Alyssa Lempesis

I was curious about the deeper inspiration behind her sculptures, like people always are when looking at contemporary art. We ask ourselves, ‘Why? Why do YOU make this work.’ From simple observation, we can see that Alyssa’s sculptures and videos speak toward the raw and vulgar side of the body. Something which she has been…

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How to Give a Shit

I stand in front of a question written in obsidian shards. I don’t speak obsidian. I’m not sure anyone does. I’m not even sure Jimmie Durham does, and he’s the one who wrote it. I try to translate. “God! You’re, the a do sad ads (oa) ash… bread as a broad goo?” That can’t be…

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Channing Morgan

I spoke with Channing Morgan over the phone from my Pittsburgh, PA desk to her Oakland, CA Studio. This August was Channing’s third month post-graduation from her MFA program, and our conversation focused on her insights and experiences around this significant transitional phase in her career as an artist.  As she put it: “I’m in…

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Lou Watson

What is your background in music, and what led you to combining it with performance and visual arts? Early on I had the standard parent-enforced piano and guitar lessons, and since then I’ve taught myself a handful of other instruments, but I’m not accomplished in any of them. As a kid, where I really excelled…

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Bryan Kring

Bryan Kring is an Oakland-based book artist and graphic designer.  His enchanting images and dark humored writing are often enhanced with interactive mechanisms that pull you into another world held in the palm of your hand. I visited him in the studio to see more of his work in person and ask him about his…

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Lauren Hartman

Is embroidery a skill you learned as a child, or something you developed later on? My mother taught me to sew when I was a little girl, just simple stitching, and it was something I’ve always done. I never had any formal training. I don’t use proper stitches. I don’t use techniques that have a…

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