Identity, The Art Industry, and The Inner Child: An Interview with Alicia Stevens

Alicia is a Texas State Student artist that offers viewers a colorful and fresh perspective of abstract and exaggerated illustrations through her artwork. Her work consists of strange and unusual characters and stories drawn in a graphic and direct style. She turns simple images, like a smile or a playground, into a more complicated and challenging set of ideas.

M.D: Marienne Duran (Interviewer)

A.S: Alicia Stevens (Artist)

     

M.D
I know in your artist thesis you talked about your artwork, but can you tell me more about your background. How were you introduced it to the art world?
A.S
It goes into a lot of sections, I did the classic drawing on the walls, you know, as a kid, like many of us. My mom would be like “She’s drawing on the wall, so she must be an artist!” And then I have an uncle who also was an artist and that leads onto her recognizing the signs of me being artist. Also, just another thing with my middle name being Monet.
M.D
So, it was natural for you. It is also good that your mom is supportive, as in she didn’t try to take the artist out of you.
A.S
Yeah, I know a lot of parents aren’t quite supportive of their kids being an art student, probably because of the media which looks like people saying that an art career is not a way to make money or a way of living. I’m glad that we’re now at a time where art can be literally anything. So, depending on how passionate you are, you can still make something.
M.D
Exactly. So, how did you develop a sense of style in your artwork?

A.S
I knew what I liked. I did know that I liked different types of color schemes because I’m a visual person. Also, I am into the whole charcoal and graphite element of art.

M.D
And I think style is something that never ends, you know? It’s always changing.

A.S
Oh, yeah, I just knew that I like color schemes and like the absurdity of things, and I didn’t really push that forward until very recently, where I was like, OK, this is what I definitely want and love doing.
M.D
Yeah, that makes sense. And how has being a student at Texas State University shaped your artwork?
A.S
It’s kind of funny, but also out of this world because I’m surrounded by people who already know what they liked, and they created all these series and storylines with their art. But I was still just following the prompts and the assignment, so I wasn’t quite there yet. But when my teachers finally said that we can do whatever we want, there’s no prompt involved, that’s when I found my voice, and doing the absurd and crazy.
M.D
That makes sense, so do you think deadlines and prompts (in art academia) can be harmful as some artists believe so?
A.S
I want to say it’s half and half. Because I definitely think that a prompt helps shape your ideas. If you’re having trouble coming up with what you want to do, the prompts that professors give out are very helpful.
At a certain point, you have to let the students do their own thing. They can’t force you to stick with one way, because that’s what they like. You have to be your own person and it should have been easy because in middle school and high school, they teach to be independent. But in college, that’s where you get introduced more into the real world as you are introduced to so many different people and so many different backgrounds. So yeah, to answer your question, it’s half prompts help and half you just got to let the students do what they want to do.
M.D
Yeah, you can’t really control how art turns out. It’s a creative process. So, can you take me through your artist process like do you have a routine? Or is it more spontaneous?
A.S
Professors will often give instructions like “it needs to be this big and like you need to use like these mediums”, so often I am like OK if I can only use charcoal and use this 18 by 20 sheet of paper, then that’s what I’m going to stick with.

M.D
Is it kind of your structure?
A.S
Yeah, then I’m just like I can draw this face, erase it, add some extra set of eyes, have these this weird smile or flowers come in the background and there’s my prompt of landscape. I tend to come up with my ideas right on the spot, depending on the type of words they say about the assignment or something that I think is going to help me in the long run.
M.D
That is great! So where do you get your inspiration?
A.S
I say a lot of pop culture, yeah. I watch a lot of adult shows like Rick and Morty, Smiling Friends, Regular Show, so watching the most obscene things on TV as a cartoon. Seeing all sorts of color influences me too. I always wanted to be a cartoonist when I was younger, I wanted to at least draw the characters, draw what they wear, their expressions, everything. So, seeing all that on TV and then producing that in my art, it helps me.
M.D
Yeah, I understand. A lot of cartoonists can create whatever storylines and characters they want. For some people art it’s very structured. But like you mentioned, cartoons give you more of that freedom to create.
A.S
Yeah, I agree.
M.D
What do you enjoy the most about your art and the process of creating it?
A.S
I like seeing the progression I make in it.
M.D
That’s sweet, yeah.
A.S
Because it’s very easy to get stuck with one thing because I know for a while, I stuck to drawing skeleton figures because, number one, it was just easy to draw and number two you can do so many different things with that. But I always paired the skeleton with flowers or with roses, because roses are my favorite flowers. So, seeing how my tiny sketch from when I was in high school progressed into making a 5 foot by 6-foot drawing of that same skeletal subject, it does surprise me. I actually took in so much our inspiration from early years of creating art. I just love seeing that progression.
M.D
And I think that inspires you to create even more because you start to wonder how your art will look like 10 years from now.
A.S
Yeah, exactly. I agree.
M.D
So, do you believe your art has changed throughout the years?
A.S
It did. I would say not only did my art change, but my personality changed as well. That has helped me because when I was in Middle School-High School I was trying so much to be liked and I was comparing my work to other people. So, I would always be a perfectionist and wanted to have all these proportions right. I wanted the lighting right. I wanted all sorts of things to look right and now realizing just how much my personality changed it has made me more willing to not care about the lighting or the shading it, I just care more about the subject and how that can make people feel rather than how I feel about it. Sounds weird, but I love seeing what other people think of my work rather than me giving my whole heart out to my work and people not seeing it. It took so much learning and growth to just let things just happen and I think that’s why I’m more on the experimental side on how I structure my drawings.
M.D
It’s more spontaneous. Which doesn’t mean you’re less skilled than others, but you’re just loving your creation rather than worrying about how this must be perfect.
A.S
Because again, you find yourself comparing your work to a whole lot of people and that can hurt your love of art because you’re like, oh, my art doesn’t look like theirs. What can I do to get accepted in a gallery or have people pay more money for my artwork? But it’s a matter of letting your personality change, for your art to change for you to then love what you do.
M.D
That’s very powerful. Have seeing your artwork in an exhibition and perceived by others shaped you in any way? For example, I’m more on the research side of art as an aspiring art historian so for me having people read my research and getting feedback from them it’s just so important and it teaches me to take criticism. So that’s where my question comes in, how have seeing your artwork in an exhibition, critiques, or maybe when people have bought your artwork has shaped you as an artist, or just as a person too?
A.S
It makes me proud of the outcome. Because I know during the process your mind is fully on making the details look right. You’re, again, trying to be a perfectionist. You’re trying to make sure the lines look straight, that the colors look dull, bright, or saturated, you’re trying to make sure of all these things look right. Sometimes when critique happens that’s when you take a step back to look at your entire work and realize that hey, it’s good! I was stressing over nothing; I don’t know why I was being so hard on myself.
M.D
I’m glad that that’s an experience you are able to have. So, I’m curious, you’re part of the Texas State Student Exhibition: A Letter to My Younger Self. Can you tell me more about how this exhibition emerged and your experience being part of it?
A.S
I was the marketing manager, meaning I was creating the social media account for the exhibition, I had to make sure that people get enough content of what the exhibition is about. So, I wasn’t really doing the biggest things like the curators and the directors.
M.D
That’s a big job. Social media is so important.
A.S
But having the experience of working with other people made me more appreciative of how communication works and the importance of communication. I think because of how I grew up, I always had trouble speaking my mind and I will always get mad at the smallest things and have anger issues.
M.D
Yeah, me too.
A.S
Yeah, I was just having so much trouble communicating my words, but with such a big group with 12 of us, including me, communication is like such a huge thing because nobody knows what you’re thinking. You have to speak your mind if you don’t speak your mind, then you’re just going to me mad and ****, all that unneeded stuff when you could just be having fun.
M.D
Exactly, so is your art artwork showcased in this exhibition as well? Or are you more involved in social media or both?
A.S
Well, we had the choice to submit 2 artworks, one that is recent and one from our past. That can include something that you did in elementary, middle school, or high school or just earlier in your life and then something you did recently to show people who are viewing gallery the growth from when you did this work as a 5-year-old and now the work you created as a 22-21-year-old. And again, back to what I said earlier, is an amazing thing to see our progression of the stuff that you learned during art school to then compare it to artwork you did as a child. Of course, back then, you didn’t have those skills yet, you were just trying stuff out. So now, you start thinking back like well, what if I redid this work when I was 5? Or what if I want to take aspects of my art from the past and apply it to what I’m doing now.

M.D
That makes sense. I feel our society is used to disregarding our younger self, as if is no longer you. But I believe it’s always you. Your younger self never fades away, you know, your inner child. So, I feel the exhibition is a sweet thing and an important thing to do at the same time because as artists or whatever profession you’re in, the you of 10 years ago is still you and shouldn’t be forgotten.
A.S
Exactly, it’s just that now you have a different perspective of life because of how many years you have lived.
M.D
Yeah, I agree. In your artist thesis you mention artists that inspire you, two of them being Francis Bacon and JooYoung Choi. Which are very contrasting artists as Bacon creates visceral images like Portrait of Pope Innocent X (the screaming pope) and Choi creates the playful and colorful fictional world Cosmic Womb. How do these two artists inspire you and how they might reveal the different layers your artwork has?
A.S
Right, I would say I combine both dark themes with the playfulness of everything, because I love the Ying Yang, opposites attract. So, seeing all of those like dark lines making obscene images like the pope and then seeing the collage elements Choi utilizes. I just love the idea of combining, again, opposite spectrums.
M.D
I know in regards of local artist Choi, she mentions her artwork has dark themes even though her artwork is very colorful and playful.
A.S
Well, because it’s covered by the colorful lens of the viewer.
M.D
Yeah. I think both art styles intercept, like you said, the Ying and the Yang.
A.S
Yeah, I know both Bacon and Choi struggle with identity, with Francis Bacon being gay, and then Choi not knowing her birth parents. So yeah, is a distinct combination of even though I have this identity crisis or I’m not sure who I’m trying to be, they are still able to make art that like and represents them in a way. They don’t let those aspects of their life affect what they create and that’s one of the things I admire about them. I don’t really base my work off because I’m an African American. I don’t have this identity that I’m trying to give out to the world. I’m just creating. But again, seeing how they don’t let what affected them affect their ability to create their artwork is very inspiring.
M.D
It’s a powerful tool. Even when you don’t know certain aspects of yourself, you still can create a solid work that represents something or a part of you.
A.S
Exactly
M.D
So, what is your favorite medium of art?
A.S
I love working with charcoal, black Indian ink, and sharpies. But those three are the main things I use, everything else I use just depends on how I feel at the moment.
M.D
I see. What about a medium of art you consider the most challenging?
A.S
I hate working with chalk pastels. They are really hard to work with, especially because they don’t really blend well, and they get under your nails. Last semester I decided to use chalk pastels because I haven’t used that medium in a while so I thought it would be fun and every time I went to seal my work with a fixing spray, the colors would not stay. So, I literally had to put like two or three coats per page for each layer I did, and sometimes even that wouldn’t work, so I admire anybody who uses that medium.
M.D
That sounds very hard. A more controversial question, do you believe anything can be art?
A.S
Yeah. believe that anything can be art if it has a purposeful intention to it. Long ago, an art piece stir controversy in the art community when this guy taped a banana at a art gallery and it sold for a lot of money (Maurizio Cattelan’s taped Banana)
M.D
It sucked.
A.S
There’s a lot of things that I don’t really consider as art as well. I think it’s just some contemporary art. In general, like not all of it, but some. I forgot his name, but he put artists poop in boxes? (Artist’s Shit/Merda d’artista by Piero Manzoni)
M.D
Oh, I think I know who you’re talking about.
A.S
Like I understand that people want to buy things from like an artist, but I’m just like come on.
M.D
The nepotism aspect adds a lot to it. If you and I would tape a banana to the wall right now, I don’t think anybody would consider it art. But if you are an artist that carries a name and a platform, then it’s considered art. But like, if an emerging artist does it, people would most likely not consider it art. It’s different. Do you agree?
A.S
Oh yeah, if you are rich and have like this overall high name anything you do will be worth millions. If you have this certain type of lotion from what? Bath and Body Works? and you’re like selling 1/2 empty bottle for like $10 million somebody will buy it because of your name.
M.D
Do you feel like that’s unfair to emerging artists? Comparing how much somebody can earn (both in recognition and money) for an artwork that maybe doesn’t have an intention to it to somebody that it’s pouring their heart out on their art and probably doesn’t get as much recognition. How do you feel about those two opposite poles in the art industry?
A.S
Yes, I think it takes a lot to get your name out there because right now we’re living in a time and age where AI exists and people are having this ability to take other people’s artwork, change it and name it their own. It’s very hard to like branch out compared to artists like Claude Monet because they are already out there. And so, again, like it’s very hard to branch out, to have that same name and familiarity as those famous painters and artists because of the age we live in.
M.D
I agree. As a follow-up question what advice would you give to emerging artists?
A.S
I would say you have to be very passionate about your art to stay in our career because it is very easy to stray away from it. As we were saying earlier, there’s so many online influences and so many people taking stuff that’s not theirs and renaming it. Also, your ego can take over when your art doesn’t get accepted in galleries, or maybe when you don’t get accepted to your dream art school. Again, there are many challenges. It could be discouraging and very tough to get over. However, if you are passionate about what you do, you can stick through it.
M.D
Yeah, persistence is really important.
A.S
Also knowing there’s somebody that’s going to be inspired about what you do to and you’ll probably find that comment in your social media that says “your art inspires me” Other than having your art being sold, for me just being an inspiration for others and meeting other people who like what I do in general, is such a great feeling that leads on to I can’t let something like my work not being accepted in an art gallery deform me as an artist. I just have to keep going.
M.D
Yeah, that’s very inspiring. As my final question, what are some goals you wish to achieve through your art?
A.S
I want to try and be an elementary art teacher. But I don’t feel I’m there yet to like to teach a class because I’m so free handed and I can’t just say hey, this is how I got my work to look like this and you can do it too if you just follow these steps, I can’t show that yet. I know that I do want to try to have my artwork in small communal. Maybe even slightly bigger, such as having my artwork in bigger art galleries like MoMA or just something local like here in Texas or in Austin. And then I also want to try and sell my artwork in my parents’ community. My mom sells stuff as well as a business and every 1st Saturday there’s these… How would you say?
M.D
Like a farmers’ market?
A.S
Yeah, a farmers’ market where people would just come around and set up their tents and tables to sell their artwork. I think that also is also good for me to have people, again, just see what I do and get more ideas or even get a commission or two. Something small like commissions at a Farmers’ market to hopefully one day be in a huge art gallery.                                                                                M.D
I am sure you will, you’re very talented! I don’t have any more questions. Thank you for letting me interview you and get to know you and your wonderful art better.
A.S
Thank you for the opportunity!