TagertArt.com: News Banner article

Artist Spotlight:

Joanna Tagert, Covington

News Banner: What is your career and your job title?

Joanna Tagert: I am currently working as a graphic

designer for Kilpatrick Life Insurance Company and

Rose-Neath Funeral Homes in Shreveport, LA. Next fall

I plan to attend graduate school to earn a post-

baccalaureate certificate in fine arts studio before

pursuing an MFA.

NB: Describe your art and its unique qualities.

JT: I create primarily mixed-media sculptures that explore the themes of spirituality, mental illness, and sexuality. I describe my discipline as mixed media because every piece dictates its own materials and methods of construction. Thus creating each piece becomes a lesson in a different technique of assemblage. I often make up my own processes that fits the aesthetic of the image I am trying to create and but that also fits the limitations of my studio knowledge and my budget.

NB: How long have you been working in this discipline?

JT: I have been working in mixed media since I was a teenager in Talented Art classes at Covington High. My instructor, Mr. Sam McCarty, often gave conceptual assignments such as, "Create a self-portrait as an iconic figure," and encouraged students not to be limited to one interpretation of the assignment or to one technique when creating a piece. This teaching style allowed me to develop my tendency to build each piece as if I were creating a living thing- step by step, from the inside out.

NB: Why do you create art?

JT: I began creating art as a technique with which to cope with the depression I developed in my adolescence. My therapist advised me to utilize my creative tendencies to express and thus better understand the emotions that were overwhelming me. I taught myself to focus my energy away from self-destruction and into translating my inner demons into physical form. This became an invaluable coping strategy to deal with my illness and now I employ these externalizing techniques to issues that speak deeply to me. I still often address the concept of mental illness but now it is with the perspective of time and mental balance. My hope is that others who have had similar experiences can identify with my work and use it to better understand themselves or at least gain comfort in knowing that others have fought these battles and have come out on the other side. I also hope to reach those who have not had such experiences and deepen their understanding of these issues or at least to expose them to an alternate point of view.

NB: Do you create your art with an exact message you want the viewer to receive?

JT: All of my works begin as a particular image or idea that I want to communicate to the viewer, and this original goal is what I pursue when creating the work. However, once the idea takes physical form and is literally outside of me, I must relinquish control and let the work speak for itself. I learned early on that what might seem clear to me in a piece is often interpreted differently or not at all by aeach person that views the work. And so now I enjoy hearing the varied interpretations as each viewer applies his own background and predisposition to his interpretation.

NB: What is your favorite part of your endeavors?

JT: My favorite part of creating art is the section of time in when its only me and the material, a silent but intense interaction and ego dissolution, a brief and precious time when I forget to be angry or hungry or social and simply become a partner in the dance that is creation, working with my material and letting it guide me into giving it form. It's a very intimate and intense process that makes me feel more alive and more wholly myself but usually exhausted by the time I come out of it.

NB: Are there any other comments you would like to include?

JT: I think the stigma that art is for the educated and elite is ridiculous. Most art seeks to engage the viewer on a very personal, visceral level and the elements found when applying and art history or aesthetic theory only serve to enrich that initial gut experience. Since the elements that create art and allow it to communicate to others are the same that allow us to connect to each other as humans, there is little use for an elite when it comes to viewing and appreciating art.

"Artists Spotlight" appears each Friday. To suggest a person to be profiled, call Leslie Ackel at 892-7980, ext. 230


	Artist Spotlight: Joanna Tagert, Covington News Banner: What is your career and your job title? Joanna Tagert: I am currently working as a graphic designer for Kilpatrick Life Insurance Company and Rose-Neath Funeral Homes in Shreveport, LA. Next fall I plan to attend graduate school to earn a post- baccalaureate certificate in fine arts studio before pursuing an MFA. NB: Describe your art and its unique qualities. JT: I create primarily mixed-media sculptures that explore the themes of spirituality, mental illness, and sexuality. I describe my discipline as mixed media because every piece dictates its own materials and methods of construction. Thus creating each piece becomes a lesson in a different technique of assemblage. I often make up my own processes that fits the aesthetic of the image I am trying to create and but that also fits the limitations of my studio knowledge and my budget. NB: How long have you been working in this discipline? JT: I have been working in mixed media since I was a teenager in Talented Art classes at Covington High. My instructor, Mr. Sam McCarty, often gave conceptual assignments such as, "Create a self-portrait as an iconic figure," and encouraged students not to be limited to one interpretation of the assignment or to one technique when creating a piece. This teaching style allowed me to develop my tendency to build each piece as if I were creating a living thing- step by step, from the inside out. NB: Why do you create art? JT: I began creating art as a technique with which to cope with the depression I developed in my adolescence. My therapist advised me to utilize my creative tendencies to express and thus better understand the emotions that were overwhelming me. I taught myself to focus my energy away from self-destruction and into translating my inner demons into physical form. This became an invaluable coping strategy to deal with my illness and now I employ these externalizing techniques to issues that speak deeply to me. I still often address the concept of mental illness but now it is with the perspective of time and mental balance. My hope is that others who have had similar experiences can identify with my work and use it to better understand themselves or at least gain comfort in knowing that others have fought these battles and have come out on the other side. I also hope to reach those who have not had such experiences and deepen their understanding of these issues or at least to expose them to an alternate point of view. NB: Do you create your art with an exact message you want the viewer to receive? JT: All of my works begin as a particular image or idea that I want to communicate to the viewer, and this original goal is what I pursue when creating the work. However, once the idea takes physical form and is literally outside of me, I must relinquish control and let the work speak for itself. I learned early on that what might seem clear to me in a piece is often interpreted differently or not at all by aeach person that views the work. And so now I enjoy hearing the varied interpretations as each viewer applies his own background and predisposition to his interpretation. NB: What is your favorite part of your endeavors? JT: My favorite part of creating art is the section of time in when its only me and the material, a silent but intense interaction and ego dissolution, a brief and precious time when I forget to be angry or hungry or social and simply become a partner in the dance that is creation, working with my material and letting it guide me into giving it form. It's a very intimate and intense process that makes me feel more alive and more wholly myself but usually exhausted by the time I come out of it. NB: Are there any other comments you would like to include? JT: I think the stigma that art is for the educated and elite is ridiculous. Most art seeks to engage the viewer on a very personal, visceral level and the elements found when applying and art history or aesthetic theory only serve to enrich that initial gut experience. Since the elements that create art and allow it to communicate to others are the same that allow us to connect to each other as humans, there is little use for an elite when it comes to viewing and appreciating art. "Artists Spotlight" appears each Friday. To suggest a person to be profiled, call Leslie Ackel at 892-7980, ext. 230