Interview: Marion Bolognesi
Friday, 18 March 2011
Photo © Adam Amengual
Marion’s Watercolor Faces, pictured below, recently rose to Internet fame; the creative use of whitespace, the beautiful lively eyes among bright colors, inspired a great deal of admiration from viewers. There’s a certain vitality to these expressions, the eyes especially, that make them impossible to ignore.
Marion follows her passion in New York, and is currently working on a new series of portraits of modified colors and moods. Check out her blog here, and follow her on Twitter.
I recently talked to Marion over e-mail; we discussed her art and creative process. As you’ll see, her answers are unpretentious and passionate. Look for more great things to come from her in the future.
[Interview Follows]
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How do you engage art on a daily/regular basis?
MARION BOLOGNESI
I work full time as a designer & my personal artwork is really what I come home to. That leaves me with a pretty art heavy schedule. I recently started blogging as well, it’s seriously addictive & has added a whole new element to my daily art fix.
Most days I sketch at work- snoop artists & fashion online- maybe drop off a few prints at the post office and I get home and do a little painting- I’m trying to get myself to one new watercolor a week. I’ll get there by summer!
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E-reader or book?
MARION BOLOGNESI
This is funny; I was asking myself this question on the train this morning. Right now, it’s all book. I’ve been trying to get myself into the e-reader mind-frame but there’s still something about holding and turning the pages of a book that I can’t seem to let go of.
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Your work, Watercolor Faces received an immense amount of attention from the Internet. Can you tell us a little about it?
MARION BOLOGNESI
My work is very personal. It’s not as if I don’t enjoy the attention I’ve gotten for it. But, at the end of the day, it’s really something that I do for myself.
When I was in college, I spent a lot of time drawing & painting as an illustrator for hypothetical assignments to the point where I really felt burnt out as a painter. During that time, I realized, there’s a lot of subject matter that I’m really not interested in painting.
Since that time I’ve become almost hyper focused in faces and facial expressions. It’s the subject matter that I love & really interests me, I don’t know if I’ll ever get sick of it. I also have a very close relationship with watercolor as a medium.
It’s very easy for me to lose myself in a painting. I definitely want to continue with these focuses and try to push myself to find new paths to explore expression, watercolor and portraiture.
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You’re a painter who works well in a digital medium; does it matter whether an artist works digitally rather than on a canvas, or does the medium not affect the artistic creation?
MARION BOLOGNESI
There are so many amazing new vehicles for creativity today that can help artists express themselves in new ways; I think that they should definitely be embraced, manipulated and redefined.
Simultaneously, I completely respect and understand artists who train themselves classically and would be very sad to find myself in a space where classic art and traditional practices weren’t embraced; I feel it’s equally unfortunate to discredit digital artworks and artists.
However, I think you’ll get the furthest today by having a solid understanding of both.
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Do you believe that, in allowing anyone with web access to write, photograph, or design, the Internet threatens to cheapen “real” art?
MARION BOLOGNESI
I dunno… Art, like any cultural necessity is always going to have the threat of being cheapened. Today people have unlimited access to the arts, that accessibility definitely allows even the cheapest forms of art an audience. But it also provides a greater audience for those really have something to offer.
The internets accessibility also challenges artists. People who publicize their art online have unlimited access critiques, you just need to be prepared for them. All you have to do to get feedback on your work is post your latest piece on your facebook page.
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What’s next for you on the road to fame and adoration? What have you been working on recently?
MARION BOLOGNESI
I’m working out a series of portraits in which I try to relay different moods and expressions without changing the composition. Basically, keeping the subjects glance similar and using only color and expression as the variable. We’ll see how it works, I have 2 completed and many more to finish.
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EC. Question(s): Who are some of your favorite contemporary artists? (writers, programmers, painters, architects, philosophers)
MARION BOLOGNESI
Peter Calleson, Theo Jansen & JS Mildenberg
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No. 1 — March 20th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Keep up the good work, son. #videointerviewsincoming?
No. 2 — March 20th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Thanks my man. Maybe. I don’t know, that seems tough for me. I’d need equipment and transportation. A cadillac, preferably.