Artist of the Week: Noelle Sharp

It is hard to say how much of an impact your physical environment effects your creative output, but what is clear is that some of the most inventive work can come communities of artists. Regardless of your surroundings, supportive, understanding, and at times critical friends are vital to finding your true process. This Friday three friends who came from diverse backgrounds and different parts of the country will come together at Barbara&Barbara Gallery here in Chicago. The name of the show is "Kind of, But Not Really", and it combines the unique perspectives of Emily Kozik, Alex Zak, and Noelle Sharp. What is fascinating is how three artists can come together on a theme and basically concept of a show, but take that concept in a three diverse directions.

"Kind of, But Not Really" opens on April 24th at 7pm and runs through April 29th. Recently, Noelle Sharp was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): How would describe your work?
Noelle Sharp (NS): One of the hardest questions to answer because my work changes as I get older and experience more. I use all forms of mediums to express different things, such as sound, painting, embroidery, knitting, sculpture, digital and on and on. Sound and Fibers is an area that continues to come up, and I find a lot of artists are experimenting with the same idea. They are so different but when used together complete each other in an indescribable way. Sound is something we can never completely get away from, so making the in-audible audible is a pretty amazing process.

OA: To focus on fiber seems like an interesting approach, and can take on many different forms. How did you first discover you enjoyment of fibers? How far do you see yourself delving into the structure of fibers?
NS: I have been knitting since I was little, my mom taught me so we always knit together which I love. I started out painting but quickly began working with mixing mediums and experimenting. I decided to take a class in the Fiber's department and that was it for me! There is a loss of texture and depth that I feel you can gain from using fiber materials, having that feeling in my life and my art really inspires me to keep making. I'm really interested in what "fibers" means, how society classifies it. There is a huge conversation going on about fibers, DIY and what it means to use fibers, its not an easy conversation to have and usually leaves me confused, haha, but this is something I want to dive into. Specifically American fiber art vs. European fiber art and how they have evolved differently.

OA: You have a show opening this week with Emily Kozik and Alex Zak at Barbara&Barbara Gallery, what can you tell us about "Kind of, but not really"?
NS: Emily, Alex and I have been friends for sometime now and have always talked about doing a show together because our work involves the same ideas and practices. We spent some time talking and drawing up ideas, then came across Alex's huge collection of found photographs and it evolved from there. Collaborating is a hard but great experience, its been fun to watch how each of us has taken the subject of a pile of photos and gone completely separate routes to make work around the idea. The idea of "found photographs" is a strange thought, the fact that these objects bear no meaning on our live's but continue to intrigue was on the main reasons for using them as a subject. We have all had a blast working together, and I hope to do so again someday.

OA: What has your experience at SAIC been like so far, and what do you feel you might be able to take away from your time there?
NS: SAIC has been incredible, the teachers are sooooo great and the facilities blow me away. The great thing is that you can float between any department you want so it really leaves endless possibilities for your work. One of the biggest things that I imagine all students think about, especially art students, is the idea of an institution and what we are actually "buying" from an institution. Sometimes it seems crazy to be able to get a degree in art, but so far its only influenced me and I've met some incredible people which is something I'll always remember.

OA: You are originally from the West Coast, but now find yourself in Chicago. How has that transition affected your art? Do you feel environment can substantially influence artistic output? NS: I'm a firm believer that your environment affects everything about you, mentally and physically. Chicago is amazing, I've spent some time in New York and LA but Chicago has its own thing going on that can't be explained. It's hard at times, not only the weather but lack of mountains, I grew up in The Wasatch Mountains skiing and being outdoors, lived in California for a while so I definitely miss being surrounded by nature. My art has changed and evolved to a place I never would have thought it would go which is awesome. The city is its own crazy environment that can be just as beautiful and alive as mountains, so in that sense it feels like home too me. I have dealt with a lot of sustainability in my art, thanks to the certain awareness of being sustainable that the city pushes. I was having this exact conversation with a friend last night, how we can't live with out either, the city and the mountains. So I'm just going to have to figure that out!

OA: What's next for Noelle Sharp?
NS: That is the question of the hour these days, well, the next 3 weeks are being spent all day in the studio and packing up for some traveling this summer, heading to California for a bit, New York hopefully and then Europe in the fall to study abroad, either The Netherlands or Zurich, I hope to settle down abroad one day so we shall see how it goes. I mentioned before wanting to observe the differences between American and European fiber arts, so this fall will allow me to dig into that while I'm abroad.

Bonus Question:
OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?
NS: Vito Acconci anytime of the day, everything about him is just so wrong but incredible at the same time. Vincent Van Gogh or Alan Ginsberg would rock my world. And my grandma, I miss the hell out of her.

OA: What type of music do you enjoy and who are a few of your favorites?
NS: Ohhh how to sum it up, well I listen to everything, even Dutch experimental music which does not make me cool with the neighbors. Led Zeppelin Live 1973 has been getting alot of time lately. Towns Van Zandt (always), Roxy Music, Hamza, Brother Ali, Iron Maiden, Serge Gainsberg, Sister Nancy, Radiohead, Stevie Ray Von........the list goes on, I can't live without music.

For more information on Noelle Sharp please visit her website.