The Interview as Art

Here is our 4th interview with Pallavi Gandhi 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/studio605/with/5401991684/

1. What was your first work of art and how old were you?
Honestly! I don’t remember what I scribbled on the walls as a kid. I was always fond of drawing. As an adult, I’d say my 1st original work of art was a scenic collage I made when I was 21.

2. What did you do for fun when you were a teenager?
Read, read, and read! I read a lot of classics. Had a fantastic school library…stocked everything from Hardy Boys to Thomas Hardy….and played on the streets…was never really into organized sports

3. What and when was your first job?
At 22. Had just gone to Sydney to study, from my protective Delhi environment. Got paid for dropping off and collecting catalogues, door to door. Guess I picked up from where my 13 year old cousin left off! ; P

4. What was your first work that really pleased you as an artist?  
Instantly?!!? That’s only started to happen in the last 6-8 months. Technically though, ‘Over the Ruined Castle’ series was challenging. It was my 1st big art project. The outcome pleased many people. ; ) 

5. Who was the first artist to influence you?
Don’t remember artists names, but illustrators of books I read as a kid: Amar Chitra Katha and Chandamama that serialized folk tales and mythological epics Ramayan and Mahabharat. Growing up in the ‘80’s, book fairs were full of children’s stories from Russia and Eastern Europe, translated in English. Fantastic illustrations! Loved the stories!

6. Who were your favorite movie stars growing up?
Bollywood: Dharamendra, Vinod Khanna, Pradeep Kumar, Devanand
Hollywood: Gregory Peck, Christopher Reeves, Rex Harrison

7. What were your favorite TV shows growing up?
Trishna( a Hindi adaptation of Pride and Prejudice), Buniyaad, Hum Log, Sherlock Holmes, and of course Spiderman

8. Has your work gone up in price compared to when you first started?
Very slightly. Silver prices and consequently labour(due to inflation) has gone up. That’s a marginal increase in prices.

9. Where do you get your ideas?
Nature, social, political and emotional circumstances, though I try to not put a fullstop after interpreting reality. There must be hope at the end…something to smile about



10. Who do you think is the best business artist in the world?
Any and many. Some want to be billionaires, some don’t. As long as people are happy with their journey at any point in time, they’re all best business artists.

11. Do you think that there are any art movements now?
Nowadays, every style is its own art movement. 

12. Do you think kids should get grants to decorate subways?
Absolutely! Everyone should, though kids should get priority some places. And why just subways…there are local council buildings and colony walls too

13. Have you or anyone you know been involved in street art?
No. In India this is not so common

14. Do you ever think about politics?
Often. I also feel I should be more involved in community programmes and initiatives. Ultimately, this is where strong and committed leaders will emerge from. I wish I didn’t procrastinate so much

15. What is your favorite color?
10 years ago it was red in all shades…now I just don’t know

16. Do you do all your own work, or do you have people working for you?
All of the metal work. I rarely use stones. Those then I give for setting in the market

17. Do you have an interest in films or video?
Love them!! Especially the B&W ones; both in English and Hindi. And now we also have world cinema channels on cable. Yippee!!! Last watched a lovely docu, ‘Fidel: the Untold Story’. I can watch at least one movie everyday.

18. What kind of toys do you have?
Have some clay and wood ones, peculiar to the crafts of that particular region
terracotta horse from West Bengal

19. Do you have any habits you’d like to kick?
Wish I didn’t sleep so much 

20. What do you do when you’re not working?
Pray, listen to music, read (currently reading; the land of green plums), watch movies

21. Do you play any games?
Yeah! Mental games all the time. I trick myself into believing every morning that one day I’ll make money from this work that I do ; )
  
22. How old were you when you got your driver’s license and is there a story attached to it?
18. Learnt to drive, got my license. Sat on it for 6 years. Took driving lessons again at 24. Been driving since. 

23. What time do you go to bed and what time do you get up (most of the time.)
No fixed time and no fixed time

24. How much time do you spend on the computer?
2-3 hours daily. I’m sure I could cut that time by half if the internet speed wasn’t so low

25. Do you watch TV, (if so, what are your favorites?)
Don’t watch soaps or reality shows. Only movies

26. What do you eat?
Food

27. Do you believe in flying saucers?
Can’t say. Never seen one

28. Do you believe in magic?
Any phenomena with a scientific basis is rational and justifiable. Difficult to believe is the eternity of life. Wish someone would prove that to me

29. Do you think Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone?
Don’t know

30. Do you look in the mirror when you get up?
Sure. When I wash my face

31. Do you think the world can be saved?
Yes and it all starts with friendship…for the sake of just that and not based on economic usability

32. Do you think there should be censorship?
In my country, responsible censorship is required

The Interview as Art

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maria_apostolou/

So today we get to travel to Greece and meet with Maria Apostolou!

1. What was your first work of art and how old were you?
Well that's a very scary term to use for myself!

2. What did you do for fun when you were a teenager?
I mostly remember going out a lot with my friends. Funny thing, I can't remember doing anything creative, I must have been in hibernation as a teenager. I have many memories of crafting as a child though.

3. What and when was your first job?
I was a research assistant during college. We were collecting data for a longitudinal research project on institutionalized and adopted children and their families.

4. What was your first work that really pleased you as an artist?
What I do now, design and make jewelry for people to wear is what pleases me the most. I love seeing my pieces worn by other people. Last year, I also came to realize the joy of making stuff that are not considered practical or wearable.

5. Who was the first artist to influence you?
That's a tough one, I can't name only one. I've always been fascinated with art history and I think that studying the work of great artists has somehow influenced and shaped my style.

6. Who were your favorite movie stars growing up?
The first person that comes to my mind is Johnny Depp (!). 21 Jump Street was a great success back then :-) I still like watching most of his movies.

7. What were your favorite TV shows growing up?
My favorite when I was 6 or 7 was a japanese anime series called "Candy Candy".

8. Has your work gone up in price compared to when you first started?
Yes, inevitably it has because the materials and techniques that I use have changed considerably. When I first started I was making a lot of beaded and wirewrapped jewelry. I still enjoy doing this sometimes, it's fun and relaxing.

9. Where do you get your ideas?
It might sound as a cliche but I get my ideas from everywhere. I just try to be as open and receptive as possible.
        

10. Who do you think is the best business artist in the world?
Tough question. Can't really think of anyone in particular although I'm sure that there are plenty.

11. Do you think that there are any art movements now?
So many that it's impossible to be informed about everything that is going one. Although contemporary art can be hard to figure out and often controversial, I love the fact that there's freedom to express ideas in a variety of different mediums.

12. Do you think kids should get grants to decorate subways?
Sounds like a good idea.

13. Have you or anyone you know been involved in street art?
My brother has been involved in a great street art project as a teenager. 

14. Do you ever think about politics?
It's hard not to think about politics.

15. What is your favorite color?
I love all things colorful but my favorite must be blue, especially the shades of teal and aqua blue.
                                              

16. Do you do all your own work, or do you have people working for you?
Well, now that I think about it, I should be paying my boyfriend for all the computer work that he has done for me!

17. Do you have an interest in films or video?
I enjoy watching a good film but I've become very hard to please lately.

18. What kind of toys do you have?
Hammers and that sort of things! Can't think of anything better to play with right now!

19. Do you have any habits you’d like to kick?
For starters, I would like to reduce the amount of desserts that I'm consuming. 

20. What do you do when you’re not working?
Reading, biking, walking, cooking, daydreaming are a few of my favorite activities.

21. Do you play any games?
I used to play volley ball in high school. Now I love playing games with my little nephew.

22. How old were you when you got your driver’s license and is there a story attached to it?
I must have been 19 or 20. Nothing special that I can remember, besides the fact that I was intimidated by driving initially. On my first lesson, I pressed the clutch instead of the brake…..fortunately I had the best teacher! What a patient man, I still remember him. 

23. What time do you go to bed and what time do you get up (most of the time.)
I usually go to bed around 1 a.m. and get up at 8:30.

24. How much time do you spend on the computer?
My computer is such a valuable tool, I don't know what I would do without it. Having said that, I'm constantly trying to reduce the amount of time that I spend on my computer and focus on other activities instead.

25. Do you watch TV, (if so, what are your favorites?)
I admit that I'm a TV junkie. My recent discovery is 30 Rock….yes, I know I'm 5 seasons behind but I've been watching it obsessively over the last days and I'm almost caught up now! I also love TV shows about cooking. One of my favorites is the "Jamie at Home" series and "Jamie's 30 minute meals."

26. What do you eat?
Apart from desserts that I mentioned before, my diet is pretty healthy actually. I love cooking with fresh vegetables from my father's garden and trying new recipes.

27. Do you believe in flying saucers?
Sure!

28. Do you believe in magic?
As a child I never really liked magicians and their tricks but as an adult I came to realize that magic - in the broad sense of the term - is potentially everywhere.

29. Do you think Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone?
Very doubtful.

30. Do you look in the mirror when you get up?
Almost never.

31. Do you think the world can be saved?
I used to think so but not anymore.

32. Do you think there should be censorship?
Censorship?Why?

Interview with Mary Lu Wason

 Our 2nd Interview as Art with TADA founder Mary Lu Wason!!






















What was your first work of art and how old were you?

The first metal working I did was for a high school art class. I made copper earrings with stars cut out. I really loved them. Stars were my
thing, my personal symbol and to have my jewelry reflect that just seemed perfect. I remember thinking, this is fun. When I'm an old lady, I'll just make my own jewelry. And, that's basically what has happened.



I've been working on a collection this year called Metal Sky Jewelry Collection that is a tip of the hat to my younger self. I still draw freehand stars, some a bit wobbly and then cut them out of the metal.

I also remember, for the same class, making a bracelet from the top of my blues harp harmonica. The metal piece on top had fallen off, from so much use. (I played guitar and harmonica, back in the day.) So, I banged it into a cuff and added some macrame on the ends to tie it. This was the mid-70s. Very cool. I wish I still had it. I remember thinking this was also the perfect bracelet for me. My art teacher was astounded - wondering how I ever got this idea? He reacted to my projects like that
all the time. I didn't think it was unusual. I was just following my muse and using jewelry as a reflection of my interests.

I still do that. I still believe that something like an over used harmonica or an old button can be much more appealing in a piece of jewelry than a precious stone. It's all about why you are wearing the piece.


Who was the first artist to influence you?

That was probably Alphonse Mucha. Being a teen in the 1970s, his work and style was
all over the place on rock posters, t-shirts, etc. I realize now that's why I have a soft spot for Art Nouveau style. Pretty ladies, with long flowing hair, surrounded by stars. It represented a choice then, a way of looking at the world, a freedom from the boxes that our parent's
generation was imprisoned in.

I was also obsessed with Vincent Van Gogh. The passion he had, for whatever he did in life, was something I could relate to. I always go all the way with my interests - no holding back.




Do you think that there are any art movements now?

I do think that the Internet is fueling an art movement, but I'm not sure how to define it at this point. I'm excited about sharing my work daily online using social media in a community of other artists. I'm sure we'll look back in ten years and see this as a beginning of an upheaval in the art market. The concept of someone having to go to a distant city to see an exhibit and purchase work, seems more and more absurd. The concept of an artist having to spend $5000 to show and sell their work for 4 days to whoever can brave a snowstorm sounds ludicrous, doesn't it? But we're in the middle of changes now and there's no defined way of showing and selling art right now, especially art jewelry, which is not easily defined.

I believe that our Flickr group, TADA365 Art Jewelry, is part of a sleeping giant of an online Art movement. We are drawing on cave walls (or computer screens) - because the walls are there. We are collecting shells and other found objects and adorning ourselves with them
- because it's in our nature. This is how it's always been. Maybe the Internet can take some of us back to basics, casting off the dictates of an editor's whim or a gallery's connections. Maybe we can define for ourselves, what can be art, as well as fashion, talisman and memory. If we can show it and sell it online, maybe we won't need to fit into the definitions of the offline world.

Now that is really exciting!

The Interview as Art

What better way to get to know the group than to have them all answer the same set of questions. It would be cool to compile them in an online book after they are all done and perhaps extend out into RAW also. Please leave comments and feel free to ask the artist any questions you like... of course they are not obligated to answer them

Here is the first Artist Interview for TADA with Kest Schwartzman aka Vagabond Jewelry   http://www.flickr.com/photos/vagabondjewelry/

1. What was your first work of art and how old were  Seriously? I have no idea. My dad likes to tell about my figuring out how to turn on his circular saw as a toddler, but I doubt I made much of it. I do still have sketchbooks from kindergarten. 2. What did you do for fun when you were a teenager Oh gee. I read books. Lots of them; good, bad and indifferent. I was in drama club in high school and played live action role playing games. I did logic puzzles by myself in my room. I ran around in the woods a lot. In college there was a group of us who would get together on Friday nights in front of the fire and read children's books to each other.  3.  What and when was your first job? I started working at a zoo when I was 13 or 14. It was seriously fun. There are still times when I think I ought to have gone that direction with my life. 4. What was your first work that really pleased you as an artist?  When I was a kid, every piece of art I made pleased me. That's not true, some of them I threw away without showing anyone, but all the ones I admitted to, I loved passionately. There was this wooden dragon puppet I made in middle school shop class - he was the awesomest. Hordes of little paper clip men made in grammar school were, at the time, the best things ever made by man. I've never been particularly humble.  5. Who was the first artist to influence you? Probably Maurice Sendak, if we're really aiming for first. In a serious, admiring and trying to emulate way, Ann Hamilton, in High School. 6. Who were your favorite movie stars growing up? Rowlf the Dog 7. What were your favorite TV shows growing up? We didn't watch television.  8. Has your work gone up in price compared to when you first started? Not a lot. I do more complicated things than when I first started selling my work, and those more complicated things cost more, but the basics are just about where they started. My time is worth more than it was then, but I work much faster. 9. Where do you get your ideas?  Books, trees, and streams.  10. Who do you think is the best business artist in the world? I don't know. Depends on how a person defines each of those terms. What's best? What's an artist? What counts as business?  11. Do you think that there are any art movements now?  Billions 12. Do you think kids should get grants to decorate subways?  I think everyone should get grants to decorate subways. Then more cities will have to put in more subways to accommodate. It's perfect. 13. Have you or anyone you know been involved in street art? Yup. 14. Do you ever think about politics? Honestly, I try not to. It makes me want to cry. But yeah, sometimes I decide I need to do something. 15. What is your favorite color?                                                         That shade of blue right before the sky goes dark. 16. Do you do all your own work, or do you have people working for you? all of it! I've been known to get help sitting at tables at fairs.  17. Do you have an interest in films or video? Frankly, no. 18. What kind of toys do you have? All kinds! I have a tiny stuffed pony who's almost always in my pocket. I have old tin toys and fancy new legos and wooden pull toys and stuffed elephants and plastic ponies and a stunt kite that I can't fly and wooden 3D puzzles and pinhole cameras and tops and remote control helicopters and that's just in this room. 19. Do you have any habits you’d like to kick? Once a year or so I decide to stop biting my nails. 20. What do you do when you’re not working?         I make things out of metal. 21. Do you play any games? Dominoes, cards, bike polo, TADA 22. How old were you when you got your driver’s license and is there a story attached to it? 16 years, 5 months, and 3 days. IN CT, at the time, you had to be 16 years 5 months old. That fell on a Saturday, and then there was labor day, so it was Tuesday before I could get it. I got my first job exactly one week later when I realized I was gonna have to buy gas for the car. 23. What time do you go to bed and what time do you get up (most of the time.)  I try to be in bed by midnight, but fail. I try to be up by nine am and fail.  24. How much time do you spend on the computer? three hours a day. If I could hire somebody to do that part, I would.  25. Do you watch TV, (if so, what are your favorites?) I've never even owned a television. One of my old roommates had one and would watch godawful movies all the time. We had a grand time. 26. What do you eat? anything that happens to be in front of me that isn't moving. Really, I find that I care significantly less about this issue than almost anyone I've ever met. Left to my own devices, I'll go a week with nothing but a box of triskets, just because I have better things to do than go to the store. 27. Do you believe in flying saucers?  We can detect neutrinos by knowing that electrons are acting funny. There's no way there's flying saucers that scientists haven't noticed. I DO believe in extra terrestrial life, I just can't imagine what they'd want to do with us. 28. Do you believe in magic? Sufficiently advanced technology. But yes.  29. Do you think Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone? I'm sure there were hundreds, if not thousands, of butterflies flapping their wings that day. 30. Do you look in the mirror when you get up? Right now we're in the midst of a semi renovation of the bathroom, so I haven't seen myself in weeks. Usually, yes, it's right there when I'm brushing my teeth. 31. Do you think the world can be saved? I think the world is saved thousands of times a day.  32. Do you think there should be censorship? Oh, if you saw the ideas I thought of at 1am, you would. Self censorship is the most important force in the world.