In other words, Happy New Year!!! January 1st is an opportunity to reflect on the past year and make plans for the near future. (Resolution #1: to update my OPP website regularly!) Before delving into 2020, I'd like to take this opportunity to reflect on my favorite OPP interviews of the past year. These five artists stood out to me, both for their excellent work and their clear articulation of their content. Please take some time to read their interviews.
SARAH K. WILLIAMS' background is in painting and sculpture, but "perfectly still objects make [her] restless." She creates scores for sculptural performances, both performing herself and directing others. These hard-to-classify works linger in between theater, performance art and sculpture. (Read the interview)
Mid-Sized Creatures: a 3-act sculptural performance for 3 performers and cello. 2017.
Performers: Annelyse Gelman, Thalia Beaty, Ashley Williams, and Sarah Williams. Cello: Clare Monfredo. Text: Ashley Williams
...........................................................................................................................................................................
CHRISTOPHER LIN combines organic materials—plants, soil, teeth, hair—with synthetic and technological materials like polystyrene, electrical cords and LED lights. His sculptures and installations are thoughtful arrangements of found objects that make the familiar just unfamiliar enough to elicit contemplation. . . of climate change, of the impermanence of the body and self, and of the contemporary human condition. (Read the interview)
Excoriate, 2015. Glue, skin, hair, and gut sutures. 1 x 48 x 36 inches.
...........................................................................................................................................................................
Influenced by science fiction, history and hip-hop, DONTÉ K. HAYES works in the spirit of Afrofuturism. His hand-built ceramics allude to the black body through texture and color, while his titles refer to both the imagined possibilities and the historical truth of the African Diaspora. (Read the interview)
Dalek, 2018. Ceramic. 16" x 13" x 13"
...........................................................................................................................................................................
Performance, persona and endurance are driving forces in the videos and photography of ANNETTE ISHAM. With a penchant for the absurd, she explores a range of subjects, from "middle school sociology" to competitiveness to a near mystical relationship between various female protagonists and their surrounding landscapes. (Read the interview)
Woman and Landscape Still 2, 2014. Video still.
...........................................................................................................................................................................
JOSÉ SANTIAGO PÉREZ combines coiling, one of the oldest human technologies, with the brand-spanking-newness of plastics, a material that will likely outlast human life on the planet. He thinks metaphorically about the relationship between the passive core and active element, while his color palate of pastels and neons evokes the "remembered colorscape of L.A. in the 80s and 90s." (Read the interview)
Aytú, 2019. wall hanging