Mari Marks Mondanelli, Artist and Curator

 

Hello and welcome to the 64th 3 Art Questions With Jackson interview! This time I interviewed artist and curator Mari Marks Mondanelli. I first met her at Highpoint Center for Printmaking. She and I have an Italian connection and she was kind enough to put my paintings up at Fletcher's Ice Cream Cafe in northeast Minneapolis. She is awesome and her answers to my questions are awesome as well. Thank you for reading! (All images courtesy of the artist / Instagram: @marimarks.mm) 

Jackson: What inspired you to be an artist and a curator? Did you have an experience when you were young that sent you in an artistic direction?

Mari: I've always known that I wanted to be an artist. My first memory of art is in kindergarten when we painted figures inspired my Clementine Hunter. My figure had black hair and a magenta dress. My teacher held up my painting as an example of what not to do. My parents are not artistic people but they encouraged and supported all of my projects. My fifth grade teacher also gave me the space to be creative, and in high school my favorite teachers were the painting teacher Mr. Clercx and the ceramics teacher Mr. Moeller. They spent extra time with me and offered opportunities to do more. It was in painting class, creating a self portrait, when I first felt confident in my abilities.

In my current professional position, I don't have as much of a connection to art as I normally do so when I saw the opportunity to curate the art at Fletcher's Cafe, I talked to the owner Jason and basically gave myself the job. I love being connected to my community and showcasing beautiful and important work. It's important for me to showcase a variety of artists who might not have as many opportunities, or aren't well know yet, but their work is high quality. I also like the challenge of choosing art the community can connect with. Curating in Northeast would be different from curating a cafe in Eagan.

Jackson: How has becoming a parent changed the way you see and make art?

Mari: I appreciate the process of making art and what it does for my mental health. I don't get to be creative nearly as often as before I was a parent, and I miss it. I do my best to encourage exploration and creativity in every aspect of my daughter's life. Thick paint, beada all over the floor, and ribbons thrown everywhere are 100% acceptable and celebrated. I make a point to appreciate every brushstroke and meet hesitation with excitement. I point out every mural we see in the Twin Cities. When she gets frustrated with a problem I try to motivate her to solve it herself, which offers the opportunity to think creatively. Because of all the encouragement and joy I've received from my artistic practice, I see the importance of passing it on to my daughter.

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

Mari: I've always loved Faith Ringgold. Her mix of paint and fabric, details and storytelling. I saw the Pacita Abad show at the Walker and it was one of my four favorite exhibits of all time. I'd love to meet Pacita. 

The other three favorite exhibitions I've seen are; Alphonse Mucha at the Mucha Museum in Prague, William J. O'Brien at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec and his Contemporaries at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Russ White, Artist (Repost)

 

Hello! In honor of Russ White's new show Somebodies at The Phipps Center for the Arts, I am reposting my February 2020 interview with Russ with updated photos. It's a good one! Thank you for reading! (All images courtesy of the artist / Instagram: @russwhiteart / Website: russ-white.com 

Jackson: How did you decide you wanted to be an artist? What inspired you?

Russ: I've been drawing as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I had a big gallon-sized bag full of markers and pencils and pens that I would bring with me on family trips - never left home without my "drawing stuff". I was inspired by comic books especially, first Ninja Turtles and superheroes, later the weirder stuff like Dan Clowes and Evan Dorkin. In high school I was inspired by punk and hip hop albums and started making collages non-stop, cutting up local newspapers and old National Geographics (which I also brought along on family vacations). In college I got really into found object sculpture and fell in love with making things in a woodshop. Once I started working in an actual woodshop after college, standing on a concrete floor over a tablesaw seemed less fun after a while, so I got back into drawing. Full circle. So I guess I never decided to be an artist, it's just always been part of my life. Going full-time with an art career, in addition to other freelance work, was a whole other calculation, based on the blind faith that if other people could make an art career work, surely I could figure it out too. Plus Minnesota is a great place to find an audience and a funding infrastructure. And my wife kicked me in the butt and told me to go for it.

Jackson: I really like how you make different kinds of art. How do you get your ideas?

Russ: Thanks! I try to find the medium the best represents each idea. Sometimes an image works best as a drawing, other times it could be a sculpture or a screenprint or a photograph. I've collected a lot of skills in all the odd jobs I've worked over the years, and it's fun getting to put so many to use. 

But as for where my ideas come from, that's one of me favorite questions. The short answer is "my brain" or "current events" or something like that. But the long answer is that creative people have both a muscle and an antenna for ideas, and they work together. There's a great book by Elizabeth Gilbert called Big Magic, in which she talks about ideas as these things that float around, looking for an antenna, and if you get an idea but don't use it, eventually it will move on to someone else. She started writing a novel once, a love story set in the Amazon, but eventually she abandoned it. A year later, in a chance meeting with another writer, she found out that person was working on a new novel, a love story set in the Amazon.

I've had that happen several times as well, where ideas I've had but not worked on or developed have shown up in other people's work. Maybe it's a shared visual culture inspiring great minds to think alike, I don't know. But sometimes and idea will just arrive, show up out of nowhere almost fully formed, like you just picked up a signal on your antenna. 

Most of the time it's more like a wrestling match. The ideas usually come from practice, from working that muscle of thinking a certain way, of drawing a certain way, of following a train of thought over a long period of time. I also think the stronger your muscle, the higher your antenna will go. Chuck Close famously said, "Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up to work. But I also like what Maynard from Tool had to say: "If you don't believe in magic, your artwork probably sucks."

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

Russ: Oh, that's a tough one. So many great artists out there. I'm tempted to say Marcel Duchamp because he changed the course of art forever, more so than anyone in the 20th century. Or maybe Lee Bontecou, one of my favorite sculptors, who walked away from her career when the galleries didn't respect her new direction. One time in college I almost got to meet Winston Smith, the punk collage artist for the Dead Kennedys, but I was too nervous at the time to meet one of my heroes. I think I'll say Philip Guston, just because I love his work and I bet he was a lot of fun to hang out with, which is really my main criterion. 

Shannon Darsow, Artist

 

Hello and welcome to the 63rd 3 Art Questions With Jackson interview! This time I interviewed Shannon Darsow, a super talented artist and really nice person who I met when we were both in the Small Works at Frameworks exhibition at Frameworks Gallery in St. Paul. I admire that Shannon can work in so many different styles and it is cool that each style is really impressive. Her answers were great! Thank you for reading! (All images courtesy of the artist / Instagram: @shannondarsowart)

Jackson: I know from reading your bio that you've done many things in your life. Did you always feel artistic? Or did the idea of making the type of work you make now come later in life?

Shannon: Feeling artistic and having the drive to create is something innate in my DNA. I cannot remember a time in my life where I have not been fascinated or inspired by others and their creations, or felt the drive to constantly learn and grow my skills and create art myself. There are many members of my family who are incredibly talented in their own right. 

My Dad is always, and always has been, creating and involving my sisters and I in whatever he was doing. My Mom's cousin is a well known artist in Winona, and my Grandpa on the same side of the family was very talented working with metal and wood. On my Dad's side of the family my Grandma was an incredible artist and worked with any medium and media she felt like...from the piano to paint to yarn to faberge eggs... everything was on the table for her and she made it amazing. My uncle Gene, on the same side, was the same way. He was always creating the most amazing things and thinking of others while he created...thinking of their needs and how he could make them smile. Also on the same side I have cousins who are always creating everything from crafts to incredible drawings and paintings to cards, and they are fabulous professional orchestral musicians. 

I have also been so blessed to be surrounded by people who took an active interest in my own personal artistic journey and actively facilitated and took the time to teach me or guide me. I have absolutely always had an artistic feeling, always wanting to create and contribute, and coinciding with my artistic feeling while also absolutely contributing to my artistic journey at the same time is my feeling to use my creations to help others through the sales of some of my paintings and donating to different charities and sending positive vibes to the viewer's heart. My heart is in everything i do and always has been, and so are my family and all the people who have inspired me and walked with me along the way.

Jackson: You create many different types of work. What inspires you when you are drawing or painting? Do you have ideas mapped out ahead of time or do you surprise yourself?

Shannon: Yes, I use many different mediums while creating. It is definitely in my DNA to use whatever medium I am being called to use by the subject matter I am working on and how it wants to be expressed. I value and honor specializing in a career, in art, in anything you are passionate about. For me I specialize in having an insatiable appetite for learning, growth, and acquiring the skills and knowledge to execute whatever project, painting/drawing, or idea in the best way possible. In terms of art this basically just means in the way I feel the subject wants to be expressed or the feeling to be evoked, and being excited to explore and learn how to use any medium I am connecting with to achieve that.

In terms of if I have ideas mapped out ahead of time or if I surprise myself, I will have to say both. I will mostly map out a couple subjects I am currently inspired by based on that. For example, my heart has been with my dear friends Sylvanna and Lee and their very different journeys with ovarian cancer, so that was the subject of a 3 painting series in my current show at Frameworks Gallery. I am then able to use the sales from the paintings to go directly to Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Or another series of turquoise tropical paintings inspired from my time living in New Zealand and Australia in the same show.

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

Shannon: Leonardo da Vinci would be someone I would love to meet. I am so inspired by what a curious learner he was, how he explored and incorporated science, math, and humanness into his creations, and how he mastered many forms of media in his creations. His works and discoveries are still incredibly relevant today...which is so incredible.

 

Shawnequa Linder, Artist

 

Hello and welcome to the 62nd 3 Art Questions With Jackson interview! This time I interviewed Shawnequa Linder, a fantastic and unique painter that I discovered at Anderson O'Brien Fine Art in Omaha. I have been following what she does online since. Her answers were really cool and I think you will agree! Thank you for reading! (All images courtesy of the artist / Instagram: @artdork.art / Represented by @aobfineart)

Jackson: How do you think you ended up on an artistic path? Did you attend art school?

Shawnequa: A combination of early influences and my own personal interest is what developed me to start creating. Growing up, I would draw with my brother Tony. It was through observing Tony's talent and skill that sparked a strong desire within me to center my focus on my own artistic path. I greatly admired my brother's work and wanted to draw like him. 

This desire embarked me to pursue an Associates Degree in Visual Communication Art and Photography and a Bachelor's Degree in Studio Arts. After graduation, I have continued to develop my skills through self-study.

Jackson: What inspires the art you create? Do you view your art as internal or a response to external events? I particularly like the style I saw at Anderson O'Brien Fine Art in Omaha.

Shawnequa: I love the constant challenge of bringing new ideas to life. The challenge is what inspires me the most. Each project presents an opportunity for me to explore my skills, creativity, and imagination. I enjoy pushing myself to see if I can successfully execute the vision I have in my head.

How I perceive my work is as an internal creative expression. It is through my practiced ability of embracing my own personal thoughts, emotions, and experiences that allows my art to serve as a captivating window for viewers to see the unique perspective of my inner world.

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

Shawnequa: Aaron Siskind :). 

I have been fascinated by Siskind's artistic process. Gaining insight to Aaron's approach towards capturing urban decay and understanding how he finds beauty in the most neglected spaces would be a wonderful opportunity! With my work depicting similar subjects, learning from his influences and experiences would leave a welcome impact on me.