On Finding Your Creative Voice: Andie Flores
Read our recent interview with Austin-based writer, comedian, and performance and visual artist, Andie Flores.
As part of our ongoing digital residency, we’re spotlighting our recent interview with Austin-based performance artist, writer and comedian Andie Flores.
In conversation with bbatx committee member Liz Whitington, Andie chatted with us about how she goes about navigating collaboration, the value creative residencies can be of to artists, and how she combines comedy, performance art and drag in creating her work.
ABOUT Andie Flores:
Andie Flores is a writer, performance and visual artist, clown and comedian based in Austin, Texas. Her work (often site-specific) investigates messy, extravagant, delinquent bodies loudly stumbling toward some sort of Latinx queer futurity. Her most recent explorations include live-streaming an in-character performance at various public sites of high-pedestrian traffic, subject/object glitch character experiments, and home video archival research in search of present-day artist narration. Last summer, she was an artist-in-residence for MASS Gallery’s Hotbox 2019 residency with one of her artistic partners, Cindy Popp. Early next year, she'll have her first solo show at Presa House Gallery in San Antonio. Flores’ ongoing central artistic question is one of audience, loneliness, excess, and legacy. She is a second year PhD student in the department of Mexican American Latinx Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got into performance, writing and comedy? How did you get to where you are now?
I have always been performing and have always had the personality for it (AKA I’m a ham). I’ve been performing in front of people at least since the sixth grade, and then from then through almost the end of college, I did the speech and debate team, which is essentially competitive performance and speech writing. After I graduated college in 2013, I discovered a whole other world of performance that I did not know about and began to experiment with different performance styles and ideas on variety shows like The Encyclopedia Show in Arizona. Then I just did weird, dumb stuff on a handful of different comedy shows in Austin when I moved here. I’ve spent the majority of my time in Austin (about six or seven years) trying to find my voice and format, and lately that’s meant interweaving comedy, drag, protest and performance art.
Photo courtesy of Andie Flores.
Photo courtesy of Andie Flores.
What compelled you to pursue a PhD, and how have your studies impacted your work?
For me, school was initially about getting excited about living in Austin for a few more years, and I also wanted to provide myself with options for new art career paths to take. School has given me a new approach to the city and I'm trying very hard to do it alongside regular performance work, which is great and keeps me incredibly busy. My program is Mexican American Latinx Studies, so I’m getting to merge my artistic pursuits with my community and scholarship about things I love.
You mentioned that you love to collaborate. How do you go about finding collaborators, and what does that collaborative process look like?
I really love working with other people. I think that’s because I see myself as less of an artist and more of an adult who likes to play. I’m drawn to other people who like to play, too and who believe in the wild, vast potential and power of play. Collaborating with someone else makes me figure out how to work with not only my artistic anxieties and energies but also how to be productive alongside theirs. It gives me space to narrow in on what I do best in the collaboration so I can hyper-focus on my work, which is a nice challenge.
What motivates or inspires you as an artist?
Music plays an important role in my creative/inspiration process, but I’m also continuously fueled by the ongoing experimentation of my favorite artists and performers. The work of artists like Xandra Ibarra, Shaboom!, Jibz Cameron/Dynasty Handbag, Lorelei Ramirez, Victor I. Cazares, etc. all motivate me energetically.
What themes does your work explore, and are there new themes you want to focus on?
I’m always interested in out-of-context performances, questions of online legacy and identity, frantic humor meets strange glamour, little kid sensibilities and poetry.
Photo taken by Jagan Cortez.
Photo courtesy of Andie Flores.
You’ve been a resident artist before with other creative institutions. How do residencies impact your artistic work?
My first official residency was last summer at MASS Gallery with my ongoing clown collaborator, Cindy Popp. The residency provided us with a studio/gallery space, freedom, and the opportunity to showcase our work in a show at the end of it all. To have time and space to create like that in a place like Austin is usually expensive or only comes with being seen as a more established artist. I enjoy that residencies often come with loose restrictions or boxes that are fun to play with, and I like seeing how I can work within those constraints to grow my practice. The best thing a residency can do is provide space, resources and access that I would not normally have.
On Performing, Passion And Staying Paid: DJ La Moon
In conversation with bbatx committee member Diamond Hawkins, bbatx resident artist DJ La Moon chatted with us about her passion for music and performing and what her day-to-day looks like as a performer, DJ and business owner.
As part of our ongoing digital residency, we’re spotlighting our recent interview with La Moon, an Austin-based recording artist, DJ, radio personality and co-owner of Night Owl Studios.
In conversation with bbatx committee member Diamond Hawkins, La Moon talked with us about her passion for music and performing, how she draws the most inspiration from other women, and what her day-to-day looks like as a performer, DJ and business owner.
ABOUT DJ LA MOON:
La Moon is a recording artist, DJ, radio personality and co-owner of Night Owl Studios in Austin, Texas. Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, La Moon has loved music since she can remember.
In 2012, she started DJing every weekend at a popular club in Old San Juan and has performed in Miami, Colombia, New York, California, New Jersey, Chicago and more. La Moon’s goal is to perform and have her music heard around the world.
Her supporters gave her the title "La Reina del Perreo" because they love her explosive Reggaeton/Perreo DJ Sets.
In 2019, La Moon started releasing original music in Spanish and singing live. Her popular songs are "Lunática", "Violenta" and "Algo Sexual"—some real sexy dancing bops. She really enjoys collaborating and creating with other like-minded individuals, and she strives to provide a comfortable, professional, creative, good vibes recording studio called Night Owl Studios with her fianceé and two great friends. You can keep up with her on Twitch every Tuesday from 7 to 8 PM CT and during her “Cafe y Perreo” morning DJ sets.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. :)
My real name is Kristiany and I'm originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, but I moved to Austin. I love music—I DJ, I sing, I’m the co-owner of a music studio here in Austin, and I work on the radio. I like to do everything that has to do music, entertaining, creating and having a good time. That’s usually what La Moon does.
Let’s start with your stage name. Where did it come from?
Well, I've always been known by my real name, Kristiany, but then after the hurricane [Hurricane Maria] happened, I moved to New York because I was trying to leave the island. So, I moved to New York, and I would notice that Uber drivers wouldn’t know how to say my name. No one knew how to say my name! Literally that first weekend, almost instantly, I was like, I need to change my name, because no one’s going to book me. No one’s going to remember me if my name's this complicated.
I wanted to do something in Spanglish because I do things in English and Spanish. Spanglish is another language that I really speak, so I decided on La Moon! Because I'm a night owl! “La” in Spanish and “moon” in English. Anyone can say it in any language or accent.
What inspires you to create?
I just love expressing myself. I love being in good vibes. I love being relaxed. I like setting a mood, and I like to set that mood for other people. I just like people in general, so I make music for them. I like to express myself, but I also think about my demographic and who's going to listen to it.
I usually get inspired by women and our stories—us having fun, us being sad, us trying to get over stuff. You know what I mean? Us being badasses! Women always inspire me. Every time a woman compliments me, it means a little bit more than if a guy does it for some reason. Drake could tell me that my song was the bomb, but if some 17-year-old-girl told me, “Oh my God, you're the bomb,” I would be like, “Oh my god, a girl liked it!” I would feel so good.
What does your day-to-day look like?
Honestly, it depends on the day of the week. Monday through Friday, I'm at the radio station (Enchufe Radio Digital). I do a 30-minute DJ set, and then the night before, I have my listeners vote between two songs, and they choose which song they want. So, I have to think ahead of time about the songs they’d want to vote for and if it’d be a hard battle. Stuff like that. That’s me with my radio stuff.
If I'm at the studio, my daily schedule might change. If it's the studio I co-own, then we’re thinking of services, how to bring people in, things like that. If it's me creating my own songs in the studio, I pretty much try to create every second I can because when it hits you, it just comes. You just live life and things come to you at any time. So I’ll be listening to beats, getting some lyrics in… some feels. Whenever I know there's no clients, I'll try to record. I make music, and then if I have to DJ at the club, I use that time to practice and create stuff. Usually when I'm on the radio live on air, I’ll be practicing deejaying five times a week, plus on the weekends. I'm deejaying almost everyday. I do love it, but I love making music more. Performing—being live in front of people—is my favorite.
I love it because I hate waiting. I feel like I'm very patient and zen, but I'm actually so freaking impatient. Every time I perform, I don't know… for some reason, at least in the past, I always fight. I always get into an argument with others every time I have an event. I just feel like we [performers] give so much love, but at the same time, we know we deserve the love.
That's pretty much it for my day-to-day. But sometimes, everything goes crazy. I would get a message saying, “Oh, we want to do this today.” I'll go, but I also have to prepare for other things. I’ll have to go to the studio because something's happening, or we have a meeting at the studio. It can be very hectic, but I like it because it keeps me occupied, and honestly, I like making money. We’re hustling here, you know? So right now, I'm just trying to do everything I can. I don't have a studio here [at home], so I can't make music. Everything's in the studio, but the building it’s in is currently closed.
What do you do when you wake up in the morning? Do you have a specific routine?
For my best self, I definitely need to meditate for twenty minutes. Ten minutes is not enough anymore. I actually got that from J Balvin. He does it for twenty minutes a day, so that encouraged me to take that step since ten minutes wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I used to meditate for ten minutes without guidance, but then I did it for the first time guided, and I feel like it helps to make the time pass by quicker and get me to where I want to be mentally, you know—uplifted, relaxed and everything's beautiful. It makes me feel really good, and it really makes a difference. I also have to walk my dog, and she just makes me so happy. My baby girl!
In the morning, I like to drink water with lemon and lime. I’ll have friends over, and they’ll be like, “Why are you so bougie with your lemon-lime water at your house?” I'm like, “What's wrong with you? Just let me be!”
After that, I usually like to take a shower. Well, the first thing I do is brush my teeth, but then I'll take a shower, do my makeup, and listen to music while I'm doing that. (My morning mix is about 90% Bad Bunny.)
Then, I go off and do what I have to do. The first thing I do is usually go to the radio station, but I have to meditate, though. To me, it’s about patience. You know how many times things change in a day? Something last-minute usually happens to me. I’m used to it—that's part of life. All I can change is myself and how I deal with it.
What sparked your interest in your craft?
I've always loved music. I was that girl in every talent show, you know what I mean? I just did that all the time, but I never pursued it as a career until I graduated from college.
I studied kinesiology while I was living in Puerto Rico. What I wanted to do was do a boot camp on the beach once or twice on the weekends and have a DJ playing. So, we’re all on the beach looking cute, and it’s kind of like an obstacle course. People run it about ten times, all that stuff. So, I started doing that, but then if I was trying to book a DJ, they were like $100 or $150. I was just like, You know what? That's too expensive. Like, I'm not going to book you. You're not going to make more money than me.
So, I got the equipment, and then I learned through YouTube. I made the mix really simple because it's workout music. It's not like club music. It's much simpler. I just have to put on the banging songs. I premixed it, got my friend to fake being the DJ, and that was it!
Then, one of my friends from high school owned a bar there, but she had a really bad DJ, so I suggested she let me DJ there! The DJ would be playing techno, and no one in Puerto Rico wants techno. They just want Reggaetón, hip-hop and salsa. I told her that no one was coming to her bar because of the DJ playing techno. She didn’t want to cancel him because he was her brother's friend, and I understood that. But then one day, he got booked to do something else, so I told her to let me do it. And she said OK! I had one or two days to prepare. I have a lot of friends because I went to high school and college there, and it's a tiny Island. Everyone pretty much knows each other. I told people that I was going to DJ there, and it ended up being packed. There was a line at the side of the bar, and that really convinced her to drop that guy because, like, it's good money. No one was coming in for the month that she had it open, and I just told her that it was because she just needed someone that puts on what people actually want to listen to.
What was that experience like?
It was so lit! Because I was young—I was out of college, but I was like, what, 22? Like, lit years, you know what I mean? Now I'm 34, so that's what I'm saying. You know the song “Champagne Showers” by LMFAO? I got my friends on the bar making champagne pop! We made it like a Miami club.
How do you get through creative mental blocks?
I never write a full song. I just write emotions or one verse or something. Then I go to the studio, and whenever I'm on the mic I say other stuff or take in more ideas. I've noticed that I get roadblocked when I'm on a deadline. In my mind, I’m saying what I have to do and what I have to finish instead of just going in and chilling, because of the time limits. That's why I want a studio in my house. That’s the next thing I'm doing.
If you could tell something to your younger self, what would you say?
I feel like I was way more confident when I was younger. I would do whatever. I wouldn't even think things through. That could have been a good thing, could have been a bad thing. I just feel like I shouldn’t have listened to other people’s opinions and just have listened to my own. That's why I studied kinesiology in college, because my parents were really against me doing anything in music. If I didn't listen to them, I would've just studied music and been this boss and probably would have been different. I graduated, and then I had to study and learn again. It felt like I did eight years of learning.
But at the same time, maybe that made me more hungry, more driven. That's probably why I do, like, ten things at once. It's hard to have friends that understand me, because they have their nine-to-five job and they come back home and they're like, “When are we brunching? Where are we shopping?” And I’m like, I need to get booked for a DJ gig at the brunch. I'll see you there. That's how I think—money, money, money.
LISTEN TO DJ LA MOON’S BABES FEST RADIO MIX. :)
About This Mix:
This mix by DJ La Moon will get you amped and feeling fierce. Let yourself go in this ultra hype set of eclectic rhythms and bouncy beats. Featuring exclusive and unreleased tracks by Las Mas Violenta. You can tune in to DJ La Moon's livestream show every Tuesday at twitch.tv/djlamoon.
TRACKLIST:
1. W.E.R.K (edit)
2. Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Fruity Set Jersey Style)
3. TNGHT & M.I.A. - BAD GOOOORLS (BAVR RMX)
4. La Goony Chonga - Claro Que Si (Perreo Mix)
5. Cesar Mannix x Hernande2 x Neddo - COSITA
6. Saweetie - Tap In (MarkCutz Multi Beat Blend)
7. Muy Caliente Versano Laroz x Mc V.e.g.a Dancehall
8. Sak Noel X Salvi X Franklin Dam - Tócame (Hater Perreo Del Sucio Remix)
9. Ducky - Work__ EMPYREAN TEARS REMIX (dembow edit)
10. Rosalía - A Palé (PAPITO PEACE EDIT)
11. Princess Nokia - I Like Him (Olzhas Serikov & Niceskeik Remix)
12. Dj Karaca feat. Truth Hurts - Addictive (2016 remix)
13. Tragame - Salon Sandunga feat. Ayotamz
14. Ms Nina - Rico Rico (Prod Beauty Brain)
15. Give It To Me - Nouriginal
16. Cardi B - WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) (OAKK Bootleg)
17. BURN THE DISCO - Afterparty
18. IZDA - B.T.$.U.
19. Baby Work It (Ramuro Diaz Remix)
20. Missy Elliott - Work It (acapella)
21. Tove Lo - Disco Tits (HARD HABITS EDIT)
22. Gypsy Woman (Gafacci Remix)
23. Bambaataa Drip
24. Callaita (GC og Edit)
25. NO PONY edit
26. Satisfaction (Gafacci Edit)
27. Vamos A Jugar En El Sol - MËGA & Airsoft
28. Space Jams - Move Ya Body (TMB Edit)
29. drill my name (Λ N N Λ B E L flip)
30. Ayo Tamz x DJ la Moon - Aye Papi (Las Mas Violenta unreleased)
31. DJ La Moon - La Villa
32. Ayo Tamz x DJ la Moon -Trakate (Las Más Violenta unreleased)
On Setting and Achieving Goals: An Interview with Bragglights
Enjoy our interview with bbatx resident artist Bragglights.
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, we’ve got an interview with Jenna Herrington, an electronic music DJ better known as Bragglights. In conversation with bbatx committee member Diamond Hawkins, Bragglights discusses how Texas and California have influenced her music, manifesting her next moves, and how she’s learned to silence self-doubt.
ABOUT BRAGGLIGHTS:
Bragglights is an experimental techno/dance music project produced & performed by the artist, Jenna Herrington. Cast as a black sheep during her childhood in Southeast Texas, her creative direction derives from the “Lights of Saratoga” aka “Bragg Lights” which are most famously known as mysterious lights that wander the forests & railroads of her homeland.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. :) how you DID YOU GET into making MUSIC? WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES?
My name is Jenna Herrington. I’m 33 from southeast Texas, a small rural town. I grew up in a very close-minded area, but at the same time, there was also some culture. Then I moved to southern California, and I feel like I’ve kind of lived two different lives, maybe even more. I’ve been back and forth between California and Texas multiple times. I think my childhood made me that way. Sometimes I want to be in Texas, and then I’m feeling the city and I’m ready to move.
I’ve always been an artsy person. Creating music helped me get out of a hole. About ten years ago, I had a wave come over me. I was a pretty lost person, but then I really began to think about making music. I bought a drum machine and I had no idea what to do with it. But I bought it and just started pressing the buttons. Then, years later I got Ableton 6—it was so raw, and I had no idea what I was doing. I just started messing around and getting myself familiar with it. That’s kind of my process for how I do a lot of things. I just experiment and I have to get my hands on things to figure it out. Once I hit a barrier, I’ll do more research—look up Youtube videos, stuff like that.
Also, growing up, music was really big for me. I wanted to be Timbaland so bad. I really loved him and his beats. I more or less studied him, but I didn’t really get into making music until I was 23. Growing up in the ‘90s, it was almost as if he produced every song. And then there was Missy Elliott. She was so out there. Remember “I Can’t Stand The Rain?” She has like, a trash bag on! I think it was a really cool time to grow up in because it was a whole new kind of funky. MTV was actually cool back then. It was just MTV and VH1, and MTV was always killing it. I realized that I watched a lot of MTV, I watched a lot of BET. I was really into hip hop. I would watch The Basement and Hits From The Street. Hip hop and rap were really big influences in my life, and it was just starting to really get big then. Musicians like Outkast and their song “Bombs Over Baghdad.”
Speaking of Missy Elliott and Timbaland creating a whole new culture, I’m getting really into J Balvin right now. He just came out with his new album called Colores, and all of his videos remind me of the super dope videos that I used to watch growing up. I’m so into it right now. I’m trying to learn Spanish so that I can rap along. For two hours last night, I was just yelling his lyrics trying to learn it. I’m getting a new wave of inspiration.
As for electronic music, when I was in California I dated someone who was really into Aphex Twin, goth music, and industrial. I learned a lot about music from them. I learned how to use synthesizers, MIDI, the basics. And then after we split, I continued to nerd out on things. And now, I really love techno. I was living in Lisbon for three months because I was cutting hair out there (I cut hair, too.) I was going to these underground techno shows. It was so sick. I just like making really dark, kinda raw stuff. For my music, I imagine people in a warehouse, making out, sweating, dancing, taking their clothes off. That’s just how I feel. So, maybe I just have a lot of sexual energy I’m trying to get out!
That’s where I am right now. I try to dive into different sub-genres of electronica. I haven’t released it yet, but it’s going to be called Ghost. I like to conceptualize my albums. It helps me write. I use more eerie, ambient sounds, but it leans more toward warehouse dance. But the newer stuff that I’m writing is kind of similar to Crystal Castles indie.
HOW DO YOU USE YOUR CRAFT TO MOVE OTHER PEOPLE?
I started putting out stuff in 2017, so three years ago, and it was really hard to get my first show. I created my first show on Red River. I met these nerdy guys and was like, “let’s play a show,” and I decided that I was going to be the headliner. I kind of just kept doing that. I had these goals: I was going to play Nite School at Cheer Up Charlies and then Exploded Drawing, and I got both of those shows within a year.
I’m starting to connect the dots here. When I was playing these shows, regardless if it was a coffee shop, Cheer Up Charlies or Nite School—I want to make these people dance. If I can get straight-laced, plain-old people to dance, it makes me feel as if I’m doing something right, because I know that they have it inside of them. [Here in Austin] It’s just indie music all the time, and I’m like cool, you can play your guitar. But that’s not what I’m trying to do. I’ve got rage! I want to shuffle! When people go to Coachella, they go buck wild. I know they’re listening to EDM, techno, hip hop. So I’m trying to bring that at a local level. That’s not my main mission, but I like writing dance music. At this point where I’m at, I’m only playing at a local level, but I want to bring it.
BEING A WORKING MUSICIAN HAS A LOT TO DO WITH OPPORTUNITY. HOW DO YOU REACT TO SUDDEN OPPORTUNITIES OR CHANGES AS THEY MAY ARISE?
A few years ago, I was flown out to Bonnaroo by Red Bull Music. They picked 20 people—I still don’t know how I got it. I met so many bomb people, but the guy that ran it lives in Miami and told me I needed to go to see what it’s like. So I ended up going. We woke up at seven in the morning, got dressed and we went to this club called Club Space Miami on Fourth of July. We were on stage on the DJ booth with these hot, sexy people, dancing and drinking, and it was packed. It’s like that all the time. You don’t know who’s been up since four in the morning, you don’t know who just got dressed and showed up. Once I felt that, I knew that I was at a point in my artistry where I needed that. I need that energy. I find myself being more shy and quiet here in Austin. I feel bashful all the time. I’m just ready to be around people where I can just bop my head everywhere I go.
I’ve been doing a lot of personal work, and I’m just realizing that we become the story that we make up in our head. I have this curiosity to move to Miami, and then my ego says no. But no. Now, I’m at a point where I’m like, “you need to get serious about writing music.” I’m at this point where I can actually see myself becoming a professional musician. Austin’s a good place to incubate, and that’s what I’m finding out. It was a really good place for me to make my own show. You can start anything in Austin, but now I need to feel something else.
The coronavirus has been interesting because it’s not a vacation, and I know a lot of people have been hit really hard by it. But I’ve actually been seeing this time as being really beautiful for me. I saved around $7,000 to keep myself afloat, and I’m not balling by any means, but now I have a whiteboard on my wall, and last night I wrote, “I am going to move to Miami.” It’s been an interesting time for me, if I’m being honest.
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
I wish I could revisit myself when I was 14, depressed and had a broken up family. The first time I ever experienced depression, I wish I could’ve grabbed my own hand and shown myself that what I’m experiencing here and now is possible. I didn’t have guidance, I was just blind. Being female, growing up with a mom that has two jobs, two kids and married an alcoholic—man, I rebelled so much. Isn’t it crazy to be triggered as an adult and see how embedded that shit is in you? You get to a point when you’re already on the path to recovery and changing and you see people not be able to do it. I feel like I’m just barely starting to grow up, and I’m 33. I wish I could’ve grabbed my hand and shown myself the other side of the world.
On Experimentation and Self-Expression: Misa Yamamoto
In conversation with bbatx committee member A’nysha Aileen, resident artist Misa Yamamoto talks with us about her creative origins and her work with Austin-based visual arts collective, Essentials Creative.
As part of our ongoing digital residency, we’re spotlighting our recent interview with Misa Yamamoto, a graphic designer and art director for Essentials Creative. In conversation with bbatx committee member A'nysha Aileen, Misa discusses how she began collaborating with Essentials, the biggest inspirations behind her art, and how her perspectives on creating have evolved over time.
ABOUT MISA YAMAMOTO:
Misa Yamamoto is a graphic designer and art director for visual arts collective, Essentials Creative, based in Austin, Texas. Essentials incorporates multi-faceted disciplines such as photography, fashion, graphic design, video, projection, animation, music and installation. Although a single image may include many Essentials members, there is always a unified vision of experimentation, fluidity, and diversity.
Tell us a little bit about your background. :)
I am from Tokyo, Japan. I grew up there, and my family is in Japan. I went to a private girls school. They had many restrictions, and I felt trapped in Tokyo, so I wanted to explore the rest of the world. So I applied and became an exchange student in a small town, Fredonia, KS. It was a culture shock, and everything was different. I was almost the only person of color there. But, I enjoyed feeling free there without restrictions.
I decided to study art in the US after I finished high school in Japan. My dad is an aerial photographer, and my mom studied fashion design. My parents are both creatives, and it was natural for me to do something with art. My mom always told me to not be a photographer because she knows about the hustle. But my sister became a photographer, and I married a photographer, Fabian Villa. I studied communication design at Texas State University. I pulled so many all-nighters and made creative friends. At school, I met Sixto-Juan Zavala, and he introduced me to Essentials Creative, and I started collaborating with the team, Fabian Villa and Steven Casanova.
What prompted the creation of your visual arts collective, Essentials Creative?
Before working in the visual arts, Essentials started in San Antonio as a DJ night with Daecos, VJ Sixto, and event photography by Fabian and Steve. For the flier designs, they collaged photos of the guests.
When I first met Essentials, they had moved into a massive warehouse for low rent and focused on fashion photography, and I started work with them doing set design and graphics. Fashion photography is very collaborative with models, makeup artists, stylists, art directors, post-production people like graphic designers and retouchers.
I had been living in Austin, and Essentials decided to move up here for more opportunities. We shared a home for the first three years, and we started working on more art installations. One of the first installations, YLA 21, was at the Mexic-Arte Museum. After that, it made sense for us to focus on visual art and site-specific installations. We started collaborating with Holodeck Records, City of Austin, Big Medium, Pump Project, Fusebox and now BBATX!
What do you want people to take away from the things you create?
Essentials is my passion, a place to express myself, be free and experiment. We create what we want to see, and if people enjoy it and get it inspired to be creative, then it's successful.
What is your favorite creative medium, and what mediums do you hope to explore in the future?
My main interest is in graphic design and art direction. I would like to do more in digital arts like animation, photography and video, and also incorporate handmade arts and crafts into our digital imagery.
Do you have any advice for up and coming visual artists?
I am very social media-shy, but I am learning from Fabian. If you want to talk or collaborate with people, reach out. Social media makes it easy to ask or get advice from other professionals you admire. Go to art openings or stop by their event, and post on your story and tag the artist. It will help you start conversations with the artists or people you admire.
Who or what inspires and informs your work?
The visual culture around us inspires our work, especially art, music, fashion and studios like M/M Paris and ShowStudio. The following artists really inspire me:
Belkis Ayon
Yayoi Kusama
Maya Deren
Betye Saar
Rashaad Newsome
Adam Pendelton
Francis Bacon
Shigeo Fukuda
How have your projects grown and changed since you started?
In Essentials Creative, I can be more expressive, experiment and collaborate. I am working with others whom I trust, and getting feedback helps me to have different perspectives and expand my vision. I learned personal egos don't help collaborations make the project better. Each project has a different outcome, but everything is part of the learning process. Also, it is ok to do things and not get likes or sell art—as long as it makes you feel good. The most important part is to keep creating, and I think balance is essential.
Can you describe your creative process? What is the first thing you do when you start a project?
I love to research the subject first. I work next to the Fine Arts library, so I check out different books for research and get some inspiration. I also love going to museums! When I travel, I have to go to art museums.
How do you embody our Recent theme, revitalize?
I always felt like an outsider in Austin because of my language and culture barriers. But I am living here now, and my reality is that I am an immigrant woman of color in the arts community, and I must stand up and help dismantle institutional racism and always support BIPOC. At Essentials Creative, we have been collaborating organically with artists and models coming from marginalized communities. But now, we need to continue our practice and be more intentional about it. Who we represent, who we cast, who we work with, and who we support is Essentials.
BBATX is such a great community to connect, learn, and support others. Austin is pretty lucky to have this organization. I am super honored to be part of this residency program!
Take a peek at Misa’s work in creating our Small Business Support Guide. :)
For our recent craftHER Market Week, we collaborated with Misa in having her design our How to Support Small, Support Local and Show Up guide. Take a look at Misa’s work below, and read a digital version of the guide here.
On Seeking Liberation Through Art: Paloma Mayorga
In conversation with interdisciplinary creative Vera Claeys, bbatx resident artist Paloma Mayorga shares the way her creative process has positively affected her identity and self-image.
As part of our ongoing digital residency, we’re spotlighting an interview with artist and curator Paloma Mayorga. In conversation with interdisciplinary creative and writer Vera Claeys, Paloma talks about transitioning from painting to photography, the first time she ever exhibited her scans and how her creative process has changed her idea of self-image.
Interview conducted and written by Vera Claeys, April 2020.
ABOUT PALOMA MAYORGA:
Paloma Mayorga is an interdisciplinary artist and independent curator based in Austin, Texas. She uses unconventional forms of photography to document the body and other natural objects, creating intricate self-portraits that beg the viewer to consider the subtleties of touch.
A note from Vera Claeys: I was introduced to Paloma Mayorga’s work in the Spring of 2010. I was visiting Southwestern University for admitted students day and had the pleasure of seeing her senior art show at the Sarofim School of Fine Arts. For an 18-year-old kid visiting from Mission, Texas, I felt like I was floating. Liberated and confused. Comforted, yet weary. Her work was like taking an ice bath I didn’t know I needed. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing her repertoire evolve in a riveting dance between still life and lucid scans.
Vera Claeys: I want to start by thanking you for taking the time to share your ideas with us today. I also would like to mention that when I first met you and saw your work, you were focusing on an entirely different medium, and that was painting. What was the precedent for that shift?
Paloma Mayorga: Thank you, Vera, for taking the time to interview me and letting me share a little more about what I do! Indeed, I had been working on oil paintings when we first met right after I finished university, where I studied painting. After graduation, I spent a lot of time with myself and became fascinated by self portraits, specifically the idea of people creating an image in their likeness, subtly revealing their innerworkings, experiences, emotions.
Around that time, I began getting to know the work of contemporary photographers who focused on photographing people, many of whom I actually met through you. I feel like I became emotionally invested in their aesthetics, and I began experimenting with a camera myself -- creating more self portraits because I was too shy to photograph others. My mind was constantly racing with images and ideas, and photography seemed to be the only medium that could keep up.
Vera: I imagine you were eager to present your scans to the public after a generous time of introspection and developing your new works. What was the first exhibit you had that was centered on your scans, and when did you decide to present them after being a painter for so many years?
Paloma: I believe it was about a year after I started creating in that medium that I showed them publicly for the first time. I was working on a portrait-based exhibit at the Women’s Community Center of Central Texas in 2014 titled Cruelty Free that dealt with the negative self-talk that too-often is in our vocabulary as young women. I included the first six portraits I ever took of other people, along with three 8 x 10 inch prints from my scan series. Up until that point, I had been painting on large canvases, so printing these works small-scale just didn’t cut it. I wanted for people to get lost in the details that captivated me so much and made these works worth seeing. Emotions.
Two years later, I was invited to have a solo exhibit at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center composed almost entirely of my scans. I had to fill a vast space in a short period, and the open layout of the gallery and tall ceilings allowed me to show these works the way I had always envisioned—giant! The textures and colors of the plants become more intricate and nonrepresentational when you enlarge the photos. It’s almost painterly. This was precisely what made me feel comfortable with making the transition between exhibiting paintings to focusing mostly on the scans.
Vera: Since then, has your identity as a woman evolved moving from painting self portraits to putting your physical self on display via scans? I assume with painting there’s a lot more time and space to alter the state you’re in versus taking a scan of your natural form.
Paloma: There is definitely an aspect of time in the works that changed once I shifted from one medium to another. When painting self portraits, I capture different moments in time, each filled with their own state of being, that all conclude in one comprehensive image. In some ways, painting forced me to look at myself a lot more, allowing for both experimentation and criticism of my physical body. In comparison, the act of scanning is instantaneous, and doesn’t allow my eye to linger in the creative process. The size of the scanner bed also makes it so that I can’t observe or capture my full body in one image. I’m limited to seeing my body as isolated parts—hands, lips, ear, breast, etc—making it a much more controlled way of documenting the body. I think this has made me interpret my body and self as another component of nature, much like the flowers and plants I work with in my scans. There is a wonderful sense of liberation that comes with learning to recognize my body in this way. It’s not something that has to be altered to conform to societal standards of beauty, it’s simply something that just is. Because of this, I look at my body in a much more tender way and value my individual identity as a woman.
Vera: I appreciate that through the lack of distortion, your scans allow clarity of your self image. I know that you have some upcoming projects in the works. I’m curious to know how COVID-19 along with shelter in place restrictions have altered the work you’re creating and future collaborations.
Paloma: It’s certainly pushed back many of the projects I had planned for this summer, including my [in-person] bbatx residency, and a group exhibition at Artpace curated by Annette Carlozzi that I am really looking forward to. The shelter-in-place restrictions, and more so people’s resistance to comply, has made me look at some of my most recent works in a new light. In the gelatin series that I created during my Crit Group residency at The Contemporary Austin last year, I play with the idea of boundaries and our desire to touch. It’s interesting to see how some people struggle with the restrictions, while others accept and work hard to respect them, knowing that our individual actions affect others. This concept is definitely something that I want to explore further and will remain in the forefront of my mind with any future collaborations.
Vera: The first time I saw your gelatin pieces, I definitely wanted to try one. That’s what I enjoyed the most, having to find the balance between desire and restraint.
Paloma, thank you again for looking inward and sharing your ideas and future plans with us. I hope we get to do this again sooner than later. I’m looking forward to seeing your new projects this year!
ABOUT THE WRITER: Vera Claeys is an interdisciplinary creative, currently based in Berkeley, California. Her work has been published in Nasty Magazine and The Normal School Magazine, and her recently published zine, Cool, Calm, and Rejected has been distributed internationally. To learn more about Vera’s work, visit veraclaeys.com.
On Claiming Space with Sound: Mireydi
In conversation with bbatx committee member Amanda Vaughn, bbatx resident artist Mireydi aka Pos Guau talks about how she got her start DJing with Chulita Vinyl Club, the story behind her DJ name, and some of her favorite records.
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, as part of the series, we’ve got an interview with Austin-based DJ and artist Mireydi, also known as DJ Pos Guau. In conversation with bbatx committee member Amanda Vaughn, Mireydi chatted with us about how she got her start DJing with Chulita Vinyl Club, the story behind her DJ name, and some of her favorite records.
ABOUT MIREYDI:
Mireydi aka Pos Guau is a Mexican-Austinite producer, DJ and artist. Pos Guau’s rowdy, deeply rooted live sets reflect her experience of attending too many quinceañeras & bodas and her recent influences of disco, house, pop and anything in between.
How did you start DJing? We’d love to hear about your first gig, what inspired your name, at what point you branched out more… whatever you’d like to share. :)
Individuals who I was surrounded by were DJing, and I was intrigued but never felt like I had the guts to actually do it. I moved to Mexico City and started compiling mixes out of heartache, or more like an outlet. Then, I was accepted into Chulita Vinyl Club—that was the moment where I felt like I could come back to Austin. CVC offered a place of being welcomed, and honestly, they were the ones (along with bossbabesATX) who made me feel welcome back into Austin all over again. CVC truly taught me how to DJ with vinyl. Then, I transitioned to a controller in trying to play a bit more recent music. I remembered being so nervous at my first live DJ event, but I had a kind gentle fellow Chulita, Simone, who taught me how to transition and how to feel the song rhythm and BPM. Simone was there for me. When I was nervous letting that record go, she encouraged me to continue transitioning. Even when I messed up and drew an awkward pause, she was like, “It’s okay. Move on.” DJing has always been in that fashion—let's continue growing, recording and moving on in a sense. So my DJ name is derived from that. “Pos Guau” is a Spanish form dictated unenthusiastically—Pos Wow. This phrase is essentially after someone is not impressed but wants to make you feel better. I started branching out after spending time in Mexico City and wanting to expand in a digital format with no vinyl, but in a way capturing the rush of going next after someone who has dropped a tremenda cumbia and you have to follow that.
Why do you DJ?
The simple answer is to take up space with the tracks I play. Perhaps it’s not something that people are used to, but I’m in a way attempting to fuse my Austinite heritage (my father’s) along with a very rooted Mexican culture (my mother’s) of who I am in spaces that perhaps take either or blend them. I’m attempting to blend what I grew up dancing to and listening to and seeing the bigger picture of what the masses accept. I DJ to introduce songs that my Mexican village has danced to in a Baile and see the interaction with the same song at Cheer Up’s. I DJ to rebel and to see what people sway their bodies to or not.
Where do you buy records? What is your favorite record and why?
OOF that’s hard. I inherited my records from my grandfather, and that was my original introduction. I buy records everywhere, but I love buying them while traveling throughout Mexico. My favorite thing is to buy a record with a great cover art and not play it—just purchase it. Here are some of my favorite records:
Future Sounds of Buenos Aires
Captain Planet - Mystery Trip Vol. 2
La Sonora Dinamita - 16 Exitos
Beyoncé - Lemonade
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Classixx - Hanging Gardens
Xandao - ¡Un Saludo! Mexican Soundsystem Cumbia in LA
How do you build your crates? How do you transport all that vinyl?
It definitely depends on the mood and length of the event. When building a set with CVC, I feel most welcome to bring in records that inspire me or that I wanted to experiment with on the dance floor. As I've been branching out, it's nerve-wracking knowing you are responsible for someone's X amount of time. I’ve kept the same attitude in bringing about new tunes that perhaps people haven’t listened to and adjusting to the set time.
Last season at bbatx, we explored the theme of RISE. What does that mean to you, and how do you find rise in your DJ practice?
I rise in my DJ practice in learning along the way. With the struggles comes tranquility in perfecting the craft of DJing little by little.
What are you listening to now?
During these trying times, I’ve been listening to A LOT of 90s pop music, Third Eye Blind, Dolly Parton and Dua Lipa.
LISTEN TO DJ POS GUAU’S BABES FEST RADIO MIX. :)
About This Mix:
This mix by DJ Pos Guau (@soymireydi on SoundCloud) includes some of the songs that blast from her neighbors techo (rooftop) while quarantining in Querétaro, Mexico. Constantly being inspired by the gentleness of everyone she's met during this time, DJ Pos Guau wanted to create an uplifting dance mix after five months of businesses being shut down and the city finally opening up.
TRACKLIST:
1. Amalucan - Orihuela M.S.S. (Yelram Selectah Remix)
2. Mister Cumbia - Pinche Cumbión Bien Loco
3. Super Grupo G - La Inconforme
4. El Combo Loco De Mike Rodriguez - Baila Conmigo
5. Karol G, Nicki Minaj - Tusa
6. ROSALÍA, J Balvin - Con Altura (ft. El Guincho)
7. DJ Caution - Donna Summer (ft. Fito Olivares)
8. Selena - On the Radio
9. Dua Lipa - Don’t Start Now (LA Live)
10. The Sacados - Ritmo De la Noche
11. Robyn - Love is Free
12. Joswa In Da house - Ella Quiere Cualto
13. Sergio Mendes - Magalenha
14. MULA - Nunca paran
15. Bad Bunny - Si veo a Tu Mamá
On Rising Above Conformity: Natalia Rocafuerte
In conversation with bbatx committee member Amanda Vaughn, bbatx resident artist Natalia Rocafuerte discusses how she got her start DJing, what she’s been listening to lately, and how she commits to being her authentic self through her art.
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, as part of the series, we’ve got an interview with new media artist, DJ, and filmmaker Natalia Rocafuerte. In conversation with bbatx committee member Amanda Vaughn, Natalia talked with us about how she started DJing through Chulita Vinyl Club, her greatest influences and inspirations, and how she commits to being her authentic self through her art and DJ practice.
ABOUT NATALIA ROCAFUERTE:
Natalia Rocafuerte is a Mexican-American new media artist, filmmaker and community organizer creating work on perception, analog technology and spatial identity. Encouraging a phenomenological experience by using unconventional technologies, Rocafuerte views her work as a broadcast of alternative narratives and self perceptions. She is also a recent fellow for the New York Foundation for the Arts Immigrant Mentorship program and has work currently exhibiting in San Antonio for Xicanx.
How did you start DJing? We’d love to hear about your first gig, what inspired your name, at what point you branched out more… whatever you’d like to share. :)
I always made mixtapes for my friends and would even mail out CD’s to friends across the world. It wasn't until I joined Chulita Vinyl Club that I was encouraged to share my vast library of records and DJ outside my bedroom. My first gig was through Chulita Vinyl Club during a West Side Studio tour in Austin. I can still feel my heart hiccup when I played my first track publicly. It was a thrill to see people dance and be filled with curiosity as to what the song I played was. I got a lot of support from the Austin queer community and started getting gigs at lesbian wedding parties, Thee Gay Agenda as well as some independent galleries like Sala Diaz and Mass Gallery. I incorporate sound into my installation pieces as a way to explore mood setting through sound as well.
Why do you DJ?
I like exploring sound, and music has always been a source of inspiration. I think a lot of people find it to be the most influential kind of art. It comes in many languages, but you don't really have to know a language to understand sound. I feel really lucky to be alive in a time where we have access to global archives of music. I DJ to explore what everyone is experiencing through sound.
Natalia with Chulita Vinyl Club.
Where do you buy records? What is your favorite record and why?
I love shopping at Bluebonnet Records in Lockhart because they have such an eclectic collection (and the largest Yoko Ono collection in the area). It's also owned by some rad punk rockers who always stock up on weird music from around the world and local bands. I also research a lot of music by labels to support independent labels. I kind of started doing that after going to SXSW parties in high school.
I think a favorite record is hard to pick. It would probably be The Ramones' self titled record or Los Shapis' Los Auténticos.
How do you build your crates? How do you transport all that vinyl?
I like to add what I am currently listening to my crate, and that includes new records I buy and ear worms I keep on repeat. It's kind of an excuse to get to hear my favorite song over and over again. Sometimes I think about records I listened to growing up in Mexico and what comfort they bring and I like to bring those along, too. I like when someone comes up to my turntable and shares their memory of their grandmother who played that exact same song in Mexico. I buy vintage cases for my records (for 45's and 78's) and decorate them with stickers from friends. I also DJ in digital formats which allows me to bring music from friends who upload their music to Soundcloud.
What are your greatest influences? Faces? Places?
I think Honey Dijon is an amazing queer icon and DJ. I also really like Alaska from Alaska y Dinarama and Fangoria. I love Prince, Claude Cahun, Erykah Badu and Yoko Ono. I'm also really inspired by sound artists working to explore sound as medium in installation and sculpture. I'm currently in Detroit and listening to a lot of "classic” techno from here—music for the Motor City.
This season at bbatx, we're exploring the theme of RISE. What does that mean to you, and how do you find rise in your DJ practice?
I feel connected to a greater calling through my art and want to rise above conformity to oppressive ideas of art and gender expression. Decolonize your mind and heart. Rise above tyranny of our people through class and racism. Allow ourselves to dream and be original. I want to be my authentic self and not to operate on conspicuous consumption.
What are you listening to now?
My mix is a collection of music I have been listening to in my room and studio during the pandemic. It's everything twee and everything that reminds me of being calm in my own space. I've been reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and wanted to include her voice in my mix as something I am listening to. I listen to a lot of artists from Austin—TC Superstar has been on my stereo lately.
LISTEN TO NATALIA’S BABES FEST RADIO MIX. :)
ABOUT THIS MIX:
This mix is a twee and eclectic collection of soothing femme singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists. So sweet it can be sour, this collection explores the self through sound and lyrics. This mix is tender—not for the cynical.
TRACKLIST:
Oprah interview with Toni Morrison
Code - The Tuna Helpers (*ATX-based)
Green Eyes - Erykah Badu
Synthesize Me - The Space Lady
Just Another Diamond Day - Vashti Bunyan
Honey - Marine Girls
Blank Girl - Dum Dum Girls
Moving On, Getting On - Christelle Bofale (*ATX-based)
Leave All Your Old Loves - The Liverbirds
Drown - Black Tambourine
Together Forever in Love - Go Sailor
Not Too Soon - Throwing Muses
Dream Phone - Peach Kelli Pop
Cet air-là - April March
Sed de amor - Esther Suarez
Kiss Kiss Kiss - Yoko Ono
Why Do You - Jane Claire (*ATX-based)
I Been Livin - Liv.e
I Miss That Feeling - Tennis
What You Want - Sheer Mag
Together Forever in Love - Go Sailor
Pista - Los Bitchos
Aventurera - Natalia Lafourcade
Knock Out - Air Waves
Comment Te Dire Adieu - Françoise Hardy
Modern Girl - Sleater Kinney
Party Boots - Murdertits!
In Dreams - Little Marzarn (*ATX-based)
Forget about - Sibylle Baier
On Pushing Yourself And Painting What You Know: Catie Lewis
In conversation with bbatx committee member Liz Whitington, Catie chats with us about the inspiration she draws from the creative community in Austin, how she expresses her connection to Filipino culture in her art, and how she creates stories behind her work.
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, as part of the series, we’ve got an interview with Austin-based visual artist and muralist Catie Lewis. In conversation with bbatx committee member Liz Whitington, Catie chats with us about the inspiration she draws from the creative community in Austin, how she expresses her connection to Filipino culture in her art, and how she creates stories behind her work.
ABOUT CATIE LEWIS:
Catie Lewis is a self taught artist + muralist living in Austin, TX. She fills her pieces with bold colors and intricate lines, shaping compositions around chaos and simplicity. Her lifelong dreams include beautifying walls worldwide, opening a bright yellow cafe in Siargao and helping other young womxn to be fearless in pursuing their passions.
Tell us a little bit about how you came to be in Austin and how you got into creating artwork. :) How did you get to this path?
After living in Charleston, South Carolina, for a few years, I was looking for a change of pace after graduating from community college. Charleston was a beautiful city but lacked the diversity and opportunities I was looking for at the time. Everyone I knew there raved about Austin and said I would absolutely love it! So after a week of convincing, I found an apartment and signed a lease!
Once I got to Austin, I was immediately inspired by the colorful murals and weekly art markets around the city. A few of my coworkers vended their own art and encouraged me to get back into painting and sign up for a market! I started off with the Frida Fridays ATX market, and I’ve been doing way more art ever since!
Out of all the cities you could have chosen, what made you pick Austin?
Austin feels like a small town but is a larger city. One day I googled the best city to live in for a millennial, and Austin came up as one of the best cities. After doing more research, I found that this city had great food, a creative community and it was priced comparable to Charleston, SC. I felt like I needed a change, and Austin just called out to me. Prior to moving here, I kept getting signs that I needed to be here, so I felt like it was the city that I needed to be in for this chapter.
You mentioned that there was a brief time in your life when you completely lost touch with your creative side. How did you find your way back to your creativity?
It was very important for me to get back to creating and my creativity. When I was in South Carolina, I was in school full-time, had a full-time job and a part-time job—which left no room for anything else in my life. I didn’t have any time to be creative, so I left it on the back burner to focus on things that I thought were important at the time. After moving to Austin, I felt like I got a fresh start. The city has such a rich colorful creative scene with markets, murals, spaces and artists. It inspired me to get back to creating. The community also encouraged me to pick it up again and supported me to succeed as an artist. The creative scene is so diverse while also giving you your own space to create and experiment.
You have a wonderful wide range in your work—from complex paintings, murals, one line drawings, portraits, gouache, as well as textiles such as bags and shirts. What inspires you to create these various disciplines? Are they all inspired by similar concepts that are different interpretations, or does each medium come from different inspiration?
Being self-taught, I really have to try all the mediums and techniques to find the ones that I connect with. I find it easy to paint botanical things, and I am still learning to paint people, so I am practicing working digitally to enhance my ability with portrait painting. For me, my inspiration depends on how I would like to see my inspirations in my work within the various different mediums I use. My work can take me ten minutes to ten hours to make—from minimalistic to complex—both which I love doing and feel are beautiful. This year, I am working on combining portraits and stories to create things that tell more of a story. I am really excited about this new focus and vision for my work.
You are looking to build upon your practice and experience with more meaningful projects and explore the stories of people who make up this community. What community are you interested in exploring, and why does it speak to you?
This year, my goal is to research and do deeper dives into the process of creating the story behind the pieces. Also, my goal (good thing about quarantine!) is to dive deeper into the process of creating. I want to focus on making portraits and scenes of going to the Philippines from three years ago. I was adopted and went back during my senior year of high school. I will always carry that experience of visiting my birth family on this lush jungle island. Visiting my family was a huge turning point in my life and developing a love for them and developing a connection with the Philippines. I was the most comfortable I felt when I was in the Philippines and want this to be more reflective in my work. It was always something I wanted to explore deeper—expressing these feelings about the culture of the Philippines with my art and painting—so I am exploring that medium and concept. It is also a way to challenge myself mentally while I am painting, and I am excited to explore this side.
My end goal is to move back there and live because the lifestyle is different. You do not take anything for granted. I yearn for that life, and the only way I can communicate these feelings is through my art and painting. This was always something I wanted to explore deeper. Exploring that medium and concept—and challenging myself mentally while I am painting.
You recently completed a residency at Deeds Not Words, a community that focuses on calling young people to action for issues regarding gender equity such as reproductive rights, sexual assault, equal pay and so much more. What was this experience like? How did that impact your creative process or work?
Deeds Not Words is a wonderful community whose mission statement resonated with me and inspired me to do more meaningful projects. That group of women blew me away. Being with a group of women that are driven and all focused on their role in the community while still working together as a team had a tremendously positive impact on me and my work. Their passion inspired me. It made me realize that I can try to make a ripple effect with my work and I can change to push a conversation about whatever I think needs to be talked about through my art.
As an artist, how important is it to also be an entrepreneur and maintain the business of your art?
It is a very important balance, but it can be very hard to balance the business side and the artistic practice. You need the business side to sustain your artistic work. Everything costs money, so you need to be able to do bookkeeping, taxes, your website, etc. so that you can sustain yourself. I had to shift how I talked and interacted with people and clients so that I could maintain business relationships and keep everything organized. I am self-taught, so I have to fight the imposter syndrome as I am always learning both the artistic and business side. It is very important that I am always learning and pushing myself. It has taught me to be confident to go for things that I want or need, even if I do not get it. Sometimes it is about going through that process, because it is all a part of the learning process.
What impact has this time of crisis had on you and your practice?
COVID quarantine has definitely put a huge question mark on what it means to have a business during a super challenging time for everyone! It’s hard to push sales, products or commissions as someone who has slowed down financially to others—knowing how crazy this all is in everyone’s lives. On the art side, though, quarantine is a lifesaver. I’m definitely fighting anxiety and lack of motivation half of every day, but the other half I’m just going at my new project and experimenting with my paints! I feel like I kind of wished this sort of free time into existence back when life was normal and I was too busy to make personal art. :)
On Making Art For Yourself (Not Instagram): Megan Baker
Megan talks with us about her background in architecture, resisting the urge to over-value social media and her advice for up and coming photographers.
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, as part of the series, we’ve got an interview with photographer Megan Baker. In conversation with bbatx committee member A'nysha Aileen, Megan talks talks with us about her background in architecture, resisting the urge to over-value social media and her advice for up and coming photographers.
ABOUT MEGAN BAKER:
Born in Denver and raised in Seattle, Megan has always been surrounded by and involved in art, design and other creative outlets. After starting her degrees in architecture, she became interested in photography and its ability to capture and tell a story through light. For Megan, her excitement in both art and design stem from observing the beautiful intricacies of the human condition, and revealing them to others through whatever medium fits best.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. :)
So, I grew up in Seattle, and I think that really gave me exposure to a lot of arts and creativity at a very young age. My parents were always very supportive of me pursuing art, so when I did show an interest in something, they always let me spread my wings in that field. By the time I got to college, I decided to go into architecture. I have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in architectural design—which has nothing to do with photography, which is funny when I think about why I picked up a camera to begin with.
When did you know that you wanted to explore photography, and what prompted this decision?
I was always into painting at a younger age. Then with architecture school and being in the studio, it just took so much time that I didn’t have time to paint. I was doing so much drawing and painting for school, I didn’t want to anymore. Then I thought, “Well, I have this camera to take photos of my architectural models. Why don’t I just start taking photos? It’s a faster creative outlet for me.” I started picking up a camera my freshman year. My film professor told me that I had “no real photographic talent or eye” and I said, “F*ck that, I’m gonna keep doing it because I wanna do it. It makes me feel good.”
I just started asking people, “Can I take a photo of you?” and it kind of just took off from there. That’s my interest in design, too—the people. Having that human element in a photo carries across the message more than if it’s just a landscape photo sometimes. It’s the soul of an image. Even if it is a landscape, if you have a tiny person in the frame somewhere, that human interaction pulls people into a story rather than an image.
How have your projects grown and changed since you started?
At first, I was more interested in taking a pretty picture, which is all well and good, I still love doing that, but I have been privileged to experience a lot of different things at a young age—hear different people’s experiences and stories, travel—that kind of popped my perspective bubble of how big the world really is. After a while, creating a pretty picture that would just get me some likes didn’t fulfill me; I wanted to know the people I was photographing, past just their face.
I started trying to use photography to digest the conversations I was having with people, whether it was religion, society, honestly any topic worth discussing. Figuring out a way to visualize what I was thinking, or what I had heard, helps me understand more, and maybe (I hope) helps others understand themselves more, too.
What do you want people to take away from your photos?
I don't have a direct answer for that. I get that question a lot, especially with the projects that I have started doing. That's a heavy question, and I'm not really sure. I want whatever you feel to be how you feel about my art. There’s this quote, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” So whatever you take away from what my art is it, that’s the goal. For me, there's no set rule for what people need to be experiencing from art. And I never want it to be that way. I think that’s the beauty of it. It’s so big that you can let it be what it is for everyone. I used to get really upset about not being able to control what people saw in my art, that they didn’t understand me, but then my friend told me that once you put it out there, you cease to have ownership of it anymore, and that’s always really stuck with me. As long as you like your work, that’s all that matters. If other people like it, that’s just an added bonus.
Do you have any advice for up and coming photographers?
To move away from our current standard of social media fame as a definition of success and talent. And yeah, OK, having a lot of followers can help with business, don’t get me wrong. I'm very active on Instagram as I'm saying this, but being able to detach from that and do the things that really speak to you is important. It doesn't really matter if that’s what’s trending. If you don’t really connect with it, your work isn’t really going to speak as much, and then what’s the point?
I would also say to really put yourself out there. I'm a very shy person, or at least I was. When I moved here for grad school two and a half years ago, I was kind of like, “No, we're going to meet people. We’re going to do the extrovert thing.” I’m still not a great extrovert, but not closing myself off helped a lot. Really being yourself in your art, regardless of likes, is the best advice I could give. From a business standpoint, you really need to be annoying to get the jobs you want. It requires a lot of emailing and a lot of drive.
If you don't want to have to do that, don't do freelance. And you don't have to do freelance. A lot of people think freelance is so fun, and it's not. I'm so thankful that I graduated in December and got a traditional job. Job security is an amazing thing to have. Knowing where your checks are coming from can free you from the weight and anxiety freelance can give you, and then you have more energy to focus on your craft. Don't put freelance on a pedestal, but do what you want to do and be willing to fight for it. You'll send a ton of emails. So many emails. You just really need to bug people. The universe will not let you fail if it was meant for you. If you fail [at freelance] it’s either because you’re not ready for it or it’s not meant for you.
Who (or what) inspires and informs your work?
Friends and the community inspire me. A lot of my inspiration is based on conversations I have. I guess I’m lucky to have friends in this community who are all actively doing such cool things, growing. They say you are the product of the people around you. When everyone is constantly killing the game, it pushes you to do more. They are also ethically killing the game. They're all doing it the right way and that kind of pushes me to do the best I can and to push everyone else to do the same. If everyone around you isn't successful, are you really successful? As much as the famous artists are amazing, I almost can't connect with their work as much because I don't know them. I am more inspired by the people I know.
Can you describe your creative process? What is the first thing you do when you start a project?
I really write a lot down. It's not usually comprehendible. I'm not writing a story. It's usually chicken scratch, a piece of a magazine ripped out and glued in my sketchbook, anything that will remind me of that specific thought from a conversation or an experience. Like, see here on this page I literally just wrote “dancing light, projection profiles, butterfly,” like... what? But reading that, somewhere in my mind, it makes complete sense. I'll be walking and I see something and I’m like, “Huh, interesting, let’s explore that.” I guess I’m trying to physically see that feeling I had, and once I kind of get that little bit figured out, I start researching how I can actually visualize it in 3D. I guess that’s where the architecture has helped me, causing me to be detail-oriented and dive deep into things.
On Knowing the Worth of Your Work: An Interview with Whitney Batres
Enjoy our interview with bbatx resident artist Whitney Batres.
Every year, bbatx curates a monthly residency highlighting the work of 10 to 15, Texas-based women and nonbinary visual and musical artists that create work and perform in our programs. As we move to take our programs online, we’ve partnered with Bumble to launch a digital version of The Residency. From now through November 1, 2020, you can tune in for weekly mixes, visuals and workshops from 16 women and nonbinary artists and DJs.
Today, we’ve got an interview with Austin-based visual artist Whitney Batres. In conversation with bbatx staff member Margeaux Labat, Whitney talks about how she learned to develop her artistic voice in college, book recommendations, and how she’s still figuring it all out.
ABOUT WHITNEY BATRES:
Whitney Batres is a visual artist who currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband and their cat, Karen. In 2015, she graduated with a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin and stuck around for the people and the food. Her inspiration comes from family and cultural traditions of domestic craft, and she aims to bridge the gap between craft and fine art in her work.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into making your art. :)
My name is Whitney and I’m from the Houston suburbs, but Austin has been my home for nearly ten years now. Things that bring me joy are food, horrible (but wonderful) movies, and exchanging memes. My husband let me adopt a cat upon the condition he got to name her, and the two of us plus Karen have been a happy little family ever since.
I hate to be a total cliché, but I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember. There’s a spiral notebook somewhere in my parents’ garage full of four-year-old Whitney’s drawings, and quite a few pieces of Rodeo Art. By my freshman year of high school, I knew I’d go to school for art and be a working artist. Once I got into college is when I really started to figure myself out, though, and what I enjoyed doing the most. My middle-school dream of being a professional illustrator didn’t work out, but I definitely prefer what I’m creating now.
You graduated with a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin. What would you say are the most valuable takeaways or lessons you learned from your educational career?
Critiques were simultaneously the worst and best parts of school, for me. Worst, because there were so many times when I felt like I was doing a horrible job, and that no one was liking anything I did. But, the best because those were failures I learned from, and I grew a thicker skin because of it. By the end of university, critiques were my favorite part of any studio class. I don’t know if I would have grown or pushed myself out of my comfort zone had it not been for professors and peers giving me a different point of view. I also don’t know if I would have learned to stand up for myself and my work in the same way.
On the oTHER HAND, do you believe there are certain aspects of being an artist that are best learned outside of a formal education? If so, what?
It may be different now, but when I was a student, there were very few classes about how to be a working artist. We honed our technical skills, we learned all the jargon and lingo, and how to think critically about our work, but when it came down to how to make money and “get yourself out there,” there weren’t many resources for that. I’m still learning what it looks like to be a working artist and it’s definitely not easy, but most of that has come from real-life experience and research. Most artists aren’t represented by galleries, or have mysteriously rich benefactors, and school didn’t really prepare me for that. I’m still trying to figure out how to price my work appropriately, but I’m getting there.
Some book recommendations that have helped me a lot: Art/Work by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber, and The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines.
From what or whom do you draw the most inspiration from?
Textiles and craft, hands down. The women of Bauhaus are huge inspirations for me, especially Otti Berger and Gunta Stölzl, but I love any and all textile patterns and design. A modern influence for me is a textile artist named Karen Barbé. It’s been really cool to have actual conversations with her through Instagram, and even get permission to use some of her patterns in my work. It’s maybe too long a story to share here, but handicrafts have been important to me since I was a kid for a lot of reasons, and as an adult I have an even greater appreciation for them. My hope is to honor them, in a way, with my work.
You work with many different mediums when creating. Do you have a favorite? How does your art change in respect to the medium?
That’s a hard one! I go through seasons where one medium is more used than others, but I think gouache + fiber paste are my ride-or-die. I always come back and find new ways of using them.
The more tactile the material, the more important it is for me to create an illusion of sorts. I’m not as concerned with representational forms or figures. It’s all about the process of it, and making someone question what they’re looking at - is this a painting or a piece of fabric? Are these stitches or something else entirely? But if I’m working on paper, it’s about the design, and making something that just sings to me in a visual sense. I like creating work with deeper meaning and all, but I like making something that’s just nice to look at, too.
What do you find to be the most difficult aspect of your creative process? How do you work to overcome this obstacle?
Most recently, my biggest struggle has been comparing myself to other artists. Instagram is a great tool for connecting to artists and finding inspiration, but it can also be a big hindrance when you spend too much on it, I think. I’ll be hard on myself for not accomplishing the same things I see other artists do, like selling my work constantly, or being in some gallery or other, or just having a lot of engagement, and that just makes it harder to focus on my own shit. And logically I know social media is just everyone putting their best foot forward, but I still get sucked into a comparison trap. Whenever that happens, I delete Instagram off my phone for a couple weeks and give myself time to find my equilibrium again. Usually it helps, and I feel more like myself afterwards.
If you could give your younger artist self a piece of advice, what would you tell her?
I’d tell her not to be afraid of going after what she wants and valuing her work appropriately. Pricing artwork can be hard if you’re not confident in yourself; young artists want to make a sale so badly they won’t charge what they’re worth, and it’s difficult to unlearn that strategy. Standing up for yourself and believing in what you’re making is a big part of it.