Artist of the Week

Whenever I see two distinct sides to an artist I am fascinated. I had enjoyed the drawings of Joy Whalen for sometime, but a couple of months ago I was sent a video she had created for a Chicago band named Sonoi. So I began to watch the other videos that Joy had created and while I was watching I was trying to connect her drawings and video work. When the only connection that I could come up with was that they are both creative expressions, I decided to contact Joy and ask her a few questions.

Orange Alert (OA): I love the most recent drawings on your site. They are all ink drawings and seemed to be focusing on nature in various forms and mostly in more destructive forms. Do you feel that more natural elements are appearing in your work as more natural disasters occur around the world?

We all know that inspiration and influence can come in many different forms. For artist James Ulmer it is a variety iconic and not so iconic images from his youth that fill his images. It is an odd sense of nostalgia mixed with a healthy dose of experimentation and Ulmer's own personal touches that make his work so enjoyable. From ET to The Great Space Coaster, Ulmer's drawings are fun and creative, and always provide something new to look at.

Recently, James was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): How would you describe your work?
James Ulmer (JU): A lot of my work to me is like making this fantasy or a dream, the things that maybe I would have liked to see as a kid. Those ideas excite me.

It's not too often that I feature a photographer in this section, but there is something so riveting and beautiful about the images of Christopher Schreck. He is experimenting with light and filters in order to capture life in a whole new way. This Chicago photographer is just beginning to make a name for himself but is already make his way around the local music scene, and starting to see big write-ups around the internet.

Recently, Christopher was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): What process or equipment do you use to create your photographs?

One of the aspects of the local venue/bar The Whistler (home of the Orange Alert Reading Series) is their appreciation of local art. Every season the allow a local artist take over their front window and thus creating an ever-changing aesthetic for the venue. Over the winter they featured Jana Kinsman, and in my opinion she created their best display to date. Jana is a hybrid illustrated/designer and love capture everyday scenes and characters. For me there is something warm and friendly about her illustrations, and I had to reach out and ask her a few questions.

Orange Alert (OA): I love the display you did for The Whistler. How did that come about and how did you decide what you would do?

Seattle's Parskid combines fantasy and street art to create his own world filled with vibrant colors and unusual creatures. I've been a fan of his for a while, and when I saw he had two shows opening in the first week of May I thought it would be a great time to interrupt his work flow and bug him with a few questions. He was kind enough to answer them dispute being extremely busy with his solo show opening tomorrow (May 6th) at Seattle's Flatcolor Gallery and the show that opened here in Chicago at Revolution Tattoo.

Orange Alert (OA): You have a solo show opening at Flatcolor Gallery on May 6th, what can you tell us about "Isolated Frontier"?

I always get excited when I come across an artist that combines their work with either literature or music or both. Chicago's Diana Sudyka has many facets to her work, and one of them is creating remarkable silk-screened concert posters. She has worked with the likes of Andrew Bird, Camera Obscura, Jeff Tweedy, The Decemberists, Feist, Iron and Wine, and many more. When not creating posters she is making other silkscreens, etchings, and paintings that involve nature. Birds seem to be a big focus, and she has manage to find the more beautiful elements of Chicago's wildlife. Whether it illustrating books, creating personal art, or bringing musicians sounds to life, Diana is a big time talent.

Recently, Diana was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): How would you describe your work?
Diana Sudyka (DS): Narrative, illustrative, organic.

OA: You incorporate a lot of animals and elements of nature in your work, but live in Chicago. Where do you find your subjects and inspiration for your creations?

I suppose it depends on the type of art you are interested but typically when you hear the phrase art exhibit you think a serious affair. However, Katy Keefe and Scott Cowan have taken a different approach in their new exhibit, Breaded Bread. This is not to say that these two do not take their work seriously, but they have been able to incorporate elements of humor into their custom built show. This is a humorous exhibition that was made with an active balance between frustration and friendly relaxation (featuring: secondary objects, eye movement, paintings of paintings of paintings, patience, stability, the formation of doing things together, and 125 lbs. of wax). As you can see below, this duo had fun installing the show as well.

How big of a factor is comfort in the world of art? That question speaks more to the way you view art that challenges you or makes you uncomfortable then the comfort of the artist. The idea that art that makes you unconformable is naturally dark or unpleasant is not always right. The art of San Diego's website is often classified as dark, but a closer look reveals a world that is complex and in a subtle way beautiful. Her work focuses on fairy tales, and is often ripped directly from the books she reads.

Recently, Jasmine was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): I know you associate with the darker side of art, but do you feel your work is really that dark? What would make an image dark in nature?
Jasmine Worth (JW): What is considered "dark" art is pretty subjective, but I would consider my work to be dark compared to some. I think images that make people think, or make them uncomfortable, are often considered "dark".

Sometimes we find inspiration in the oddest places and it is usually when we are not looking for it. In the case of the latest project from Portland artist Joseph Kucinski he stumbled across inspiration, in the form of an old collection of e.e. cummings poems while clean his studio. To the eye of a painter the poems in cummings' collection looked like strokes from paintbrushes, mini-paintings captured beneath the text. Joseph has been working since that time to capture these images on canvas.

Joseph studied at Massachussetts College of art in Boston, and the S.U.N.Y. Purchase Visual Arts Conservatory in New York, from which point he moved to the West Coast. He strives to know and understand multiple creative outlets and that is what makes his work so incredibly engaging.

Recently, Joseph was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

What I find so incredible about the paintings of Christina Shurts is the way she handles, captures, and fixates on light. In whatever structure or scene she is capturing the light, the natural coloration and playfulness of light,plays an important. In fact she seems to paint only because of light. Through this effort she captures the beauty in what my seem ordinary to most.

Christina is graduating from California State University, Long Beach with an MFA in Fine Art this Spring. Her work has been shown around the world. She is currently involved in an exhibit called Structural Through- Line (Coherence) at Lawrence Asher Gallery in LA. Recently, she was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): Your work seems to focus on structure, namely man-made structures. What is it about these elevated buildings that you find so fascinating?