Art of Conversation with Lena Reynoso

For the first interview in a new series titled Art in Conversation, I caught up with Lena Reynoso on the eve of her opening exhibition Forty Four Presidents at Blankspace Gallery. Enjoy this conversation and check back for more to come with myself and other Artopic.org contributors hosting conversations with SF Bay Area artists.

Steven Barich: Thank you for taking this interview. I would like to start with asking you about your latest project, Forty Four Presidents, which opens as an exhibition at Blankspace in Oakland on January 10th, 2009. Obviously, it is a well timed project with the current election year finally in the past and a new president promising change waiting in the wings…but I would like to know where the original inspiration to make a complete portrait of the Presidents of the USA came from, how you wish(ed) to portray each president, and on a whole, is this a celebration of the role of President, or a challenge? Also, I’m very curious if you painted both an Obama and a McCain portrait, just in case we were all surprised?

Lena Reynoso: There is a long and short answer. The short answer: my original inspiration came from a placemat. The long answer: I am working on my PhD in Early American Folklore/Curiosities and have been immersing myself in my studies [vis a vis my artwork]. I was amazed at how homogeneous our corpus of Presidents is/was. I’m a visual person, so even though I knew this, it is always has more impact on me when I see it. It’s weird that I’m fascinated by the very subject that I loathed when I was younger…and now I’m intrigued by the things like a collection of Presidents on a placemat that I would have once found silly. I’m also a very non-political person. That is, I have my personal opinions, but I don’t like overtly representing my political views through my art. I guess for me, it’s more about my own personal experience producing the work rather than making something that makes a specific statement.

I think it’s more interesting to have the viewer reflect on his/her own views/opinions/etc. I enjoy painting what I find interesting and that makes me happy. I’m not really interested in trying to get the public to understand my motives and/or views. If people come away from looking at one of my paintings and become interested in “something” then I feel like I’ve accomplished something great. I’m also a very didactic person. This leads me into the whole “narrative art” thing…which is not very popular at the moment. But, that’s ok. I’m still going to do what I do.

I wanted to portray each President in a non-biased way, as simply humans. Of course, this doesn’t mean that certain things don’t come out when I’m painting. I wasn’t trying to make each President appear in a certain manner, but instead tried to let my knowledge of each one shape the piece. Buchanan, for example, has his bachelor sneer, Nixon came out a bit sinister, and Kennedy’s charisma shines through. I waited until the final election results to paint Obama. I wasn’t going to paint McCain unless absolutely necessary.

SB: I really relate to your first answer with regard to your inspirations both grand and mundane: a placemat and a PhD research in American Folklore/Curiosities sit apart in context but still provide the impetus to create an involved and thoughtful project, your Forty Four Presidents. It seems that it is always this way with inspiration: a flash of an image, a few lines of text and the sound of rustling leaves…and one can envision an entire film, a song…or a group of paintings.

I’m interested further in how you balance a position at the crossroads of not being entirely interested in having a public understand your motives/views and seeing yourself as a didactic person. Doesn’t artwork inherently work to “show” the viewer something, and could that always be seen as “narrative?” I can imagine you-as a non-outwardly-political person-would like people to see your Forty Four Presidents exhibition without assuming you are trying to “give” them a moral lesson, and even without taking away any particular narrative. However, as you mentioned, up until Jan. 20th of 2009, the USA has been quite homogeneous with presidents, and it will be hard to escape that narrative no matter what you say or not say. Either within or outside your own artwork, are their other examples of a place for didactics in American Folklore/Curiosities? I always assumed the power of folklore was the inherent lessons/beliefs of a culture?

LR: Yes, I do think that most artwork works to “show” the viewer something, which could be seen as “narrative” to some degree. But, I’m interested in narrative as factual information coupled (or perhaps I should say layered) with a narrative of fiction. That is, the viewer may leave with bits of factual information and simultaneously make up his/her own narrative about the piece. I’m at sort of a strange place that is a nexus between art (my creative side), academics (my serious side), and my genuine curiosity (my wacky side). None of these things are mutually exclusive, which often gets me into trouble. I approach folklore in a way that isn’t necessarily approached by academics. I think there is always a place for didactic work, but I don’t want mine to be entirely so. My work is a way for me to deal with the seriousness of the University, and a way to retain information and express myself. But, I think that even after my stint at school, I’ll always want to fuse my fun side with my serious side-one side always inspires the other. (I’m an INTP (Introversion, iNtuition, Thinking, Perceiving personality type), so I think it is in my nature to be two sided).

Steven Barich: You have a website called Curator of Oddities. It is quite an animated site, and contains examples of both your artwork and your interest in American ephemera. What is your “role” as curator? And, what constitutes ‘odd’ for you, in your research and your art?

Lena Reynoso: My website is a reflection of me. I’m interested in so many things, but they all have a common thread-oddities. I like to find patterns in things…then the oddities become the norm. So in my view, oddities are really quite normal, and it is normality that should be questioned. I guess the answer is to define ‘normality’ and everything that doesn’t fit into that category is what interests me. But of course, one can find normality in everything. Even if you take three, square rocks out of a pile of round ones, they become normal when removed from the round rocks. And out of those three ‘normal’ square rocks, one of them is bound to be slightly irregular, thus, rendering it abnormal.

SB: I just have to comment on what an interesting statement “my website is a reflection of me” is. Do websites-as a collection of our art, our thoughts and our attention-become a place where we can see ourselves, to know ourselves, reflectively?

LR: I think that websites are really quite revealing. As an artist who works in many mediums and deals with many topics, it’s hard to pinpoint what it is I actually “do”. But when I created my website, I was able to create categories and visually see what I did, and what I was all about. It was really enlightening.

Steven Barich: In partnership with your husband Matt Reynoso, you curate and manage the Compound Gallery. It is both a business and an opportunity for you: you have both studio and store at your disposal. How do you manage your time between running the gallery and producing your own art? You began the Compound Gallery in the beginning of 2008…how would you rate your first year? And, is it too early to ask, or what are the goals for the gallery this next year?

Lena Reynoso: The Compound Gallery has been a lot of fun. It’s the other half to the art world-the business half. Even though I am a hermit when I paint, I really enjoy having my studio at The Compound. All the artists are fantastic inspiration and really nice people. It is amazing how much time it takes to run the gallery. It’s also amazing how much time it takes to produce art! This is why all of my interests feed into each other: my art, my interests, my academic work, and also the gallery. Running the gallery is constant work, but it has been greatly satisfying. We have only been open 10 months, but I would say it has been successful. Not monetarily, but Matt and I really enjoy being able to give other fellow artists a space to do their thing. Our goal for next year is basically the same: to provide “serious” artists a place to have fun and express themselves. I think it is possible for artists to make a living doing what they love, but they just need a chance (and space) to show what they do. So, this is why we are interested in showing artists who are very passionate about what they do.

Steven Barich: There was a recent article about galleries in Oakland and the difficulty of surviving in the current and future economic downturn: Death of the Salesmen by Rachel Swan. How do you think that Compound’s model is in relation to what the other “dealer-oriented” galleries say in this written piece?

Lena Reynoso: Matt and I started The Compound because we were friends with Kerri Johnson and Jason Byers, directors of Blankspace Gallery next door, and when the space opened up we all thought it would be fun to try to have another gallery in the area. We really respect what Kerri and Jason have done and we felt like it was an extension of what we were already doing in life. The Compound would never be able to survive if not for the Compound art studios that are connected to the exhibition space. Art is a funny thing: without galleries, there would be no place for artists to exist (although things may change with the internet), but if galleries try to conduct their business as a business (as Esteban Sebar did), people get riled up about it. Running a gallery is indeed, a business. It is certainly not glamorous or profitable (at least in Oakland). It is naive to think that you shouldn’t treat art as a business. By not treating as a business is not taking it seriously. Art IS worthy of monetary transactions and it doesn’t lessen its value. Of course, there is the issue of inflated art prices, etc, but that is another topic. I don’t think there realistically has been any art gallery in Oakland that has existed solely on art sales. This isn’t New York. Everyone has alternative means of making money. Some sell retail goods in a store-like setting, some people have savings, a credit card, grants, studio space rentals, etc. Everyone who runs an art space has to find what it that compels them to do so and I think there are different paths for different people. We are just trying to have fun, produce high quality shows for the public, give artists a space to create, and pay the rent. We hope to do this as long as we can or want to.

Steven Barich: Your early B.A. and M.A. education is in the sciences and/or social sciences, correct? So as a non-art degree artist, what does a BFA or MFA mean do you? Is the academic discussion within Art (notice the capital!) something you concern yourself with? What is your opinion on folkloric, naive art and culture arts versus the academic, Fine Art education that many “artists” pursue? I think this is a good moment to ask you to list a few of your most influences, namely artists or genres?

Lena Reynoso: Yes, my A.A. was in Mathematics, and my B.A. and M.A. were in Southeast Asian Studies. Personally, I don’t think degrees do much, especially in Art. I think they are only necessary if you want to teach or use the degree it as a way to legitimize yourself. I think people should do what they want and I find that the academic setting can be stifling to many. Professors can be very overbearing and can severely influence those who are not completely sure of themselves, in both Fine Art and non-Art institutions.

It is interesting because it feels like I’m walking backwards into the art world. That is, I was never really inspired by an artist in the beginning. I was painting in a German Expressionist style before I even realized what that was. I’m obsessed with Neo Rauch and Max Beckman. I definitely feel akin to post-impressionist paintings. I like paintings that look like paintings; I like to see brush strokes applied with haste. My personal inspiration is Symon, a painter in Bali, who is not only an amazing painter, but a true creative spirit. He introduced me to his witty saying, “Make it fast, Make it funny, and Don’t forget, Get the money.” He is not afraid to admit that art makes money and he has always encouraged me to make art, don’t cling to it, don’t be afraid to sell it (ie. don’t over-inflate), and use the money to make more art…keep it going and keep producing. Because that’s what artists do: we find unique ways to allow us to keep making art.

Exhibition Information:

Forty Four Presidents
Lena Reynoso

January 10 – February 9, 2009

Reception:
January 10th, 6-9pmInaugural viewing party
January 20th, 7-10pm

First Friday Reception:
February 6th, 7-10pm

During my research on Early American history, I found my self intrigued by the visual impact of our corpus of Presidents. A medley of men, particularly of a homogeneous nature. Musty images of our Presidents often remind us of our awkward middle-school days, memorizing names and dates, scenes of war, and high society from a time long past. I am interested in re-exploring the presentation and representation of our Nation’s past and our future.- Lena Reynoso

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PLEASE NOTE: We will NOT be open for the First Friday in January.