1 of 4
2 of 4
3 of 4
4 of 4
Christalena Hughmanick is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist. Her artworks vary from textiles and sculpture to collaborative and interactive performances. She has had a numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world. Her recent exhibitions include: DECIDE. COMMIT. THRIVE. (Chicago), Falling for You (Chicago) and 2017 Summer Residents Show (Budapest, Hungary). She received a Fulbright grant to complete a large-scale public art installation with quilts in the Ancient Roman city ruins of Aquincum in Budapest Hungary this coming September to May. Hughmanick received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Fibers in 2002 and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2012. She currently teaches in the Fiber and Material Studies Department at the SAIC.
When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
I don't recall an exact moment that I realized I wanted to be an artist, however, my earliest memories are of sitting at a drawing table and painting over figures in printed newspaper advertisements. Apparently, I was pretty serious about this practice at the age of two because my mother often jokes that I was born "ready to get to work," I would wake up and go straight to the table. I still do so every morning, so I suppose you could say I've always been an artist.
What does your work address in concept?
I am interested in the human desire to satisfy, to fulfill, and to complete. These three objectives deeply influence my daily decisions in relation to what one might choose to consume. I construct installations with sculptural and textile elements that are activated by performative “work sessions.” The action, being made public, is often taken directly from my studio routines through which my body and time are presented to the viewer. There is little separation between my private space in the studio and the public performances. In both spaces, I recently inhabited the role of archivist, manual laborer, archeologist and spiritual medium.
I play with the position of objects on a continuum of form and function, often realizing them through specific display mechanisms. An example of a problem I work through is the shelf. As the inhabitants of bodies, we are all too familiar with having to choose whether to use them as utilitarian or aesthetic tools each day. How does one attain enough distance from the self to interrupt the body’s desire?
Can you explain your work and current exploration?
I don’t prioritize one medium or technique over another in my studio and often find my practice becomes more engaged or activated when I’m working with many. That being said, I spend a lot of time researching and learning heritage hand making techniques and their historical contexts which are employed in both my art and teaching practices. Previous examples include lace making, brick building, quilting, net making, plaster casting, and macrame. Learning these ancient production methods in an industrialized world provides autonomy over what I make and a deeper understanding of human history that I aim to preserve and contextualize. I spend a lot of time in the Art Institute of Chicago and often explain to non-artists that the experience is like a spiritual pilgrimage for me because I can stand in front of a 2000-year-old Roman vase and feel the makers pride and sense of accomplishment that comes with this form of creation. I also feel the potential lack of satisfaction that drove the artist to immediately begin making the next piece.
I recently started making housewares with ceramicist Nina Pilacoutas called Big Chill Organx. Our collaborative practice began by each of us responding to something the other one made using our existing craft skill sets, akin to artists in the Surrealist, Dada, and Fluxus movements. Our practices overlap in a way that makes the process fun and the outcome a little mysterious. One of our favorites to date is a smoke fired ceramic plant hanger that is suspended by custom dyed macrame cord which can currently be found at Asrai Garden, Yo:u and Rider Shop in Chicago.
What are your inspirations?
I’m inspired by Eva Hesse for the ways in which she implicates a viewer’s body through her choice of material and form and the early performance work of Bruce Nauman. I was a ballet and modern dancer until my mid 20’s so I have always been drawn to the way he used his own physicality as the ultimate source of material. I also look to the performance work of Joseph Bueys, who merged his art with his role of educator which lead him to be an influential cultural figure. The writings of Carol Bove, Robert Smithson, John Kelsey and Julia Bryan Wilson, who think through the artists’ labor as it relates to the broader field of culture. I find solace in long distance running outdoors and enjoy looking at The Atlas of Forms.
How has Chicago helped you to develop your work and career?
I have been lucky to learn from some of the best artists in my field and accumulate a stellar community of peer artists through my graduate education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a Chicago resident, I am able to continue the important conversations that started there while contributing to the local art world.
What's the biggest challenge you faced as a female artist?
The art world, like many professional spheres, still needs to improve equality for women, gender non-binary and people of color when it comes to compensation and representation. Even though 51% of visual artists in the US are currently women, we still only earn $.81 for every dollar made by male artists, according to National Endowment for the Arts survey findings. Artist Judy Chicago’s report for the Guardian in 2012 cites that work by women artists makes up only 3–5% of major permanent art collections in the U.S. and Europe. There are many more statistics like these. We must continue educating ourselves and continue demanding equal opportunities.
Where can someone see your works? Do you have any exhibitions coming up?
I am very excited about a current exhibition, titled DECIDE. COMMIT. THRIVE., in collaboration with Annie Kielman and Josh Patterson, that is up through April 7, at Triumph Gallery. It features Annie and Josh’s @MorphoTransverse Method and my @Truth Guide For The Beginner’s Mind. Visitors to our closing performance on March 31 from 6-10pm can directly experience each work through what we call a ‘consultation’ and a ‘consideration.’ For the performances, we developed methods that address the overlap of spiritual rituals, cult, and capitalism, while relinquishing individualized autonomy for group identity. During the ‘consultation’ and a ‘consideration,’ participants repeat and ritualize basic movement, that in return become spiritual exertions, which correct muscles imbalances and trauma cycles. We hope you come out to get transformed.
What's the best advice you've ever been given and how has it shaped your life and career?
When I was in my early 20s, one of my mentors Annet Couwenberg told me that the best way to cultivate a long-term dedication to an art practice is to make work that brings you pleasure. She said that if she didn’t wake up in the morning immediately motivated to work on her current work then she reconsidered making it. Adapting this tenant allowed me to better understand my reasons for making and ultimately led to developing a deep personal logic that I continue to follow. I always begin a series of works by articulating a question that I set out to answer in the process of creation.