“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” -Aristotle
Journey to self cannot take place within the bounds of a static existence. Often the best way to begin truly knowing oneself is to remove all familiar surroundings. Only then can one begin to understand their honest reactions to and encounters with the world at large. Stepping outside a comfortable place, relocating to a faraway city, engaging in activities that are far away from day to day routine, these things all reach to the self and ignite in us our own true nature. After all, who doesn’t know that the true test of any relationship whether platonic or romantic is to travel together to unfamiliar places?
Genevieve Leavold spoke to us from Belgrade where she has lived since 2014. Her decision was predicated on the desire to practice art full time. This self-taught artist has since devoted her time to enriching her craft and discovering her voice. Leavold connects to the slower pace of life in Belgrade as well as what she sees as a value of social space and time. Since moving to Belgrade, her work has evolved in radical ways. Prior to the move, she worked figuratively but since arriving in Belgrade her work has become largely abstract. The city itself informs her work and at the same time, she is developing methods of working. Genevieve considers this evolution and self-teaching her own version of an MFA without the need for formal education. Presently Leavold is working on a series of thematically linked paintings. For this series, she has, in a sense, introduced movement into the form whereas her older work was more static. Leavold has also changed materials more than once. When she arrived in Belgrade she began working largely in graphite but has since moved back toward oil paint. Leavold classifies her work as more philosophically motivated than politically motivated and says this suits her position as an artist in the time and place where she lives. To hear more from Genevieve Leavold, including her take on eastern philosophies and how they inform her life and work, listen to the full interview.
Andrew Braddock is an artist living and working in Brooklyn. Video and movement are the backbones of Braddock’s work. Presently he is working on a dance piece with choreographer Alex Romania. The ensemble piece will be performed in May. For his own work, Braddock uses video recordings and projections of these recordings during rehearsal time to create layered video pieces. Braddock describes the results as the multiplication of an image. Braddock uses repetitive movement, often unchoreographed, layering various sections of the recorded results upon each other. The work is solo, Braddock is the only dancer in the recorded pieces, and he does not pre-impose limits on the outcome of the work. In terms of his hybrid work, Braddock describes it as performance art. For him, video is a way to circumvent the process of lengthy rehearsals working toward an event thus changing the dynamic entirely. Braddock also co-owns a shop with an artist friend which is where his income is largely based. The shop combines metal fabrication and screen printing techniques, often making materials for artists. To hear more about his take on art, funding, and changing the process, listen to the full interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:
It is impossible to truly know oneself if all we do is tread the same path day in and day out. We must reach out to the wide world and discover who it is that appears when we arrive.
Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.
Books to Read
What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. User Clove Galilee is reading The Prison Letters of George Jackson by Soledad Brother and Dianne Bruns has recently been introduced to literary classic Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.
Opportunities / Open Calls
US painters aged 45 or older are invited to apply for the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Grant through Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM). Cash grant awards range from $5,000 to $35,000 and recipients’ work is exhibited at PAAM. Deadline is April 2.
Deadlines
Weekly Edited Grant and Residency Deadlines – review the list here.