Residing in huge residential buildings, we are often
disconnected from nature, from being able to immerse ourselves
amongst plants or even to be able to walk barefoot on grass on a
daily basis. It is for some, one of the greatest pleasures of life.
Kathleen Vance's work explores this relationship with nature,
artificial environments and issues of displacement and order, which
we encountered when viewing “Travelling Landscapes,” a series of
beautifully curated lush environments inside reclaimed trunks and
travel cases. On a larger scale, we see fallen branches and sticks,
intertwined in Boundsticks, coiled together, motionless and
resembling wintry tree trunks growing through walls, perhaps
awaiting new growth in Spring. The once discarded part of a tree,
given new life, becoming part of a new whole. Running streams and
fauna are juxtaposed against geometric white walls in Creating
Realities, which almost has a meditative effect, coupling the sound
of trickling water with the sight of lush greenery. We asked the
artist about her background and this fascination with bringing back
nature into the course of one’s daily life.
Where did you grow up and now work / call home?
I grew up in the 'country-side' of Maryland, outside of Baltimore, in an area which is now considered a historically preserved valley. I feel a strong connection to the land from my upbringing on a small farm. Forestry and the wilderness edging up on manicured land were points of interest as I grew older. I came to New York to study at the Pratt Institute and received my BFA in Sculpture. I then took some time to travel, investigating natural preserves throughout the US and then I received a grant to visit Iceland and study the environment and geothermal regions there. My graduate studies at Hunter College helped create a stronger conceptual context to my work, and upon graduation I decided to remain in New York. I live and work in Brooklyn the majority of the year, there is a fantastic community of artists here and a really active art scene. In the summer, I travel often to Maryland where I have a studio and can create large sculptural works, whilst also engaging with nature.
What are your personal views on human connections with nature?
I have a fascination with native environments and the idea of displacing elements from these environments to give them a new meaning and context. There is a dialogue in my work about the defining points of what is artificial and what is natural: why it is that we often choose elements closer to the artificial in our lives over that of the natural. In New York, in the urban environment here, there are few points where you can be immersed in nature and I feel that it is important for everyone to consider their natural origins and try to maintain a sense of these in their daily lives.
How important is nature conservation and preserving the landscapes around our homes?
This is extremely important. We must be good stewards of the land and our resources. I address the rationality of the concept of ownership and water-rights within the series, "Travelling Landscapes." We, as individuals, can have a great impact on our local eco-system (in both negative and positive ways). Care and maintenance must be upheld, the concept of absolute ownership of land, water, air is an illusion. As individuals, we should realise that there are many shared resources and we should work together, for not only individual immediate interests, but also for prolonged sustainability.
Where did you grow up and now work / call home?
I grew up in the 'country-side' of Maryland, outside of Baltimore, in an area which is now considered a historically preserved valley. I feel a strong connection to the land from my upbringing on a small farm. Forestry and the wilderness edging up on manicured land were points of interest as I grew older. I came to New York to study at the Pratt Institute and received my BFA in Sculpture. I then took some time to travel, investigating natural preserves throughout the US and then I received a grant to visit Iceland and study the environment and geothermal regions there. My graduate studies at Hunter College helped create a stronger conceptual context to my work, and upon graduation I decided to remain in New York. I live and work in Brooklyn the majority of the year, there is a fantastic community of artists here and a really active art scene. In the summer, I travel often to Maryland where I have a studio and can create large sculptural works, whilst also engaging with nature.
What are your personal views on human connections with nature?
I have a fascination with native environments and the idea of displacing elements from these environments to give them a new meaning and context. There is a dialogue in my work about the defining points of what is artificial and what is natural: why it is that we often choose elements closer to the artificial in our lives over that of the natural. In New York, in the urban environment here, there are few points where you can be immersed in nature and I feel that it is important for everyone to consider their natural origins and try to maintain a sense of these in their daily lives.
How important is nature conservation and preserving the landscapes around our homes?
This is extremely important. We must be good stewards of the land and our resources. I address the rationality of the concept of ownership and water-rights within the series, "Travelling Landscapes." We, as individuals, can have a great impact on our local eco-system (in both negative and positive ways). Care and maintenance must be upheld, the concept of absolute ownership of land, water, air is an illusion. As individuals, we should realise that there are many shared resources and we should work together, for not only individual immediate interests, but also for prolonged sustainability.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by areas of nature that appear to be
'untouched' by humans. There is a magical element and strength in
nature to rectify and reclaim areas that have been abandoned and
polluted. Time, care and consideration returns these areas to
the natural balance. I also like to find the line of definition
between: wilderness, manicured nature and the urban environment.
These are often mysterious and very subjective points, but help to
define the level of urban, suburban encroachment, and the inverse
with the wild creeping back into urban areas.
Favourite artists?
Robert Smithson, Michael Heizer, Richard Long, Walter de
Maria, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Earthworks and Land Art of the 60's
and 70's.
Are you an avid gardener? Do you have a garden?
I do love gardening! and in the summers tend a large
vegetable and flower garden in Maryland. My dream would be to have
access to a garden space in Brooklyn. I have worked on a variety of
local community garden projects and received a grant from the
Brooklyn Arts Council for an after school program for a garden-art
project in East New York.
With reference to Travelling Landscapes,
exploring themes of ownership could you tell us about the illusion
of travel?
The Travelling Landscapes create imagined scenes of nature
within suitcases, train cases and steamer trunks, often with
running streams, rivers, and small waterfalls. I choose the cases
to give the illusion of travel, and I specifically select cases
that are from a certain era (no modern cases are used) to act as an
indicator of travel, without the involved reference to direct
travel. Although everyone can relate to these cases, they are no
longer in regular use, it would be quite uncommon to see a
traveller with one of these cases in their baggage. Thus a
curiosity evolves, questioning of the length of the voyage the case
itself has taken, is it still travelling and so on.
Along this line of thinking relative to it's contents, the
landscape and its duration as a 'traveller' itself create interest
for a fuller investigation. I have used live plants to create these
scenarios, but prefer the artificial because it further extends
this level of investigation. Each landscape looks to be a section
taken from nature, I imagine this as a thought that 'you can take
it with you', at least in concept and your personal love of the
land and environment. There are all of the elements of life: light,
water nutrients; sustainability of the environment is possible, it
would just take care.
What is your favourite plant? and why?
This is a difficult one, I am very drawn to mosses and plants
that grow on the forest floor. Ferns and light grasses, those that
catch just a bit of light through the forest canopy.
Do you like the feeling of soil in your
hands?
Yes, there are so many varieties, from the clay based mushy,
to sandy and dry. The colour stays with some and gets caught in
your nails, but it is nice to get down, and dirty!
The Boundsticks Installation are imposing
sculptures, tell us about the cycle of life, use of a closed
circuit?
This piece developed from a very basic system of
construction, a reduced method with a limited materials: base
materials reclaimed from the forest floor. The concept is to allow
for the combined language of the forest to speak through the
collected sticks. The growth patterns, due to light, weather,
nutrients would become evident in the accumulation of the sticks as
they are sorted and bound together.
In order to reactivate the totality of the individual
units there must be an internal force. By using a closed circuit,
the pressure of containment creates basic counteractive forces of
suspension and compression, which allows for once comparatively
weak singular elements to become a very strong whole. Returned to a
utility within a (communal) structure, each stick, branch, twig has
a purpose within the installation, and the totality of the piece
speaks to the language and forms of the forest in which they were
collected.
What one message do you hope a viewer takes away
from your work?
I would like for viewers to take away a moment of
consideration. I think the best artwork does not immediately give
'answers' but allows viewers to question and come upon their own
conclusions over time. (Of course, as artists, we must aim to
direct those conclusions)
What plans do you have later this year and
beyond?
I have an upcoming solo exhibition at Rockelmann &
in Berlin, for which I will be preparing over the summer. I
will be working on a installation that incorporates natural
environmental
elements and architecture.
Interview by Nardip Singh
Images provided by artist
Copyright © Kathleen Vance
