51 SPECIAL ISSUE Raquel Fornasaro eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine Alone, 2015 - Photo Manipulation, Otherworldly Series
SPECIAL ISSUE 52 agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries The Things We Miss, 2015 - Photo Manipulation, Otherworldly Series
53 SPECIAL ISSUE about the notion of materiality of a piece of art, since just few years ago it could be considered a tactile materialization of an idea. We daresay that new media will soon fill the apparent dichotomy between art and technology, to assimilate one to each other: what's your opinion about the relationship between Art production and Technology? As in any other industry, innovation brings disruption and change. Art isn’t any different. For instance, film and photography turned heads in the twentieth century, dramatically changing art and human history. In the words of Paul Valéry, “We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art.” Connectivity relates directly to the quest for innovation out of infinite possibilities. The other side of technology’s disruption is the mechanical reproduction of art, as described by Walter Benjamin. His concern was that the sense of the aura is lost in the reproducible image. In talking about film, he goes on to say: “It guides us to a particular side of a story and leaves other parts out. It dulls our perception towards the work of art and introduces distraction as a mode of reception.” In that sense technology’s assimilation is complete. He basically described my childhood experience. Technology is so intertwined in our lives that we can’t detach ourselves from it. Be the wheel that literally moves the world or a smartphone that we can’t look away from, as in The Thing We Miss. No one can fully predict the effects of the contemporary technologies in art or life. It is unquestionable that art and technology will continue to work symbiotically. Oil paintings will Raquel Fornasaro eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries SPECIAL ISSUE 54 still be painted, but how can you turn a blind eye on VR? We have really appreciated the vibrancy of thoughtful nuances of your pieces: in particular, Cutting Ties show that vivacious tones are not strictly indispensable to create tension and dynamics. How did you come about settling on your color palette? And how much does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones you decide to use in a piece and in particular, how do you developed a texture? (here we have reserved space for Gentoo and Tuca's Sidewalk, that you could mention in your answer, as well) I’m unsure how aware I am when I decide on what pallet each piece will have. It is one of those moments that there is little conscious coercion. When I “see” a painting in it’s ethereal form it is usually already emotionally charged. To me, color is directly related to emotion. The pallet seems determined in its primordial form by the emotion I want to materialize. Cutting Ties is one of the pieces that took me the longest to start and it feels like it is yet to be completed. This is a piece that reflects the numbness of a moment of realization. Too many changes were happening in my life at that time. The main driver was to finally admit to myself there was no sense in pretending I was religious. I was finally comfortable to admit that I am atheist. The color choice transpires that moment of peace. My paintings are mostly devoid of texture, with exception of some earlier works. Tuca’s Sidewalk is the last painting of that transition. I appall the simple idea of a lump of paint on my canvas. When I paint I become acutely aware of not leaving trace of a brushstroke behind. Although I see my work as too cartoonish to be photorealistic, I appreciate playing with the appearance of texture and the mere suggestion of three-dimensionality. You can see that in Gentoo and Perch where the subject is a flat, somewhat sober, representation of reality. Tuca's Sidewalk, 2012 - Oil on Canvas, 36 x 20 in
55 SPECIAL ISSUE Your work explores the liminal area in which the digital and the real find a point of convergence. Multidisciplinary artist Angela Bulloch once remarked "that works of arts often continue to evolve after they have been realised, simply by the fact that they are conceived with an element of change, or an inherent potential for some kind of shift to occur". Do you think that the role of the artist has changed these days with the new global communications and the new sensibility created by new media? I can’t ever be sure on when a piece is truly done. Once a work of art is completed it becomes its own element of change just by existing. Each Raquel Fornasaro eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 56 viewer adds change to a work of art by looking and interpreting it in their own way. Each piece that comes to be is a small nudge of a specific subject. In my view, the artist is, above all, a communicator, regardless of what is the message, or lack thereof. Nowadays we are constantly curating the images, either of ourselves or any work we do, that we share. Whatever we broadcast becomes a piece of what defines the age we live in. What we have today with this new media is a tool of mass dissemination. Except for Kafka, every artist I know wants to be seen. In this day and age, it is increasingly easy to do that in an agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries Cutting Ties, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 24 in Gentoo, 2016 - Oil on Canvas, 48 x 24 in
Savage Capitalism, 2010 - Oil on Canvas, 40 x 30 in
agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries SPECIAL ISSUE 58 Connectivity, 2009 - Oil on Canvas, 60 x 48 in
Raquel Fornasaro eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral 59 SPECIAL ISSUE exponentially larger scale. The intention of any artist will be redefined by each and every one. Though, I like to think that our role in society is the one of thought instigators. If we are not successful at making people think and see things differently, we are at least able to try. Over the years your works have been internationally showcased in several occasions, including two solos at the Honan-Allston library, in Boston: one of the hallmarks of your work is the capability to create a direct involvement with the viewers, who are urged to evolve from a condition of mere spectatorship. So before leaving this conversation we would like to pose a question about the nature of the relationship of your art with your audience. Do you consider the issue of audience reception as being a crucial component of your decision-making process, in terms of what type of language is used in a particular context? I’m not sure I do. My work is very personal in nature and though my pieces are messages they will be what they are regardless of who sees them. With that said, I like telling stories through visual representation and I love when anyone looks at my art and find in them their own interpretations. I’m successful whenever that happens. My intention is to create art just for the sake of art, welcoming the interest and reflections of the public. I want my work to be accessible without the feeling of chaos and confusion that art sometimes offers, at least for now. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Raquel. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? I’m just getting started artistically. After avoiding the artist life for so long, I had time to bottle up some energy that is ready to be released. This year has been rich for introspection and creation in preparation for new projects. I will be at the Attleboro Arts Museum as part of The Calm Before The Storm Exhibition. That show will run from September 16th to 23rd. The opening Reception is Saturday, September 16th from 2-4pm. Specifically for this show I’m working on a piece made with glass and trash found in the beaches of Fernando de Noronha, a volcanic archipelago about 350 kilometers off Brazil's northeast coast. October, 2017 I will be part of a show on STEAM with the polish-american artist Marlena Bocian Hewett at the Honan-Allston Library in Boston. This show will run from October 4th to 30th. The opening reception on Wednesday 4th from 6 to 8pm. On December 4th to 30th, I will be back to the Honan-Allston library, this time for a solo show presenting new works. From May 14th to July 8th 2018, my piece Refugees will be part of the Waging Peace exhibition at the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts. In July of 2018 I will be on a show at the Boston City Hall Gallery with the photographer Rachel Tine. You can follow the progress and news of these projects on my blog at fornasaro.com, or @raquelfornasaro on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected]
Paula Córdoba explores the complexity of contemporary world through a layered visual experience, that engages the viewer at both, an emotional and intellectual level. Córdoba is closely engaged in research of several subjects that range from ancient myths and popular beliefs to media and post-colonial power relationships. The artist’s visual production brings together prehispanic cultures’ iconography along with current forms of “internationalized” popular culture as a way of depicting tension between traditions an globalization. She often focusses on historic and contemporary processes of interculturation, taking on syncretism as one of its key subjects. Paula’s pieces raise questions on local and foreign perceptions of Latin America, as well as on its lasting sociocultural tensions. Frequently, her work seems to reflects on the illusory nature of identity and existence, related to cultural transformation and, in particular, to the increased impact of technology and foreign interests on Latin American culture, which are reflections of the age of globalization. Her work connects her interests in cultural and museum studies to our modern-day life experience: in her works, the past and the present are always colliding -perhaps reclaiming history in an effort to understand the present. And so does her media of choice, which merges itself to produce new hybrid forms within photography, painting, graffiti and graphic design, creating narratives that open up and extend into new spatial and serial configurations. The artist is heavily influenced by the opulence of (neo)baroque, to which she shares a delight in spectacle and sensory experiences. Her overloaded and hyper-theatrical language addresses instability and change, as well as suggests ongoing processes of metamorphosis and dissolution. A certain call for ambivalence is deeply rooted in her work, therefore, antagonistic figures are ever present: limit and excess, repetition and variation, fullness and void, freedom and repression; anarchy and order. Córdoba’s work seems to underpin that “artistic creation is the working out, in formal terms, of what culture cannot solve concretely”. Paula Córdoba Lives and works in London, United Kingdom
SPECIAL ISSUE 56 Hello Paula and welcome to Peripheral ARTeries: we would like to start this interview with a couple of questions about your multifaceted background. You have a solid background: you graduated from the Chelsea College of Arts and Design (University of the Arts London) with a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Arts and you also hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Museum Studies. How did these experiences along with your internship at Marc Quinn Studio influence the way you currently conceive your works? And in particular, how did the years you spent in the United Kingdom inform your cultural substratum? Hello and thank you for your interest in my work. My background in Museum Studies deeply influences my current artistic practice and the subjects I focus on, but I also think that particularities of my country of origin awakened these interests in the first place: Argentina is a country with a vast amount of European influence, my own heritage is an entangled mix of Spanish, Italian and French forefathers. Interestingly, I also learned that in both sides of my family we also have native ancestors, something that seemed very unlikely. These facts have always raised questions about my own identity and on how to stand politically, ideologically and even emotionally regarding the originary cultures of America in relation to the process of “colonization”. Departing Buenos Aires to travel the country -specially across the Northwest of Argentina where the influence of the Inca culture still prevails- allowed me to get in touch with the local roots and a total different cosmogony, an existence that embraces myths and popular wisdom and incorporate them to daily life. Their knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe have amused me and they are for me a source of inspiration. They have also made me questioned several aspects of the European-centered vision of the world on which I was raised. By the time I moved to England, this ambiguity in which I felt involved, opened up to a whole Paula Córdoba Lives and works in London, United Kingdom Peripheral ARTeries meets Experimenting with a wide variety of materials to explore the complexity of the contemporary world, artist Paula Córdoba's work rejects any conventional classification regarding its style, to address the viewers to a multilayered visual experience. In her body of works that we'll be discussing in the following pages, she successfully attempts to trigger the spectatorship's perceptual and cultural parameters, with a deeper focus on the tension between traditions an globalization. One of the most impressive aspects of Cordoba’s work is the way it accomplishes the difficult task of inquiring into the liminal area where past and present find an unexpected point of convergence: we are very pleased to introduce our readers to her stimulating and multifaceted artistic production. An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
SPECIAL ISSUE 58 new level of complexity in a cosmopolitan city as London. There, I became aware of other ongoing processes of interculturation and post-colonial relationships. This period was enriched by the experience of working as a intern at Marc Quinn's studio. I was attracted to how the artist investigated his own identity through an array of materials agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
59 SPECIAL ISSUE Paula Córdoba eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral and media. Besides this, I think the main influence was to make me rethink the importance of nature in the ideas I was working with. Even though some elements where already included in my body of work, works like Quinn´s “Garden” made me reflect on nature as a social concept. Apart from other conceptual aspects I could comment on, the internship also allowed me to observe and learn from the organization and structure the artist built for himself, sustaining a successful and prolific career. It was a unique sneak-peak to the art business and its major players. Back in Argentina, I worked for exhibition spaces and Museums. One of them was located in the heart of a slum in the city of Buenos Aires and gave me the chance to witness some invisibilized processes of interculturation -promoted mainly by immigration from bordering countries like Paraguay, Peru and Bolivia. Social perceptions of these subjects tend to stir up a LatinAmerican rooted rejection to miscegenation, denial of our multiple identities and the attachment of some part of the population to our European roots. Recently, I went through another process of relocation as I moved to California. I am still processing this whole new perspective of the world and starting to incorporate the experience to my practice. Summing up, the paths I have taken and my personal research shaped my interest on the material and intangible cultural heritage (oral traditions, social practices, rituals, among others) and how they interact with globalization as a contemporary phenomena. Themes as interculturation and syncretism, otherness and local and foreign perceptions are recurrent themes. You are a versatile artist and your practice ranges from Painting and Sculpture to Mixed Media Art: before starting to elaborate about your production, we would suggest to our readers to visit http://paulacordoba.com in order to get a synoptic view of your work: while walking our readers through your process, we would like to ask you what does draw you to such cross disciplinary approach? What are the properties you are searching for in the materials that you include in your works? In the same way I tackle themes determined by metamorphosis, ambiguity and change, I believe this is reflected in my aesthetics, where the decision of mixing media plays an important role. I think it reflects my vision of the contemporary world and shows how I perceive it. I fought against this “lack of labeling” but I have come to understand the need to embrace this mean of expression as a constitutive aspect of my work and myself. I would call it a media syncretism. Materials-wise, I feel drawn to objects that evoke things to me, it has always been a quite visceral attraction but with due time I was able to find a thread that connects them all. I feel a particular sensitivity for poor-quality imitations of nature, such as artificial flowers, animal masks, sex dolls, etc. I enjoy browsing commerce platforms like Ebay to find massproduced items, objects to which I have not previous direct relation to. Some of them have a certain kitsch feeling on their own, which usually underlines a humorous side of the work that goes unseen, along with a feeling of rescuing them from their fast consuming cycle and make them part of something else. I feel I insufflate life to these items once they are included in the work.
SPECIAL ISSUE 60 The spectrum of your artistic interests is particularly wide and includes several subjects that range from ancient myths and popular beliefs to media and post-colonial power relationships: do you think that there is a central idea that connects all of your work as an artist? Yes. The central idea that connects all my work is the bi-dimensional narrative between nature and culture. They interact dialectically: either working as opposite forces, finding counterpoints -as in a dialogue- or merging themselves. For this special edition of Peripheral ARTeries we have selected Paradises made of sand and So violently sweet, a couple of interesting works that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of your artistic inquiry into the complexity of the contemporary world is the way you provided the visual results of your analysis with autonomous aesthetics: when walking our readers through the genesis of Paradises made of sand and So violently sweet would you tell us your sources of inspiration? Paradises made of sand and So violently sweet have an original concept from which I started developing both works: the idea of nature as a social concept. This series, in which I am still working on, tackles conceptions of nature as a social construction and the way it has historically reflected an underlying wider range of social ideas and helped shape visions of the world. Colonization created and disseminated ideas on the “New World”, of both exuberant wildness and dangerous places to be controlled by civilization. More than four hundred years later, dominant powers can still stir up images of imaginary monsters and cruel beings from faraway lands in order to rule. I am alarmed by the current wave of politics that strengthens itself through messages of hate and fear reminding me of the narrative of agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
61 SPECIAL ISSUE the wild frontier, the primitive fears that can be easily brought to surface. Based on these thoughts, I wanted to create uncanny landscapes with a certain unveiled tension... a space of wondering where narratives meet and collapse. Your successful attempt of the baroque quality of your images to suggest ongoing Paula Córdoba eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
SPECIAL ISSUE 62 processes of metamorphosis and dissolution address your audience to a multilayered visual experience, playing with highly evocative symbolic references, as you did in Reality by proxy. German multidisciplinary artist Thomas Demand once stated that "nowadays art can no longer rely so much on symbolic strategies and has to probe psychological, narrative elements within the medium instead". What is your opinion about it? Moreover, would you agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
63 SPECIAL ISSUE tell us something about the importance of symbols in your practice and their relationship to memory? I understand that for some artists and theorists, the use of symbols is outdated as they will only represent something tied up to a certain cultural convention. They point out that the use of these elements restrain the public from the possibility of other readings or interpretations. I do not think that the affirmation of Demand applies to my way of using symbols: they are merged amongst them and play in conjunction with other rhetorical devices. I tend to use them appealing to their enunciative value. Memory, in my work, articulates past and present as a bridge. It is important to reflect also on collective memory, which plays an important role in my work, conceiving it as a pool of knowledge and information shared by members of a social group. It is neither a fiction nor a mere metaphor, but refers to a web of symbols formed through communicative interaction, reaching as far as that sphere of interaction does. We can recognize an effective sociopolitical criticism, in your inquiry into cultural transformations that affect the age of globalization and, in particular, but a constructive one, in the way the last man finds himself on a new version of community, capable of creating a genuine connection with nature. Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco once stated, "the artist’s role differs depending on which part of the world you’re in. It depends on the political system you’re living under". Not to mention that almost everything, ranging from Caravaggio's Inspiration of Saint Matthew to Joep van Lieshout's works, could be considered political, what could be in your opinion the role of Art in the contemporary age? The historical context in which Orozco said this phrase is in my mind what makes it valid. Paula Córdoba eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 66 But nowadays globalization has changed how people perceive the world and, consciously or unconsciously, artists can choose to have a local or a global grasp of subjects. This said, the artist´s interpretation of the world will be always shaped according to his/her point of view and therefore, his/her primary concerns vary. This is a time of multiplicity and I believe they are different types of art and each one has its role. I think that a major part of art (or the art business) has become “to entertain”, as there is an ongoing spectacularization of it. The art I enjoy, meanwhile, still makes you reflect, notice the unseen, creates content within the spaces of the un/real. It is an act of resistance to unvisivilised realities, subjective repressed worlds and sublimates the finitude of existence. When depicting the tension between traditions and globalization, your work also unveils a subtle Ariadne's thread between past and present: Do you think that there's still a contrast between Tradition and Contemporaries? Or is there in your opinion an interstitial area where apparently opposite elements could produce a kind of synergy? I certainly believe there is a recurrent tension between tradition and globalization, specially regarding one of its less desired outcomes, which is cultural homogenization. I do not have a pessimistic vision of these processes, I try to see them from a neutral point of view. Nevertheless, I am utterly convinced this is still something to be addressed by Cultural Politics at a local, regional and international level. I like the concept you have introduced, the possibility of some sort of synergy between these forces. I see this as a possibility but do not think this might occur based on a cultural-based laissezfaire. The subject has been formally brought to the table in 2001 by UNESCO by the agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
67 SPECIAL ISSUE Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity but there is still a long way for this principles to be implemented consciously and thoroughly, specially where they are more necessary and overseen as an important part of development. Paula Córdoba eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
SPECIAL ISSUE 68 Your work also addresses the viewers to reflect on the illusory nature of identity and existence, to the increased impact of technology. Multidisciplinary artist Angela Bulloch once remarked "that works of arts often continue to evolve after they have agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
69 SPECIAL ISSUE been realised, simply by the fact that they are conceived with an element of change, or an inherent potential for some kind of shift to occur". Technology can be used to create innovative works, but innovation means not only to create works that haven't been before, but especially to recontextualize what already exists: do you think that the role of the artist has changed these days with the new global communications and the new sensibility created by new media? I do not think the role of the artists has changed. However, the means of circulation of cultural productions, as well as the conditions of reception have. Either choosing to incorporate new technologies or not, the role of the artist -in my opinion-, is to reflect their context, to comment on it, to question it. Despite clear references to perceptual reality your visual vocabulary, as revealed by the interesting Of all the hazards, fear is the worst, has a very ambivalent quality. How do you view the concepts of the real and the imagined playing out within your works? How would you define the relationship between abstraction and representation in your practice? Ambiguity is a sort of performance that my work cannot escape from. In this landscape, I wanted to evoke the primitive fears that rely on everyone of us and the possibility of being winded up by narratives. I felt compelled by social perceptions and how they can be manipulated, it is very difficult to define narratives as being either real or imagined - they are perceived as real or false. Abstraction and representation are undefined characteristics incorporated to other antagonistic figures in my work. Over these years your works have been showcased in several occasions and one of Paula Córdoba eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 70 the hallmarks of your practice is the capability to create direct involvement with the viewers, who are urged to evolve from a condition of mere spectatorship. So before leaving this conversation we would like to pose a question about the nature of the relationship of your art with your audience. Do you consider the issue of audience reception as being a crucial component of your decision-making process, in terms of what type of language is used in a particular context? I do not think about the reception of my work while I am making it. Actually, it is difficult for me to have that kind of empathy with the public, although I enjoy getting to know different ideas or perceptions my work evokes once it is displayed. I might think the direct involvement is related to some grade of intensity, whether you like the pieces or not, they take over the space. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Paula. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? On one hand, I am planning on developing my work into new immersive forms, taking shape into multimedia installations. The aim is to create an aesthetics’ surrounding experience to enhance exactly what you have just mentioned: the direct involvement with the viewers. I am working on a project that brings together mixed media-photography on canvas, soft sculptural forms made of upholstery foam and glossy pvc vinyl along with the addition of sound. On the other hand, I will keep working on 2D mixed-media pieces, to which I would like to incorporate elaborated frames that from my perspective, agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
71 SPECIAL ISSUE complete the artwork. Another idea I have been toying with for a while, is to find a coherent way to link my practice with design and fashion -my guilty pleasure. Paula Córdoba eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
SPECIAL ISSUE 78 Geometric and biomorphic in its unconventional style, Robin Dawkins' work draws the viewers through an immersive and multilayered experience. Her body of works that we'll be discussing in the following pages here ccomplishes the difficult task of inquiry into the duality between figurative and abstraction: we are very pleased to introduce our readers to her stimulating and multifaceted artistic production. Hello Robin and welcome to Peripheral ARTeries: we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background. You have a solid formation and you hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts, that you received from the Mass College of Art, in Boston: how did this experience influence the way you currently conceive and produce your works? And in particular, how does your cultural substratum inform the way you relate yourself to art making in general? Thank you. It is exciting to have this opportunity. At the time I was attending Mass College of Art in Boston, there was major emphasis on the abstract, namely minimalism and abstract expressionism. Extensive work in the studio focusing on the human figure and use of color were strongly encouraged, however more so as a tool for learning rather than a focus point. As students we were encouraged to take what we had learned from our inquiries of the figure, nature, cultural ideas and research of major artists to translate this information into an autonomous visual experience. I was encouraged to investigate, explore, and research my own inclinations and interests as an artist and in my work. At the time I was very interested in Cubism in addition to Orphism and Vorticism. This inquiry into major artists such as Picasso, Braque, Metzinger, Picabia and Kupka, I believe, has had its largest influence on my work then and now. The idea of observing and breaking subjects and ideas down into spatial lines, shapes, forms, color, illusions was very Robin Dawkins Lives and works in Boston, MA, USA Peripheral ARTeries meets Described as “delightful refracted worlds,” my work is derived from visual information of nature and surrounding man-made structures of the urban landscape. I enjoy gathering and transforming visual information initially recording my experiences through photography, drawings and sound recordings. I especially love taking walks and observing the changing urban landscape of Boston harbor. In my studio I seek to transcend what I have seen and what I have experienced creating an imaginary, refracted illusion of space. The use of color, texture, line, form, shape and movement are very exciting for me and ultimately, establish a place in my creative expression. I enjoy exploring vibrant color combinations with the goal of transforming my observations into simplified lively tapestries. An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
Morning Kinhin
81 SPECIAL ISSUE Robin Dawkins eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral exciting to me. It seemed very natural, familiar and made complete sense to me as an artist. I feel that my inquiry into cubism and its co-isms as a painter, definetely provided a firm foundation for the ideas that I investigate in my current work today. As a modern culture, our world and its ideas are made up of many complex layers. Layers of the old, layers of the present and future to come. I aim to capture this in my work with its many twists and turns, layers of paint, color, illusive forms. Especially living in the city, when I observe nature and the man-made structures side by side, at times it is difficult to understand where one begins and the other ends. Although there is such a beauty to this phenomenom, it is clear that it is human nature to try and have it all and cram it all in. The results of your artistic inquiry convey together a coherent sense of unity, that rejects any conventional classification. Before starting to elaborate about your production, we would suggest to our readers to visit http://www.robindawkins.com in order to get a synoptic view of your multifaceted artistic production: while walking our readers through your process, we would like to ask you if you think that there is a central idea that connects all of your work as an artist. I feel that my inquiry in artmaking has a strong metaphysical thread and connection throughout. In my translation of nature and the surrounding environment – I hope to convey that there is more than what is physicallly seen and or experienced with the human eye or senses. Human emotions and feelings play an important role in my work as the work is based not only of the physical but also the psychological connections to the subject through my experiences, response and reactions to it. And of course, as an artist, I hope to capture this on a universal level of understanding and/or inquiry without completely giving it away. There is a direct response and reaction on my part to the use of color, the use of paint as a material, the spatial elements of line, shape and form and how this all connects. It often seems somewhat like an interactive conversation between me, the materials and the process. The title, which is most likely the most concrete information of all, is also just as important for it either conveys an idea or hints the viewer to the subject and/or theme. The rest, I invite the viewer to their own imagination and personal interpretations. For this special edition of Peripheral ARTeries we have selected Morning Kinhin and Pathways To One, that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of these interesting projects is the way you provided the visual results of your artistic inquiry with autonomous aesthetics: when walking our readers through the genesis of Morning Kinhin and Pathways To One would you shed a light about your usual process and setup? I do a lot of walking in my daily life. I take note of what I see visually and in my small sketchbook including photographs and even sound recordings – not drawing attention necessarily to the details but the overall experience of shapes line, colors and psychological response and interaction to what I’m observing and to its environment. When I begin a painting, I most often create a preliminary line drawing on the canvas specifically related to my sketchbook inquiries. This sets a stage for me, which always
SPECIAL ISSUE 82 inevitably changes. What I start out with is never what I end up with. In a way, this process itself conveys the idea that everything is impermanent – there is always change. The paint is applied in layers of color – beginning with a systematic approach focusing on the shapes and lines of my base drawing. From that point a process of drying and reapplying paint begins. The canvas is turned and worked on from all sides working to create a visual balance. The composition continues to change as the paint is applied then viewed. As I mentioned before, it is rather like a continuous conversation that I encounter with the canvas, materials and process. Shapes, forms, lines continue to change – adding, subtracting until I find some final response that just seems to work. It is difficult to pinpoint what determines a completed work – perhaps, on a visual level, it is when I have said all that I need to say. In Pathways to One and Morning Kinhin, and Just As Is, paint was applied very thickly with brush and palette knife. From a aesthetic viewpoint I intentionally wanted to convey a rough and raw texture signifying the psychological beauty of the unadorned, unpolished. In Japanese culture there is a philosophy called Wabi Sabi. The beauty captured in that which is unusual, unattractive and often out-of-place. Such as a flower growing within a crack of pavement or an old tarnished tea kettle. This philosophical idea played a significant part in the creative process of these three paintings. Your works inquire into the relationship between the realms of memory and imagination: how do you view the concepts of the real and the imagined playing out within your works? I would say that the “real” is the concept or subject matter I am trying to communicate. I agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
83 SPECIAL ISSUE Robin Dawkins eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral State of Flux, oil on canvas, 25in x 25 inches
SPECIAL ISSUE 84 enjoy working with my impressions of what I am trying to convey. When I am in my studio, this information mostly comes from my memory and imagination. There is some agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries Pathways To One 2016, oil on canvas, 24inX24 inches
85 SPECIAL ISSUE reference to my note taking, sketching, photography etc. However, these preliminary studies are there to set the impression. I do not work directly from these inquiries. However, there is a visual impression that is left in my mind and that is what I most exclusively like to tap into. The “real” idea I am trying to communicate and the base drawing set the stage. The memory and imagination create the painting. The feelings and emotions around what I have experienced come from my memory bank and also help form my impressions. Color tends to play an important role in what is interpretated as “real”. To some degree I want the viewer to have some literal connection and participation to what they are viewing. Two examples of this idea are Autumn Cantacle and Gale Wind Shifts. Red is a quite recurrent tone in your artworks, and we have really appreciated the vibrancy of thoughtful nuances of your pieces, that are often marked out with intense tones as the ones from your Energy Paintings series that create both tension and dynamics. How did you come about settling on your color palette? And how much does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones you decide to use in a piece and in particular, how do you develope a painting’s texture? Color does have a psychological impact on my physical response and plays an important role in my work. I can be drawn to very bold color combinations such as in my energy paintings and then, on the other hand, drawn to more subtle, subdued color combinations. Primary colors: red, yellow and blue, are the base of our color wheel. Without these primary colors – the expansion of the color wheel would not exist. Primary colors make a statement about foundation. They are saturated and provide a bold contrast when Robin Dawkins eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine Just As Is 2016, oil on canvas, 12inX 24 inches
At Twilight SPECIAL ISSUE 86 worked together. The energy paintings began as an experiment. I wanted to investigate how the three primaries would work together using a rather automatic drawing approach with the brush. What I discovered visually is that when worked together, these colors provide a highly saturated, pure and equal contrast that pop and pulsate when viewed especially at a distance. I think at some level, I am investigating the metaphysical properites and symbolic experience of these colors. Red is a very powerful color – it speaks very loudly. Red speaks of passion – negative or positive. It represents the life giving force of the physical heart, blood and emotions. Red is very primal – represents fire, love, hate, war, earth, power. The energy paintings speak of the primal emotions and feelings and literally the energy that is manifested in creating them. My guess is that the color red became dominant throughout this series because of its powerful emotional impact. However, this was not necessarily intentional as the paintings developed and evolved through an interactive process and release of my own energy at that time. Many of the energy paintings were created with acrylic on agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries Autumn Cantacle
Gale Wind Shifts 1
Out of Time
89 SPECIAL ISSUE paper. In this format I am able to apply each color with a single brush – each color is left to dry before applying the next layer. The colors are applied alternately. I may begin with blue, let it dry then red, let it dry and then yellow and so on. Over a period of layers a visual pattern begins to emerge and at that point I begin to work into the pattern pulling out the shapes, colors and lines that seem to dominate and speak of that particular work. The texture is created from these layers that continuously overlap. There are several enegy paintings which I have also completed using oils on alternate layers to create a unique texture that I may not achieve with acrylics. The energy painting, State of Flux is an example of my use of oil. I believe that in general, my present energy, feelings and emotions play a significant part in all my work. This energy is universal and I hope to tap into the viewers emotional and energetic response as well. You draw a lot from natural world, as well as from elements from everyday life: how would you define the role of direct experience in your practice an artist? In particular, how would you define the relationship the outside and your inner process? Robin Dawkins eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine Myriad of Dreams Native Tools
Silent Ravine SPECIAL ISSUE 90 The direct experience one has to any given situation is very individual, independent and yet universal. I hope to convey both the individual and universal in my work. The role of direct experience in my work can be defined through the use of color, the formations, lines, shapes and particularly the senses – what I see, hear, even taste and smell develop my experience. As an artist, ideally I want the viewer to relate to what they see and interpret in the painting and yet most importantly have their own sensory experience as well. The best way I can describe this relationship between the outside and inner process is by explaining one of my paintings such as Silent Ravine. This painting was based on an experience I had sitting in a large ravine in the mountains of New Mexico. The silence of that ravine was so vivid and penetrable - nothing I can recall ever experiencing before. You could literally, as they say, hear a pin drop. My whole attention was brought to that silence which brought any inner thoughts to a halt as well. Complete silence. The painting reveals the physical elements I experienced through color, shapes and the rock formations of this ravine. But most of all I wanted to convey that mysterious inner silence. I feel I successfully was able to achieve this to some agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries Clinging to the Unknown
Black Mountains
Light Celebration
93 SPECIAL ISSUE Winter Drifts degree with the subtle deep grays against and behind the warm and cool colors of blue and earthtones. You studied painting and drawing with abstract expressionists: do you have any figures in art history as well as in our contemporary scene that look up to? Some of my favorite go to artists in history are Richard Pousette Dart, Jackson Pollock, de Stael, Kandinsky, de Kooning and the Cubists, Picasso, Braque. Contemporaries include Bryce Hudsen, Joanna Pousette Dart, Andy Goldsworthy and Carmen Herrera. Rather than attempting to establish any univocal sense, the abstract feeling that pervades your works seem to urge the viewers to elaborate personal associations: would you tell us how much important is for you that the spectatorship rethink the concepts you convey in your pieces, elaborating personal meanings? I feel that a successful work of art will both hold a universal truth or idea and also probe the viewer to investigate and interpret their own personal meanings and concepts. However, most of all in my work, I want to create and induce a visual experience for the viewer rather than a particular statement. I am very interested in what people experience in my paintings. This can include associations, feelings, emotions, sensory anomolies. I hope that I can touch and even push a button, so to speak, whether it may be pleasing or disturbing. I find that the viewer is often drawn to the need of finding an interpretation. My goal is to breakdown that need and reach that place of sensory perception that cannot necessarily be described, defined or even understood. Over the years your works have been exhibited in several occasions, including your recent show Melt, at the Brickbottom Artists Association, Somerville. One of the hallmarks of your work is the capability to create a direct involvement with the viewers, who are urged to evolve from a condition of mere spectatorship. So before leaving this conversation we would like to pose a question about the nature of the relationship of your art with your audience. Do you consider the issue of audience reception as being a crucial component of your decision-making process, in terms of what type of language is used in a particular context? I feel that cultural influences definetely plays an important part in how one views a work of Robin Dawkins eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 94 art. Audience reception encourages the viewer to create their own interpretations, connections and informed judgements to a work of art depending on their own life experiences. Art therefore becomes less exclusive but more inclusive generating more cultural understanding of similarities and differences. Initially, I think my own art decision-making process did not place so much importance on the language used in a particular context. However, more so now I find that viewers who do not necessarily understand abstract art, have developed more connection and interest to my work when their is some theme related language involved. I also do see an obstacle in this process as well. More often than not, there is an abundance for calls of “theme” related art. I do feel that this concept, which I believe is an extension of audience reception, can be interesting and inspiring. However, overuse of this idea can ultimately cause a lack of individuality of the artist; “themes” begin to dictate how the artist should think and work. In my own work, I definetely seek to find the connections to the audience on their own many and unique levels of perception and interpretation. This is what inspires me most to create. And, I also want to insure that my work is speaking from my own individuality and how I view the world. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Robin. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? My work will continue to explore the illusive space of nature, structures and energy with the evolving possibility of focusing more on the psychological impact of the environment; the continuation of philosophical ideas such as Wabi Sabi and the psychological impact and relationship to the environment and space. Since the visual impact and experience of the viewer/audience is very important to me, I will continue my investigation of these responses working towards experimenting on a much larger scale with the ideal goal that the viewer can feel a sense they are physically entering the space. agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries Red, Yellow and Blue #3, Acrylic on paper, 18i X 24 inches An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected]
Red, Yellow and Blue #3
Emily Casella Lives and works in Northwest Indiana, United States B-Site Festival / Error 404 502 410 & “Dust”/ Manheim 2015 / Germany
SPECIAL ISSUE 98 Hello Emily and welcome to Peripheral ARTeries: we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your multifaceted background. You have a solid formal training and you hold a BFA from Indiana University Northwest: how did this experience influence the way you currently conceive and produce your works? And in particular, how does your cultural substratum inform the way you relate yourself to art making in general? Hello! First off, thank you so much for this opportunity to speak with you about my work and process. I’m excited to share my experience and discuss issues that I’ve been continuously pondering and exploring for the last three years. Yes, I graduated from IUN after deciding to abandon going for an Education degree to Fine Arts with the encouragement from high school teachers and my family to try it. My decision for Fine Arts manifested in the vein of marrying a childhood friend you knew your whole life but wasn’t until later on you realized there was a connection. I grew up in a Montessori School, where we had an incredible art teacher that introduced us to iconic artists such as Picasso, Hopper, Van Gogh, etc. We had a very small group of students, in my grade there were only 3 students including myself, and the rest were younger students ranging from 6-12 years old, all in one classroom. So she took us “older kids” to the Art Institute of Chicago many times and the Frederick C. Robie house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. What I was always excited for was the clay projects. Clay (because at the time I had no idea that it was called Ceramics) was my favorite, I loved the smooth feeling and the process of painting pink (clear) glaze upon the sculptures. However, besides it being fun, I didn’t think much about it. Fortunately, my parents kept all the projects, so about two dozen small chipped pieces surround our living room. When I moved to public school, there was the option to take Ceramic classes. It was there I found that clay could be something serious to pursue as a career. I was lucky to have strong female teachers that pushed my exploration of something that I randomly enjoyed as a child. At IUN, I was again at a relatively smaller school with a tiny but potent art program. There was one main professor for each area of art and, while they were building their now new Arts and Sciences Building, was stationed in an old grocery store turned art studio in Gary, Indiana. It reinforced this idea of using what you had to make great things. I had an abundance of freedom and encouragement from my Ceramics professor. He really let my quiet self explore Emily Casella Lives and works in Northwest Indiana, United States Peripheral ARTeries meets Rejecting any conventional classification regarding its style, Emily Casella's work explores a wide variety of contemporary social phenomena that affect our media driven and unstable societies, to draw the viewers through an unconventional and multilayered experience. In her body of works that we'll be discussing in the following pages she accomplished an insightful inquiry into the themes of individuality, the concept of home and perception of society. One of the most impressive aspects of Casella's work is the way it accomplishes the difficult task of inquiry into the relation of humans and with the interference of information and media: we are very pleased to introduce our readers to her stimulating and multifaceted artistic production. An interview by Josh Ryders, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
SPECIAL ISSUE 100 ceramics and gave me agency to create my drawers and ambitious pieces. I am extremely inspired by my History and Photography professors, who are my role models for being a strong, intelligent woman tackling the art world. My background with Montessori, continuing artistic encouragement, and the unique college experience helped establish my independence as a worker and the liberation to continually push the dynamics of my mixed-media ceramics. The results of your artistic inquiry convey together a coherent sense of unity, that rejects any conventional classification. Before starting to elaborate about your production, we would suggest to our readers to visit https://emilyjcasella.com in order to get a synoptic view of your multifaceted artistic production: while walking our readers through your process, we would like to ask you if you think that there is a central idea that connects all of your work as an artist. The word that immediately comes to mind is curiosity. Curiosity, in the sense of allowing myself to be inquisitive with building ceramic sculptures, but also for the audience to be encouraged to be curious. My goals with my artworks is making sure the audience will feel unthreatened to engage with the work. Whether that is looking in, walking around, or touching the pieces. In my idealistic world, ceramics wouldn’t be behind glass and there would be a mutual respectful field between the human and the object. I want the viewer to feel as they are visiting a friend’s home. This atmosphere establishes an ease where the topics of the piece are accessible to discuss openly. That goes along with my central idea of investigating the idea of home and how a sense of safety effects our disclosure of secrets and trust in and of society. For this special edition of Peripheral ARTeries we have selected Bureau of Apprehension and Absorption Preserve, that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of these interesting projects is the way you provided the visual results of your inquiry into the themes of themes of individuality, the concept of home with autonomous aesthetics: when walking our readers through the genesis of Bureau of Apprehension and Absorption Preserve would you shed a light about your usual process and setup? agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries