9/10/2016 Interview with Artist Jessalyn AalandAHC: Can you tell us a bit about your process, themes & inspirations? I’m really interested in humanity, both in its positive attributes and its failures. This manifests in my work often through objects used by humans, or the spaces they inhabit. Humor is very important to me—I view it as a coping mechanism for society in its current form, which consists of vast injustice and inequity. I think my work contains a lot of humor and joy because it’s how I continue to exist in the world—making art is also a part of that. In general, ideas of liberation and resistance drive not only the creation of my artwork, but how I live in the world on a day-to-day basis. It might not be easy to see this in my work because I’m not interested in making work that is super political or didactic (it’s super difficult to do this well and admire those who can!), but much like in politics, I think where we have some of the greatest potential to effect change are in small moments in our daily lives (which is why I was a high school teacher for several years). Therefore, a lot of my work might be ambiguous or mysterious, or funny or fanciful, but also functions as a subtle form of resistance. Maintaining a sense of humor or joy in living is a form of resistance because it’s you trying to hold onto your humanity. The miracle will apply to you Formally, my work is very colorful and playful, sometimes shiny, sometimes made of many small pieces, sometimes very landscape oriented. In addition to color, I use a lot of shapes, textures, and patterns. The work I’m making now consists of ink or gouache drawings that I’ve scanned and turned into vectorized shapes, which are then cut out of paper or vinyl using a cutting plotter and applied to Bristol or other materials. I like to imagine potential spaces I or others might inhabit (utopian, mysterious, or even mundane), or possible objects or beings that could exist—a lot of “what if” questions. My background originally was in literature and writing, so my artwork often contains a lot of narrative potential. 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? I've always made art. When I was a child, I used to entertain myself by making collages. The series Dream House came from the experience of cutting up my parents' Sears and JC Penney catalogues and arranging them in the form of my ideal home. Activity Room 2009, collage on paper, 14" x 17" However, I was always much more interested in writing and thought I would become a writer (I studied world literature in college). In my teens and early 20s though, I became very involved in music. For many years, I booked experimental/DIY music shows at a collectively-run venue in San Diego called the Che Cafe. I would make collage posters to promote the shows, and also ended up making album art. Eventually, I became less involved in music and began to focus more on my art. Art-making, writing, and music have always been integral to my life, not separate from it. Pocahaunted, Pukers, Barn Owl, Vis Viva, Crystal Village at Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut 2008, collage on paper, 17" x 11" AHC: Your work in 'Accumulations' explores the theme of cyclical consumption, planned obsolescence and all of the "stuff" both wasteful & useful that we pick up along the way in a life. One of your titles captures this perfectly 'Trying to Reach the Point of Largest Growth' could you talk more about this theme and what first drew you to tackling this subject? While a lot of the works in this series depict accumulations of physical objects (especially consumer goods), for me, they also represent other things we might accumulate that aren’t tangible. For example, what is passed down to us from our families (both good and bad). I made Trying to Reach the Point of Largest Growth at the beginning of my career as a high school teacher, and I was thinking a lot about forms of privilege I inherited from my family due to growing up as a middle-class white American (to name a few), and how these forms of privilege might be in play when working with my students. I titled the work Trying to Reach the Point of Largest Growth because as someone who is interested in self-reflection, personal growth, and justice in the world, I’m always striving to do better, both for myself and in my relationships with others. However, there is no end point—it’s a lifelong pursuit, and if you think you’ve reached any kind of “end point,” then you’re missing something critical about the task at hand. Trying to Reach the Point of Largest Growth On the other hand, while some of my works might have a specific meaning for me personally, and often there might be something I’m considering as I’m making the work (and the work, in fact, might be a way for me to explore that for myself), I don’t think it’s important for viewers to see that in my work. I like to make work that can have layers of meaning, maybe even some ambiguity. I’m totally happy for someone to look at the work and create their own meaning—I think that’s one way my practice as an educator really aligns with my practice as an artist—this idea that you can come to an artwork as a viewer and see something in it for yourself (grounded in what you see, of course). I view my own personal thoughts around the work as kind of “bonus” information that isn’t necessary for the viewer, but maybe kind of fun. I don’t want anyone to feel that they have to see what I see or that there’s specific meaning just waiting to be unlocked if you can find the “right” answer. Relax No. 1 AHC: Now, more than ever it seems we need safe spaces to come together and dialogue with each other, we are losing tangible outlets for this, your work in 'DIY Safe Space' explores what these may look like and asks us to imagine our own. Could you talk more about this issue? And also about the notion that we must 'do it ourselves', that it starts with us? I wouldn’t say I believe in the concept of a “safe space,” but I do believe in the value of alternative spaces outside of mainstream culture and the concept of dialogue in a general sense. Working at the Che Café and also a worker-owned food co-op in my early 20’s completely shaped who I am today, and I think it’s important for spaces that exist as a counter to a traditional capitalist framework to exist—for example, non-hierarchal organizations, worker’s co-ops, DIY all ages show spaces, artist-run galleries, etc. While these spaces are not perfect and often replicate some of the same problems as the rest of society (i.e. racism, sexism, transphobia, ableism, etc.), I think it’s important for people, particularly young people, to have access to alternative modes of thinking and living during their formative years. If they aren’t provided outlets for imagination and creativity, and the opportunity to see what this looks like in practice, how can we expect anything good to happen in the future? Talking Circle No. 1 2011, collage on paper, 14" x 17″ I live in the Bay Area so the question of space is at the forefront of everyone’s mind; with the rapid acceleration of neoliberal tech domination, we’re losing access to these kinds of spaces (along with affordable places to live—my partner and I were recently evicted from our Oakland live/work space of eight years and our rent has increased by almost three times). I don’t feel like I have anything new or insightful to contribute to this discussion that hasn’t been said by a million others, but I do wonder what it would be like to live in a place where the issue of housing and space wasn’t such an issue. What would it be like if everyone didn’t have to work so much to ensure the most basic level of survival? Is that even possible in an American city now? There's a Lot of Things to Feel 2011, collage and gouache on paper, 21" x 29"
AHC: Do you have any upcoming exhibits or new projects you'd like to tell people about? If you’re in San Francisco, I have an exhibition opening at The Mill on Divisadero St. on October 7. I’m also working on a series of posters featuring inspirational/transformative/transgressive quotes by authors, artists, and activists for classrooms. You can find out more on my website at jessalynaaland.com/ Comments are closed.
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