Published 25 January 2022 in Interviews
https://quotesbylivingartists.com/artists/evangeline-armstrong
What makes a good artwork?
I think in this fast world, the one sign of merit is that people actually stop and think, wow, what is it? I like it? That hit me.
What is the use of art?
What do people do with money and/or time? They adorn themselves. See interesting things. Go to aesthetically pleasing places. Go for an experience. Art is a commodity - sometimes one only we buy- but one nonetheless.
Art makes you feel something different than you did before, be it in the making or the consuming.
As an artist, do you see the world differently - and if so, how?
I guess there's a specific observance. For example, my friends and I may be taking a walk. There's a beautiful colour or view. The artists get lost in it, the others walk on!
So there is a reverence for beauty in specific forms and usually a wider range. It's there, just often people don't see it.
Describe how you believe art contributes to society, if at all?
It transforms the linear into the non-linear; from left to right-brain thinking. Why does this contribute? Because it gives us a break, doesn't it!
If you had limitless funds and all the time in the world, would you still create what you create today?
Oh gosh, I love this question. Welcome to my brain each night before I go to bed! So...
I have two avenues that are immediate. One is documentary & film and the other is a physical art form.
1) physical art would be the line created by movement of the body : this would be an expansion of my existing practice to explore sculptural, abstract- figurative compositions and how they 'dance within space' (ideally public spaces).
Why have you chosen art as your medium of expression?
I've actually found that it has hunted me down! I was trying to fight it for quite some time. Sometimes I wish that my natural calling was for high-end real estate or bitcoin genius... but this one's pretty good.
For whatever reason, it's the way I think, understand, explore, and get to know.
Do you ever feel lonely as an artist?
Absolutely. There is a point where you have been so in love with the process and making, and then you come out of that cave and see perhaps other things that you've 'missed out on'. You can feel kind of isolated, like 'where have I been?'.
For me, there was something of a jumping-off point; of leaving the things that I knew I could control and guarantee. And that felt pretty daunting and solitary. But loneliness is an odd thing as I never feel alone in actually doing my art.
Has any particular experience changed your course as an artist?
Working for Ptolemy Mann. I don't think without her enthusiasm and dedication that supersedes the hard times, I could have had the courage to leap into my work. I'm very dedicated to keeping that spark alive within people that I see potential in, too. Sometimes we need a helping hand.
What is your dream project?
Which one do I pick! At the moment, it is the exploration of 'body talks' sculpture and oil paintings. Ultimately, my dream project is to work with dancers and other physical artists to create lasting artworks with the same sense of movement.
What’s your favourite artist's quote and why?
Mattise: "I don't want things, I paint the relationship between [them]"
Describe your philosophy of life?
I discover this as I am painting, making, creating. I have lots of great ones but as I make it's like having a wise monk or a teacher beside me, showing me some ancient proverbs through what I do.