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Duplex Archive
Last Look: Sarah Gee Miller
In the Studio: Emily Wobb
Duplex: Why don't you start by telling us how got to where you are now?
Emily Wobb: I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I finished my BFA at Carnegie Mellon University and I knew I wanted to leave Pittsburgh to work as an artist assistant after I graduated. I had done a couple of internships for Diana Al-Hadid, Max Gimblett, Matt Jones and Giovanni Forlino in New York City and I enjoyed the work I did for them because I gained insight into their working methods and had fun getting to know them as people. One artist that I reached out to who I really admired was Jesse Sugarmann, and it just so happened that he needed and assistant for the summer and fall. I went to help him with his We Build Excitement project in Detroit, and eventually worked in Bakersfield for him, too. That's when I got to branch out from… I don't know what you'd consider Pennsylvania, it's not 'East Coast', not 'Midwest', but that kind of area…I'd never even passed beyond Ohio, before. When I drove across the country to Bakersfield I saw the Rockies for the first time, and just had that romantic view of the United States, like "Wow! This is such an amazing place and I want to see all of it!" Working for him also made me more excited about moving and exploring. I got the travel bug and I wanted to see all the United States and Canada with my car. I drove to Alaska for a month and loved the adventure but mostly the time that I spent by myself. It felt freeing and I felt a stronger patriotism than I had ever felt before. That has a lot to do with this show, thinking back to being free, sort of, and exploring that naive patriotism that goes into the idea of "America's free and beautiful!" Especially right now. I'm thinking about how it's beautiful sometimes and not others, and it's funny, a lot of these feelings came up before the final election decision. It's really weird now. I feel guilty and betrayed by my love of my country.
D: I think I first met you through Ryan Woodring and Alexis Roberto and their Prequel program, but they are from Pittsburgh too, did you meet them there?
EW: We went to the same school, but Ryan was a few years ahead of me. I definitely recognized him, but I knew Alexis better. I took a few classes with her. I kept in contact and knew about their Prequel program. I truly needed it then. I was drawing, but I wasn't really interested in doing anything else, and I was working three jobs. I believe that Prequel got me back into making art in Portland, it was what I needed. Maggie Heath, my studio mate, was the first person I met here. I was emailing everyone asking for recommendations of people to talk to. One of my professors from CMU put me in touch with a contact of his at Portland State University, who put me in touch with Maggie. We were just instant friends. Maggie gave me my first show in Portland and we started the Bronco Gallery together. Now we're planning on collaborating on a two-person show in May at the Erickson Gallery. Read More «In the Studio: Emily Wobb»
In the Studio: Melina Bishop
Oregon College of Art and Craft graduate Melina Bishop is a mixed-media sculptor and installation artist based in Portland, OR. She recently returned from a residency at the Icelandic Textile Center and is a participating artist with Neighbors at the Yale Union. This interview is the second in a series conducted by OCAC thesis student Lindsay Costello.
Duplex: Tell me a little bit about your childhood. Were you always a maker?
Melina Bishop: I was born at home, in a brick house in Indianapolis, Indiana but was raised in my mother's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. My childhood was a glorious mix of creative expression and time spent in nature. I grew up attending a Waldorf school, meaning I learned how to knit before I learned how to read, and all subjects, be it math or science or ancient mythology, were taught to me through a beautiful kind of integrated storytelling. All throughout early childhood I had an insatiable appetite for what was called "handwork" and used to knit, crochet and sew in all unassigned moments of the day.
Duplex: How has your work developed and changed since graduating from OCAC?
Melina Bishop: When I graduated from OCAC with my BFA I had, quite contentedly, been a student since I was five years old. I have a deep love of academic institutions and the structure, community and sense of distinct purpose they provide. I knew leaving that context, a comfort-zone or even womb for me, would be a challenge but a necessary one. The first body I completed post-graduation was called Resurface and it conceptually contained the themes of that transitory and emotionally trying period of my life: themes of exposure, insecurity, loss of intimacy and yet determined optimism. Formally my work has become more about singular moments or statements, rather than entire narratives. I think in school I felt pressure to make my work say everything at once, now I feel able let each piece speak in more concise language.
Duplex: Describe your studio space. What is your preferred method of working while there? Do you have a favorite outfit, playlist, time of day that you're most productive?
Melina Bishop: My studio space is my sanctuary and an honest reflection of myself, therefore it is in a constant state of flux (I was once warned not to spend all my work time simply rearranging and organizing my studio space, which was good advice for me to take to heart.) I share a beautiful space on the first floor of the Yale Union building in SE Portland with photographer and fellow OCAC alumna Brittany Walston. I usually come dressed in some comfy combination of black shirt and black pants but I also have a dirty old white apron I put on if I'm doing something messy. I work best in the morning, when the studio's big window is letting in plenty of nice natural light and my mind feels newborn. Read More «In the Studio: Melina Bishop»
In the Studio: Gulsah Mursaloglu
A recent artist-in-residence at Oregon College of Art and Craft, Gulsah Mursaloglu is a Turkish mixed media artist based in Chicago, IL. She received her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015. This interview is the first of a series conducted by OCAC thesis student Lindsay Costello.
Duplex: Tell us about your background. How did your upbringing affect your current approach to art-making?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: I was born and raised in Istanbul and lived there until I came to Chicago to pursue my graduate studies. My father is a farmer and grows cotton in the south of Turkey. One of my earliest memories is the softness of the cotton plants when they were freshly harvested out of the land, and how it was the softest thing I ever laid my hands on. This direct connection to the land, and using touching as a way to get to know a material, touching the outside of something to understand what's going on in the inside, were definitely things that I inherited from my family and it has been woven into my practice and sensibility. I was also always inspired by certain absurd patterns that would occur in Istanbul through people's daily interactions with materials. Yogurt cups would be placed under the pipes to solve the problems with sewages; ropes would be tied to antennas to provide good reception. People replace materials with others when they are fixing or building things and this creates interesting patterns within the landscape of the city.
Duplex: Your work has a fierce sense of materiality and seems incredibly tactile. How do you choose your materials, and does a sense of touch factor into your decision-making?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: My work starts with an inexplicable curiosity towards specific materials. Then I start to experiment with these materials; at this stage the studio acts like a laboratory. Through this experimentation process the work starts to become clear to me one step at a time, both conceptually and formally. Tactility has always been an important part of my work; I believe that is because touching has always been my primary understanding of the world around me. During my time at OCAC, I've been interested in orange peels as a protective membrane and skin and my current work will include orange peels as one of its primary materials.
Duplex: Has your approach to material developed over time? I read that you started painting during your undergraduate studies as a sociology major.
Gulsah Mursaloglu: When I was doing my undergraduate studies in sociology, at the same time I was working at a studio run by two artists in Istanbul and making paintings. Even when I was making work that was strictly in the realm of painting, I was experimenting with materials such as tea, coffee, wine and varnish to create my surfaces. But I can definitely say that my interest in materials and approach to them particularly evolved and changed during my studies at SAIC.
Duplex: You've done several residencies, with more to come. Despite this sense of nomadism, what does your typical studio practice look like? Do you have a time of day you work best, an environment, a playlist, a uniform?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: My regular studio is in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago. I share my studio with five other artists and I find this communal studio space helpful for the creative process. I would say I'm someone who works best during daylight, so I prefer to be at my studio from the morning till the afternoon as long as my work schedule allows me to do that. In my process in the studio there are two modes of working: one requires deep contemplation and concentration and the other requires repetitive labor. When I'm in the first state I prefer to have a quiet environment, and when I'm in the second state I like having music in the studio, these days I'm mostly listening to soundtracks from musicals.
Ubiquitous Notes for a Fellow Traveler, 2016, Toothpaste, sunflower seeds, brass bells and mixed media
Duplex: Can you describe how a residency informs or helps your practice? What advice would you give to emerging artists about the residency process?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: Being at a residency allows me to have distance from my regular environment and a mental space to look at my work through a different lens. I often find the first week of a residency challenging in terms of adjusting to a new environment and a studio space, but I also find that challenge very productive in terms of understanding how I work best and how I can sustain a creative practice without being dependent on a specific place. The biggest luxury a residency provides me with is having uninterrupted studio time away from the distractions of daily life, and being in a completely different environment is also very stimulating. I guess one piece of advice I could give is to be open to the challenges of being in an unfamiliar environment and try to use this distance to challenge yourself in your own work and break some habits.
Duplex: Has your time in Portland and on Oregon College of Art and Craft campus affected your approach to art-making at all? What is your impression of the community here?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: I've really enjoyed being an artist-in-residence on the OCAC campus. The community here — faculty, staff and students — has been really generous to me, and I've gotten to meet lots of amazing creative individuals. What I've found to be most inspiring has been OCAC' s approach to making and the emphasis the school puts on the process. I really relate to this way of working and I got to learn different historical practices here such as weaving and ceramics. I believe these new skills will definitely affect my work in the future.
A Pathway for Failed Intentions and Unprecedented Circles, 2015, Salt licks, apples, poppy seeds, water and mixed media
Duplex: Whose artwork do you look at when you're feeling stuck or uninspired?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: One of the most inspiring shows I have seen during my time in Portland was Michael E. Smith's exhibition at the Lumber Room. I really loved the subtlety of his objects, which bring organic and inorganic materials together and the minimal installation of them in the space. So these days I look at his work, Camille Blatrix's works and Carol Bove's works.
Duplex: What's influencing your practice right now, outside of visual art and artists? A recent favorite book, film, color?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: During my time at OCAC I got the chance to read chapters from a book that has been on my reading list for a long time: On the Animation of the Inorganic by Sypros Papapetros. I find this book really inspiring because it talks about themes that I'm interested in investigating in my work, such as the agency and life of the matter and latent movement through an art historical perspective.
A Pathway for Failed Intentions and Unprecedented Circles
Duplex: If you weren't an artist, what would you be doing? Have you ever considered an alternate profession?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: When I was very young, in my primary school years, I really wanted to be a professional ballet dancer. But since I never got the necessary training for that, as a more realistic alternative, I would have pursued graduate studies in either sociology or anthropology and stayed in academia.
Duplex: Speaking of academia, your website notes that you have teaching experience, including working as a drawing instructor at SAIC. How does teaching differ from making for you? Did you enjoy that experience?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: I love teaching. For me teaching art is a wonderful and very diverse process in which each student applies the information you give them in a different way and I find this diversity and range very exciting. I also believe teaching and seeing this translation of information is very inspiring for me as an artist. So I definitely think teaching nurtures my own practice as an artist.
Duplex: Your residency here at OCAC ends soon. What's next for you?
Gulsah Mursaloglu: Yes, unfortunately. I will be going back to Chicago and I will be starting HatchProjects at the Chicago Artists Coalition, which is a residency program that brings together emerging artists and curators to create exhibitions together in the course of one year. I'm very excited for that, and also I will be teaching at the Ox-bow School of Art Artists' Residency this summer.
Studio shot — material exploration
All photos courtesy of the artist.
Last Look: Craig Goodworth
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I'm super stoked to get the final exhibition catalog in my hands but so sad this is the last… https://t.co/IpONcZWpZw
Bukola Koiki is a mixed media artist working in Portland, Oregon. She is a graduate of the Applied Craft + Design... https://t.co/cmDzIBpjII