Victoria May
Los Angeles, CA
Website
vicmay.com
Social Media
Instagram
How would you describe your work?
Overall, in my process I craft juxtapositions of disparate materials and processes, often using textiles and stitching, though frequently incorporating a wide variety of other ordinary and found materials. Whether raw, fabricated or scavenged, my materials derive from humble sources. I choose materials for their societal and visceral connotations, allowing these to add conceptual layers to a work. Frequently repurposing surplus or thrift store items, I comment on social decadence through poetic reuse. In some cases I create new objects that absurdly reference familiar conventions. The resulting works often imply an ambiguous sense of past or potential functionality. I manipulate materials in ways varying from finely crafted to seemingly crude, with evidence of handwork. With humor and tenderness, I create layered works that peel back superficiality to expose underlying rawness. These tactile investigations give a visceral sense of the dualities that permeate our lives, such as nature and institution, synthetic and organic. My production blends intent with accident, mirroring the feats and foibles of human ambition.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by materials, our felt experiences, the awkward systems humans have set up, contrasts and the gamut between them, and the supporting earth this all happens on.
Can you speak about your process?
I tend to not want to buy new materials to make art, or as minimally as possible, so my ideas often come out of what comes across my path, though not exclusively. Sometimes I do have a strong urge to do something with a specific material; I had a concrete phase that I’d like to return to.
Since my practice is largely based on found materials or putting together odd combinations, it requires exploration and problem solving; learning about the potential of materials; how they behave and how they can be manipulated to convey concepts or sensations. This process requires room to experiment and time to assess which combinations of materials and processes create the most succinct and powerful expression.
How did you become interested in art?
Like probably any other kid, I would draw and paint the typical stuff: houses, flowers, etc. When I was in third grade or so, I have this intense memory of learning to make polyhedrons out of tag board. I took mine home and covered each side with a different intricate repeat pattern. That was the gateway drug. As a kid I also poured over books of display fonts my dad got for me and I loved lettering. My mom taught me to sew and from an early age I made my own clothes and just did crafty stuff in general: appliqué, embroidery, knitting…. My parents were trained as industrial designers, so I took after them in the interest of form and function, but we would also go to museums with some regularity.
Since I was into sewing and crafting, when I took textile classes in college, it was an easy transition to making more arty objects–I embraced the freedom. I also learned book arts in college, which then got me into photography, so I could put imagery in books. It wasn’t until I was in my late 20s when I was in grad school that I was able to learn about and incorporate the more conceptual aspect of art making.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books or quotes?
Favorite artists: Anselm Kiefer, Jim Hodges, Kiki Smith, Louise Bourgeois, Mark Manders, Wangechi Mutu, Eva Hesse, Ann Hamilton are some of the big ones; there are many.
Any more thoughts about art, creativity, or anything else you would like to share?
After a bit of a hiatus from art making, I am remembering how critical it is to allow the mind to freely roam; that space lets me get back in touch with myself and frees me from the ridiculous structures of society and my own mind.
