Interview with Lynn Tomaszewski

AT WHAT AGE DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME AN ARTIST?

I decided I wanted to be an artist during my first drawing class in high school. I was around 14.

HOW DID YOUR PARENTS REACT WHEN YOU TOLD THEM YOU WANTED TO BE AN ARTIST?

They were supportive.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS?

That changes through the years, but early favorites were Milton Avery and Alice Neel. In college I added Agnes Martin and in grad school Agnes Denes. As a young artist I really looked into women artists who had families and how they constructed their lives with both art and families. (Most of them had to live a long time to see success within the art world!) I saw an amazing show of Mark Lombardi’s work at some point and still can’t get that work out of my head. There are so many others. At the Milwaukee Art Museum I visited many paintings on a regular basis, lots of great modern icons there. I love Ruth Asawa’s and Anne Wilson’s elegant work. Working for twenty-five-plus years in art schools, I have met and worked with many artists I admire as well – too many to name.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST WHOSE WORK IS UNLIKE YOUR OWN?

Many of the artists listed above. I’ve always loved both Alice Neel and Milton Avery. Neither makes work that looks like my work (or my work doesn’t look like their work).

ART BOOK YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT?

I have a few show catalogs of artist’s work that I would miss dearly if I lost them. I have moved thousands of miles over the past ten years and have hauled boxes of them with me each time.

WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN AN ARTIST?

I love it when they make work that engages the head, the heart, and the body, stuff that is both conceptually rigorous and poetic.

DO YOU KEEP A SKETCHBOOK?

Not really one related to drawings, I have a running notebook with my lists, thoughts, some drawings (or diagrams) – more of a “workbook” than a sketchbook

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MUSEUM IN ALL THE WORLD?

Not sure I have one. I love things about many museums, of course I haven’t been to all of them yet!

WHAT’S THE BEST EXHIBITION YOU HAVE EVER ATTENDED?

I don’t know if these are “the best,” but both the recent Hilda af Klint and the Matthew Barney exhibitions at the Guggenheim introduced these artists’ works to me as a revelation (in the case of af Klimt) and as a reappraisal (in the case of Matthew Barney).

IF YOU WERE NOT AN ARTIST, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?

Unhappy and probably very difficult to live with.

DID YOU HAVE AN ARTISTIC COHORT THAT INFLUENCED YOUR EARLY CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT?

I remember graduate school as the first time I felt like I was in a place with folks engaging in similar pursuits. I am very lucky to have gotten a teaching job when I was fairly young that allowed me to both support myself and stay in an art school environment. There is something about working with artists that holds you accountable to continue to work, to grow in the work, and to exhibit the work that is necessary. I don’t need a cohort to make the work, but it really helps to have others around me who are engaging in similar pursuits to keep challenging myself to grow, get better, and get the work out in the world.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU DIDN’T LEARN IN ART SCHOOL THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD?

What a great question. Many, many things. Everything from practical things like deciding how the work is going to go on the wall early in the process, to making work that is uniform in size (so you can reuse the crates), to not worrying that your work doesn’t look like other people’s work. Also, that most opportunities will come from you taking the initiative – making a phone call, sending an email, showing up at another person’s opening, beginning to make the project so you can show others what you’re doing. The art world is really a bunch of people who love art, and most of them are generous, curious folks who work to put great art out in the world. It may take a bit of effort to figure out where you fit in (because there are many “art worlds”), but it’s worth the effort.

WHAT WORK OF ART HAVE YOU LOOKED AT MOST AND WHY?

I return to Agnes Martin’s paintings to renew my spirit. I love Milton Avery’s color. I have looked at those since college. Not sure why, they both give me things that help me remember what humans are capable of!

WHAT IS YOUR SECRET VISUAL PLEASURE OUTSIDE OF ART?

I love to watch TV where people are working – cooking, renovating houses, designing things – it relaxes me to watch other people work!

DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC IN YOUR STUDIO?

I usually listen to NPR; I like hearing other people’s voices. Occasionally, I’ll listen to music, but many times I find it too distracting – although I love music and listen to it outside of my studio.

WHAT IS THE LAST GALLERY YOU VISITED?

We have gone to the Commonweal Gallery in Philadelphia recently – interesting local art in a great location.

WHO IS AN UNDERRATED ARTIST PEOPLE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT?

So many – there are a lot of great artists in the Midwest, Milwaukee, Chicago, who don’t always make it on the radar, lots of great women artists. I feel like most of the artists I know fall into that category! I really love looking at the local, regional contemporary art when I travel and wish most museums would include a gallery (or two) of contemporary artists working in their region. That’s much more interesting than seeing the same artists (often represented by smaller works) in all the museums.

WHAT ART MATERIALS CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?

An X-Acto blade, Sharpies, good palette knives, and good tiny brushes. I like having a fab lab nearby also – I kid myself that it saves me time. I’m not sure that’s true, but vinyl and laser cutting have become a need of mine.

DO YOU CREATE ART EVERY DAY?

Not every day, but I do work on a schedule. When I’m busy with a day job, every Saturday I spend in the studio. When I have more time, I try for five to six days a week. I do like a work-free day every week. I’m terrible at relaxing so, like the Virgo I am, I try to schedule my relaxing. That day can — and often does — lead to looking at other people’s art though.

WHAT IS THE LONGEST TIME YOU WENT WITHOUT CREATING ART?

I have no idea, but I did intentionally choose to have a family and to make money outside of selling my work, so my studio practice has “seasons” of productivity. When I was teaching, most of the making would happen on Saturdays and over the summer or school breaks. When I became an administrator, it was Saturdays and vacations. I really can’t go more than a few weeks without some time alone in the studio.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE FEELING UNINSPIRED?

It depends. If I’m frustrated with my own work, I usually read, do other kinds of research, or go back to drawing. I am rarely at a loss for ideas, but I do confuse myself. I have learned to follow the work – if it’s not calling me to work on it, there may be a good reason for that. I try to work on what I really want to work in when I’m in the studio. I’ve learned that if I force myself to work on something I don’t care about, it won’t work anyway, so best to spend the time more productively.

WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT DRIVE YOUR WORK?

I think about making work that will outlive us – not only me, but on a species level. If my work was found centuries later, what work would I want to be found? What would it be made of? What meaning would come from it? It’s a bit of a farce, but it somehow takes the pressure from thinking of the current moment — to just let myself die out and think about what I would want to leave behind.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY IN AN ARTIST?

Probably curiosity, perseverance, and the ability to pay attention – you need to be able to witness, learn, and continue making. There are many more skills, but I can’t imagine an artist able to function without these things.

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU HAVEN’T YET ACHIEVED IN ART?

I haven’t yet made all of the work I need to make – there is always the next thing, the better thing that keeps me moving.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT ART IN THE ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

The best thing about art, in any era, is that it helps us connect with one another. We could not function as a society if we did not have a variety of ways to understand one another, in all of our complexities.
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LYNN TOMASZEWSKI (@lynn_tomaszewski_artist) teaches the Printmaking Survey, an overview of printmaking processes, methods, and materials, at the Art Students League of New York.