Amenda Tate, Artist

Hello everyone! This is Jackson and welcome to the 20th interview for my blog, 3 Art Questions With Jackson. This time I interviewed Amenda Tate who is a super unique and great artist. My Dad and I saw her show at Artistry in Bloomington and we loved it. I watched the video about how she makes her paintings many times! You can watch the video and many more at www.amendatate.com. I think Amenda's answers to my questions are fascinating and I think you will too. I hope you enjoy the interview! Thank you for reading!



Jackson: How did you come up with the idea to use a motion-controlled paintbot to make your paintings? Your video in your Artistry show was so cool.



Amenda: I had never attended a ballet performance until adulthood. I had a preconceived notion that it "wouldn't be for me." The experience was transformational in my ways of seeing. I didn't know I needed it until I had experienced it, and I didn't want it to end. 

After that, I wanted to work with the ballet to create artwork. I wanted to capture the essence of what was happening, not just be inspired by it.

I came up with the robot, Manibus, by modifying an electronics project that my kids and I had done together. I had no idea if it would work or not initially. It was all an exercise in curiosity and experimentation. Once I had a working prototype, I proposed my project to the professional dance company, Ballet Des Moines. We spent six weeks creating together and refining the process. 



Jackson: How old were you when you first became interested in art? Did something specific happen? 



Amenda: I have always been interested in "how things work." From a young age, I put things together and took things apart; I repaired things and made things. I have always been creative and curious. I wrote, I drew, I learned calligraphy, I did theater. At my small rural school, art classes were limited and basic and did not hold my interest. As a result, I did not take art classes in high school. 

I did half of a Mechanical Engineering degree in college and came to realize that I needed a discipline with more aesthetic and creative freedom. I took a jewelry & metalsmithing class and found what I was seeking. I could use science (chemistry, metallurgy) and create something that wasn't strictly functional --something that had the power to connect people and convey emotion or meaning by visual means. I suppose that was the point at which I truly turned my focus completely to making art.

Jackson: If you could meet any artist living or dead, who would it be and why?


Amenda: That is really a tough question! Do I have to choose only one? Aaah!

My top 3:

Eva Hesse
I would love to have had the opportunity to chat with her regarding her innovative choices in materials. She was experimental using new materials and mediums. She challenged expectations in art-making. I feel a kinship to her process of discovery.

Louise Bourgeois
I am inspired by how bold and confident she was in her resolve and her creative choices. I would enjoy spending a day with her asking how to awaken such a sense of confidence within myself.

Yayoi Kusama
While I do admire her current work, I would time travel to participate in her happenings in the 60's. I would ask her how can an artist do this type of work and still make a living? Having her current art world and art market knowledge, would she go back and do anything differently?