Katherine Krizek is an American artist, designer and teacher living and working in Rome, Italy. Her current portrait work focuses on combining traditional image making with new technology. She studied at Parsons School of Design and The Cooper Union in New York City.
Art, whatever it takes – RomeArtProgram has made interviews with people involved in art, living in Italy, the USA and the UK, to know their feelings during the emergency.
– Katherine Krizek interview:
RomeArtProgram: What is your definition of “Art” today?
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-Katherine Krizek: Perhaps art as a tool in the search for meaning could summarize my expectations of art. Works that surprise, amaze and expand my point of view are the most welcome. Challenging accepted roles and categories and political structures is also something I appreciate, as well as interesting craft.
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RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?
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-Katherine: Is art an independent and external entity? Or is its essential nature, a means of communication and expression extremely internal and second nature to all of us? Did cave art change early man? Does it change us today? The only thing for sure is that our species seems to demand art as part of the human condition.
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RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?
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-Katherine: I cannot remember a time when art was not an important part of my life, from my earliest memories. People around me made things, my father once made a rowboat in the basement of our small apartment in Queens. Thankfully, basic materials were always available. The process of making connects me to where I am, but also takes me somewhere else. On a good day in the studio even now, it feels the same.
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RAP: What role does art play today? What are the “great figures” who have recently changed it? Do you feel close to any of these figures?
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-Katherine: Art helps us form our own questions, whether we are “outsiders” or affirmed artists.
So many people to admire today. William Kentridge’s transformation of drawing through films, and his “Triumphs and Laments” for Rome’s Tiber River. Paula Rego’s focus on women’s rights, as well as the social conscience of Ai WeiWei are particularly motivating to me. There are also many designers who I consider artists like Neri Oxman, who moves between biology, architecture, and the sublime.
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RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?
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-Katherine: Today, collectors and patrons are quite difficult to reach without going through an intermediary such as a curator or an art buyer. Their roles are increasingly important, in a way, they are the new mecenate. Assigned value and status has always played a role in collections, but now art is also bought as an investment and traded like a commodity on a global market. There are now galleries that exist only online, and other opportunities for direct sales. This virtual environment uses different filters to find people who support art by buying it.
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RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?
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-Katherine: I am actually very excited about new technologies, in fact my most recent work focuses on merging traditional drawing techniques with digital medium to make prints and one-of-a-kind pieces. Exactly how to interact with media culture could be my biggest challenge, one that is daunting and exciting at the same time. The possibility of reaching more people can only be stimulating.
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RAP: Art as a mirror of man, in this moment of emergency seems to be shattered …what do these fragments reflect now?… Shadow or light of the moment?
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-Katherine: During lockdown many artists and as well as “outsiders” turned towards making art (whether oil painting or TikTok) to feel connected to something. Art can be a lens which reflects what happens in life and direct attention towards many issues that might otherwise remain unnoticed. Shadow and light work together, my “Do You Know Her project” shines a light on gender inequality but wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t an idea of the shadows.
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RAP: Understanding, interpreting, and then possibly judging the work of art; which is the right path when we are in front of a piece of art?
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-Katherine: One of my favorite artists is Paul Klee, who I recently experienced again at the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern. When you look at a Klee work, you have one impression of its meaning, then when you read the title, you must look again for a second reading of the piece which often leads to multiple meanings. So, yes to understanding, yes to interpreting, but judgement sometimes blocks the encounter with the work.
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RAP: Which is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?
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-Katherine: As a teacher this question is key. At a good school you are exposed to many ways of working. You can learn how others have done their work, but not how you should do your work. All is example and analogy; schools can provide a safe place to begin to understand what stirs you. A good teacher can help you develop a methodology for solving your own artistic problems, and this can be very helpful. An environment where you meet others and share the process of making art among peers is probably the most concrete thing a school or academy has to offer. Frequently, a school also gives help transitioning to the outside world with advice on grants, residencies, or other opportunities for continued study.
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RAP: Art too has undergone a complex process of globalization; can having an authentic and genuine style be an advantage or a drag for an artist?
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-Katherine: Innate identifiable characteristics that an artist has are to be celebrated, they are fun and useful, whether it is a way of looking at things, a process or simply recognizable touch. Genuine and authentic are adjectives that I find suspect whenever I see them, whether it be in a text about an art or a food product.
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RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?
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-Katherine: Art Galleries and Museums are in a difficult position today, perhaps more than at any other time in history. They must be commercially viable entities to survive, which means bringing in a substantial number of people. Museums which incorporate programs that teach, like the Triennale of Milano teaches kids about design really serve society. There is still a lot of room for improvement about representation of diversity and gender balance in the choice of the artists.
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RAP: “Figuration” vs “Abstraction”: which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?
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-Katherine: Figuration and nonobjective work both communicate ideas which are inherently abstract. So, neither is better or worse. As for predicting the future, if you can imagine it now, then it’s not the future. It can’t be. The best we can do is to reflect the present and hint at possible futures (emphasis on the plural).
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RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?
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-Katherine: To be clear, the category “ emerging artist” can come from any age group. So, to whom it may concern my general advice is the same; maintain relationships with other artists, more things get done in a group. Accept that there is no single route to making good work, or to a successful career. It is part of the process to be both thrilled and discouraged. Do work that satisfies you first, then worry about the others. I read once that the author George Sand said that her most important appointment was with herself, on the days she scheduled to write. So, discipline and constancy matters, it is important to keep making your art, whatever form it takes.
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RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?
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-Katherine: People make art, but they also contribute to global warming, and participate in all sorts of injustices. Art can bring our attention to issues and commonalities, and a need to act, no one is coming to save us, we must act.
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www.DoYouKnowHer.org
www.katherinekrizek.com
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