When did you realize that art is your path?
When I was a teenager. In the span of three months I was given a Pentax 35mm film camera, experienced modern and contemporary art at two major art museums and moved to Germany to be an exchange student. At the Art Institute of Chicago I saw a Georgia O’Keefe retrospective. At MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York City I encountered artworks by Jackson Pollack, Franz Marc, Claude Monet, and John McCracken.
In Germany, though I spoke the language, I had many hours of free time to walk and explore both the countryside and city of Hameln with my camera. I traveled with my exchange family and then alone to places in Europe. Those fourteen months with my camera gave me time and space to see new ways of living through a different lens. Having grown up in a small town in the Midwest these combined events reverberated in me for years, and led me to ultimately pursue an undergraduate degree in art. I also had opportunities to do internships and assistantships with several established artists in Chicago during and after my BFA.
How do you balance your various projects since you are a filmmaker/visual artist/writer/professor?
Meditation, solid planning, and exercise help. I love a good cup of french pressed coffee in the morning. Specifically speaking, I use a calendar system to block off time for my various pursuits. I organize my days. I get up early and willing to stay up late. I sometimes use a timer system so I do not need to look at my watch or phone, thus allowing myself to be in the flow quickly. A timer keeps me on track when I need to stop and go teach or do life tasks.
Personally I like to engage all my gifts and talents, as much as I can each day, week, month, and year. I see my spiritual role in life as helping others by being the best I can in all the areas I am involved with and trying to model what I learn for my students.
I say “yes” to new projects because I find they lead me to unknown experiences which ultimately influence and (hopefully) improve my multifold practice and teaching. I consider my life as fodder for all my various roles as a filmmaker, a screenplay writer, a visual artist, and a professor. Daily walks and exercise help relieve stress and give me space just be. Over the years I have changed my diet to help my body and mind to be healthy.
Video/performance, writing…You choose different media to express yourself. Is there one that you prefer?
That is a difficult question. It’s like asking a parent who is their favorite child. Each media allows me to express myself in a different way, using a different part of my mind, body and spirit. I prefer to not have to choose but to allow each medium time to develop in its own way.
Could you tell us about the process of creation? How long does it take to move from an idea to a piece of art?
For me the process of creation is very fluid. I am driven by concepts and like many artists I get extra motivation from deadlines. It is hard to prescribe a particular creation process since I work in a variety of media. My daily practice consists of writing, meditating, reading, and walking. I take photos and create moving image work as often as I can.
Since I have been an academic, I consider myself very privileged to have large chunks of time to make my creative work in the summers, during extended winter break and at other holiday times throughout the year. I apply for shows and residencies throughout the academic year on weekends and evenings, preparing the way for when I have extended periods to focus on making art and creative writing.
What are you trying to communicate with your art?
Through my creative work I am attempting to communicate the exquisite and theatrical nature of everyday life and the beauty we live in even when circumstances are difficult. Lately I have been working on making humor integral to the content of my art.
To what extent does the pandemic influence your depiction of art? Does it generate new inspiration?
The coronavirus pandemic has influenced both my practice and content of my moving image and still image work. I have had to put myself in front of the camera lens, not just behind it. My own body has become the subject and the actor. This new process of self-performance in my work came about because I did not want to be filming others as I had been doing or going to large events to document for my own safety and the wellbeing of my loved ones.
Online residency programs have been an important lifeline for me since I could not travel at times, offering me opportunities to collaborate and just be with other artists in virtual time and space.
How do you feel about being involved in an online residency program? How important is it to stay connected with the international art community?
As I mentioned before, online residencies during this ongoing pandemic has been a creative lifeline for me. The experience has aided me in seeing how other artists are making their creative way during these challenging times. It is a great comfort to connect with everyday artists. It has been helpful to have a virtual community, to know others are tolling way in our own studios, apartments and homes struggling and most importantly succeeding creatively in a real palpable, and tangible ways.
An online residency can reinforce the concept that we are all in this challenging situation together, though our individual circumstances are different. It is uplifting to know that many creatives around the world are finding and have found ways to maintain their creative health through their artistic expressions in spite of this evolving pandemic.
This is the third online residency program I have been involved with since May 2020. They have all helped me to stay positive and focused on the future amongst all the suffering my friends and family have experienced, and the suffering I have witnessed in local and global communities. Art-making offers connection, invigoration, relief, and hope.
What are your thoughts about the theme ‘artist on standby’? Tell us a bit more about your project…
To me “being on standby” means you are ready at a moments notice to act, to participate and to engage. Like a firefighter or EMT who is ready to assist others. The artist must be alert, awake to their own art practice and listening to what their intuition is telling them.
For the Belgrade Art Studio Online Residency I plan to create short videos which weave together scenes of twirling and spinning. The camera will be handheld. I will use Adobe After Effects in my post-production process. I want to explore AI manipulated sound and silence in the editing process. I plan to continue with the 32:9 aspect ratio and doubling effect of my moving images which I started to create in fall 2021. I am open to collaboration with my fellow residents and seeing where those collaborations may lead.
What do you want to achieve in the near future? Any plans/projects?
I recently was awarded a 2022 RAM Fellowship (Racine Art Museum fellowship). In the coming months and year I will be creating work for a museum solo exhibition which opens late summer 2023.
I will continue to work on the two screenplays I’ve been writing. Both screenplays have characters confronting immense personal loss. In both stories the protagonists must choose between reinventing themselves against adverse circumstances or dwindling into stagnation. I hope to attend a few film festivals in which my current screenplay, Tanked has been officially selected.
In the coming months I will continue to promote my short experimental film, The Destruction Project (15:30 min, 2020) and accompanying photographs. They have been screened and exhibited in festivals and shows internationally and nationally since 2021. You can find out more specifics in the News section on my website https://jojinprojects.com/news/.
This summer my partner and I plan to attend the biotecture-focused Earthship Academy in Taos, New Mexico. We will spend time learning to build an off-the-grid housing using recycled and reclaimed materials. I don’t know what the outcomes of this adventure will be but I hope it weaves itself into my life and art practice.