tim duncan (art): September 2013

Interview with Katie Hector

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Katie Hector and I am an artist. I'm majoring in painting, however I do practice a number of other mediums with the intent of continuously expanding my practice. For the past few years I've carried quilting as a side practice to my painting which I have found extremely beneficial. I used to live in New Jersey, I still do, but I used to also. I have two cats and live a pretty calm home life. I'm a little bit of a homebody but I feel as though it keeps me grounded.

Who/what inspires you?

I think I am always my harshest critic. I am always trying to push myself to work harder, smarter, more efficiently and creatively. I feel as though my family and fiance are fundamental motivators for me right now. I think my grandmother was another big inspiration for me. She originally came to America from Puerto Rico with nothing but two young children. She was an entrepreneur who built off of what she had and was able to manage running a farm, raising six children and in her spare time run side businesses to make extra money. In terms of what inspires me just about anything and everything. I have a bit of a morbid side to me so I often find myself inspired by various forms of detritus and decay. I am absolutely fascinated, for better of for worse, with the human form. Various curves, pockets, and textures of skin really get me going.

What themes and subject matter do you work with?

I have experimented with a number of themes and concepts revolving around the human form as a constant subject. I love thicker applications of paint and heavy brushstrokes mixed with non naturalistic often saturated colors. Over the past few years I have been working with compressing the binary imagery of beauty and ugliness and trying to capture both in a single image.

What problems are you trying to work out in your work right now, if any?

I always feel like I have such a hard time exciting myself about painting the backgrounds of a piece. Lately I've been trying to consider the painting as a whole where every part of the painting receive equal amounts of attention and consideration. I guess the best way to describe it is like I can't eat dessert, painting the subject, until I've finished all of my veggies, the background. I also grapple with creating solid and captivating compositions, which is something I'm guessing I will always be tinkering with. For this year I'm making it a goal to really push my notions of color in a new and more considered way by slowing down and mixing for a few hours before a mark even hits the support.

What kind of music do you listen to while you work?

Usually rock 'n' roll/ classic rock, although I've really gotten into Jazz and Blues over the summer: Cole Porter, Coltrane, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker.

Why art?

Kind've a big question (laughs). I guess when it comes down to it, I'm slightly fanatical about working with my hands on a daily basis. When I make something I feel like it's the same as a mathematician working on a big equation making sure all the parts are correct and work together to create a balanced solution/ product. I feel like my process and a mathematician's process in terms of working through problems probably are not all that different-- not trying to imply that I'm a John Nash or anything. I just happen to be interested in art instead of math in that way which probably related to my childhood and some deep, dark Freudian unconscious decisions that I'm not aware of. But I like to create things that exist in the realm of reality. I like to create images and I like to learn about art in all forms.

You have, arguably, the best studio space out of all the undergrads. How do you suppose your new space will affect your work this upcoming year?

I think it will only help to make me more comfortable in my environment, but in terms of the work, I don't think it will directly manifest any new revelations. I think it will help me in one of my goals I set coming into this year which was to work bigger. I feel like if I was working in my current studio or in a smaller space, either way, I would still be completely grateful and honored to have space to call my own and store my work. At this point in my career, if I could be so bold to call it that, it's more about taking advantage of what resources I have available to me and this just happens to be a stellar resource.

Any thoughts regarding your impending move to NYC?

Kind of nerve racking (laughs). In a cheesy way I feel as though I am, and we all are (senior class), standing at the threshold of adulthood which we will cross over upon graduating. I like to think of it as a deep chasm where I'm a student right here and now standing on one side and on the other side is Brooklyn. Now I can either jump over to the other side or I can build bridges to help ease the transition but either way next year I'm going to be in Brooklyn. So instead of stressing out and instead of putting all of my hope into a leap of faith, not to sound too dramatic, I'm taking this year to find internships, jobs, and whatnot in the city to hopefully build a couple bridges between here and there. I'm not worried I'm more excited about all of the opportunity and possibilities that NYC has to offer. It's just a matter of putting in my time and finding what will work best for me and my situation.

I noticed several wood panels prepped for painting in your studio. Have you ever worked with this surface before? How does it influence the future piece? And other ideas or plans that you’d like to see through in the future of your art?

I have worked on wood before, however in my previous experiences I would left the woodgrain pitted and unprepared so that my painting surfaces would always have a texture to them. This year I took a lot of time and care sanding, filling, and guessing so all of the panels that I have up right now are pretty darn smooth. I think this new texture will be fun to work with or at least something different to test out in my work. In term of future of my art I'm guessing they would probably look great in MoMa or even the Guggenheim or the Whitney (laughs). I think my main goal for my art of the foreseeable next five years or so, I more or less just want to keep on keeping on. Keep making work, keep selling work, continue to keep a modicum of a studio practice and maintain multiple creative practices along side painting.

You don’t have to answer this or I don’t have to use it, but remember what you said about trying really hard to not be a hipster? Do you have any opinions on how “hipster culture” is affecting the art community?

I don't think hipster culture is affecting art culture necessarily but I do think hipsters are a kind of funny consumer cultural halo that hovers somewhere on the outskirts of any productive, innovative and art community. It's like what hippies and punk rockers and goths and emos were for previous generations-- stagnant and sold in a store near you.

Name some of your favorite artists.

Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Ingres,Jenny Saville, Terry Winter, Nathan Oliveira, Francis Bacon, Joel Peter Witkin, Marc Rothko, Max Beckmann, Hannah Hoch. I also really connect with Classical Greek art as well such as Lysippos and Skopas and some ancient Minoan art as well. Otherwise, the list goes on-- but those are a just a few flavors.