Artist of the Week: Joy Whalen

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?
Joy Whalen (JW): I have always harbored an affinity for nature and natural elements, so they have been major contributors to my work for many years. Lately, I am preoccupied with the relationship between urbanism and nature- they seem to originate from very different sources, and often take turns dominating one another like nemeses. However, when the greenery of grasses and trees slowly reclaims a dilapidated building, or architecture incorporates elements of nature into its design, there are tender moments when nature and the urban environment call arms and coexist uniquely and beautifully. This is moving to me and has become a story I incorporate in my work. That said, disastrous nature is at once terrifying and enthralling. There have been several instances where I completed a piece right before a major natural disaster (or without any previous knowledge of
the happening of one), only to later discover the direct coloration between the
disaster and my work. Wild.

OA: You recently made a video for the local band Sonoi. Do you enjoy working with bands and do you see music as an influence on your work?
JW: The video I made for Sonoi was the first piece I have ever done for a band. They are my buddies and I loved making it for them. I would do it again in a heart-beat. How happy would it be to make music videos for the musicians I admire? Very. I want to begin right now. I am an absorbent sponge. My dire affection for music permeates my daily life and I am still often swept away….it is certain that the essence and rhythm of music, once soaked in, finds its way to my work.

OA: Your other video work is so fascinating. I am sure each comes from a different source, but what are some of the ideas or items that inspire these videos?
JW: My video performance work often stems from a completely internalized sense of the world. As a girl I was deeply immersed in fairy tales and folklore; longing to be a part of their magic and adventure I would form in my imagination elaborate environments based on my understanding of medieval courts, chivalry, borrowing from tales like King Arthur or the books of Narnia. The work of Hans Christian Anderson and The Brothers Grimm always seduced me and to this day I refer to them regularly. Even now, I still exercise that potent use of imagination and indulgently entertain my childlike whimsies. I like to gather and collect bits of knowledge and information like catching fireflies: reading, spending hours in the library absorbing books that interest me and studying...all of this forms a pool which will surge fourth in waves when I go to make my work…constant and
such a surprise what may wash ashore. A short list: Biblical stories, medieval
history, women saints, early 1960s video art by folks like William Wegman and
Bruce Nauman, the Fluxus movement...to name a few.

OA: What are your thoughts on "Grimm's Girl" being viewed over 700 more times than your other videos? Do you ever regret making it or putting it out there?
JW: Phew, yeah, I know what that's about. "Grimm's Girl" is a little bit more edgy to say the least. In general, I am a very modest person, but I the more I grow with my work the more I have begun to approach the character within it as an entity separate from my own. The idea of that the body can serve as a portal or tool in order to generate action and movement, is beginning to sink in- that although I am connected to my body, there are moments in performance that my control of it is relinquished and I do not have an option as to what it does. Because of this, I have been able to get over some of my protestant shyness and take more risks. Nudity can be tricky, so to put a piece out there which uses it, I have found, comes with understanding how it may be received. Nevertheless, what must be done, must be done. I had my inhibitions at first about the "Grimm’s Girl", but it is strong and emotionally palpable for me...and as far as video or performance art is concerned, still pretty vanilla.

OA: Do you feel video and drawing are two different worlds or two different aspects of your as an artists or are they similar forms of expression?
JW: This topic has been brought up in the past in regards to my work, and it is something I have considered a deal. Maybe there is a bit of a face off between the two if I were to begin thinking that everything I make needs to be explicitly connected some how...but the truth is I don't think it does. Is it easy to say that it is enough both expressions come from me, water from the same spring? I wonder. With art, some people like it most when connect the dots works
out smoothly and you get to see a picture right off...for me, its much more enthralling when art is like a game of capture the flag. You know the flag is hidden somewhere, but you are granted the opportunity to run around, get dirty and have a field day while trying to find it. When you do, it’s so rewarding and cathartic. I strive for my work to be like that. Part of being an art maker is
knowing when to intervene and when not to: for now, the seemingly opposite nature of my drawings and video performances is okay, if they are to come together, it will be a convergence that occurs naturally.

OA: What's next for Joy Whalen?
JW: I am working on a grant project for the Brooklyn Arts Council called nice to meet you. It is a story about two bodies of land separated by bridges and a river and what occurs in the space between. There are drawings, video, and photographs, with an exhibition come fall...where? I’m not quite sure yet...

Bonus Questions:
OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?
JW: Ah, how about fictional? Jean Valjean. He made a lasting impression on me and is one of my most loved literary characters.

OA: What type of music do you listen to and who are a few of your favorites?
JW: My home roots are in indie rock, punk rock/post punk rock but now I listen to a bunch of music varying in degrees from beats, ambient, experimental, electronic, techno, hip hop, some rap, rhythm and blues, and dub. Dub lab folks such as Kutmah, Daedelus, Kidkanevil, Flying lotus...Clean, tight German techno like the type of work coming from B Pitch Control: Apparat, Moderat, Telefon Tel Aviv, Modeselektor, Sasha Funke….Quirky experimental electronica from a label like Audio Dregs: Lullatone, Melodium, Minotaur Shock. The pop divas such as Mariah Carey, Missy Elliot, Mary J. Blige and Beyonce…yeah music, this could go on.

For more information on Joy Whalen please visit her website.

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