Jon Beinart - "What inspires you as a sculptor Jessica?"
Jessica Joslin - "Inspiration is slippery, it generally doesn't like to be pinned and mounted for inspection. My sparks come from many and varied sources. I often draw from circus imagery, mainly from the late 19th-early 20th century. The Circus World Museum is not far away from Chicago; (It is located in Baraboo Wisconsin.) They have a stunning archive of cataloged images and objects. If I find a wonderful image, or a new piece of information, it can get me thinking about a particular species in a different way. I love to look at images of animals and to watch them move, whether in the flesh or in nature documentaries. Bodies are stunningly perfect machines…and there is such strong variation in the characteristics of different species. I am also drawn to the particular/peculiar stylistic organization of the natural world, as found in old-school Natural History Museums (and perhaps more aptly, in Cabinets of Curiosities). This is a fascination that dates back to when I was a small child and still captures my imagination. It has it roots in a desire to learn, but also to organize, sort and to understand by means of attempting to control the uncontrollable; nature. In my case, this is achieved through creating my own world.
Since I am a very tactile person, I am often guided by the actual materials in my hands, or on my workbench. The shape of a particular object is often the start of a new piece. I lust for beautifully formed antique brass. I find the precision of finely honed craftsmanship to be endlessly intriguing. In this regard, I might be inspired by a detail of construction on a couture gown, a bit of fine ormolu trim on a piece of furniture, or by the finely calibrated threads of an antique surgical instrument."
Jon Beinart - "Have you experimented with taxidermy in your art?"
Jessica Joslin - "Yes, back when I was in college (at the Art Institute of Chicago). Birds would often fly into the school's mirrored glass facade, breaking their necks, and then drop into the fountain beneath. I used to wade in and collect them. I sometimes used the wings, feet or heads in my work. When I first met Jared, we quickly discovered that we both had dead birds in our freezers. I offered to give him taxidermy lessons and wrote my phone number on his hand. We've been together ever since."
Jon Beinart - "That's beautiful Jessica. Has your relationship with Jared had a great influence on your sculptures (or vice versa)? I have noticed that some of Jared's paintings are set in a carnival environment."
Jessica Joslin - "Of course, though in a fluid way. We've shared a studio for 14 years and ideas are always flying back and forth between us. I'd say that Jared brought the circus into my world, rather than vice versa…or maybe we found it together. The day that I decided to switch majors, from photography to sculpture, Jared and I went to the circus. The night before, my apartment had been robbed. Every one of my cameras and all of my equipment was gone. It was Jared's birthday. I showed up on his doorstep with a sad face, holding a big cake and armfuls of helium balloons. We decided to go to the circus anyway and it was magic (cheesy Ringling Bros. costumes aside!) It got our heads spinning, especially when we later began to research the golden age of the circus. I started adding more overtly circus type elements to my beasts around that time. Jared was doing paintings that had a strong carnival, vaudeville, circus flavor. I think for both of us, obviously, those influences still hold a strong sway. Also, both of us are very involved in the process of each other's work- giving feedback and such. Luckily for me, Jared is wonderfully knowledgeable about animals, so the advice that he gives is spot-on target. I've been told that I have pretty sharply tuned eye regarding painting as well.
Our shared influences do translate very differently, when brought into our own respective worlds. For example, the idea for Lupe's ball was stolen from Jared's painting Moon Moth. I say "stolen" because Jared painted our bed finials to match the ball in the painting. Later, I swiped one right off the headboard, to use for Lupe…with his permission of course!"
Jon Beinart - "Are you consciously communicating something with your sculptures or are you mostly concerned with their aesthetic. If you do have a concept or message in mind, what is it?"
Jessica Joslin - "Well, I am not pursuing a didactic agenda, but I'm not making decorative art either. I don't see art as a choice between delivering a message or being purely aesthetic. As David Lynch once said, "If you want to send a message, go to Western Union."
In the visual arts, there is the potential to communicate ideas and to make layered associations, which language cannot tidily convey. My work encompasses a broad range of my interests, spanning the many years that I've been making these sculptures. Those layers are there to be excavated, but that is not strictly necessary for appreciation of my work. I make my beasts because they are what I dreamed of discovering, but they didn't exist anywhere, so I had to make them myself.
I realize that there is a pressure for artists to come up with ways of "branding" their work (to use an odious term from marketing). Part of this thinking, is that there must be catchy bite-sized descriptions of what the artist hopes to achieve with their work. I'd rather not simplify things to that level. I would rather show than tell…"
Jon Beinart - "Your sculptures are very distinctive. I don't believe that after seeing one I could mistake any of your works for anything but a Jessica Joslin sculpture. I'm not sure how successful you are in the American gallery circuit (being so removed from that scene in Australia), but I have noticed your work (and your name) popping up all over the internet. Are you able to live off your art?"
Jessica Joslin - "Thank you for that lovely compliment. I guess that distinctive quality comes from being somewhat of a hermit. I've always been a big believer in specialization [*cue Marilyn Monroe's song of that title] and working with blinders on. Lately, I keep hearing from people who tell me that I've "inspired" them to go make their own bone animals, so I never know what I may find. It tends to be some variant of a skull with hot glued-on googly eyes and a piece of old metal stuck to it somewhere. ha. From a structural standpoint, many people don't realize the complexity and precision of my work. For example, just one foot on Ludwig (the monkey on the ball) is comprised of 30 separate parts, all of them tapped and threaded. Also, any painters out there will know how tricky it can be to achieve a specific expression in the eyes. That holds true for three dimensional work as well. There is a lot of engineering (and finesse) that goes into making them seem natural, effortless, as if they were meant to be.
In regard to the gallery circuit, I also believe in specialization. I am represented by Lisa Sette Gallery, my "Prince Charming" of the gallery world. They are sponsoring an upcoming book of my beasts, and have been quite successful at finding collectors for my work. In the next year, we will be scheduling group shows at other venues around the country. I would like my actual work (as opposed to images) to be seen by more people, but I'm also past the point of wanting to do shows just because they are offered. It has to be the right match. As we all know, money=time to make art. If a gallery doesn't have the right collectors, then it's necessary to work at a day job to support your "art habit." For me, I have an antique hardware fetish to support as well!
For the past few years, I have been working on my artwork full time. Occasionally, I take on freelance work to supplement. This is handy because it keeps my skills sharp and gives me access to shops that have far more equipment than I do in my home studio. I enjoy the challenge of doing complex things well, and confounding people's expectations. I can build just about anything, from prototypes of toys, to artificial food, to giant product models (10 foot high slice of pizza, anyone?) Most of these shops are predominantly fellas, so when a chick shows up (wearing lipstick, no less) most don't expect me to be competent, let alone good at what I do. It's fun to mess with them (just a wee bit) before they realize that I just might know more than they do about building things!"
Jon Beinart - "Haha. It must be very satisfying to smash the expectations of those male carpenters. Your like a hustling sculptress ;) Your book sounds exciting. Please let me know as soon as it is available. I'd like to buy a signed copy. Do you have any upcoming exhibitions we can plug here, or any exciting news you'd like to share with our readers?"
Jessica Joslin - "Yes, I always try to keep myself entertained! I'm certainly not your typical carpenter/machinist type, so I play with that. ha.
Thank you! I'm very excited about the book and of course, I'll happily send a copy! I'm not certain when the release date is, but hopefully this fall. It will be available through Lisa Sette Gallery. In July, I'll be in a show at Lisa Sette Gallery to celebrate their 21st year in business and I also have work up at Lineage Gallery in Philadelphia. I have some upcoming articles in Refused Art Culture Magazine and Night Owl Magazine. Stay tuned, many more beasts are in the works! As they appear, they will be posted at my website www.jessicajoslin.com
It's been a real treat to talk to you Jon. Many thanks for asking me to be included on your marvelous site!"
Jessica Joslin's Gallery on beinArt.org
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