ArtSake

It’s starting to look like spring! Squirrels are filling their little fat cheeks with dead leaves to build nests, baby green shoots are emerging from the soggy earth, and artists who dare make sense of the wonderful chaos of nature are enticing us to emerge from our long collective winter’s nap. If you want to feel the energy and excitement of the natural world be sure to check out Merill Comeau’s upcoming show at the Arnold Arboretum.

What artist do you most admire but work nothing like? Have you seen Amy Yoes work? She is a New York artist that does architectural installations — a kitchen in a residence in which nothing is at right angles and every single thing that moves makes a different sound — every drawer pulled out, every cabinet door opened. Someone working in that kitchen is making a sound symphony as well as a dance as well as a (I would think) glorious meal. She also does painting installations where she paints curlicues and ornamental flourishes on multiple planes in the same room — beautiful. I had the opportunity to hear her speak and have her visit my studio at the Vermont Studio Center. She was super helpful, I’m still working on some of her feedback she gave me and it is two years later. She was so approachable and friendly, too, a bonus!

If forced to choose, would you be a magic marker, a crayon, or a #2 pencil? Oh, can I be an HB pencil, please, pretty please. For me, the softer the lead the greater range of value in the line. If I go too long without drawing with soft lead, my hand actually aches to grip a pencil. I take great physical pleasure in being a design dinosaur — sketching and drafting by hand for my day job. If I ever have to learn CAD I’ll be out of a job.

How do you know when your work is done? My work is made up of hundreds of snippets of fabric: deconstructed clothing, old linens, and plastic net bags. Much of the fabric I stitch resist, paint, and print. Then I cut, combine, layer, cut again, reassemble. An advantage I have, I think, is that after such a long and involved phase of layout, I have a long phase of construction: sewing, sewing, sewing. The long process gives me plenty of time to do, edit and re-edit. The work is handled many, many times. I believe the final product embodies a level of human touch which is communicated to the viewer. I’m very picky about basic, 2-D concepts and can be quite critical and unsatisfied with my work. But that doesn’t make me unhappy. Being dissatisfied motivates me to do more, more, more.

What do you listen to while you create? I am a dedicated NPR listener. Art making is solitary, and the people contact through the radio connects me to the wider world. Also, I crave intellectual stimulation — there’s plenty to think about when you listen to NPR. My musical tastes are very broad. But when my energy flags, I listen to current dance music VERY LOUD. I LOVE to DANCE.

Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall? Fall, hands down. Fall is New England in all her glory. In the Fall I can work outside on the ground with out too many bugs!

Do you live with any animals? Oh yes, two daughters. Just kidding, hopefully they won’t read this. We have a girl golden retriever — so loving and kind you suspect her discernment. We have an elegant but standoff-ish black cat. And, our favorite — the perfect pet — a hamster, Scittles.

What are you currently reading? The Fabric of Cultures: Fashion, Identity, Globalization by Eugenia Paulice. Fabric and clothing from a social theory and sociological vantage point, very interesting. I love reading social theory because it results in “aha” moments. Elements of our culture, which are enmeshed in our everyday experience and so often under our radar, are zeroed in on, analyzed and spelled out for our understanding. There is an essay is this book about blue jeans: their history, identification, globalization of their manufacture, and speeded up consumer turn around. I found this essay particularly interesting as my latest piece, part of a series which explores the creation of the next Garden of Eden from the refuse of today, is made primarily from discarded jeans.

What’s the most surprising response to your art you’ve ever received? That mixing seventies plaid and eighties zebra print and English Toile together exhibits my lack of good taste. I think it was meant as a criticism but I thought it was such a funny (ha-ha humorous) perspective! It is fascinating how differently we all see visual things — the connotations and meanings verses color and shape. I also thought that was an interesting comment, considering I’ve paid my bills by being an interior designer for so many years. So don’t tell my clients about my bad taste.

Another surprising response: I was working at the National Park of the Old North Bridge in Concord on the ground on the edge of the Concord River. As I walked down the river, I fell into a sink hole of mud up to my knee. When I got to a good spot to work, I removed my boots and socks, washed them out in the river and hung them on branches to dry. I set out my tarp, stacks of fabric, lunch, etc. and worked all day. When I climbed back up to the bridge to leave, the Park Ranger told me busloads of tourists had been visiting all day. A group of women, seeing me down on the edge of the river, asked where to leave money for the homeless person (me).

Tree Pieces: Painted Collages by Merill Comeau
Arnold Arboretum Art Gallery
March 12-April 24, 2011
Reception with the artist: Saturday, March 12th from 1:00-3:00pm
Artist talk: Wednesday, March 30th from 6:30-8:00pm

Facebook: Merill Comeau Art Craft Design
www.merillcomeau.com

Image credit: Photographs are by Merill Comeau. Detail shots are by Susan Byrne Photography.

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Alexandria Marzana-Lesnevich is writing her first book, a personal narrative about a Louisiana death penalty case, and she recently received some conspicuous encouragement. She won a 2010 Rona Jaffe Award, a $25,000 grant given to emerging female writers.

Alexandria lives in Jamaica Plain, and it turns out the prestigious award she’s just won has a nice, ongoing relationship with Massachusetts literature. Past local awardees include Sarah Braunstein (2007), Carin Clevidence (2004), and Ploughshares editor-in-chief Ladette Randolph (2002). And when Alexandria is formally honored for her achievement tonight at the NYU Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House, the evening’s guest will be Jane Brox, a past MCC Artist Fellow.

Alexandria, who will read at the popular Four Stories series in Cambridge on October 18, was kind enough to check in for an ArtSake nano-interview (presumably using a computer newer than a Commodore 64 – see answer 3).

What’s the best/worst day job you’ve ever had?
Best and worst are actually the same: I was a balloon girl at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. The job involved the holding of thirty large, animal-shaped mylar balloons. I loved the serenity of it: strolling the zoo’s winding paths, watching the animals, watching people smile at the sight of so many balloons. One summer afternoon, a preschool summer camp walked by me, each kid holding hands with a buddy. One of the counselors said, “There’s the balloon girl! Let’s get her!” The kids dropped hands and piled on me. I lost every single balloon. I radioed headquarters and told them I’d been mugged by midgets.

Were President Obama to create a cabinet post in the arts, whom should he appoint as Secretary?
I think we’ve all agreed that Marilynne Robinson should basically win everything.

Computer, longhand, or typewriter?
Computer. I wrote a novel on a Commodore 64 as a kid, and the combination of screen and keys feels the closest to a conduit for thought. Having said that, I mourn the loss of the typewriter’s aesthetics. For example, who gets a tattoo of a computer keyboard?

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?
I spend enough time reading court transcripts that it ought to be (c). But it’s (a), as any regular at my local karaoke bar (the Midway) can tell you. Specifically, I would really, really like to be Springsteen.

Share a surprise twist in the Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich story.
I feel like the surprise twists keep coming, most recently with this award! But let’s go with my mother’s response when I informed her that her daughter planned to take a perfectly good, freshly minted Harvard JD and use it to become an unemployed writer: “Thank God, I never thought you’d be happy as a lawyer.” I’ll always be grateful she said that. (Though I do sometimes wish she’d spoken up before I racked up three years of law loans!) I should add that my mother’s a lawyer, as is my father, one sister, and one brother-in-law. They know from whence they speak.

How many revisions does your work typically go through?
I’m a tinkerer, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse but almost always for annoying, I imagine. Between the time Kim Stafford chose my essay “In the Fade” for the Annie Dillard Award at Bellingham Review and the time Bellingham actually published it, I think I sent them four new drafts – and they obviously liked the first submission well enough! I’m always happy when I see an author’s note in a collection that stories previously appeared somewhere “in different form.” My brethren!

Alexandria reads as part of the Four Stories Reading Series at the Enormous Room in Central Square, Cambridge, on Monday, October 18, 7 PM, with music starting at 6 PM.

Alexandria Marzana-Lesnevich received her JD from Harvard Law School in 2005 and her MFA from Emerson College in 2009. Her prose, both fiction and nonfiction, appears or is forthcoming in Bellingham Review, Fourth Genre, and Southeast Review, among other publications. She has received the Annie Dillard Award in Creative Nonfiction, the Ragdale Foundation’s Alice Hayes Fellowship for social justice writing, and a Millay Colony residency fellowship. Currently, Alexandria lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, and teaches creative writing at Boston’s Grub Street.

Image: Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich, photo by Caleb Cole.

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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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