ART, WHATEVER IT TAKES

Since the early pandemic in 2020, Rome Art Program has conducted a series of interviews, “Art, Whatever It Takes.”
Artists, Art Critics, and Art Historians living in Italy, the U.S., and U.K., share their insights during these powerful times.

Interview with Jill Sarver Rossi

Jill Sarver Rossi is a painter, with a Masters Degree in Fine Art from Western Connecticut State University, USA. She is also a curator of contemporary art with appointments including the Westport Arts Center, CT. She’s a Rome Art Program alumnus (2009) RAP Faculty member, teaching drawing and painting.

RAP – Where do you live ? And what is your background?

Jill Sarver Rossi: For the last 12 years I’ve resided in southwest Connecticut, about 1 hour outside of New York City. However, I’m from a small, working-class town in rural Ohio. In adolescence, I developed a love for Egyptian and Roman art so in college, I pursued art and the archaeology element has always found its way into my artwork. It’s the best of both worlds. In addition, I’ve taught independent art programs throughout the New York Metro area and Midwest and have also worked on curatorial pursuits for the last 4 years. It’s been an exciting path.

In your opinion is there a “creative method”?

Jill: I think every artist has a routine that keeps us working. I find that my own artwork develops from work itself. For my recent portrait series, “Anonymous,” I began a painting (based off of a 1916 Edward Weston photograph) without intention or direction. From that first portrait, I have created nearly 40. Some are derived from the original photo, some are from memory, and many are based off of my own paintings created earlier in the series. Work created from work. Regardless of the method, I use portraiture as a vehicle to express whatever I feel like responding to that day.

RAP: The “lock down moment” can set you on the path of some important change(s) in your creativity and style…Has this happened to you?

Jill: Absolutely, and in a direction that I was not expecting. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, someone close to me succumbed to suicide after a long battle with depression. The lockdown hit the week I returned from the funeral. Even before the suicide and lockdown, I entered 2020 with concern and a heaviness that I can’t explain. I created a portrait that reflected feelings about the government threat to destroy Iranian cultural heritage sites. Shortly after that, I felt overwhelmed by the ongoing opioid epidemic. I was able to create these paintings because I was somewhat detached from their situations; I am not Iranian nor do I know anyone personally, who suffers from opioid addiction. At the time, my life was fairly calm, so I could create heavy, emotionally-based work without feeling overwhelmed. However, when Covid hit, I was still grieving from the suicide, dealing with unemployment, and found the uncertainty of our future to be paralyzing. I did not paint during the lock down. But I think it’s important to recognize and appreciate the silences as much as the production. My creative and therapeutic outlet for the last 4-5 months has been writing. Slowly coming out of lockdown, I’ve temporarily abandoned my portraits and have shifted to a slower, less structured, less dictated type of painting, which allows me to work without the pressure of continuing an important series. Overall, I feel optimistic about our future. While frustrated at government response, I’m optimistic that we’ll overcome, adapt, and move forward. We always do.

RAP: What normally inspires you? Which is the most important inspirational source you have found in Rome?

Jill: Anything and I welcome the unexpected! I don’t actively search for inspiration but welcome it when it hits. In Rome, it’s the city herself. As a lover of Roman archaeology, I never cease to be amazed at the integration of ancient monuments with the daily life of modern Romans. This integration of past and present makes its way into my portraits, which are painted 4,000 miles away, in my studio. The tonality, light, scale, and history of Rome seeps into my studio work, whether I’m conscious of it or not.

RAP: Is there a difference in working in Rome for an artist? What art medium do you prefer to work in?

Jill: For me there is. I paint primarily in oils when I am in my studio. In Rome, I would feel foolish spending all my time in a Roman studio as there is so much to experience in the streets and gardens. In Rome I naturally shift into a plein air painter, working in mostly water-based media which allows me to make a lot of paintings in a relatively short period of time. After a decade of regularly visiting Rome, I find myself drawn to making work in the same places, year after year. However, as an artist’s process evolves, my work in Rome evolves so it’s interesting to see the span of work after 10 years. Each year brings a different area of interest and focus. I’m never bored.

RAP: Specific events and historical conditions have a significant role in the creative process; how does this pandemic emergency affect the Arts?

Jill: Strong conditions and events lead to strong response, including challenges to authority and shifts in ways of thinking. The Italian Renaissance that emerged after the Black Death is an obvious example of this. Though I sometimes wonder, what art would look like, if we lived in a Utopian world. I admire the efforts of the WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the Great Depression. With this, the U.S. government supported laborers and artists during the worst economy the country had ever known. One can only hope that we continue to see similar support during our own times of pandemic and economic recession.

RAP: How are you feeling at this difficult moment and what made you feel this way? …are you optimistic for the future?

Jill: My reply is in the 3rd answer…see question 3 answer.

RAP: What can Art contribute to history? Will “Art save us”?

Jill: Art tells the story of our times and I believe we need the arts now more than ever. With lack of funding in our schools, art budgets are often the first to be cut. It’s actually up to us to save the arts.

RAP: What is your most ambitious dream?…and the greatest sacrifice that you have made for your Art?

Jill: To be an artist. Period. My greatest sacrifice has been living far from my family and taking on ‘day jobs’, the constant distraction. Unfortunately, student loans don’t pay off themselves.

RAP: Recently, the artistic and cultural message of Italy and Rome was re-emerging as a great “work in progress”, …is this your point of view?

Jill: While I don’t have valid knowledge for a response to the cultural message of Italy and Rome, I believe that in general, many artists may be going through a personal renaissance right now. Quiet time is perhaps an artist’s most valuable resource and with the Covid lockdown, we’ve had a lot of it.

RAP: Which is your favorite Italian, or Roman, place(s) of art (Museum, Gallery, Monument…) ?

Jill: As with anything in Rome or Italy, it’s difficult to choose just one. My favorite place in Rome is the Pantheon. Sitting in front of it is the first thing I do upon arrival and the last before departure. With its imposing structure, architecture, preserved façade, continued use, and location amidst a piazza buzzing with life, to me, it’s the essence of what is Rome. I also make frequent visits to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Area Sacra di Largo Argentina, the Roman Forum, Capitoline Museum, Appia Antica, and Ostia Antica.

RAP: Which period of Italian Art do you prefer? What is your favorite Italian work of art?

Jill: I’ve always responded strongly to Roman Late Republican portraiture. No frills, little grace. Just raw, unfiltered depictions of ancient people. Tintoretto’s ‘The Deposition of Christ’ was the first painting to bring me to tears when I saw it in person. Religious subject aside, the depiction of the physical death (Christ, as son) and emotional death (Mary, as mother) is devastatingly sad. Everyone can relate at some point in their lives. I also especially enjoy Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, and Fra Angelico. And of course, we can’t forget Bernini, Caravaggio, Michelangelo…it goes on and on. Medardo Rosso’s ‘Ecce Puer’ from 1906. Like a ruin pulled out of the earth after centuries of being lost. A brief snapshot; some of the story is told, but not all. And anything by Giorgio Morandi. His oil paintings, watercolors, etchings, and drawings all depict an equal level of mastery of medium. Morandi shows us that there is powerful presence within absence– a compelling sentiment, especially given our times.

RAP: How has Rome personally influenced you as an artist and a person?

Jill: My first experience painting in Rome changed everything. It’s a city that I immediately (and unexpectedly) fell in love with. Prior to Rome, my work was hyper-realistic and realized with smooth brushwork and bold, synthetic colors. Though the work had been well received, it never felt like ‘me’ and I struggled with it. Rome re-confirmed my love for archaeology, muted tones, layers, and mysteries. Rome made me honest with myself as an artist and thus gave me the ability to create and speak about my work with deep, personal conviction. I believe we should all create and live life this way.

RAP: What’s your goal? What role does the artist have in society? Any final thoughts and advice?

Jill: To achieve my most ambitious dream—to be a painter—and to continue support for arts education for future generations. Artistic legacy can be traced back to ancient times. As Rome passes on her wonder and secrets, generation after generation, it’s my wish for artists to continue to pass on their experience and knowledge to those who come after.

www.jillsarver.com