AO: In Nashville, you can be whatever you want to be. As long as you create intelligent, thoughtful ideas, people listen. I love that.
work is, I think, more accessible. That said, my new work looks very different. So a while ago I analyzed my art and found three commonalities throughout—body, community, and religion.
VK: What are we about to become?
VK: Around the time you started working with sugar as a constant material in your work?
AO: Yes. That exercise helped me realize my interest in the ability of the individual to create a sea change, ala Al Gore and his light bulb. Using an example related specifically to my research, in the eighteenth century many women in England stopped buying sugar once they learned about the horrors of the slave trade that made it so widely available. Their decision to stop buying sugar and expose the industry significantly helped the abolitionist movement. I’m interested in the way we can make small changes to promote better living. I think individual action can make for powerful community.
AO: Nashville is growing—fast. We seem to be going in the right direction. I just hope that as property values rise the government and the business communities consider both the creative and the working class so that Nashville remains financially viable to those who make it thrive. I also hope that the people who live here realize the importance of local support, not only by attending openings but also by buying art locally—there are hundreds if not thousands of Nashville-based, nationally exhibited artists here now—seeing a show, and making financial contributions to the nonprofits, making this city great.
How to Mistake your _______ for a _______, wood, animal parts, steel, cloth, electronics, 56” x 50” x 18”
VK: With Seed Space you’ve brought a lot of outsiders into Nashville. How did you make that work?
AO: When I started making art, I made it in isolation. I used my body to model fiber casts and spent a lot of time by myself. Then I started using other people as models. I would gather them together and do several casts at once. They’d all be stuck in one place in a room for hours, and they’d become friends. In a way, art became my excuse to get people together. It’s grown from there.
AO: I started Seed Space as a way to extend the dialogue with a broader community. I ran it from my studio for four years. This year we moved into the Track One building at 4th and Chestnut. We make it work through sheer will, smart interns, energetic volunteers, grants, donations, and partnerships with area b u s i n e s s e s . We w e l c o m e everyone, and I hope people will continue to seek us out!
VK: So then, tell me a bit about who these people are that take part in all your projects.
AO: People come from all backgrounds, which I love. From artists to scientists, from students to the homeless, from homemakers to entrepreneurs, we all learn from each other’s experiences and all contribute something to the work. VK: Let’s talk about Nashville. You have been a mainstay of the Nashville art community for some time now. What do you think about where we are now? Where is it going to go?
PHOTOGRAPH BY JERRY ATNIP
VK: Yes, that is a big part of who you are as an artist; you bring a lot of people together.
Adrienne Outlaw’s Sweet Demise exhibit runs June 27–August 2 at Whitespace Gallery in Atlanta. FLEX IT! My Body My Temple runs September 1 to January 10 at the Parthenon Museum and Centennial Park. Seed Space is open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, www.seedspace.org. For more information or to contact her about getting involved, please visit www.adrienneoutlaw.com.
90 | July 2014 NashvilleArts.com