Paris: Annie Margaret Arrasmith, An American Artist in Paris

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a cura di Abcveneto

ABCVENETO: Hello Annie Margaret Arrasmith, tell us something about the exhibition in Paris.

ANNIE MARGARET ARRASMITH: Nineteen San Francisco visual artists were selected by Le Génie de la Bastille, a Paris-based arts association, to participate in an exhibition in Paris, France. These artists were chosen from a group of over 1,300 artists who have participated in San Francisco's Open Studios, an event where artists invite the public into their studios. While in Paris the San Francisco artists will each exhibit their work in the studios of Parisian host artists in the Bastille district. The American and Parisian artists will be welcomed by officials from the City of Paris and the U.S. Embassy in a private reception on October 5th. "Vernissages" (public openings) take place on October 6th and the exhibitions will run through Sunday, October 9th.
Le Génie de la Bastille began a program of public exhibitions in artist studios in 1984, followed by a series of international cultural exchanges with artists from Europe, Japan, Chile, Korea, and Algeria. In its first collaboration with the U.S., Le Génie de la Bastille has invited 19 artists from San Francisco and 9 artists from Chicago to participate in their 2005 Open Studios event in Paris. In turn, the American artists will host the Parisian artists in the U.S. in 2006.

ABCVENETO: What do you think about art in contemporary society? Or if you prefer: what is the position of an artist in contemporary society?

This is a piece from the new Mardi Gras Series (24 inches x 24 inches, Kaolin monotype, 2005) and a detail.

ANNIE MARGARET ARRASMITH: This is an interesting and difficult question. Given the political turmoil in the world today and my particularly liberal and progressive view of how our world should be developing and evolving, I often wish that I was inclined to produce blatantly politically motivated art. I appreciate art that's just right out there and in your face and tells it like it is. We do suffer from racism, environmental degradation, greed, hate, fear, arrogant and dangerous world institutions both private and public. But it's not my nature to be so direct so what I do is something much more subtle. I call it the "back door method" because I do try to influence my audience to move in a particular direction which I consider positive and hopefully encourages the forward evolution of humankind's better nature. I do this through the vibration of color and symbolic visual language. I try to influence the audience through their bodies, through the chakras especially the third eye. That's why I am always coming back to the circle and almond shapes, the mandala and the mandorla, inviting the viewer to enter those doorways into another world where spirit and matter are not separate. I think that as an artist, I, also have the capacity to pick up on some kind of collective knowledge and then translate it. For instance: I grew up in and around New Orleans, Louisiana. I had been working for weeks on a circle series which I've been calling the Mardi Gras series. They are lively, colorful and visually assaulting just like Mardi Gras. Then Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans last week. As I watched the aerial images of this powerful and magnificently beautiful but deadly storm, I was startled to realize that it had the same structure as the Mardi Gras pieces.

 

Detail from another of the Mardi Gras pieces. (24 inches by 48 inches, kaolin monotype, 2005)

ABCVENETO: What reason-desire pushed you to visit Treviso?

ANNIE MARGARET ARRASMITH: I am interested in experiencing different aspects of Italian life not only those places where the tourist congregate. I wan to see how you experience your everyday lives because I am interested in those things that we all have in common: family, food, spirit, our sense of our place in the world.

ABCVENETO: Tell us something about your technique.

ANNIE MARGARET ARRASMITH: I create kaolin monotypes. The process begins by building a stoneware clay plate that is housed in a simple wooden frame and allowed to dry to leather-hard. Paint is made using kaolin (white china clay), water, and permanent pigments. Using a variety of tools and techniques, the paint is applied to the surface of the stoneware clay plate. The resulting image is then lifted onto an archival spun fiber matrix using small hand rollers and pressure tools. After the print has dried, the finished piece is mounted onto a specially built wooden box and panel. As a final step, I apply several coats of matte polymer varnish.
I work primarily in a series format, exploring one subject for a while, moving on and then returning. Each time I explore a subject, my goal is to reach a deeper level of experience and understanding. Please visit my website at www.anniemargaretstudio.com to view the most recent work and to get a better sense of the process.

ABCVENETO: What do you think of Italy? Is it your first time here?

ANNIE MARGARET ARRASMITH: This is my first visit to Italy and I'm thrilled to have this opportunity. I don't hold strong, pre-conceived ideas about Italy. I want to remain open and be able to experience Italy's people and culture as much as I can in such a short visit. Of course, I know that you are a passionate people who appreciate good food, wine and fellowship. And I often make a special effort to see Italian movies when they come to my local movie theatre. I have not often had the opportunity to travel internationally.

ABCVENETO: If you have not already done, would you like to spend a year in Italy and where would you like to stay as a main home base?

ANNIE MARGARET ARRASMITH: Yes of course I would love to spend a year in Italy. I have heard so much about the Cinque Terra region and would love to explore that area. Before moving to San Francisco 12 years ago, I lived in Oregon which still has many acres devoted to wilderness and open space.

ABCVENETO: Who is the painter you admire more in History of painting (he/she could be also a sculpturer, writer, etc.)?

ANNIE MARGARET ARRASMITH: Oh, it's strange because the person who has probably had the most direct influence on the way I think about art is an Austrian- born, Cambridge/Harvard-educated architect by the name of Christopher Alexander. He has written such inspiring books beginning with The Timeless Way of Building (1979) which I read during my art education in the early 80's. He captured my imagination then and I have continued to study his work including his new series The Nature of Order. I would recommend that you pay particular attention to Book 4: The Luminous Ground (2003). Magnificent!
Another influence has been Clyde Connell, a woman who grew up on a plantation in northwestern Louisiana and began working full time as a artist when she was 59 years old. I grew up in Louisiana and felt an immediate kinship with her. Marvelous!

Annie Margaret Arrasmith Annie Margaret Studio 1890 Bryant @ Mariposa Suite 203 San Francisco, CA 94110

415.864.4545 (studio) 415.564.5646 (home) www.anniemargaretstudio.com

Contact: Annie Arrasmith Catherine Small Phone: (415) 864-4545 (925) 417-5915 Email: anniemargaretstudio@yahoo.com art@catherinesmall.com

Website: www.USAParisArtExchange.org

Something more:

Following are the Bay Area artists representing San Francisco in this cultural exchange: Annie Margaret Arrasmith Dominique Bayart Jonah Burlingame Gregory Clayton Mitchell Durkee Diane Rollins Feissel Cheryl Finfrock April Hankins Andrzej Michael Karwacki Gina Jacupke Mike Kimball Michele King Jamie Krueger Camilla Newhagen Silvia Poloto Ellen Rosenthal Jeremie Roux Ari Salomon Catherine Small

The international exchange with Le Génie de la Bastille was initiated by ArtSpan, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that produces San Francisco's Open Studios event each October. The San Francisco artists view this exchange as a valuable endeavor for building new relationships with French artists and the City of Paris. "We are honored to have been invited by Le Génie de la Bastille to represent San Francisco and the U.S. in Paris, a multi- cultural and international city much like our own. We are also looking forward to hosting the Parisian artists in 2006 and providing them with a meaningful San Francisco experience." Refer to our website for more information about the exchange and for biographical information on participating San Francisco artists.

a cura di Abcveneto