Accomplishment
“Rule your mind or it will rule you.” -Horace
General wisdom about marathon running indicates that the most difficult part falls around miles 18 to 23. These are the moments when runners have passed the midpoint and are beginning to close in on the final stretch of their 26.2-mile feat. This is the time when runners hit the wall, often begin to wonder whether they can finish this arduous task or not. Of course, most do. They draw on the training they have put in to push through and complete their journey. We can apply this to so many situations in life, those moments when we have come so far and yet we begin to question whether we can continue our efforts, hold the line until the very end. What runners know – and what we can learn from them – is that almost always this is a case of mind over matter. If we believe we can, we will.
Russel Maltz spoke to us from SOHO where he has lived and worked for decades. When he moved there in 1978, there were very few people in the area. Over the last year, as the pandemic has unfolded, Maltz has experienced a strange deja vu as he witnessed empty streets once again. His studio practice has improved during the pandemic, but of course, the social aspect of the art world disappeared for a time. The work he was doing pre-pandemic transformed from work outside the studio to full studio work and Maltz found his work during this time quite rewarding. To hear more about his practice and a comparison of 1978 SOHO to 2020 SOHO, as well as how plywood used to board up windows compares to his work listen to the complete interview.
Jennifer Coates spent the first several months of quarantine at her second home in rural Pennsylvania. At the end of March 2020, she became ill with COVID and took to her bed. Although she felt very weak, she brought paper and colored pencils with her to bed and was able to create some work. Despite this, the balance of the lockdown period has been a very productive time in her studio practice. Coates has been working on Photoshop collages using artwork from different time periods overlaid and altered to become a flickering of different periods in art history. From these, she makes drawings which become guache works until ultimately she renders paintings of increasing size using the imagery created in the collages. In this way, by the time she reaches the point of creating an 8-foot painting she is deeply familiar with the subject matter. To hear more about Jennifer’s work, including her musical talents and writing listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:
Commit to crossing the finish line and don’t back down.
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. Russel Maltz is reading His Truth is Marching on: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham & John Lewis. Jennifer Coates is a prolific reader. One book that stands out is What Color is the Sacred? by Michael Taussig
Deadlines:
Trame invites French-speaking artists from all over the world to apply for residency in Paris for a period of three months. Anchored in the activities and daily life of Cite internationale des arts, the residency offers tailored support, monthly meetings and networking. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline is April 15.
Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius, and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.
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Wilfried Souly
Wilfried Souly is a choreographer, dancer, drummer and Taekwondo expert, originally from Burkina Faso in West Africa. He was trained in African traditional and contemporary dances since his youngest age in the acclaimed company “The Bourgeon du Burkina.” In September 2000, he co-founded “Compagnie Tâ” with two other choreographers and co-choreographed many dance pieces presented around the world, including one work that was selected as a finalist at the fifth Choreographic Encounters of Africa and Indian Ocean in Madagascar. The piece was then presented at the Great Barbican Center in London for a full week event. Compagnie Tâ also collaborated with an association of visual artists on Genies de la Bastille, Paris. Willy himself has collaborated with international choreographers and performed in works such as Space i Tiempo, choreographed by Robert Battle (USA) and Gerardo Delgado (Mexico) in Tampico, Mexico; and Dole Danle, with the French Hip-Hop Company E.Go, directed by Eric Mezzino and Gilles Schamber. In 2007, Willy moved to Los Angeles and joined Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project as an Associate Director, where he co-choreographed and performed Arbre D’Adaptation (2007), which won the Best Choreography award at “Emerging Above Ground 07”; Sira Kan (2008), presented at the NOW Festival 08; and “Dar Es Salaam” (2009).
Willy has collaborated with many local artists and companies, including Maria Gillespie (Exquisite Corps 2010), Victoria Marks (Smallest Gesture/Grandest frame; Medium big inefficient considerably imbalanced dance; Solar Duplex & Watch This), Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre Company (Governing Bodies; Expulsion; Governing Bodies Ventura; Cleopatra; Catch your Breath) and Viver Brasil Dance Company (Xire 2008). He choreographed and produced the dance film Bayiiri (Home Town) in 2011. In 2014, his solo “Saana/The foreigner” is premiered at the Redcat NOW Festival and the Ethna Negria Celebration at Teatro Balboa in Panama City May 2015. “Unarmed”, a piece about social injustice, was presented at the Barnsdall Theater, at “For Our Boys” first edition.
In August 2016 he created On Becoming, a quest for identity at 12th edition of NOW Festival. On October of the same year, his last two works Tekre (Evolution) and Maam /Me were presented at the third Edition of the festival Africa in America at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre. Willy is an Adjunct professor at the UCLA World Art & Culture/Dance Department since 2009 and has been guest choreographer at colleges including Santa Monica College, Los Angeles Valley College, Chadwick school… He teaches community West African Dance classes at Your Neighborhood Studio in Culver City, and has been an Arts Educator for the Fullerton School District since 2009. Willy is currently anMFA candidate at the UCLA World Arts & Cultures/Dance department.
The book that was mentioned was Vetiver by Librecht Baker.
Don’t Waste Your Time
Time is fleeting, as they say, and it behooves us all to grasp it while it is still in reach. As an artist, one of your top imperatives is to make sure you keep yourself full stocked with opportunities that will enrich your practice and further your career. Seeking out these opportunities should be a regular part of every artist’s day to day life and it is critical to remember that more you apply, the more chances you have to get a yes.
Swarovski Foundation Institute in partnership with the United Nations seeks creatives aged 18-25 to become the next generation of leaders in sustainability. For more information about this grant program and to apply, visit the website. Application deadline is April 9.
Driving the Human invites artists, scientists, designers and more to submit proposals that critically engage with the present and propose disruptions and alternatives to current developments that reflect on what makes us human and re-examine our relationship with society, the planet and life itself. For more information, visit the website. Deadline for proposals is April 9.
Trame invites French-speaking artists from all over the world to apply for residency in Paris for a period of three months. Anchored in the activities and daily life of Cite internationale des arts, the residency offers tailored support, monthly meetings and networking. For more information and to apply, visit the website. Deadline is April 15.
Praxis Center supports artists who want to take their careers to the next level. We make it our business to ensure you have the tools and skills needed to find and apply for opportunities of all kinds. We will help you learn to connect with galleries, land grants, attend residencies and much more. Give Praxis a try today and see how far we can take you.
Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius, and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.
Photo credit: Pixy