interview with Artist Lola Gil AHC: Can you tell us a bit about your process, themes & inspirations? Lola: Each painting I create begins from an experience or feeling left from experience. I have always worked from a personal point of view, I call it my therapy. However, I prefer my imagery or it's components to focus on the brighter side of the spectrum. As if I'm constantly seeing deeper and therefore healing with my process. I love sketching, but I have a hard time working on preliminary sketches for a painting. It's that feeling of forcing an idea that needs time to marinate before it shows itself. Because of this, I feel more like a vessel, who's job it is to carry out a plan I was drunkenly briefed on in the early stages. I will have a sort of foggy idea to begin with and draw that out right to panel. I'll paint the setting, or landscape, and let new visions place themselves along the process. It leaves me anxious always, but I don't know how to create otherwise. As far as themes and inspirations, much of that comes from being a mom and having daughters. I was really young when I began my family, so I held much of that childhood mentality close already. Through them I could revisit it from a point of view I can understand, now more so as an adult. AHC: What first drew you to art? Was there a specific moment in your life or turning point where it became clear to you that you were being called to create? Lola: Yes, definitely. My dad brought me up creating, as he was a cartoonist and experimenter. But it struck me hard as a very young teen when things started to get uncomfortable in my family. My parents grew apart, yet lived together for years because they couldn't financially separate. It was very tough years of feeling depressed from living in an angry household. My grandfather got me a set of paints and brushes, and I learned that painting was a really great escape. It took longer than drawing, and required absolute focus. It was the greatest gift anyone ever gave to me. AHC: Who are some of your artistic influences? Is there anyone outside of the art world who has had a huge impact on your work or who just generally inspires you, writers, filmmakers, musicians etc? Lola: I was brought up with a dad who is a big kid, and loves cartoons and children's books. So in my earliest memories I had aspired to be like Edward Gorey or Maurice Sendak.. Stephen Gammel. Dr. Suess! My grandparents had an affinity for Norman Rockwell, who hung in nearly every room of the house so I have a very deep seeded love for him. As I got older I discovered Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Frida Kahlo. I very easily became obsessed with surrealism and symbolism. I lived in England for a few years and took time to travel and visit museums as often as I could. My interest in the Dutch masters, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Baroque, 20th century landscape began to grow and inspire. Seeing the technical ability through so many masterful works had me re evaluate my approach to painting. I wasn't challenging myself, and I was both depressed and inspired like I'd never been before. I also have a love for many modern artists who too make me think and feel such as Neo Rauch, Pieter Schoolwerth, James Kerry Marshall, David Salle, Robin F Williams, Eric White.. AHC: You write "If not for the ability to paint, my voice might become just another static white noise." What inner expressions has painting tapped into for you, and what are the voices through which it has spoken? Do you view painting as a type of inner, psychical, poetic speech for your own personal life & journey? Lola: I think I can wholeheartedly say painting has saved my life. I had a wonderful yet terrible childhood. I know each of us have a certain level of love and nurture that's needed early on, that for me wasn't fully met. I spent a lot of time alone, and throughout my years of growth was told I wasn't good and felt hopelessly flawed. I had a hard time relating to other kids, and changed schools a lot. I was also very shy/quiet and since I can remember very self conscious. However,the brighter side of that is that I was alone a lot in my grandparents house. They were toy collectors. Insane toy collectors. I was able to harvest my creative mind through years spent in their home. I felt safe and happy there, and always took myself as deep into my imagination as I possibly could. Thus, drawing and painting became my lifetime obsession. It helps me to physically purge, grow, and see. I'm not sure I would have been able to overcome so much sadness I stored as a lonely child, if not for painting. And now that I have just celebrated 12 years as a professional artist, I have learned how to use my abilities to transform words or feelings into a sort of poetic visual language. At least I hope so! My wish is to make viewers FEEL something, whether it's linear to what I'm painting about, or spark something new. I want people to eventually feel the way I do when I look at a moving piece of art. AHC: The innocence of childhood, these are some of the feelings you try to convey in your work, what it is like to wonder openly and without limits as we do at that age, is it cathartic for you as you create from this very evocative and memory laden place? As you "sing through your brushes"? Lola: It really is. I think because my dad was so wonderful at being a child minded adult, and I've been the same with my own, it's a place of imagination where nothing can hurt us. I want to always be there. I want to live in a fantasy, and disregard responsibility and reality. Of course that's very hard when you're raising kids. But this is my obsession. It's my guilty pleasure, and my career all rolled up into one. Art which withstands centuries will always tell you a story, and make you feel something that keeps you coming back for more. I know I have a long way to go. And I'm happy about that. AHC: What is the first work of art you encountered that took your breath away? Lola: Gerard David's "Virgin and Child with Saints and Donor" in London's National Gallery. It brought tears to my eyes, I couldn't walk away. AHC: Do you have any upcoming exhibits or new projects you'd like to tell people about? Lola: My next solo exhibit will debut next spring, April 2017 at Merry Karnowski Gallery. I also have a wonderful book project in the works. 9/18/2016 0 Comments Three Poems by R. MillerThis Is Where the Song Ends This is where the song ends and it's a song we know but could never sing even if we tried. It drifts away in endless air, leaving traces of itself in green, gold, and violet. And so we carry its memory with us into the heart of a city we've designed, whose avenues are piled high with windows that have curtains but no glass. It's a nice city to visit, though kind of shitty to reside in, as we do. It's mystifying how so few of us have dared to leave it. Here, have another drink. Fancy something sweet and festive maybe? The song continues to live not only through us but in the very bones of the city. It reverberates as in a concert hall or the inner sanctum of a cathedral. It doesn't sound so pretty as it echoes, but I like to think that it did at some point. The melody is indistinct now. You merely feel it in your nerves, and it only hurts, it only hurts. She Seeds Turning from the swarm, she in rags oozes a warmth not of this world. Her unwashed hair. She seeds the fallow, waiting the air. To be more than a dissonance. Hot-boxing comrades. We explore this length with our fingers. This length of muscle. Here and there, a rustling, the leaves feeding on the noise. Guts enraptured. And the words captured in her filmy eyes... What happens when the crystal skies drop? What happens... When the heart stops its music? Entranced servitude... The martyr cramps... The heat stroke and the burning jelly of our grace... Meanwhile, crawling through the unlit corridor, bellies to floor. The more we whimper... Faith comes in limping. The facts of efflorescence... Waiting the air to be more than her unwashed eyes. Crystal skies bleeding. She's still there, seeding the fallow, turning from the swarm and feeding the mouth that feeds on dissonance. This world, south of her accidents. And I can't explain... I can't... What my arms disdain... Plain as the motherly impulse she harbors. When the heart stops its music and the white air disperses. Little Death These arise boldly in the empty space between one phrase and the next. The text we have. The text of wounds. And I unwound her heartbeat with fleetness of gesture. We came in on the pressure wave. We rose in measure. This is one way of turning a passing fancy. The beaches whitened. Harbor in her head. She praised death rattles, addled with the anxiety of the postmodern runoff. And when I pointed out the imposing, authoritarian nature of the structures, she merely... Whipped. Tangled. Bleeding by degrees. Towering weed balloons. We in this instance the infidels. We had only just arrived... A near empty bottle of wine resting on the coffee table. The contents downed easily. Her drowsy grasp. Contented but for the... Word giggle. Floatsam. The filigreed archway. She by northwest the energy declaration. And it gave a hope, a morbid and tainted hope. So much insistence. She pursued intermittent throb. Behind her temples the headache focused. What we'd seen in our meager lifetimes could have filled a shelf of books. I lazily pulled the burning spliff from her lips smeared scarlet and took one.. slow... ponderous... drag. As I exhaled, we both watched the languorous smoke coil around the space in front of us, among the solar particles and dust. I turned my gaze toward hers and beheld the tears in her eyes Bio: r. miller is an aspiring poet residing the wilds of Southern Pennsylvania. He is a member of Paper Plane Pilots, an international writers' collective. He has previously published a chapbook entitled "Separate Instances of Loneliness" Conversation in a Bar Off-Broadway They tell me I’m musical, But trust me here, I don’t sing. There’s magic in my hands, But my wand doesn’t wave at the band, It doesn’t bleed, and it doesn’t speak, It just writes. There’s a spectacle in my head, I’ve been dreaming of it for decades now, Like a ballet/Broadway style musical hybrid thing, This big, beautiful disaster kind of show, A real event, like that Spider-man musical those idiots made, But with this whole personal, universal story holding it up, Kind of thing everyone can relate to. It’s the story of a little kid trying to win his dad’s respect, Only he’s this little demon kid, with bat ears and massive black eyes, Like, there’s this huge song and dance number that’ll bring you to tears You think Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies had backstory? We’ll get the stage lights to shine blue, it’ll be like freaking heaven, And there will be burning angels falling in complicated spirals We’ll have Adele or someone singing all mournful over harp music While these demon brute guys twirl and leap around the stage, They’ll be these baroque singers, and they’ll get louder and louder ‘till that harp is drowned out and the blue lights’ll turn all red and black, And then WHAM! Scene transition! Back to our little demon hero! He’s sword fighting his dad in a castle, And he’s backstabbed by his best friend, and as he’s dying his dad and His mentor reveal that they betrayed him, set him up as a martyr, and We’ll actually throw him to the audience, All covered in glitz and fake blood, and Then our female lead will come out this trap door that we’ll build right in the aisle, She’ll be this cute innocent thing called The Mosquito Queen And she’ll have this like spotlight on her as she sings, And then all those burning angels’ll show up again, and they’ll be harmonizing, singing in this like Perfectly tuned trancelike thing, And he’ll wake up, right, and I forgot, he’s a little bat demon, But get this, he was born WITHOUT WINGS! And like, the Mosquito Queen, she gives him a second shot at life, Y’know she wants to be avenged, And our hero, we’ve got this little kid on stage playing him now, And it’s like he’s with the audience in the aisle, Seeing his entire life playing out before him, And he sees the life he lost, this little kid looking up to his dad While the world burned and suffered, Sees him crying without knowing why, It’s like he’s been living on the margins of every day, Accomplishing nothing and not ever mattering, And now he gets it, dude, It’s, fuck, the word, Catharsis, And as those dead angels start singing again, These big black batwings burst from his back, And he fucking flies! It’ll be the most epic thing you’ve ever seen in your entire life, And he’ll meet his father, And he’ll say something like, “I’ll never be like you,” Or “I’m above your judgement now,” Or something And then he’ll die, or fly into the moonlight Or something, And then curtains; I could write it, I’ve got the whole thing in front of me, It’s like a ghost in my bones, Always got something to add. Bio: Daniel Sokoloff is a poet from Philadelphia. When not writing or walking one of his lizards, he enjoys stargazing and speeding down I-95. He graduated from Temple University, and is writing his chap book, “Dream of the Ash”, a meditation on his connection with the Norse god, Odin. You've been making music for over 25 years, in bands, solo and now as a composer, what has that journey been like for you? Filled with good times and bad times. Ups and downs. Times when you felt like you were on top of the world and then times when I’d ask myself “what the hell am I doing?” Lots of sacrifices but lots of opportunities and experiences too. You kind of feel like a human yoyo. It’s exhilarating then exhausting. You feel so lucky to be able to play music but it doesn’t mean it’s not hard dealing with the contrast of all the highs and lows. It’s especially bad when you are touring a lot. When people ask me what is it like to tour I always say it’s the simultaneous sensation of feeling totally trapped and free at the same time. Trapped because you spend so much time in some kind of metal vehicle, up to 10 hours sometimes and then totally free when you get to let it all go on stage at night. There was a point in my career when I knew that I needed to take a break. It was around 2012. Could you talk a bit about the bands you started out in and when did you know that it was time to go your own way and focus on being a solo artist? My first band was called Liquid Sunshine out of Santa Barbara, CA. We were an all girl acoustic trio that sang folky, sing-a-long songs with lots of harmonies. I started the band with Laura Kravetz. We complimented one another. I was self-taught and she was a trained cellist with perfect pitch. We were opposites. Before we knew it, we were on a CA college circuit. It was a big deal when we could afford to sleep at a Motel 6. We thought it was the lap of luxury. It truly was the time of my life. Touring was much easier in my 20’s! We eventually added bass and drums had a couple good runs with the band but the dynamic changed when we added our rhythm section. When Liquid Sunshine dissolved some members came with me to form my second band, The Mades who didn’t see nearly as much success as Liquid Sunshine. I wanted to get back out on the road, others didn’t. It was really hard keeping everybody’s motivation levels on the same page. Being a band leader is not an easy task. I was feeling held back. That’s when I moved to LA to try it on my own. American roots music is a heavy influential thread throughout your records, who are some of the songwriters and musicians who have had the largest impact on you and your own evolution as a musician and songwriter? I mean there are a bunch but without a doubt if it weren’t for The Beatles and Rickie Lee Jones, I would not be playing music today. We used to play a game called the Beatles when we were kids. I got to be Paul. We would listen to their records over and over and over again. We would set up a fake stage with pillows for drums and just go completely nuts, air guitar-ing, air bass-ing, air paino-ing, singing our way through all of their records. I finally got a real guitar and learned to play it by playing Beatle’s songs. As I got older I got really into Rick Lee Jones. She was it for me. For some reason when I heard her music it made me believe that I could do it too. But really, I am influenced not only by music. It can be a movie or book or photograph a connection to someone. Anything that enables me to see my own feelings and my own emotions more clearly. It’s the things that make me look at myself and the world around me. It’s the things that show me where I am that influence me. As far as what has had the largest impact on my evolution as a songwriter, the most important part has been being able to understand what kind of writer I am and then accepting it. When I am writing it kind of happens by itself. A lyric or some chords come out of nowhere. It’s like I’m reuniting conscious and unconscious realms of experience to create their own reality—the song. The unconscious is the wellspring of the imagination, the hardest part is tapping into it though. It never happens on command and sometimes you just have to wait it out. It’s like staring at an undeveloped photograph, and then BOOM all of a sudden it’s there, staring back at you. The waiting is the hardest part. Could you talk about the work you're doing now as a composer for film and television and what that process is like? I started a company called Feverpitch (feverpitchsfx.com) with my long time recording partner Erik Colvin. We started off making sound effects for movie trailers. It’s not foley, we are not foley artists! Everybody always asks me that so I had to clarify. Anyway, sounds effects are used emphasize and exaggerate artistic content or a storytelling point. Sound effects don’t happen in real life. For example, these are the sounds we hear when we see Bruce Lee whipping his nunchucks around. It doesn’t really sound like this when somebody uses nunchucks! Basically, we help create a hyper-reality. It’s super creative work. I am often asking myself questions like, “what does the sound of a headache sound like?” Then we have to figure out how to create it and then record it. Anyway, these connections led into opportunities to do music for some trailers and a handful of commercials. The most notable being the Transparent season 2 trailer. My partner and I got to produce and compose a derivative version of the Sly & The Family Stone song, Family Affair. Another fun project we got to work on was getting to do over lays for the Desert Trip concert at Coachella with The Stones, Paul McCartney, Dylan, Neil Young, The Who and Roger Waters. It’s a completely different process than the singer- songwriter thing. What is your favorite on-tour, on-the-road memory? I've got many wonderful and memorable moments from the actual transportation portions of our tours. So many inside jokes and craziness happens because you are all just kind of stuck there. It's a great bonding experience. I miss those times and am looking forward to getting back out there. Do you have any new projects in the works you'd like to mention? I have a new single. It’s a cover Richard Ashcroft’s World Keep turning. It’s been a fav of mine for years, it hits in all the right places for me. It has that quality that makes me wanna keep trying. For what, I don’t know but I know it makes me wanna try for something good, to be good, even when times are bad. I feel really brought together by the song. It makes me feel closer to strangers. It fills up a longing for connection that I have. I felt compelled to record it so I did. I am also working on a new album right now. I have been going through the last 5 years or so of song ideas. I have narrowed it down to about 17 songs that I’m working on finishing. I won’t release 17 songs though, I will narrow it down again, then again. I am really hoping to get back out on the road again and trying to find a way to get back over to the UK and The EU again. For more information visit ginavillalobos.com/ AHC: Can you tell us a bit about your process, themes & inspirations? Elizabeth: My themes and inspirations generally come from my reading, daydreaming, and personal experiences. They say that you have to feed the well of inspiration before anything worthwhile comes out and I think that's true. I give mine a healthy diet of mythology, fairy tales, literature, feminist thought, history, nature, and sociological speculation. My process starts with unmoored imagery, these dreamlike glimpses of different worlds waiting untapped in my subconscious. The images need something in the real world to draw them out- they need an affinity to a particular physical material, like paint or clay or paper or wax, before they can be expressed. Part of my job is to discover what material best suits the images floating around in my head, because the material is the language that an artwork is “written” in. In the past, my visual art work revolved around images of drowning Ophelias and mutated forest animals, and I found I was speaking in the language of resin, collage, and artificial plants. Lately I’ve been moving more towards images of mourning and loss, so I’ve been speaking in the language of black paint, human hair, gold leaf, and Victorian beading. "Green Saint" oil, acrylic, paper, encaustic, plastic, glass, and resin on panel. Elizabeth Shupe, 2014. AHC: What first drew you to art? Was there a specific moment in your life or turning point where it became clear to you that you were being called to create? Elizabeth: I’ve been creating all my life! It’s really natural for me to create, like eating or breathing or sleeping. I can’t remember a time when I didn't create. The jump to visual art, however, was not a given. Writing was my first love and I began writing stories from the moment I could form a passable sentence in my seven year old scrawl. The first stories I wrote were books illustrated in crayon and held together with staples. I didn't actually take art seriously until I was in high school. And it wasn't until college that I considered visual art my calling. My entire creative career, people have told me that I make art like a writer and I write like an artist. At first, that offended me. But now, I’ve embraced it- if my work exists as a strange synthesis between the visual and the written, that's great! Few creators are occupying that space and it's an honor to be there. As of late, I've been delving more seriously into writing. I promised myself that I wouldn't put up with any creative limit, so we’ll see where that takes me! "Green Witch" oil, acrylic, paper, plastic, glass, and resin on plexiglass. Elizabeth Shupe, 2014. AHC: Who are some of your artistic influences? Is there anyone outside of the art world who has had a huge impact on your work or who just generally inspires you, writers, filmmakers, musicians etc? Elizabeth: My art influences range greatly- from the unknown medieval altarpiece painters to modern masters like Julie Heffernan, Kara Walker, Petra Coyne, Valerie Hegarty, Wangetchi Mutu, and Agostino Arrivabene. My favorite historic art movement is Symbolism; it is unparalleled in it’s beauty, despite the rampant thematic sexism. My favorite individual artists from history are the female Surrealists- brave, visionary women like Leonora Carrington, Dorethea Tanning, Lenor Fini, Remedios Varo, and yes, Frida Kahlo. Some of my current art crushes are more pop- Fuco Ueda comes to mind. Others are more craft oriented- Judith Schaechter and Kate McGuire are two. I tend to gravitate towards art by women and about the female experience. Currently, we as a culture are experiencing a female renaissance of sorts, I hope it continues indefinitely. I am very strongly influenced by writers as well- I try to read widely and often. My favorite writer, hands down, is the great Angela Carter. I also love Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro, Shirley Jackson, Helen Oyeyemi, James Vandermeer, Elizabeth Hand, Kate Atkinson, James Morrow, and Sarah Waters, just to name a few. Anything weird and wonderful. "Hair Tangle" oil, acrylic, paper, and resin on panel, Elizabeth Shupe. 2014. AHC: Can you talk some about what you describe in your work as the "feminist reclamation of problematic historical tropes" how you deconstruct these problematics both in the work and in your own life and how the two come together for you, the work and the life, the art, the critique and the personal? Elizabeth: Women have a very troubled relationship with the arts. For such a long period of history, we were relegated to the sidelines. Art and writing were things men did and the best a woman could hope for was to become a muse or a model for a great male artist. Women were considered to be artistic subject matter, not artists in their own right. Because of this historical inequity, by the time women got to be real artists, they had to contend with centuries upon centuries of images of women that had been created by men. Instead of starting with a blank slate, female artists first had to tear down the edifices of “woman as image” that had been erected by male artists through the ages. In many ways, female artists are still having to do this, especially female artists who want to work with the human figure. So much meaning has been ascribed on our bodies that entire genres of artistic expression have been created to revolve around the (often sexualized) female image. What is forgotten is the fact that the female image and the female experience are two entirely different things. The presence of a female image does not equal female representation in the arts. In fact, it is often the symbol of our lesser status. Even today, much of the popular art featuring images of women are entirely surface representations where women’s bodies become part of the set dressing for a work or take on idealized, mythological aspects that real women are not allowed to embody. Works like these are very popular, and they do well in the capitalist marketplace, therefore they are considered “successful”. But from a feminist perspective these works are more of the same old boring misogyny that has passed as “art” for hundreds of years. In much of my own work, I try to deconstruct the historical visual tropes of “woman”. The pretty saint, the whore, the helpless woman, and woman as nature- what do those tropes really mean, from a woman’s perspective? In my work, the “pretty saint” becomes the woman frustrated by imposed gender roles and her own social devaluing, the “whore” becomes the woman trying to find her own sexuality in a world that refuses to give her sexual agency. The “helpless” woman becomes the woman who is suffering from physical and mental illness that goes unrecognized by a callous society that would rather see her sick and pliable rather than well and strong. “Woman as nature” is no longer a metaphor for women’s “rightful” subjugation by men, rather, it becomes a metaphor for men’s abuse and rape of both women and the environment. Being a female person, I’ve been trying to wrestle with cultural depictions of women my entire life. Often times a beautiful image of a woman will seduce me aesthetically, but repulse me intellectually. That’s a strange place to find oneself in- how do you acknowledge the power of the beautiful when beauty is a tool that is too often used to subjugate women? The other aspect of the female experience that relates directly to my art making is the creation of the public image of the self- girls are taught from a young age to fashion pretty and unique images of themselves for public consumption, as it is the female image that carries stronger cultural cache then the female intellect or personality. In my work, I am often the subject matter and this feels to me to be a topsy-turvy version of the self- image creation that I am expected to do as a female in a patriarchal society. Only this time I’m doing it in service of my personality and my intellect, not as a replacement for those aspects of myself. I suppose in general you could say that my visual art is one of the primary ways that I process the sometimes troubling and oppressive experiences of being female in a patriarchy. The work is both a direct reflection of those experiences and part of a larger dialogue over who has control over the images of women, who gets to speak for women, and what women’s images and speech signifies. "Open Me" oil, acrylic, graphite, metal leaf, fabric paint, and resin on panel. Elizabeth Shupe, 2016. AHC: Childhood and the sense of play are important elements in your work, is there something you think that is perhaps essentially or almost essentially untainted about childhood and its accompanying sense of exploration and possibility, something that tends to get downplayed in our adult selves, that serves as a reminder or counter weight to many of the problematic tropes you work to unravel through out your pieces? Elizabeth: When you’re often dealing with heavy subject matter, play is so important! You’re definitely right that my playful attitude towards making is a counterweight to those “problematic historical tropes” I mentioned above. My studio is my playroom, my anything goes room, my imagination room. My art supplies are tools, but they are also toys. Like a child wears a cooking pot as a crown or a helmet, I use my art supplies in ways they are not supposed to be used- everything is utilized, repurposed, sacrificed for the imagination game I am playing at that particular time. As far as childhood is concerned- childhood carries a sense of the undiscovered. It carries a sense of the possible- the sheer breadth of what is available in life can excite the young imagination. When you are a child, that creative wellspring is so close to the surface- you haven’t yet obscured it with the debris of life experience and cultural expectation. In this way, childhood is very precious and it should be part of the work of the creative person to preserve and maintain the “child within”. I definitely try to do this, and sometimes it’s hard! Adult life gets in the way- the sheer seriousness of the subject matter I’m dealing with gets in the way. There are times when my inner child is blocked and it can be very frustrating. But still, the child inside in my biggest inspiration- I am my own Surrealist femme enfant, without any of the sexist baggage that phrase conjures up. At the same time, I feel it is important that we do not over-idealize childhood. It is a period of the human lifespan like any other, with it’s own challenges and problems. I feel that we, as adults, should both preserve the child-like aspects of ourselves and also respect the real experiences we had as children and the real experiences of those who are currently children. "Pollination Anxiety" oil, acrylic, encaustic, metal leaf, paper, honeycomb, and resin on panel. Elizabeth Shupe, 2016 AHC: Could you talk some about what you call your "nomadic-by-choice lifestyle" what kinds of nomadic adventures have you had and how has it informed or translated into the work that you do? Elizabeth: For the past year and a half, my husband and I traveled across the North American continent in a small RV van. It was a crazy idea that we wanted to make a reality and we were in a place in life where it was possible, so we made it happen! Sadly, our time on the road is now over- recently, we found a home and a community that we love in Portland, OR, so we decided to settle down. We will never forget our epic trip. Hopefully,the future holds much more travel for us! While we were on the road I learned a lot about myself- I learned what my priorities are, I learned what I really need to be happy in life. Before we went on this trip I was at a crossroads- I had just finished grad school and I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. The only thing I knew for sure was that New York was not working for me. It wasn't until I was on the road that I was able to envision what my ideal life looked like. For anyone that finds themselves at a sticky juncture in life with little direction- take a roadtrip! There is something about traveling that allows one to cover vast amounts of mental (as well as physical) ground. While we were living in the van, my work changed a lot. Suddenly, I had very little space and not as many art supplies as I was used to. I started working smaller, and I started doing a lot more sewing and embroidery and drawing - “lap art” as I like to think of it. I started working in black and white, very graphic, as I didn't have a lot of room in the van for different colors and mediums. The work I did while in the van became the basis for my current body of work that is exploring images of loss and familial love. At the same time, I began writing in a serious way- writing does not take up any space and you can explore big ideas. While on the road, I ended up completing a novel- length work which I am currently in the process of editing. I hope to try my hand at creative writing in a serious way in the future. "Christina Closes Her Eyes On The World" ink, graphite, gesso, rice paper, and oils on paper. Elizabeth Shupe, 2013. AHC: What is the first work of art you encountered that took your breath away? Elizabeth: When I was ten or so, I found an an art history textbook of my mother’s. Four works really made an impression on me- “The Ecstasy of St.Theresa” sculpted by Bernini, “The Two Fridas”, a double self portrait by Frida Kahlo, “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymous Bosch, and “Ophelia” by Sir John Everett Millais. I would stare at those four works for hours.That was really the first time I had an acute emotional reaction to works of art. "Made From Delicate Parts" plastic, vintage faux flowers, acrylic, flocking, and laser-sintered nylon 3d print. Elizabeth Shupe with technical assistance from Ryan Kittleson, 2015.
AHC: Do you have any upcoming exhibits or new projects you'd like to tell people about? Elizabeth: As I mentioned before, I am currently working on a body of work that explores concepts of loss, mourning, familial love, and the self. This summer, I did a residency at the Star and Snake in New Hampshire, creating an ancestor veneration installation entitled “Follow the Blood” that became the first completed work in this series. The second of these works is a painting about “speaking the truth” in relationship to our troubled past selves. It is entitled “Open Me” and it is currently being displayed at Alexi Era Gallery in Eugene, OR. Hopefully, there are a lot more to come! I am also happy to announce that my first published short story is going to be coming out this October, from Burrow Press in Orlando, FL. It is a feminist horror story entitled “Angela” and it definitely fits within the pattern of “deconstructing problematic tropes” that my work tends to take. I hope it gets a warm reception! For more information visit elizabethshupe.com. Follow Elizabeth on Instagram @shupeelizabeth. 9/16/2016 1 Comment Four Poems by Robert W. Getzwait looking for meaning in the night this night, but the others too one more walk to the fridge one more prayer for silence the day's generosities are slim and even though we talk about good days and bad days, we know they are indifferent ones we walk through whatever magic we can conjure up, illuminate our acceptance of the ordinary any way we can, now i am going to the convenience store, the fridge having been found lacking it may be no more than this, a miracle you forgot to pray for fin i do like the way they wander off at the end of a film there is a perfection and certainty about where they're headed as the music swells, just as they've discovered something deep in their hearts, or learned that they must nobly deny that passion for the sake of some greater good, it doesn't matter, now they're finally alive march of the last mowed down single file to make room for new blooms that impossible equation the god your entire life prepared you to believe in i believe in you now your rich loam, your fertility, your withering doom and joy your invulnerable calendar filament and firmament, light and wind and rain and earth you said that i couldn't dance but i proved you wrong matryoshka sadness within sadness as i drive tired of prying apart all the layers of unhappiness, knowing it tires everyone else out, trying to wiggle out of it on the road as the balloon and its basket disappear in the dusk Bio: Robert W. Getz lives in Glenside, PA. His latest book of poetry is "Pomp and other Circumstances: Poems 2014-2015." Shimmer & Glimmer (2016) AHC: Can you tell us a bit about your process, themes & inspirations? I make sculptures using a technique called needle felting. It's a very slow, dry felting process in which a barbed needle is used to shape wool fiber. I draw inspiration from dreams, psychology, mythology, and animals. Ultimately I want to make sculptures that are approachable - cute, but a little strange - to encourage people to examine their own inner worlds. Tori I & II (2016) AHC: What first drew you to art? Was there a specific moment in your life or turning point where it became clear to you that you were being called to create? There was no specific moment or event, it's just something I have always done. AHC: Who are some of your artistic influences? Is there anyone outside of the art world who has had a huge impact on your work or who just generally inspires you, writers, filmmakers, musicians etc? There are many artists whose work I admire, but the biggest influence on my artwork comes from my interest in Jungian psychology and spirituality. I have always dreamed very vividly and when I was young my parents introduced me to Jung's ideas of the archetypes, the collective unconscious, etc. Those concepts shaped my understanding of the dream world and continue to inform my art practice. Tanuki I & II (2016) AHC: Could you talk some about your ideas and concepts surrounding the spirit guide motif in your work? When I started making felt sculptures, I had a dream about a white rabbit who gave me some sage advice. At first, I was obsessed with the idea of bringing the creatures I saw in my dreams to life - my first solo show was a collection of all of the animals that I had seen in the dream world. Over time, my work has become a lot less literal, but the idea of the sculpture as an oracle or totem remains. Treasure (2016) AHC: When you're working on a piece what's the environment like, do you work best with silence or with music on, what is your studio environment/vibe like? I definitely work best in silence. Sometimes I listen to Japanese language classes or old TV shows, but I can't work well with music playing. Most of the time I sit on the couch, surrounded by a cloud of white wool. AHC: What is the first work of art you encountered that took your breath away? The Lady & The Unicorn Tapestries at the Musée de Cluny in Paris. I was your typical cynical art student, but the tapestries were so beautiful and mysterious that it brought tears to my eyes. Gem (2016) AHC: If you could spend the day with any artist, from any field, living or dead, who would that person be and how would you spend the day together? I think I prefer to relate to artwork as an object, independent of its creator, but if I had to choose, I would pick David Lynch. I love his films and I heard him speak a couple of years ago and it really impressed me that he flat out refused to explain his work to people. He said he made the films, just watch them - I feel the same way about visual art. Also, I had a dream recently that we were playing video games together and it was pretty fun! Momonga I, II & III (2016)
AHC: Do you have any upcoming exhibits or new projects you'd like to tell people about? Lately I've been working on some curatorial projects - I am really excited about UNICORN, a group show coming up in December 2016 at Gristle Art Gallery (gristleartgallery.com) in Brooklyn, NY. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibition will benefit the closest thing we have to a real unicorn - the Saola. I encourage everyone to check out http://www.savethesaola.org/ for more info on this amazing creature! For more information visit zoewilliams.com/ 9/15/2016 0 Comments The Way Out by Edward WillesThe Way Out It’s funny isn’t it? How you talk to yourself without saying a word. While walking through the hubs of our future’s thoughts. And then when you see an exit sign above a door you wish with every ounce they seized from Muyran and Andrew. “To take you somewhere else” The Political killings The Systems failing The Abiding Citizens The Sheezus Christ and the veins of his name. I don’t like him, you, them or her, that much. That is to say I don’t really know you, him, them or her, that much. But for that reason. There is no trust between us - We are all out for ourselves. Now back to my wish. I wonder where would I go? If that wish came true. Maybe that supermarket where Ginsberg saw Walt. Then I could tell the both of them. The world you hoped for, isn’t quite how it’s turning out. The idea of freedom is still subjective And the Industrial Waves you poeticised have intensified into tsunamis. Wiping out any inhabitants of logic and reason. Each political viewpoint resembles some mutated beast. Slipping and sliding on the their own angry dribble People can see that the heat rays may end the world too, Allen. But They still don’t care. Because we are fighting over ancestral feuds Look over there, a grown man child wearing overalls and handing out flyers about how his freedoms are more important than anyone else’s. Young activist movement with their mass information Is it biased, misleading or truth? I read it. “The human figure and the anterior space” - No Wait. Wrong paper. “Intelligence agencies reportedly question Australia’s PM’s Stance on China”. Bio: Edward Willes is an Australian poet who’s poetic essence has been distilled within the state of Queensland (both rural and urban). Endeavoring to establish a voice of connection within the small but profound moments of cultural reflection and nostalgic rhythms, he rejects the pop cultural iconic identities that take hostage the personal experiences of a contemporary Australian. http://edwardwilles.wordpress.com/ |
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