Press
Tiffany Bozic: Wild Visions
Empty Magazine • 2007 • By Jay Riggio
< back to pressWHERE ARE YOU FROM? WHAT WAS YOUR UPBRINGING LIKE?
I was born in Arkansas but spent most of my youth in the suburbs of Cleveland Ohio, where my father worked in the steel mills as an electrician, and my mother a schoolteacher. I come from very hardworking humble parents that struggled to show us how to survive, to have a sense of humor, and to remain honest.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE AT THE MOMENT?
I currently have a live/work loft with my fiancé in a very industrial neighborhood of Oakland, CA.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO ART?
My older brother and sister liked to draw a lot at the kitchen table. So under their influence I started to explore different subjects and mediums as early on as I can remember. I was the same as any other kid really. I just never stopped.
A LOT OF YOUR WORK FEATURES ANIMALS AND NATURE; WHAT IS IT ABOUT THESE ELEMENTS THAT HELP EXPRESS WHAT IT IS YOUR WORK IS SAYING?
I’ve often wondered that if music is the universal language of the world, then perhaps the natural elements making up the world can be used as a metaphorical language of visual communication.
I am using examples found in nature to explain the way that I see the world to myself. The way that I relate to other living things - The way that I feel all living things relate to each other. I also enjoy painting animals. I have nothing against painting humans and man made things, and I have, and probably will again. But the gender, the age, the color of the skin; all point to a different message. As a painter I can weave my own reality by using relatively ‘timeless’ subjects found in nature.
DO YOU FEEL PARTICULARLY IN TUNE WITH NATURE? IS IT HARD TO DRAW INSPIRATION FROM LIVING IN A MODERNIZED CITY, ESPECIALLY WHEN PAINTING SOMETHING NATURE DRIVEN?
I can't say how in tune I am in relation to how any one else feels, but yes, I do feel 'close' to the earth. It is important for me to find a balance between the cities I have lived in, and the wilderness. To do this I travel a lot.
WHAT INSPIRES YOUR WORK FOR THE MOST PART?
Mostly, it is my emotional state. The relationships of the people I have around me. But there are millions of things that I absorb and somehow funnel through my mind in a way where several weeks may pass, or even years, and I am struck with an image that lay waiting in the background for the right moment to spring forth.
ARE YOU INSPIRED BY OTHER ARTISTS, OTHER MEDIUMS?
Yes, very much so. I love creative people in general, and am surrounded by a very talented bunch of friends. All the many fascinating projects my friends invent for themselves especially. From flower arrangements, to custom furniture, to set design, to the way we raise our children. I love watching how passionate my scientist friends are about tiny little things that would normally go unnoticed and they base their entire lives around trying to understand it. I have some friends that can sit you down for hours and talk about Lichen or Glass Sponges in the deep Antarctic. All this I find to be very inspiring.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO CREATE? IS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS THAT FRUSTRATES YOU?
I don't think I am alone in this, but I think there is a lot of truth to the old saying that it can be a blessing and a curse. I am motivated to paint by the fear of what could happen to me if I didn't create. I also think I am extremely fortunate. I have worked very hard to be where I am in my life and am very grateful, but it is a gift as well. There were a lot of stars that lined up to allow me to focus exclusively on painting, not to mention a lot of very generous people. More often than not, the images that come to me are very fleeting and complicated so I have to always be motivated and willing to stop everything and tackle it down to a piece of paper, a journal, or a painting, or it leaves me as soon as it began without a trace.
DO YOU PAINT EVERYDAY? WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN NOT PAINTING?
I work in very irregular patterns and cycles. But mostly I tend to paint full time for months until I hang a show, then I put away the brushes for a bit to travel. It usually takes me a couple months to catch up on all the little things that make it possible to keep my head down, like emailing, stocking up on supplies, and making birthday presents for everyone, rock climbing etc.
WHAT KIND OF STUFF HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON?
My good friend Lindsay Irving brought me into the
California Academy of Sciences as their pilot Artist in Residence. I will be working all year on designing an exhibit on the public floor of the natural history museum. The exhibit will include specimens together with my paintings. Right now I am working with the curators to narrow down a very large field of possible subjects. I hope to create a template for future artists to come into the Academy and use the collections safely in a way that the artist, curators and the public can all benefit.
IS THERE AN ONGOING THEME IN YOUR WORK?
I would have to say that the major theme is my life.
I READ A QUOTE FROM YOU IN REFERENCE TO YOUR PROCESS. YOU SAID, “I really don’t have any control over it, whatever it is, it’s much more intelligent than I am.” I REALLY LOVE THAT. COULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT IS WITHIN YOU THAT YOU CAN’T CONTROL, AND HELPS DICTATE YOUR VISION? IS IT AN INTERNAL VOICE?
That is a good question that I believe no one could ever pretend to know the answers to. Even if I could answer it I wouldn’t want to. You could easily argue that it is up there with the question of is there a god? What is driving evolution and life on this planet? What is driving you to read this? I am constantly mesmerized by the idea that a vision can pop into someone's mind from nowhere and drive them by an unseen powerful force to see it through. I find watching life unfold in this mysterious way is absolutely breathtaking without any need or proof of validity.