Tag Archives: studio visit

This week’s virtual talk began rather unexpectedly, with our visiting artist, Keith Allyn Spencer, explaining to us the definition of a “meme”, then continuing to sing us the entirety of The Star-Spangled Banner. This however isn’t a criticism as Spencer was a breath of fresh air, being able to be silly then extremely thoughtful and eloquent at the flip of a switch. Spencer himself is a multimedia artist living and teaching in Ohio, whose works come in a wide array of mediums such as painting (on canvas and three-dimensional sculptures), animation, site-specific installations, and much more.

He first showed us a slideshow presenting his works as well as giving a studio tour located at the school he teaches at. This gave us the opportunity to see some recent and in progress works of his, such as painted, sculptural works of abstract forms, digital animations, and my personal favorite being a series of observational paintings of objects and landscapes. While he wasn’t sure how to feel about these recent paintings, feeling as though they were boring, they were technically very skillfully made and the inclusion of painted car covers on top of a car within these paintings felt very meta and flattened the forms in a really interesting way. He then explained that his more abstract works, a mode he tends to work more in than these naturalistic paintings, feel as if they are “cartoons of paintings” and that he way “maybe laughing or scoffing at modernism” and the discipline of painting, which allowed me to his works in a new light. 

What I found most invigorating about this week’s visit was Spencer’s relaxed attitude towards artmaking and life. While he takes his practice very seriously, he places a lot of importance on enjoying life outside of the art field as well and spending time with loved ones. This trickled into his artwork with many works being collaborative processes with his family, such as his son providing beatboxing audio for a digital animation, and his wife suggesting he paint a car onto a car cover, prompting him to do exactly that. He also tries to work from home when he can so that he can take breaks from his work and play with his children, cook, etc. This honestly made me reconsider my own philosophies on artmaking, as I think spending time with others while creating and partaking in collaborations could inject new life into any creative endeavors, and sometimes making art can be very lonely and insular. And while he recognizes he’s privileged in having a secure job, something that can be rare in the art field, he doesn’t have many qualms about one day maybe leaving Ohio and his teaching job to move back home where his relatives and roots are located. Not just in the art field, but I think in general there are unhealthy expectations placed on workers in regards to a work-life balance and a pervasive culture of extreme careerism, and I’m happy to see someone challenge that, even if that isn’t his direct intention. Anyhow, this has been one of, if not my favorite artist visit, and I really wish I could take one of Spencer’s painting classes!

This week, our class had another virtual artist talk, this time with Sarah Crowner! Crowner is a multimedia artist that primarily works in painting, though employing a unique approach to the hard-edge painting style of the mid-century by sewing canvas together, as well as ceramics and installation art. We were given the opportunity to take a look into Crowner’s studio as well, giving us a better understanding of what her art-making process is actually like. Not to stray too off topic, but her studio is absolutely gorgeous. Not only does Crowner have a huge amount of space needed for her large canvases, but the combination of natural light from skylights and windows as well as very strong artificial lights was incredible. The environment artists work in, even if it is not visually reflected in the works they make (such as Crowner who is not making observational works), definitely can affect an artist’s workflow and headspace. I have a hard time creating art in poor lighting conditions as practically, I cannot properly see what I am doing, but a lack of sun or strong light worsens my mood and I can quickly lose focus, so I have a feeling Crowner’s lighting setup is working wonders for her. Sorry to ramble, at any rate we were able to take a look at the large-scale, industrial sewing machines Crowner uses to create her works as well. While she isn’t using sewing in terms of a fashion-oriented process, seeing it more as a means to an end, I love that Crowner is finding new ways to create paintings rather than layering paint in a traditional model. 

It was also fascinating to hear Crowner’s philosophies on art. What struck me most was her emphasization of mystery in art, as she described “instinct” as what guides her art, sometimes rather than a specific narrative. I personally think the academification of art has taken away a lot of the mystery of art, and I don’t think art is something that needs to be explained. Art, at least fine arts, is a visual experience, and a lot of art aims to represent what words cannot. As someone who doesn’t consider writing or talking their strong suit, I take refuge in art as a space where I should not have to explain myself, instead allowing what I create to do the talking. 

I also loved Sarah’s ideas on how one’s body should be engaged with art. She believes that art is best viewed in person, as one can move closer to the art, view it from different angles, realize the different textures and materials, and even touch it (maybe don’t do that in a museum or gallery however). She was once commissioned to create a large-scale painting installation and scenery for a ballet, set to sit behind the dancers as the ballet was performed. While the audience couldn’t move from their seats to view it closer or from different angles, she saw the painting as ephemeral as the lighting and the interaction with moving performers transformed the painting throughout the ballet. In addition to being physical works , I admire that her pieces not only cross medium boundaries, but entire fields such as dance.