Brittany M. Watkins, Behaviors STACKED [over] Certainty, six altered couches stacked with ratchet straps & paint, 10′ x 8.5′ x 10.5′,
2018. Installation detail from my solo show: AFFECT-ED, BEING at 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC.
“I can’t stand it to think my life is going so fast and I’m not really living it.”
-Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
Are you living? We all exist, but it can be argued that only some of us truly live. It is far too easy, particularly in our time of virtual interaction and digital life, to move through our time on earth without experiencing much beyond our own mind. Of course, there is nothing wrong with spending time in the digital space, it is an imperative for most of us these days, but there is certainly an argument to be made that one should set aside devices, step out the front door, wander in the world,
truly live. Otherwise, we risk letting life go by through the lens of others.
Brittany M. Watkins is based in South Carolina where she is beginning to go out as the pandemic eases. As someone who works from home regardless, Watkins admits that not a lot changed for her during lockdown in terms of work. However, last year Watkins’ father became ill unexpectedly and did not make it.
Losing her father, who was her closest person to her in the family, changed her work in that she now examines not only how we navigate the external world, she now includes themes of mortality and how we deal with taking care of others as well as a look at our physical bodies. Shortly after losing her father, Watkins was scheduled to attend residency in Eerie, PA. Knowing that he would have wanted her to go, she attended and was able to set up a tour of blighted buildings taken over by the city.
These became the basis for work unlike anything she has ever created. To hear more about this and other aspects of her practice, listen to the complete interview.
Lisa le Feuvre is the Executive Director of Holt/Smithson Foundation. She admits that she believes she has the best job that any curator could possibly have. As the first director of this young foundation, she has spent her time building out the idea of what their overall modus operandi should be. The plan is
for the foundation to be actively run for 20 years and then close down. Within that time, they intended to establish and research resources for artists. This amount of time is also significant because it will be exactly 100 years after Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson, the foundation namesakes were born. To learn more about Holt/Smithson Foundation including their current show titled Robert Smithson: Abstract Cartography now on at the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York, listen to the complete interview.
|
Alchemy for a World in the Throes of Destruction
|
Weekly Grants &
Resources for Artists
Emily Kennerk, installation, 2015
Every week you will find updated resources here to apply for grants, find residencies and more.
|
The world is yours if you choose to take hold. For artists, residency can offer the opportunity to expand your horizons, grow your practice, network well outside your usual circles and embrace places and experiences you might not otherwise encounter. While not every residency will be suited to every artist, if you commit to your...
|
Onward – it’s the only way. Once you decide to go for your dreams with a career in art, you must do the work to keep the momentum going. That means learning how to navigate the often opaque art world – but it is not an impossible task. And you are not alone. There are abundant...
|
Sometimes we all need a change of scene. It can be wholly beneficial for artists to break the monotony of their usual surroundings with a period of residency in a location that is unknown. Not only does this offer the chance to reignite the creative flow that may begin to stagnate...
|
There are moments in life when it all seems too much, too loud, to involved, too over-the-top, when we need to step back and just breathe. When you encounter these moments, it is important to honor the feelings that come up and to give yourself permission to sit with them for a time. Success is not a...
|
These are positive and / or negative reviews of galleries, art fairs, consultants, writers, online pay to play offers,
residencies and more – all written by artists so that other artists can beware of situations where institutions treat artists badly, or that end up costing the artist money or are outright scams.
|
|
|
