ArtSake

Ilie Ruby is a Boston-area writer and painter whose about-to-be-published novel, The Language of Trees, has gotten some choice praise from the likes of Gregory Maguire (Wicked) and Publishers Weekly. In Massachusetts, Ilie has upcoming readings at Brookline Booksmith (7/27), Newtonville Books (8/3), and Concord Bookshop (9/12).

Here’s a nano-interview with Ilie, an artist at a pivotal time in her career (and life, as it turns out)!

What’s the best/worst day job you’ve ever had?
Best, writing reviews on PBS documentaries for 8 hours a day. What could be better than watching documentaries and then writing about them? The worst job, handing out flyers in Boston’s Faneuil Hall on Christmas Day when I was 23. I stood outside in the snow for 8 hours without a hat and contracted the worst flu I’d ever had.

Who wins the poets vs. prose writers paint ball war?
Poets. They think fast and know how to hit you where it counts.

Do you secretly dream of being a) a pop icon, b) an algebra teacher, and/or c) a crime-solver/writer a la Jessica Fletcher?
A pop star. Whatever you do, do not search for IlieRubyBand on MySpace.

What’s the most surprising response to your work you’ve ever received?
I once had a short story ravaged by wolves in a writing workshop. When I left, barely able to speak, a friend suggested that the best revenge was revision. I looked over the story, dotted some i’s, crossed some t’s, and decided I was happy with it as it was. The situation really could not get any worse, I thought. Then I haphazardly tossed the story into a box marked “contest,” (not knowing what contest it actually was). A few weeks later I received a phone call: “Congratulations, your story has just won the Edwin L. Moses Award for Fiction chosen by T.C. Boyle! The biggest award at USC.” I received a huge prize, a small amount of satisfaction, and learned never again to listen to wolves.

Like, what does your work MEAN?
I don’t intentionally set out to convey a message, but what usually comes through is the idea that people can make the biggest mistakes of their lives and still come out okay. Life is an animal that can turn in an instant… in a good way. There is life after life. People need to have hope in the face of tragedy. This much I know.

Share a surprise twist in the “Ilie Ruby story.”
Well, talk about a confluence of events, not two months after my husband and I decided to adopt 3 children from Africa, I received word that my novel had been accepted for publication. I had waited for both things for such a long time. As synchronicity would have it, they both came along at once! So, I became a new mom and a new author within the span of a few months! What followed was a whole lot of learning, growing, and editing manuscripts while sitting at my daughter’s soccer practice and on the bench at the playground. It is a juggling act to say the least — but one I wouldn’t change for the world! This has undoubtedly been one of the most magical times of my life.

Ilie’s book tour for The Language of Trees launches at Borders NYC Columbus Circle on July 22 at 7 PM. Massachusetts readings include Brookline Booksmith on July 27, 7 PM; Newtonville Books on August 3 at 7 PM; and the Concord Bookshop on September 12 at 3 PM.

Ilie Ruby is a painter and author. She lives near Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and the three children they adopted from Africa.

Images: Ilie Ruby, photo by Steve Lifshatz; cover art for THE LANGUAGE OF TREES by Ilie Ruby (Avon HarperCollins, 2010).

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Reams of paper have been used to write about the concept of the gaze in painting. This is a nano-interview, so we’re not going there. Instead we’re honored to have artist Christopher Faust (FY10 MCC Painting Fellow) take us on a quick ride into his mind. Let’s see what he has to say.

What artists’ work do you admire most but create nothing like? Paul Pfeiffer at the moment. He’s got a real straightforward and hardworking approach to the material/medium of video that’s fearless. He’s not afraid of months of work for just a few minutes (or less) of footage.

If forced to choose, would you be an eraser or a permanent magic marker? Definitely a kneaded eraser.

What is the most surprising response to your art you have ever received? I had someone point out to me that there was something wrong with my composition - that the figures were too in the middle. When I told him I knew that and I did it on purpose, he kind of got angry and confused, then he stopped talking to me. I also had a piece stolen recently from a show.

Do you live with any animals? Yes, we have a mixed pit bull named Tessa. She looks tough as hell, but she’s all comedy… crazy smart and great around kids. She’s a rescue and I think she was abandoned because she had no fight in her.

How do you know when your work is done? I don’t, really. I mean I figure it out, because I get to a point where it doesn’t need anything more. I sometimes sit on pieces for months without working on them because I just can’t figure out what’s wrong, then I force myself to work and finish the piece. It’s just hard work, really.

What do you listen to while you create? All kinds of stuff. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Zeppelin. Most often nothing at all.

What films have influenced you as an artist? David Cronenberg’s first film, “Shivers” - just a great disconnected tone and amazing images. Also the last scene of Days of Heaven when Linda Manz is running and you just see her face from the side and this crazy blue/ green light (at least that’s my memory of it). The first scene of Solaris (Tarkovsky’s) where he’s staring at nature before he leaves for the space station….but mostly I see films to escape and they have nothing to do with my art. I love all zombie movies, Dune (David Lynch!) Jaws (every Memorial Day) and all sci fi- the recent Battlestar Galactica being at the top of the heap.

What are you currently reading? “Altered Carbon” by Richard K. Morgan

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall? Can’t choose on that one - I’m from New England.

What has the MCC Artist Fellowship meant to you? Recognition. I moved back here from New York City after 13 years because I missed it, and to receive this award here, in Massachusetts, has meant a lot to me and made a huge difference in my life. The money’s nice but it means more to me to be recognized in a place where I really want to be.

Christopher will participate in small works invitational exhibition showcasing the works of eleven Massachusetts artists recognized by the MCC’s Artist Fellowship Program. Painted Visions will be at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod from July 13- August 8, 2010. The opening reception is Saturday, July 17 from 5-7 pm.

Image credit: All images by Christopher Faust. From top to bottom:
Red and Green Forest, 2010, watercolor and gouache on paper, 14″ x 20″
Blue House, 2010, watercolor and gouache on paper, 14″ x 20″
Hilltop Bleed, 2009, watercolor and gouache on paper, 14″ x 20″

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We have a tidy, linear nano-interview with Yanick Lapuh, a 2010 MCC Painting Fellow. His work involves the repetition of geometric forms on rectangular canvases to play around with the idea of spatial illusion.

What artists’ work do you admire most but create nothing like?
Henri Matisse. I admire his going to the essential and the positive vibration that results. I like his apparent acceptance of his own humanity and of his limitations.

If forced to choose, would you be an eraser or a permanent magic marker? Eraser and permanenent magic marker – who says I have to choose?

Do you live with any animals?
A very independent cat – which is good.

How do you know when your work is done? I feel it. It’s done when I’m inspired and energized by it, when I like looking at it. A piece is done when it gives me back energy.

What do you listen to while you create? Nothing.

What films have influenced you as an artist? I consider films an art form in themselves. I watch many kinds but it is difficult to tell if any one has influenced me more than others.

What are you currently reading? Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Conquest of Colour, 1909-1954 by Hilary Spurling and recently finished The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein.

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall?
I love them all.

What has the MCC Artist Fellowship meant to you? It’s encouraging to see that there are actually people out there who appreciate my work. I’m very grateful for that.

Yanick will participate in small works invitational exhibition showcasing the works of eleven Massachusetts artists recognized by the MCC’s Artist Fellowship Program. Painted Visions will be at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod from July 13- August 8, 2010. The Opening reception is July 17 from 5-7 pm.

Image credit: All images by Yanick Lapuh. From top to bottom:
Viable Option (2007), Oil on wood construction, 34″ x 16″ x 2 1/2″
Private Enterprise (2007), Oil on wood construction, 44″ x 33″ x 2 3/4″
Most Time (2008), Oil on wood construction, 47″ x 36″ x 3″

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Joshua Meyer (MCC FY10 Painting Fellow) gave ArtSake a quick peek into his mind. We want to share it with you, so here goes.

What artists’ work do you admire most but create no thing like? Musicians and writers.

If forced to choose, would you be an eraser or a permanent magic marker? I am about to have shoulder surgery for my painting arm. Even though it is relatively minor surgery, it makes me reconsider how I create and what would happen if I lost my arm. Could I paint with my left foot? While the physical act is extremely important to me, the imperative is simply to create. The tool comes later.

What is the most surprising response to your art you have ever received? I once stood in front of my paintings with the poet Robert Hass as he described my art to me. I felt like I was in the midst of one of his poem’s, a participant.

Do you live with any animals? I have a nine-year-old and a toddler. Do they count? Oh, and I’ve also got a little gargoyle that my wife gave me for my studio. Come to think of it, I also have a few toy turtles that were gifts from one of my models. They were meant to remind me to be the tortoise and not the hare–slow and steady wins the race!

How do you know when your work is done? I don’t, I never know. If it is still in my studio, it isn’t done. The paintings are just big buckets of ideas. Accumulations. Stone soup. The longer they are in my studio, the more densely packed they become. Paintings go on without end. I wish they would grow feet of their own so they could run away when enough becomes enough.

What do you listen to while you create? When my painting is really in full swing, the music gets louder louder. When I crank up something loud, like the Lounge Lizards, painting becomes a little bit like dancing on a canvas. But on quieter days, I podcast. I love Radiolab. I always listen to Fresh Air–Terry Gross is in my studio so often, it seems like she’s one of my models.

What films have influenced you as an artist? I’m a Fellini junkie, so 8 1/2 is about as good as it gets. Kieslowski’s great too. Dave McKean made an amazing short called “The Week Before”. Does Shirin Neshat count as film?

What are you currently reading? I just finished Tinkers, which came out of the blue and won the Pulitzer prize. It was really remarkable. Orhan Pamuk’s “Museum of Innocence”. Also some poetry.

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall? I love living where the seasons keep dramatically changing. Every few months the rug gets pulled out from under us. Everything looks and feels different. Life has rhythm.

What has the MCC Artist Fellowship meant to you? It is so nice to have external validation and to be included in the dialogue. Plus, now I can afford twice as much coffee.

Joshua will participate in small works invitational exhibition showcasing the works of eleven Massachusetts artists recognized by the MCC’s Artist Fellowship Program. Painted Visions will be at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod from July 13- August 8, 2010. The Opening reception is July 17 from 5-7 pm.

Upcoming feature exhibit in 2010: Rice/Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA. August 13-August 26, 2010.

Upcoming Solo exhibit in 2010: Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA. December 2010-January 2011.

Image credit: All images courtesy of Joshua Meyer. From top to bottom:
Pearl (2010), Oil on panel, 20″ x 24″

Makings of the Sun (2008), Oil on canvas, 30″ x 30″

And the Love that Loves the Love that Loves to Love (2009), Oil on canvas, 35″ x 46″

Accidents that Always Happen (2009), Oil on canvas, 24″ x 24″

Roundabout (2009), Oil on canvas, 24″ x 24″

Once I Was (2009), Oil on canvas, 30″ x 30″

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Many painters are soley dedicated to creating the masterful illusion of deep space on a two-dimensional picture plane. No small feat for sure. But Michael Zelehoski (FY10 Painting Fellow) goes the other way. He takes three-dimensional objects and forces them to submit into two-dimensional picture planes. Michael took a moment away from his work to answer a few questions.

What artists’ work do you admire most but create nothing like? People like Jeff Koons’ and Richard Haden’s treatment of the object is the inverse of what I do, although I think the concepts overlap. I definitely envy anyone who paints and their ability to work autonomously in illusionary space unencumbered by mass and physical dimension. Then again, bumping up against those limitations is central to my creative process and helps make my work what it is.

If forced to choose, would you be an eraser or a permanent magic marker? Definitely an eraser, and we need a lot more of them. I’m imagining people all over the world rubbing each other out of existence.

What is the most surprising response to your art you have ever received? Someone once burst into tears.

The unauthorized biography of your life is titled: Objectification.

Do you live with any animals? Just my girlfriend and I. We’re pretty much domesticated though.

How do you know when your work is done? I hate to say it but when it sells. Until then nothing is safe.

What do you listen to while you create? Lots of NPR, classical, random obscure progressive, Smylonylon, bands named after animals etc.

What films have influenced you as an artist? Good question.

What are you currently reading? Merleau-Ponty’s Primacy of Perception, The Death of Mister Watson by Peter Mattheissen and The New Yorker.

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall? All of them.

What has the MCC Artist Fellowship meant to you? New tools, some financial security and a measure of validation. Thank you.

Michael Zelehoski’s work will be part of a small works invitational which will feature painters from this year’s MCC Artist Fellowship Program. The exhibition will be at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod. The opening reception is Saturday, July 17th from 5-7pm. The show runs from July 13-August 8, 2010.

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Last month, Elizabeth Streb, Artistic Director of the Streb Laboratory for Action Mechanics (S.L.A.M.) had an inspiring public dialogue in Boston with Diane Paulus, Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theatre, about innovative ways of engaging audiences. We’ll share the video of this conversation as soon as it’s available - can’t wait!

Watch the above clip of the Brooklyn-based Streb Extreme Action Company and you can see why Elizabeth Streb is a natural to discuss engagement. Her groundbreaking work weaves action sports, acrobatics, and wild contraptions into mesmerizing dance. She recently engaged us with a nano-interview. Enjoy!

What artist do you most admire but work nothing like? Philippe Petit, Trisha Brown

What’s the best/worst day job you’ve ever had? I’ve never not-liked working- so I would restate the question to what was the ‘most arduous’ job I’ve ever held, and the answer to that would be cooking in NYC restaurants from 1975-1988-from age 25yrs to 38yrs.

If forced to choose, would you be a magic marker, a crayon, or a #2 pencil? I would be a #2 pencil because I like the smell and it reminds me of solving (or not) for hours on end Mathematical Problems.

How do you know when your work is done? I run out of time or money or get bored or all. Nothing else would act as the impetus for cessation of making a choreographic event.

What do you listen to while you create? I don’t listen to anything. Music is the true enemy of dance.

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall? I don’t care which as long as all still contain time space and motion.

What films have influenced you as an artist? Das Boot, Stan Brakhage’s The Act of Seeing With One’s Own Eyes, The Way Things Go by Peter Fischli and David Weiss.

What are you currently reading? The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder/ Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs in Afghanstan by Greg Mortenson/ Warped Passages by Lisa Randall/ Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson

Have you ever revised your work on the spot, during a performance (intentionally, I mean)? Yes.

What’s the most embarrassing line of an artist’s statement you’ve ever written? “I’m searching for movement, its out there somewhere, I’ve got to find it” In a Dance Magazine article by Iris Fanger in the late 80s (even though its true).

Do you secretly dream of being a) a pop icon, b) an algebra teacher, and/or c) a crime-solver/writer a la Jessica Fletcher? No, I ardently dream of being who I am.

What’s the most surprising response to your art you’ve ever received? In 1985 in Basel, Switzerland-at the Kunsthause, Basel, when 195 audience members of 200, walked out on my show.

Like, what does your work MEAN? ‘Feeling the Move’ through ‘changing the ground.’

What’s next? The invention and staging of the first ever: ‘Moveical.’

Media: video promo from Elizabeth Streb’s STREB VS. GRAVITY tour, 2008.

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Liza Bingham (MCC ‘10 Painting Finalist) is wild about hedges and geometry and architechture. We asked her to take a moment to answer a few quick questions about what makes the garden of her mind grow highly manicured.

What artists’ work do you admire most but create nothing like? Clyfford Still.

How do you know when your work is done? I’ve noticed that good paintings seem to “float” or “levitate” away from the wall. It has something to do with having enough light and air in them. On the otherhand, if there’s something in the painting that doesn’t support or follow the logic of the rest of the piece, then there’s still work to be done.

What do you listen to while you create? I find music too distracting to paint to regularly, however I almost always tune into Terry Gross on Fresh Air (WBUR) at midday.

What are you currently reading? Robert Sullivan’s new biography of Henry David Thoreau (The Thoreau You Don’t Know).

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall? This past Winter I was painting a lot of Summer, Spring and Fall imagery, so it’s hard to pick a favorite–they all factor into my work.

 What has the MCC Artist Fellowship meant to you? It’s been a great form of validation.

For more on Liza Bingham check out her Web site.

Also, coming in July at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod is a small works invitiational which will feature painters from this year’s MCC Artist Fellowship Program including Liza. Stay tuned for more on this show as we head closer towards summer.

Image credit: All paintings by Liza Bingham. From top to bottom:
Tickle; (2009); Oil on panel; 12″ x 16″ (photo credit: Steward Woodward)

Corner Lot; 2009); Oil on panel; 12″ x 16″ (photo credit: Freddie Wys)

Corner Piece ll; (2009); Oil on linen on panel; 10″ x 19″ (photo credit: Steward Woodward)

Cool, Sweet Suburban Midnight; (2009); Oil on panel; 12″ x 16″ (photo credit: Freddie Wys)

Corner Piece l; (2009); Oil on panels; 5″ x 9″ (photo credit: Steward Woodward)

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Artist Cullen Washington will soon be heading up north to Skowhegan, Maine for a summer Artist Residency. Before he packs his bags and leaves town we have a few questions for him.  So without further ado, take it away Cullen.

What artists’ work do you admire most but paint nothing like? It seems I am instinctively drawn to and admire artists whose works have a commonality with my own. By seeking them out, I find evocative ways of informing my work, discovering new solutions and applying different uses of materials. Some artists I admire are Robert Rauschenberg, Romare Bearden, Joseph Albers, Jean Michel Basquiat, Mark Bradford and Frank Stella.

If forced to choose would you be an eraser or a permanent marker? Both measures are so extreme. I think I would be a permanent marker with an eraser.

What is the most surprising response to your art you have ever received? The responses to my work are always surprising. They are what I would not expect to hear. Every viewer brings with them their own story and personal history. They apply it to what they see in my work. This is fascinating for it brings me to new paths of meaning and therefore making.

The unauthorized biography of your life is titled: “BLIND OBSSESSION, DELIBERATE INTENTION”

How do you know when your work is done? The work is never done. It is always in continuation. I look at the work as a series of solutions. Each piece is a study that is one possible solution out of many. Each one is in conversation with the one before it, as well as offering relevance to the next.

What do you listen to while you paint? Right now I am listening to Jimi Hendrix, Pfunk and London based mix tapes. The music and the music makers definitely inform the work and support intuitive decision making in the creative process. I balance this with reading forwards and introductions in art books. I scan the critical dialogue for words and ideas that resonate with me. I use the words to build a personal lexicon. I translate the words into pictures and symbols that in turn inform the work and give intellectual balance.

What films have influenced you as an artist? The film influences shift as my interest shifts. Currently, I’m interested in dystopian movies and sci-fi films. Some classics I enjoy are Blade Runner, I Robot, and Metropolis. What I’ve currently seen are Terminator Salvation and District 9. And, even though I haven’t viewed it yet, Pumzi, an afro futurist dystopian movie, is a film I’d like to add to my library.

What are you currently reading? Since my interests are centered on afro futurism and sci-fi, I’m reading books indicative of the subject. They are “The African Origins of UFO’s by Anthony Joseph and “Flame Wars, The Discourse of Cyberculture” by Mark Dery.

For more on Cullen Washington be sure to check out his Web site or attend one of these events:

CUE Art Foundation Group Exhibition of The 2009 Joan Mitchell MFA Grant Recipients
June 10, 2010 from 6-9pm
511 West 25th Street, ground floor, New York, NY 10001
212-206-3853

Hallspace Gallery
Solo Exhibition
October 2010
950 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, MA 02125

Bridgewater State College
Solo Exhibition
November 2010
131 Summer Street, Bridgewater, Massachusetts 02325

Bonus track: Magdalena Campos Pons interviews Cullen Washington Jr. in the November Issue of NKA Journal of African Art

Image credit: All works courtesy of Cullen Washington.
From top to bottom:

Black Being No.1; charcoal, acrylic, paper and found object on canvas; 24” x 30”; 2008

Dyno-mite in My Room; charcoal, paper, acrylic and found object on canvas; 60” x 103”; 2008

Hulk Don’t Smash (DETAIL); charcoal, acrylic, paper and found object on canvas; 71” x 54”; 2008

The Man of Steel; tobacco leaf, charcoal, gold leaf on sack cloth; 72″ x 100″; 2009

Star Wars and 3rd Street; charcoal, paper, acrylic, tape and found object on canvas; 59.5” x 80”; 2009

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A green plastic watering can
For a fake chinese rubber plant
In the fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself
from Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees

Deb Todd Wheeler’s (2003 MCC Sculpture/Installation Fellow) recent work explores blown film polyethylene otherwise know as plastic. One thing is for sure, Deb’s work is definitely for real. Let’s dive in and see what she’s up to.

 What are you currently reading? Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall? Fall. (Bonus art treat: check out Deb’s Snail video piece from September 27, 2009 — She recorded the sounds and movements of a group of snails as they organized themselves into a fall ritual rarely seen.)

What do you listen to while you create? Alexi Merdoch.

Do you live with any animals? A rabbit.

What artists’ work do you admire most but create nothing like? Pippolotti Rist.

If forced to choose, would you be an eraser or a permanent magic marker? An eraser.

The unauthorized biography of your life is titled: What The (bleep) is She Doing??

Decide for yourself and check out BLEW: recent works by Deb Todd Wheeler
at the Miller Block Gallery, 38 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.
Opening Reception: May 27th from 6-8pm
Exhibition Dates: May 21-June 26, 2010

Image credit: All images courtesy of Deb Todd Wheeler

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Shelley Reed, a recipient of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ Maud Morgan Award and a Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant has an upcoming solo exhibition at the Sears-Peyton gallery in New York opening May 6. Her work is also slated for a group show opening June 3 at Danese Gallery, curated by April Gornik. This show includes work by Ross Bleckner, Eric Fischl, and Julie Heffernan among others. ArtSake tapped this very busy artist on the shoulder to ask her a few brief questions:

What artists’ work do you admire most but paint nothing like? Abstract painters who use color gorgeously: Rothko, Brice Marden, Sol Lewitt. I would love to see my work in a show with a color-oriented minimalist.

If forced to choose, would you be a magic marker, a crayon, or a #2 pencil? Definitely a crayon, colorful and messy. Though you’d never know that by my work.

What is the most surprising response to your art you have ever received? Well, the most common response is that people very carefully and diplomatically suggest that I add at least a bit of color. The most surprising response was when someone contacted me from my Web site and asked me to design their tattoo.

The unauthorized biography of your life is titled: ‘Try and Try Again and Enjoy Every Minute’

Do you live with any animals? As a kid I wanted to be a vet, and was determined to have many animals as soon as I left my animal-free (though happy) childhood home. Since I ended up marrying a man with severe allergies, we’re pretty limited. We finally adopted a gorgeous greyhound named Trevor, who’s a great guy (and hypo-allergenic).

How do you know when your work is done? It’s never really done, I just can’t bear to work on it anymore. They generally take a long time. I could always go back in and make bits better, but it would be soul-crushing and intensely boring not to move on.

What do you listen to while you paint? A wide variety of things. NPR, Leonard Cohen, rock, and yes, Broadway musicals.

What are you currently reading? Just finished Old Filth by Jane Gardam and The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald. Nothing to do with art, but terrific reads.

Something is amiss amidst all this beauty and delight
May 6 - June 12, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 6, 5-7 pm
Sears-Peyton Gallery, NYC

Image credit: All images of paintings courtesy of Shelley Reed.

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