6 INTHEARTS | WINTER 2024“Strive for the “perfectlyimperfect” in makingart, as it embraces thedichotomy of bothour need to envisionan ideal and ouracceptance of the oftentumultuous path of theprocess itself.”– Anita Cooke
1. Briefly describe the work you do.I currently create sculptural textile wall pieces, installation works, collages and drawings. Inmy textile pieces, I have discovered many ways of working, primarily with canvas, creatingmy own visual language. I begin by painting 5’ x 4’ canvases that lay flat on a worktable,often painting both sides with many layers of paint. These canvases are then cut or tornand reconfigured into thick wall relief sculptural works. Sometimes the painted surfacefaces outwards towards the viewer, sometimes the edges do; the material is alternatelytorn and frayed, folded, cut with sharp clean edges, distressed, monochromatic, colorful,it is sometimes very smooth and glossy, often highly textured and always layered in someway. I tend to sew multiple parts, often numbering in the hundreds that are then composedand assembled to create a complex whole and mounted on a wood or canvas backing. Myinstallation works address current social, environmental and political issues and are madeusing a variety of materials and techniques. In these pieces I have focused on concerns thatexpress aspects of our vulnerable, fragile, often violent and complex world. While the workscan be perceived as troubling initially, I don’t want the viewer to leave with a sense of despair.I attempt to incorporate humor, possible solutions to our plight and to instill a sense of hopeand positivity towards the future of our lives and planet.2. What or who inspires your work and how has that influenced both yourwork and your identity as an artist?There have been so many influences and a myriad of things that have inspired me over theyears visually, intellectually, philosophically, culturally and emotionally, I really don’t knowwhere to begin! One of the biggest inspirations, however, for me has been the city of NewOrleans itself. Moving here from the Midwest, I was visually in awe and excited by what I saw.In the part of Ohio where I grew up, so much of the environment was newly constructed- thesurfaces clean and smooth, showing no age. In New Orleans, by contrast, the weathering ofsurfaces- the layers upon layers of chipped and peeling paint, the cracked sidewalks, thesun- faded surfaces, the often-times crumbling facades, all spoke to me about a sense ofplace that held its age and its history right up front for all to see and experience. It seemedsomehow more honest to me and that it’s ok to be aware of the effects of the passage oftime and the influence of nature both in its beauty and in its destructive power. What sooften is seen and spoken of negatively as decay, I would rather view as evidence of life thatconnects us to the events and people who have passed before us, making their mark on theworld. I believe that we need a sense of connectedness that increases our awareness andbinds us together as humans who share the planet.3. Making Art traditionally carry cultural, historical, or personal narratives.How do you incorporate these narratives in your contemporary pieces?I consider myself to be primarily a process artist, often creating works that are a continuationand evolution, inspired and motivated by the processes and works that came before them. Ioften feel that I am being led by the material itself and don’t necessarily know, when I begin awork if it will reveal anything in particular or be at all relevant to today’s world. Because of thisuncertainty and the labor-intensive way in which I work, I often tell myself that it is perhapsridiculous to be moving forward with a vision that I don’t know what it ‘means’ and in which Icould lose my way. I am urged forward, however by remembering a quote I once read by themystic 13th century poet Rumi. The quote is: “Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah… it makesabsolutely no difference what people think of you.” Like Noah!! HA!! I think this is very funny,and it gives me the permission I need to take the risk and to embrace my own discomfortwith not knowing all the answers at the onset.4. Do you aim for a particular emotional or sensory experience in audienceinteraction with your pieces, considering that textiles or mixed mediaartworks can evoke a tactile response?My goal as a visual artist is to create artworks in which the viewer can become engrossedand engaged for some period of time- works in which there can be experienced a sense ofvisual exploration, meditation or contemplation. In transitioning from being a ceramic artistinto textiles, the tactile and visceral experience continues to be prominent. In some of myrecent social and political installation works, the content may evoke an internal questioningand examination of our currently troubled and fragile world. In other works such as my morenon- objective sculptural textile wall works, I would like for the viewer to leave feeling perhapsa bit more light-hearted, hopeful and joyful than they were upon entering the space.5. Given that textiles and mixed media often generate residuals, howdo you specifically approach sustainability and work to minimizeenvironmental impact in your artistic practice?This is a difficult question for me, as it raises issues that concern me greatly but for which Ihave not found a good solution. My sewn textile works are constructed with acrylic-paintedcanvas and we all know that acrylic paint is not good for our environment. I have found anecologically friendly acrylic paint, but it is prohibitively expensive at least for the large- scalework that I do. I could perhaps use dye, but I never achieve the surfaces that I am looking for.I have addressed issues concerning the environment in my installation piece titled “BaggageClaim.”6. Get inspired!INSTAGRAM: @a_cookestudioWEBSITE: anitacooke.comREPRESENTED BY: Baton Rouge Gallery, Center for Contemporary ArtINTHEARTS | WINTER 2024 7
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