GETTING TO KNOW YOU...
We asked our Winter Residents to answer a few questions about themselves, the artists they like, the music they listen to and the books they are reading.... It's all in the interest of science. And curiosity. And nosiness. But their answers are thoughtful and interesting. We're happy to share them.
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| Amanda Buonocore in front of a wall she excavating, revealing work of past residents |
What artists working today do you find interesting?
Hmm.... although some of the artists I love are still alive not all of them are still "working". My all time favorite artist is
Robert Morris. His work is thoughtful, playful, simple, and concise. He also has this wonderful ability to make me laugh even though I am not sure it is always what the work intends. His work and writings has influenced my work greatly. He is a huge idol of mine.
Hanne Darboven, although recently passed away in 2009, is another one of my favorite artists. Her work really plays with the boundaries as art as a tool by which to conceptually organize information and personally explore the essence of time. She does this through the use of organized / systemized daily writings which ultimately become conceptual records of both physical time and personal experience.
Two, more contemporary, artists that interest me are
Rachel Harrison and
Paul Chan. Both these artists have a unique way of addressing the use of simple objects to create complex systems which create both humorous and thoughtful results. They both seem to uniquely exaggerate and elaborate on the use of the "ready made" and create a new position for it within contemporary conceptual sculpture.
What's on your current playlist?
My playlist is always changing but I guess repeat artists that I listen to because I know I will always be satisfied are: Modest Mouse, Bright Eyes, The Cure, Frank Zappa, Wyclef Jean, Beastie Boys, and Mos Def. Strange mix, but it does always please me.
What books are you reading and recommend?
I have currently just started reading Hal Foster:
The Return of the Real and
John Ruskin: The Ethics of the Dust:
Ten Lectures to Little Housewives on the Elements of Crystallization. They are two very different writers from to very different times, haha, but both have proven to be awesome so far :)! I am very excited to get further into each. My all time favorite books that I constantly return to for answers / inspiration are: 1. Robert Morris:
Have I Reasons. 2. John Ruskin:
On Art and Life. 3. Tolstoy:
What is Art? 4. Umberto Eco:
Travels in Hyperreality. 5. Lucy R. Lippard:
Six Years: The dematerialization of the art object...
I also really enjoy the book
Speaking of Art. It is a collection of transcribed audio interviews with several different artists over a 40 year period of time. It's just an all around great book to own. The interviews are insightful, inspiring, and feel really personal. Great for any art lovers book collection.
What is a Fun Fact about you that isn't on your CV?
I am actually quite good at hula hooping. I can even run short distances while hula hooping simultaneously. And I welcome any and all challenges to this fun fact and would be happy to prove my unique skill!
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| Sarah Elise Hall in her studio. The canvas in the background covers the entire studio wall. |
What artists working today do you find interesting?
I get really into an artist’s work when I feel I can somehow relate to its internal logic. I love work by
Terry Winters,
Sarah Sze and
Yayoi Kusama because they all create these complex visual networks that appear to evolve in a self-similar way while maintaining surprising elements in mark making, materials and environments. Lately I’ve been looking at the work of
Amy Sillman and
Ida Ekblad a lot. There is an energy in their work that I find really compelling – something systematic yet spontaneous happening at the same time. The work hits me on a visceral and a cerebral level, which I like.
What's on your reading list?
I have two books from the series
Documents of Contemporary Art hanging around in my studio: Painting and Failure, They’re packed with great essays and interviews.
I’m also reading
Just Kids by Patti Smith(really good) and I’ve started re-reading Kurt Vonnegut’s
Slaughterhouse 5 ( a favorite book).
And on your playlist?
Umm, my play list right now is a motley crew of musical acts: The Roots, Massive Attack, Miles Davis, New Order.
What's not on your CV?
Life before art school: I rode my bicycle from Canada to Mexico and raised money for Children’s Wish Foundation in Canada.
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Paolo in his studio with the beginnings of paintings.
What fun fact about you is not on your CV?
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I think this is more dirty than fun, but I have the habit of enjoying a fine Cuban cigar every now and again on warm nights in the summer.
What’s on your current playlist?
Music is extremely important in my life and it fills every hour of my day. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to experience frequent, seven to ten day drives across Canada and up into the western arctic. As the hours and miles roll along it is music that creates the soundtrack to the changing images that I witness and utilize in my artwork. While working in the studio, music is constantly playing. What intrigues me most about music is how it can trigger involuntary memory and set the stage for your emotional and creative output. Through music, I am able to embrace my own Proustian, "episode of the madeleine", and retrieve memories that, although inevitably partial, tend to embrace the essence of the past. These ideas of recollection, essence and the transitory play a large part in my artwork and therefore, my work as an artist and music are inexplicably linked.
The music I listen to changes with the mood and time of day. Playlists tend to be on random much of the time and because I listen to a diverse repertoire, a typical playlist can bounce around with much contrast. It's not improbable to go from Anthony Pappa to Sammy Naquin to Lucinda Williams to NOFX, and then possibly
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