Elena Lavorato Gets to Know Kate Iverson

BLACK MOON NO. 1

When you photograph a scene with the intention of editing it into high contrast black and white, are you looking for any composition in particular or is the Photoshopped version somewhat unexpected?

 I definitely seek out compositions that have a lot of depth and texture, things I know will transition nicely into black and white and withstand the digital enhancements that I like to do. I shot a lot of grasses, barks, reflections, etc... textural things that had a lot going on, but had enough dimension to be interesting when manipulated. I do, however, shoot whatever I think looks cool regardless, because sometimes you don't know what can happen when you pull an image into Photoshop and play around with it.

How can symmetry and repetition change a person's perspective on nature?

 I guess it's just looking at it in a different way and seeing how the most basic natural shapes are kind of miraculous when shuffled into a different format. I mean, nature is always miraculous as it is, but when you break it down and really truly analyze it, it becomes, well extremely bizarre and witchy in the most amazing of ways. When I first started the project, I didn't think I was going to see so many different things in these images once I manipulated them, but once I did, some of the almost scared me!

Do you prefer a black and white color scheme because of the complexity of your images? How would color change the effect? 

VELES

 I am someone that has always been drawn to black and white works of all types. Black and white anything and everything, actually. I like the clean feel and the candidness of it. I think black and white always leaves you guessing in a sense and it's always classic as well.
From the get-go I knew I wanted my show to be very cold and dark, despite the earth origins of the work. I love contrast and juxtaposition. I am sure the color versions would be beautiful. but when you break something that is naturally warm and colorful down into very stark imagery, you get a very raw effect that is almost UN-natural which is something that appealed to me for this concept.

How relevant is the pagan history of The Black Moon to your artistic practice?

Though I've always been curious about Pagan religions (it's the teenage goth in me, what can I say), when I set out to create this body of work it was not necessarily in the forefront. It wasn't until I started manipulating the images and seeing the intensity and strangeness of the subject matter developing that I really felt that specific mood come forward. I see so many unbelievable things in the images, especially the inverted ones-- faces upon faces upon faces. Tribal masks, grass monsters, skulls, water creatures, gargoyles... the list goes on. I even see tiny Misfits skulls in one of them and mirrored Gary Numan faces. Now that's religion!

What was your work like when you began making art? Has Photoshop always been involved?

I was mainly a photographer that dabbled in painting here and there, kind of the same as I am now, just worse, haha. I have used a lot of stenciling and taping processes in my work, which I still do, mostly because I am a terrible hand-painter and also just because I appreciate design and structure. You'll see a little bit of this sort of embellishing in the show, but it's largely photographic/ digital manipulation. I have always used Photoshop, yes. It's a major tool for me. I haven't necessarily done a ton of digital collage in this particular way though, so that's new for me. I also prefer presenting photography differently than just a high quality print, framed and matted. To put it bluntly, I beat the shit out of the original high-res image in Photoshop, then print it out on really basic paper on a super basic printer-- I like the way the image becomes even more degraded and xerox-y. When I paste it onto a panel and start working the paper further, it becomes even rougher and more textural. I want the pieces to feel a bit like a wheat-pasted poster on the street.

SELVANS

Any memorable stories from your residency at the Lake Tofte Center through the emerging artist's program, where the pieces for this show were photographed?

The residency was an awesome reset. The other four artists were very cool and the director of the center, Liz, was such a generous, gracious host. I went swimming in an actual lake for the first time since probably the '80s and I basically disconnected from the internet for most of the trip (which I don't think I've ever done, honestly). Tofte Lake Center is in the Boundary Waters so nature is BIG…in the sense that it's, well, everywhere. I'd go hiking and take photos each day, driving to different trails within maybe a 20 mile radius. It was actually quite terrifying to me because being in such a remote place, by yourself, with no phone service, well…you could basically fall off a cliff and no one would ever have a clue what happened to you. You'd just disappear. That feeling of really truly being alone is pretty weird. Add the hugeness of nature and it's probably the realest you'll ever get.

    
Can you tell me a little about your collaboration with Blake Carrington, whose sound composition will also be a part of the show?

 Blake is a composer and visual artist from Brooklyn, NY. He was also a Tofte Lake Center resident--the Jerome Foundation opens the program to both Minnesota and New York artists. Of the five artists chosen, three were from NY, two from MN. I actually picked Blake up at the airport and drove there and back with him. He went to TLC specifically to capture nature sounds with the purpose of creating a new composition, which is what will be included as a sound installation for my exhibit. It fits the mood I'm trying to convey perfectly. He and I have a pretty similar aesthetic so it worked out quite well! You should really check out his website, he's done so many cool projects. Once he sound mapped (not sure that's the right term) original blueprints from a number of old cathedrals and even did a performance with huge art projections of the blueprints mapping the sound while IN one of the cathedrals itself. Totally meta! I won't pretend to understand how he does what he does, but it's pretty badass and weird. You can hear a snippet of the new composition in this little promo video I created for the exhibit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAp1BxVgWro

You seem to be involved in so many awesome art things going on in Minneapolis, how do you find time for your own practice?  

Ha! It's pretty hard to find the time actually, but I make it. Creating art is something I need to do to feel balanced…sometimes it comes in forms other than paint or a camera though. For instance, I can find that same centeredness doing graphic design or creative direction on a client project. Writing, working with artists and even marketing strategy are all creative things to me. But there's definitely a lot to be said about actually creating something with your hands, purely out of your imagination. It's pretty damn zen.

Check out Kate Iverson's show, The Black Moon, starting on October 3rd at SooLocal (3506 Nicollet, 6-9PM. The show runs through November 8! Click HERE for more details.

For more information about the interview and Kate Iverson follow these links:

http://www.bishopiverson.com 

http://www.cargocollective.com/kateiverson 

http://www.blakecarrington.com

https://vimeo.com/31823007 

http://www.toftelake.com

Elena Lavorato Gets to Know John Bell

  

Can you give me a brief description of your artistic practice?

Sure! It normally starts with an unexpected association of some kind -- like a color that glows just so or a very specific texture -- and then I build from there. As those things begin to accumulate, the piece starts to establish its own parameters and expectations. I most often go off the rails by trying to force disagreeable objects together or by imposing a depiction on a picture before it can talk back. I make and then destroy a lot of images because of this! I know I’m finished when a piece has its own self-sustaining orbit and no longer cares what I think of it. Sometimes I don’t like it, but I can’t deny it.

 Can you tell me a little about what you are showing at SooVAC in September?

It will be mostly paintings, and a handful of sculptures and drawings. My newer pieces are a little more mawkish and hair-brained than the comparatively sedate paintings I made in 2012 and 2013. I’m especially excited to exhibit a number of my new small ceramic figurines.

 Looking at your work online I feel like I see the hint of a furry animal or other familiar objects painted indistinctly; can you tell me anything about this?

Yeah! I think of myself as a figurative painter who paints verbs instead of nouns, and most of the time my subjects are animals or vegetables. I spend a lot of time thinking about different types of time—glacial-time, plant-time, tortoise-time—and how a painting can capture that difference. The jittery or hesitating subject is one of my favorites, and I’ve always felt that the most immediate illustration of that is in the routines of a dog, the warble of bird song, or the pacing of territory.

Do you prefer to paint with watercolor? Why?

I do, though it’s somewhat disingenuous of me to call myself a “watercolorist.” I paint with watercolors almost as though they’re oil paints, as the watercolors on the synthetic paper have a lot of the same vibrancy as oils but are completely water-soluble and erasable. I can work through ideas quickly and take greater risks. I feel like the shorthand of “watercolorist” gives me a lot more credit than I deserve. But to whatever extent I am a part of that tradition (naturalist or otherwise) I’m honored. It’s in harmony with the kind of making and living I aspire to. 




I was interested to read on your website that you are open to trading or bartering for your work and

“entertain impassioned pleas”. Have you ever obliged any impassioned pleas?

Ha! Nobody’s attempted “the impassioned plea” as of yet. I am still open to it, though.


Do you not accept money for your work? If not, why?

I sell work. My trading page is all about setting up a more explicit alternative to that route, though, to make the idea of living with my artwork a more accessible thing. I’m lucky! I’ve got a day job I like and I don’t need to rely on my painting for income, so while selling paintings is great, the trading has been really direct and rewarding in a different way. I’ve met some interesting people and received all kinds of wonderful things -- everything from a 6-month supply of homemade bread to a set of beautiful photos of neurons.

What is your earliest art related childhood memory?

I don’t know! My family is pretty art-centric, so we were always looking at or doing something. I remember painting the finger painting that hangs over my mother’s desk when I was probably 3 or 4. I’ve been fascinated by the Audubon reproductions in my parents’ house for  my whole life. 


 The Persistent Present: New Work by John Bell, runs September 12 to October 25




For more info CLICK HERE!

Elena Lavorato Gets to Know Garrett Perry

 Can you tell me a little about your process? How much change does the painting undergo from what you originally set out to create?
My work is very process driven and the paintings change quite a bit during the process. Usually I'll have an idea of what I want to paint. I work in my sketchbook to determine compositions and concepts. I initially paint fast and with vigor. After a ground of bold and bright colors is laid down I tend to slow down. I then intuitively respond to the shapes and alter and add layers. I typically will set paintings aside and come back to them weeks later. I like responding to them with a fresh set of instincts.

 The placement and size of some of your figures are reminiscent of traditional portraiture, in particular Romantic Imagination; however the subject is disfigured or partially concealed in a way. Are you in fact mimicking traditional portrait style and in what manner?

Yes. I use traditional portraiture as a departure point. The intent is not to disfigure the subject but for the physicality of the paint to create a barrier between the subject and viewer.

The majority of your paintings appear as close ups, a snap shot of a much larger scene, can you tell me anything about this?

They are. They are segments of a larger scene, memories of a story that has been mostly forgotten. They are meant to be elusive.

Your color pallet reminds me of an ice cream rainbow, what attracts you to pastel colors?

I like mixing a lot of white with my paint to make the painting appear flat. I don't think of them as pastels but as colors being within a similar value range. If the paintings were grey scale they'd all be a similar grey.

You say on your website that you watched a lot of television in your younger years, why was that the case?
I am a child of the late 80's/ early 90's. It was available.

How do television and visual culture inspire your paintings?

It's not so much TV as it is visual culture in general. I take images from the internet, magazines and art history books and use them as visual sources. From the visual sources I work in my sketch book to create compositions and ideas.

Do you surround yourself by anything inspiring while you paint? Photographs? Music?

Music is extremely important to my process. I need to be wearing headphones to keep myself distracted from the real world. I also surround myself with images. My studio is filled with open books, magazines, photographs, and computer print outs.

Who are your favorite artists?

In no particular order. Max Beckmann, George Condo, Picasso, Matisse, Rembrandt, Tal R, Eric Yahnker, Chantal Joffe, Allison Schulnik, Dana Schutz, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter, Brad Phillips, and Cindy Sherman. They have all been very influential over the last ten years, at one point or another.

Check out Garrett Perry's work, along with Sophia Heymans, in Lovesickness With Trees at SooVAC. For more information click here!

Elena Lavorato Gets to Know Exhibiting Artist Benjamin Rogers

the past has its place

    

1.  Can you tell me a little about your work in general?

            My work doesn’t really have a central theme really, but I do try to construct a visual frame that links all the paintings and all the drawings.  Each painting is an opportunity to explore different subject matter, often times I make paintings that are about the creative process and how that intersects with my personal and professional life.  Generally my paintings take on a multitude of meanings and I don’t feel comfortable pontificating to the viewer what each piece should mean.  I like people to interact with my paintings, investigate them, and whatever interpretation they create is okay by me.  It isn’t really up to me how it will or won’t affect people.  I also take special care to assign titles to the work that will engage a viewer’s imagination instead of spell out the meaning for them.  A pet peeve of mine is when artists explain away all of the aura and magic of there work of art.  As a viewer I like having a little bit of mystery.

  

2. Your paintings are so complicated and realistic, how do you plan out all of these components before paint actually meets canvas?

the morning never knows what the afternoon holds dear

         The truth is that I don’t plan out all of the components of the painting before I begin.  I do begin with a fairly exact drawing, and a good understanding of what the end product will be, however that almost always changes as I get into the painting.  I am constantly adding and subtracting things as I go along, trying to find the right combination of substance and style.  I work from photographs, but try to reference them as little as possible, so that I don’t feel like I am trying to recreate a photo on a canvas.  I want to create an entirely unique image that takes advantage of the physical properties of paint.  

      I am interested in creating contrasting dimensionality, by making large flat color fields next to highly formed objects or figures.  So I treat the picture plane like an abstract surface and pay special attention to foundational formal principles, such as color relationships, value distribution, balance, composition etc.  In the course of creating a painting I may have a plan for how it will look, but once I start adding paint to the surface the reality strays from my intentions, which is good, and I react by inserting whatever feels right for the concept of the painting and what fits in a formal framework.

3. Do you set up a scene and then photograph it or do you work from photographs you find?

 

one among the many

         I create a scene and then photograph it, (with one exception, my drawing One Among the Many was a photograph of one of my former students that I found).  I will begin a work one of several ways, sometimes I start with a title and build the rest from there, sometimes I want to try something challenging like make a Pink painting, or sometimes I have an idea of a subject or object that I want to use.  Sometimes I know exactly the image I want when I go to photograph, and sometimes I have a general idea and just keep trying new things until I find it.  I use the different components in the scene to inform the narrative of the painting, so I do put a lot of    thought into what goes into each image.

4. Why do many of your subjects look directly out from the painting at the viewer?

            I really like experimenting with the gaze of my subjects and how they interact with the viewer.  In film when a character looks into the camera or addresses the audience it’s called breaking the fourth wall, in painting you see this happen all the time through art history, famously in Olympia by Manet.  I think that I use it as a way of talking about the artifice of the surface, that I’m making something that is naturalistic but doesn’t pretend to be something other than a painting.  When the figure breaks the fourth wall in a film they are telling the audience that they understand that the film happening around them is not reality but they have a special insight into the land of make believe that the audience is peering into.  I think I’m trying to get the same affect with my figures.  I also think that it is easier for people to connect with a figure if they are making eye contact, so it’s way of getting the viewer’s attention.

 5. Why do you place yourself in your artwork?

           I am not in my artwork as often as people seem to think, I have a few paintings of my two best friends who look just like me and I will do a self portrait from time to time.  But I do admit, I paint myself enough that it’s noticeable.  And the only reason for that I suppose is that all of my work is largely about me and my understanding of the world.  A lot of my work is about the creative process which I can really only understand through the lens of my experience, so why not just go ahead and use my visage as the protagonist of the painting.

the hunger artist

6. Does the paint color deviate much from the true color of a scene? If so, how do you choose your color alterations?

Yes, quite a bit.  Since I don’t really look at the photograph very often the colors get changed and exaggerated.  I have made paintings that are more in the photorealistic genre, but I didn’t feel as free as I do when I simply use my intuition and understanding of painting to create entirely unique paintings.

7. I heard you taught at Normandale this past year, what classes did you teach? 

how far then, shall we say, that the east is from the west?

            

 I taught Painting 1, Painting 2, Drawing 1 and Watercolor Painting.  I loved teaching at Normandale, it was a great experience.  I had some really wonderful students and got to see some of them mature artistically.  I was a sabbatical replacement and wish I could have stayed on longer.

 8. Has teaching influenced your own artistic practice?

    

Yes, since teaching is an exercise in deconstruction of one’s practice, you really begin to understand your weaknesses.  This has encouraged me to really develop my weaknesses instead of avoiding them   as my natural tendency would dictate.

9. I saw that you received degrees in Arizona, Louisiana, and Kentucky; is the art scene different in Minneapolis?

that which we've built together throughout these many years

        I think that every large city has a different art culture, certain things are valued more, and certain types of work are more successful etc.  For instance, Phoenix, Long Beach and San Diego each have a certain style, or a prominent theme for the work that thrives in those areas.  There are some successful figurative artists in Phoenix, but the work that is the most successful deals with national identity/border issues or water issues. I think that the Minneapolis Art scene is similar in a lot of ways to that of Cincinnati (where I grew up) in that there isn’t really a predominant media, style or subject matter.   There also isn’t a lot of For-Profit galleries or “Blue Chip” galleries  but there is a great appreciation for creativity through things like the Art-A-Whirl.  However I get the sense that the country’s biggest Artwalk is more about having something interesting to do than having an opportunity to look at great art.  And for that matter it shouldn’t be, that’s a sort of terrible context to see art, I know because I went through a similar art walk 4-6 times a year at my studio in Cincinnati.  I do think that it’s amazing the way that Minnesota supports the arts,  there are a lot of funding opportunities for artists and a few really nice Non-Profit Galleries like Soo VAC.  I also see little hints of the New Orleans Art Scene in this city, because of peoples interest in beauty and oddity and their appreciation for diverse cultural expression. 

For more information on Critique of Pure Reason, Benjamin Roger's show opening August 2nd, CLICK HERE

Elena Lavorato Gets to Know Exhibiting Artist Sophia Heymans

March

Can you give me a brief description of your work?

Each landscape painting in my new series represents one month of the year and attempts to express a Minnesotan’s personal relationship to nature within that month.  I often think about the style as layering the figurative narrative of American Folk Art on top of the textural assemblages of Abstract Expressionism. There is a lot of wild and fast-paced surface build-up and then more controlled figures added later. To me, each painting is a different character and I am making a big family of 12.
 
Do you feel there is some advantage to depicting a scene from an angled aerial perspective?

March (detail)

The reason I choose an aerial perspective is because I want to show as much of the landscape as I can. I want the viewer to see everything that is happening all the way back to the horizon with nothing obscuring the view. Because of this perspective my paintings can become a giant stage for interactions between plants, landmarks and people. I give a much bigger role to the land than the sky in my paintings. I don’t have much interest in portraying the sky in paintings because compared to land/earth I think it lacks personality. For me, a very small amount of sky is enough to get the idea across.

How do you use paper mâché in your work? For texture?
 
I use it for texture but it also works as a composition tool. I place chunks of paper mâché (and other textural materials such as string and seeds) down first on the canvas before I use any paint and they become obstacles to work around which helps keep the composition from getting stale or predictable.
 

January

How did you come to use dryer lint with paint?

I first used dryer lint in college. I saw a pile of it in the trash in the laundry room of my dorm building and each piece was a different color from a different load of laundry. I thought “I could use that”. I don’t use it as much anymore because I don’t live in a place with a big laundry room, but I highly recommend it as a material. It almost always has a really interesting color or mix of colors that is hard to make with paint.

Thinking about what these scenes are, a prairie or a park, these are places that are normally depicted as serene or peaceful, but in you paintings there seems to be elements of chaos. Is this correct?

Yes, I think about chaos a lot. I like to play around with order/disorder. For instance the composition may be arranged tidily in a large circle but the plants making up those arrangements are strangely shaped, overgrown or laying dead in the snow.  I do believe nature is chaotic which makes it demand so much awe and reverence. That is the main reason I choose to paint landscapes.

What was your first art related experience?
   

January (detail)

My sister and I were homeschooled through childhood and every place on our family farm was transformed into a world that really only existed in our minds: branches at the top of a tree, a cleared out space in a cornfield, an empty bathtub, a colorful rug. They were all different settings in our highly intricate play world. I grew to understand that people could not see these places the same way we did. When I tried to tell my parents about them with my words they responded with very little interest.  I went looking for a different way to convey what I saw and experienced to others and I am still doing that to this day through painting. My sister must have felt the same way because she became an artist too. 


For more information on Sophia Heymans visit HERE. 
And more about the exhibition opening August 2nd HERE.