Interview with Tamara Muller

q)Name?

a)Tamara Muller

q)Location?

a)I live in a town near the sea close to Haarlem and not too far from Amsterdam.

q)Contact info.?

a) www.tamaramuller.nl

www.tamaramuller.com

muller.tamara@gmail.com

q)How did you get started making art?

a)Because both my parents were painters, I was surrounded by works of art and artists when I was just a little girl. My older brother and sister didn’t catch the obsession for making art, but I did. Since early childhood I have been making drawings (I loved using pen and ink), paintings and photographs.
It started with copying my dad. He made erotic paintings, so sometimes I made weird drawings for a 9 year old! But when I got older I found my own way, and also started to develop a a big interest in theatre, music, and film. When I was 18 years old I started to study Graphic Design at the Royal academy of Art in The Hague (NL) to combine all these media. (Although I knew I wasn’t a designer at all!)

q)How would you describe your art?

a)About my paintings I would say that they are imaginary figurative paintings.
Using traditional techniques and realistic elements in some parts and forgetting about ‘all that’ in other parts to create an ambiguous and eclectic image.

q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a)The way people behave, their weakness and their strength.
The grey area between good and evil.
I’m intrigued by scientific experiments on human behaviour.
Images and stories in news and media. (violence or erotic stuff)
Fairytales of Grimm in the old version (with horrible details)
Famous stories in literature and theatre plays like ‘Alice in Wonderland’, or ‘The Maids’ (Genet) wherein gaining or losing power plays a role and girls are the protagonists.
And of course there are autobiographic elements. (family life, relationships etc.)
I’m not sure if all this shows in my work, but it’s a mix of all these elements.

q)What other artists inspire you?

a)Painters of the human figure but none in particular (for instance Lucian Freud, Jenny Saville, and Daniel Richter). Besides that artists like Cindy Sherman, Paul McCarthy, or film directors Lars von Trier, David Lynch and Michael Haneke. Also some Dutch theatre groups: “De Mexicaanse Hond”’ or “Carver”.

q)Where can someone purchase your works?

a)One should look at NEWS on my website to find out where I exhibit at that particular moment.

q)What is your main medium of choice? ?

a)Painting. Aside from painting I eventually (after acting and making illustrations) decided to concentrate on working with video.
For my painting I start with making photographs, and I put my experiences in theatre and film into use of making video/performances.

q)What are you working on now?

a)Paintings and video for a group-exhibition called : “about a hunter, a girl and a wolf”
in the Museum of Modern Art in Arnhem (NL).
I’m also working on new work for a solo exhibition in Tokyo (JP).
Both open in September 2008.

q)What advice could you give to someone who wants to be an artist?

a)Work every day, start making things you really enjoy making and don’t be afraid of exhibiting it.

q) What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a)In December I gave birth to a lovely daughter, so I am breastfeeding and changing diapers a lot at the moment.
I also love to cook, bake cakes, eat and drink a glass of wine with friends, and take a walk in the national park we live close to (no motorcycles, cars and dogs allowed!).
So at the moment I am just enjoying a quiet life together with ‘my man’ Bram, daughter Mia and our two cats.
I like to travel though, and a wild party once in a while!

q) What does music, in its entirety, mean to you?

a)Difficult to give a compact and complete answer to this question…
It fills me with energy and emotion, and gives colour to a day, a place or event. There’s always a mood, memory or story attached.
At the moment it doesn’t play such an active role in my life as it has in the past. I played bassguitar in a band once and classical piano for years..
But it still is an inspiration to some of my artworks and I like to sing along while I’m working (and nobody is listening). Singing to Mia is great too, she just learned to smile and loves it!

q) What does art, in its entirety, mean to you?

a)Everything. It’s completely interweaved in my live and way of looking at things. I don’t think it’s possible to forget about it for a while. Everything I see and feel relates to art one way or another.

q) Are there some web sites that You would like to recommend? Artists, art communities,
xxx,...!?

a)Pat Andrea
Leopold Rabus
Tobias Schalken
Katie Heck
Kiki Lamers
Folkert de Jong
...

Interview with David Farrer

q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself.

a)I live with my partner Cordelia, in rural Surrey, having relocated from Yorkshire (I was born in Leeds & raised near Harrogate, the town that hosted the 1982 Eurovision song contest, which was won by the Germans!). We have two dogs & a studio at the end of the garden. London is about 50 minutes away by train.

q) Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]?

a)I hoped to be an artist or a marine biologist but was rubbish at mathematics so art won. I loved the Film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as it reminded me of the funny old Jaques Cousteau movies in the 70’s

q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?

a)Most of our work is made with plaster bandage & papier mache. We like to use recycled or sustainable materials whenever possible as it fits in with the ‘green’ ethos behind the work. I also like handmade paper & print fonts, having majored in intaglio printmaking at university.

q) How would you describe your style?

a)I’m English so according to Italians probably have no sense of style (ha ha!) The sculpture is intended to mock trophy hunting, to look real at a distance but on closer inspection revealing it’s true form. We often cover animals in literature specific to them or their plight. So basically it is a caricature pretending not to be, if that makes sense

q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your work?

a)Yes, although the work we make is entirely individual (not cast). There are many specific stages, making armature, covering with plaster/paper etcetera….so we tend to work on several composite pieces at a time as each stage needs to dry before undertaking the next

q) What are you working on at present?

a)Your questionnaire, A Zebra, Toad, Fox & Sheep

q) What about recent sources of inspirations?

a)Life is pretty inspiring, as are people who make something from nothing without spending money unnecessarily.

q) What are some of your obsessions?

a)Good food (especially seafood), wine, holidays, cinema & music.

q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to show at?

a)Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London, Stamford Arts Centre, West Dean Art Gallery, Mercer Gallery in Harrogate, Dean Clough Gallery in Halifax, Centre Culturel in Vence, Everard Read in Johannesburg, Harley Gallery in Nottinghamshire……..and loads of others that I can’t remember without looking.

q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?

a)Via the contact button on the web site (by email preferably or by phone)

q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting out?

a)DO NOT GIVE UP! I have seen plenty of art in exhibitions which was not as good as the work of people who only stuck at it for a short time before quitting. If you think you are good enough then keep the faith & eventually you will get your break. Do not take ‘no’ for an answer from gallery owners (they can be unfriendly and unhelpful and often wrong in their judgement!)

q) Who are your favorite artists?

a)Richard Scarry, Breughel, Vermeer, Botticelli, Waterhouse

q) What books are on your nightstand?

a)Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunnant (a story set in 15th/16th century Florence)

q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?

a)Seafood, going on holiday, snorkelling, playing Frisbee, having a laugh, seeing if Leeds United have won or not (it’s usually ‘not’ these days).

Interview with Eve Wood

q) Well, first of all please tell us a little about yourself.

a) I’m an artist based in Los Angeles. I show at Western Project in Culver City. I am also a writer and a critic and have written for magazines including Tema Celeste, Flash Art, Artnet.com, ArtUS, Artillery and Bridge. I graduated from the visual arts program at Cal Arts.

q) Had you always planned on being an artist [or had you other hopes]?

a) I started out as a filmmaker and first attended Cal Arts as a film student, but found that I had to rely heavily on others to get things done, and I tend to be a loner, so I started painting. I’ve always made art and had my first show in NY when I was fifteen years old on Fifth Avenue at a photo gallery called Images, so it seemed natural to transfer into the art department. I was always making art of some sort since I was very young, and since I have relativly little common sense and am not good with numbers, art was my way of communicating first and foremost with myself.

q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?

a) I’ve worked in oils and acrylic, but began using gouache literally because my studio is a live/work space and I have two birds and little ventilation, and the fumes from the oil paint can kill them. Kind of a strange reason to switch mediums I know, however, gouache has tremendous viscosity and presence, much like oil paint in many ways although it is a water based medium. It also depends on how you use your materials. I approach gouache as a big, sprawling medium, and I think that attitude is absorbed and reflected within the gestures of the paint.

q) How would you describe your style?

a)My style is probably most akin to that of Alice Neel, and she is defiantly an influence. I suppose my “style” could be described as metaphoric, gestural, representational, narrative, though rarely do I reveal the whole of any story in my work, but give only hints, reprisals, moments of personal relfection.

q) Do you go through any certain processes while trying to produce your work?

a)Not really. Nothing romantic happens, kind of pedestrian actually. I sit down and see what happens. Sometimes nothing happens. Other times, I have an idea or a moment that has stayed with me that I feel I wish to interpret, or an image of someone that I want to investigate.

q) What are you working on at present?

a)My show just opened on Feb 9th at Western Project, so I’m taking a short break to enjoy having completed the work for that exhibition. Will start the engine back up in a week or two.

q) What about recent sources of inspirations?

a)Yoga inspires me daily to be a better person and really listen to the people who matter in my life. I find a lot of artists are selfish and get caught up in the hype of being “an Artist” when really what it’s all about is connection. Hope this doesn’t sound too granola laden, but I really believe that John Lennon was right when he said that the “The love you take is equal to the love you make” and unfortunately it took me a long time to recognize this, but making art is far different than the “art world” would have you believe. The impulse to create anything true derives from love, not money.

q) What are some of your obsessions?

a)Riding horses, love, speaking the truth, good friends, yoga, Mexican food, Chihuahuas, (mine I’m particularly fond of course) birds, (I own two parrots named Delilah and Manana), Gruyere cheese, antique VW bugs.

q) Which galleries have you shown at and which galleries would you like to show at?

a)I’ve shown primarily in Los Angeles and at the fairs in Europe and New York. I had a solo show at Susanne Vielmetter; Los Angeles Projects in 2001, The Weatherspoon Museum, Angles Gallery and Southern Exposure in San Francisco as well as my current gallery Western Project. I would love to get a New York Gallery and really love Jeff Bailey’s program, Feature, Rare, and Derek Eller Gallery.

q) If people would like to contact you, how would you like to be contacted?

a)You can go to my gallery (Western-Project.com) or my website (evewood.net) and there is an email address.

q) Do you have any suggestions or advice for artists that are just starting out?

a)Find your own vision and stick to it. Don’t be influenced by what sells and what seems hip or in vogue because undoubtedly it will fall out of fashion soon enough, whereas any true artistic impulse stands the test of time and is keenly felt. Look at as much art as you possibly can, and find what you love, what moves you, what keeps you thinking and imagining, and let that be the anchor from which you might launch your own ship.

q) Who are your favorite artists?

a)I tend to love artists who are mavericks in one way or another, artists for whom the endless obsession to make their work is inexhaustible. Artist like Phillip Guston, Ben Shahn, Lee Bontecou, Louise Bourgeois, Annette Messager, Rebecca Horn, Lucien Freud. I love work that utilizes metaphor as a means of exploration, work that is inclusive of the viewer rather than exclusive. Frida Kahlo, despite all the hype around her work and all the people who treat her art like the newest fad, is in my mind one of the bravest artists ever, and this bravery is evident in everything she made. No gesture is wasted, superfluous or self-conscious.

q) What books are on your nightstand?

a) The Kite Runner, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly and Orlando by Virginia Woolf

q) To what weaknesses are you most indulgent?

a)That depends on how you define “weaknesses.” If your talking about sweets for example, Godiva chocolate ranks pretty high, also lost puppies and any creature hold up at the local pound, elegant blond women (Helen Mirren springs to mind) or sexy men with brains and leftist leanings (George Clooney can contact me directly anytime) but in terms of more esoteric or psychological concerns I suppose as with many artists, I am most susceptible to my own neurosis, though I believe good work rarely derives from weakness or neurosis, but generates instead from strength and a brave and willing heart. I try to keep my heart and eyes open as best I can.

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