Kimi Hanauer
Kimi Hanauer:
an interview
What in your opinion defines a work of art? I think something can become a work of art when it is treated as a work of art, whether it is one person or a community of people who address it in that way.To define something as a work of art is just another way of assigning significance and relevance to ideas, objects, actions, performances, etc. Do you have formal training, or are you selftaught? I am currently a sculpture major with a concentration in printmaking at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD.
Monument (detail)
Looking back through your career, when did you realize you were an artist? I dislike the stigmas that accompany the label of an “artist”. I feel like the label is strongly associated with an elitist attitude and persona. But in any case, I don't think I ever really had a moment; making things is something that has always been integral to my life. I only seriously started to pursue it when I realized how important it was in my life, and how important it is to dedicate time to the people and things you love. I always feel like there is never enough time.
Have you a particular approach in conceiving your art? Usually I just get this strong feeling that I have to make this certain image exist, it is impulsive at first but through working I end up understanding and making sense of the meaning that lies behind making the work and the purpose of the project; that is when the ideas can become more complex and rich. A lot of my work is just process based; so basically I feel that I want to do something and that is what informs and determines what the work ultimately looks like. It's usually a really stressful and miserable process. Nietzsche has this quote “(the artist) is only the precondition of his work, the womb, the soil, sometimes the dung and manure, out of which (the artwork) grows.” He’s basically saying that the artist is just the horse-shit-manure that beautiful things can emerge from.
Where do you get your ideas for a painting: where does your imagery come from? I go through phases where I can’t get a certain image or collection of specific images out of my head. I feel this need to recreate the images again and again in all different forms. The source of the imagery is internal but obviously is affected by my everyday life, my experiences and the things that occupy my mind. I think maybe I just create imagery in my head in order to understand things. Ultimately, all the different images that I conceive within a certain period of time end up relating to each other and therefore the imagery continues to build off of itself. That can become very stressful because I start to feel this need to bring all of these things into existence simultaneously. That is usually why I paint. Painting is so much more quickly accessible and faster than building sculptures can be for me.
In your artwork "Untitled", you have used "unconventional materials": let's talk about this stimulating artwork... do you think that in time art will definetely got over the apparent dichotomy between "conventional" and "unconventional" materials? I think it is unlikely that art, or the “art world” will ever get rid of the dichotomous distinction between the“conven-tional” and the “unconventional.” This is just because it matters to them too much. In one sense, the distinction is exactly what allows for >>>
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