Nancy Fouts, guest artist
(version française below)
Every season, Bask in the Sun collaborates with a number of visual artists, photographers and illustrators for its tee and sweatshirt prints.
With her surrealist, Dadaist and hyperrealist influences, Nancy Fouts combines everyday objects, animals, food and religious icons to create sculptures that are allegorical, provocative or absurd, but always poetic and full of humor. For several collections now, she's been contributing to our cabinet of curiosities with a series of absolutely delightful, disturbing and disturbing prints! (see the collection) An opportunity to ask her a few questions.
Who are you? Where are you from?
I was born in Seattle, USA, a long time ago... I moved to London in 1963 to go to art school. So I'm an American who's lived longer in England than in the States. I'm an artist. That's what takes up the most time in my life, apart from the people I love!
You co-founded the Shirt Sleeve design studio with Malcolm Fowler in the 60s, and created numerous (often award-winning) advertising campaigns for galleries and music groups. Are your current creations still linked to this work?
During the years when I worked in advertising and communications, most of the ideas came from the art director and were not mine. I simply made the object. However, you could say that there is a link between these two periods. It's the experience I've gained in creating objects for customers. I know how to do it, I know how to create what I want. But even before I went to art school, I was already doing artistic things, keeping found objects and associating things together.
Do you have any favorite materials for your sculptures? Where does your inspiration come from? And do you follow a particular process?
What I like most about my work is the idea. Once I've visualized the idea, all that's left is to bring it to life... I don't have a favorite material. It's the idea that dictates how and with what the sculpture will be made! There's no pre-established process. My ideas come from searching, looking at things as a child would. I take a fresh look at things, pretending I don't know what they are, or what they're for. If you think of a coconut as a walnut, just say "oh, a walnut on the floor". I think it's so nice to be naive. It's children who say the nicest things.
I use the objects I find as grounds for experimentation, denying the meaning that common usage attributes to them. I hijack the symbolism and value of objects to express an idea and my often incisive and satirical point of view.
Some of your pieces use animals. Are they real?
If I use animals in sculpture, they're real stuffed animals. But the materials and techniques change radically from one piece to the next. I develop new working techniques to serve my ideas: from a traditional molding process, to rudiments of taxidermy or motorization learned on the job...
Who are you? Where do you like from?(Read her complete biography)
I was born in Seattle Washington USA a long time ago... And moved to London in 1963 to go to art school. So I am an American who has lived longer in England than in America. I am an artist, and that is the best part of my life, besides all the people I love !
You have co-founded Shirt Sleeve Studio with Malcolm Fowler, a design agency, in the 60's and created awarded ad campaigns for galleries and music bands. Any relation with your current artworks?
During the days when I worked for advertising, very often the ideas came from the Art Director and were not mine. I simply made the model... However, the connection is I gained years of experience making models for other people, so I have some talent making whatever I need. Even before art school, I was doing my art, I was doing things-collecting things, beach-combing, and putting things together.
About your sculptures. Any favorite medium? Where come your inspiration? Any typical process?
The part I love the best about my work is the IDEA. Once you can visualise the idea all you have to do is make it. I think I have no favourite medium as the IDEA will dictate how and what the sculpture will be made out of.
There is no typical process. My ideas come from looking, seeing things like a child might look at something. Like not knowing what something is and maybe thinking it looks like something else. If you see a coconut look like a walnut. Then just say, "Well, that is a walnut on the floor." Naivety is lovely! Kids say the best things.
I use founded objects as playgrounds for invention, unpicking the layers of meaning attributed to the common motifs of daily life and providing a sharp-witted, satirical view of the systems through which symbolic meanings and values are assigned.
Some of your pieces use animals. Are they real?
If I use animals in my work, they are taxidermy. But materials and techniques change widely between individual pieces, with each new method of working developed in service of the idea: from traditional processes of mould-making to a self-taught approach to the rudiments of motorisation and taxidermy.
