Artist Showdown

:: Q & A :: Cindy Jackson

Figurative sculpture is the way Cindy finds connection with the world outside of herself. Her desire is to make art that matters. Art with integrity. Art that doesn’t talk down to us or show us the negativity of the world. Art for her is finding a way to represent people as real people, honoring them as who they are. Many of her sculptures deal with peoples’ relationships.
“With each of these works I have tried to pull the emotion of the moment forward so that we may feel (as viewers) that we are represented in the experience itself.” 

We asked her a few questions:

Q: When did you start to develop your connection with art?

A: I’ve been involved in creating things since very early on. My father was a carpenter, so he would set me up with a hammer, nails, and different scraps of wood to keep me occupied while he was working.
 

Q: Has sculpture always been your sole media to express yourself as an artist?

A: No, but it’s what feels right to me. I started off as a graphic designer, then studied painting. Painting, though I loved the color,  never had the tactility and physicality that I love. I should have known sculpture was for me, since I was always a builder. 

Q: Do you create all your pieces from scratch or you also use a model body as a mould?

A: Everything starts from scratch. First an armature, then the clay. Every time it is fresh and new.

Q: How many pieces can you have using a traditional casting process, such as lost-wax?

A: I guess you can really have as many as you desire. I, however, almost always keep my editions to 9 or below. That way they have more value – in that there are less of them that exist in the world. An edition of 9 is considered a museum edition; meaning that a museum might be willing to collect the piece if they are inclined. Besides, I get tired of having the old pieces around…I see faults in every work I do and I want to move on, thinking that the new work will (and should) be better than the older work.

Q: What has been the most difficult part of being an artist? 

A: The instability of income. Definitely.

Q: Do you think artists have an intrinsic need of recognition as a way of overcoming their own lifespan?

A: Recognition is nice, in that it helps validate your hard work. But truly, an artist needs to see growth within himself- looking more inwardly than outwardly. That said- it’s also necessary to be recognized to some degree so that the universe will allow your work to go forth. I love the quote “…the art so long, the life so short to learn.”

Q: What’s more difficult, dealing with the business part of being an artist or managing insights, turning projects and ideas into art?

A: Really, that’s all the same thing. First there is the idea and the making of the art- then there is everything else. It’s not that the business part is difficult, it’s just that is so time consuming, that as artists, we’d rather be in the studio creating than out doing the business part.

Q: I know you are right now in the middle of a huge project. Can you tell us how the idea came about?

A: I received a call for proposal from a Holocaust Museum asking for a profoundly and emotionally compelling sculpture. I’ve seen plenty “bubbling fountains of remembrance sculptures” and I felt that I needed to think further than that. I wanted to make a work that forced the viewer to think of the genocide victims not as numbers, but instead as having been living, breathing people. After reading about Babi Yar in the Ukraine, I had this idea of a pit with life-size victims to surround and enclose the viewer. The viewer would have to become part of the scene; he would see how very easily it could have been him, or his family. There would be a little redemption at the end, a mother pulling her son out. This idea hit me so hard and so powerfully and came to me absolutely fully realized. For a long time I have been thinking whether it is possible to make sculptures that have the same sort of emotional fullness that a movie might. I thought about how “Shindler’s List” made
me have a headache for a week after seeing it, because I cried so hard during the movie. Without a doubt, a Monument/Memorial to genocide needs to have that kind of power.

Q: Would you mind briefly highlighting the main phases of this monumental sculpture?

A: The first year will be to sculpt the pit in it’s entirety in ¼ scale. Even at ¼ scale, this original sculpture will be 18ft. in diameter! In this phase, the bodies will be sculpted completely in detail, all having their own story to tell- some dying alone, some with their children, some old, some young, all of them caught unawares. With this completed sculpture, the subsequent phases will consist of the enlargement to full-size in clay. Molds will then be made, concrete casts poured and reinforced. At the same time, the site location will be made ready. The concrete pieces of the pit will then
be installed into the structure and the completed sculpture will be ready for visitors. If you’d like to know more about how this sculpture will be made, I have a comprehensive explanation of all of its phases at http://www.babiyarrequiem.com

Q: How could artists and art lovers help on the first stage of this project?

A: I strongly feel that this work needs to be made. I am taking on this first year of sculpting the piece without any corporate help. I have the conviction to do this piece, but not the money. I need about $100,000 to pay for all the materials, clay, welding, molds, construction, etc. necessary to make it happen. I’m asking for artists to donate a piece of their art so that I can have an online art auction in June to raise funds. Of course, I will also accept monetary donations, but I know (from my own experience) that we artists have more work lying around than we do money. A little help from a lot of artists will go a long way. You have my word on it. You can send a jpg of your donation to me at cjacksonsculpture@earthlink.net and I will put it up on an artist’s preview page. You can donate money for this project at http://www.babiyarrequiem.com or call me personally at 818-371-3046.

Q: What advice would you give to those artists that sometimes don’t know how to tread the unstable beginning of their careers?

A: Well, to be honest, I’ve never really figured it out for myself. I’d say that you must keep working and keep putting the work out there. Be honest with yourself and be honest with your work. Don’t try to be like any other artist, find your own way. Consistency is the key–  and a good part-time job!