Six Questions

Back in May, I was interviewed for an upcoming Canadian television series about sexuality/sensuality/eroticism in art, which I am told will be shown on ARTV in Montreal in January 2016. (More about the details of where to watch that program once I know more myself!)

"Pinned for Safety" 22"x20" Watercolor Painting by Andrea Arbit

I recently received an email from the group putting together the program (Eureka Productions) that there will be a complementary web component that presents each artist and selection of their works. They sent me a list of questions to answers for the web page, and I thought I'd give you blog viewers a preview by sharing the answers I emailed back. 

These should all be on their website once the program airs, but who doesn't like to be the first to see things? :)

"Bandaged Duality" 22"x30" Watercolor Painting by Andrea Arbit

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- What is the art work that you enjoy the most?

Colored pencil is probably the medium I enjoy the most. I feel most free when I'm drawing, just because I have more experience holding pencils than paintbrushes and I like having complete control over the instrument I wield. That said, watercolor humbles me and intimidates - in a good way - and when I find success with a painting, it often gives me more satisfaction than a drawing would, because I get the feeling of conquering a more difficult process.

- What is your most favorite artist?

I really admire Frida Kahlo. She was never afraid to infuse her paintings with stories of personal trauma. In her painting "Henry Ford Hospital," she literally invites viewers into her hospital room to dissect her physical and emotional pain. Her transparency is aspirational. 

- If you were not an artist, you would be...

A novelist - which is, essentially, a different kind of artist. I've always loved storytelling and writing. I'm actually working on a novel concurrently with my art projects. Eventually it would be great to merge the two into a single medium.

I have also always been interested in psychology - getting in people's heads and understanding why they think and behave the way they do. I reflect on my own thoughts almost constantly, and would enjoy helping others manage their lives as I try to manage mine.

- What do you hate above all?

I hate people who are so self-serving and set in their opinions that they are physically unable to imagine or comprehend the words of those who disagree with them. Everybody has certain topics they believe so rigidly that no amount of friendly debate or personal search for truth will quit them of those beliefs, but we should still be able to talk to each other with open minds and enter every conversation willing to cast doubt on our own assumptions. Empathy is the most important currency in our global economy, and yet often undervalued in favor of stubbornness, greed, apathy, and privilege.

- With whom would you like to have a drink?

As an introvert, there are few people I'd like to go out and have a drink with - but several I'd enjoy exchanging email correspondence with, perhaps. I'd love to pick the brains of Renaissance and Baroque artists like Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Rubens, to learn their methods and technique. I'd also love to delve into the personal lives and psychology of troubled artists and writers like Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Jackson Pollock, Sylvia Plath, and Virginia Woolf. I think any dialogue with them would be fascinating.

As for an in-person conversation, I'd love to meet with a future version of myself - an Andrea who has decades more experience with art and life and might be willing to share her acquired wisdom with a younger me. A "Dinner Party" of notable women in history (as Judy Chicago envisioned for her 1979 installation) would also be amazing to witness. If only time travel were possible!

5"x7" Watercolor Painting by Andrea Arbit

- Which artists have influenced you the most and why?

Judy Chicago's idea of "central core imagery" as a common composition among female artists greatly influenced my floral watercolors created for my thesis "Flower Symbolism as Female Sexual Metaphor" - and continues to influence my more abstract pattern watercolors to this day. I've always been drawn to symmetry, often doodling radial patterns on graph paper during math class.

Georgia O'Keeffe's beautiful floral paintings also served as a big influence to me. As a child, before I knew anything about the Freudian interpretations of her work, those large flowers with their gorgeous colors resonated with me. To create art that 1) is aesthetically pleasing and 2) can be layered with nuances of meaning and interpreted in different ways is, to me, the ultimate goal.