Female Founders_Soleil Magazine_Iss5

portrait of gabrielle in studio
Currently, I am exploring more deeply, predatory
personalities and prey. The acts these types
give off, and how easily or not we can fall victim
to them. To be an artist, you have to take your
private life and place it in the public domain. I do
this..rather aggressively.
I just completed two videos both about
abduction and the paranoia of such. “AM PM EST”
is a 4 minute and 35 second performance video
where my partner, Kevin, abducts me in various
locations. ”Instructions for Commuters” is a 21
step “instructional video” of what goes on inside
my head if I were to be abducted via car. There
are also the mattresses. SHE WAS LAST SEEN
written on three mattresses in Hell’s Kitchen.
These pieces are completely spontaneous
and now only live as documentation I have of
them. They speak about sex trafficking, invasion
of the body, as well as the vast unsolved and
unreported missing persons cases.
In a society where we glorify the sociopath, can
be anyone we want online, and “news” we
cannot even trust (among a shit load of other
issues) - it is hard to tell who is who, what is
performance and what is not, what is real and
what is not. In 2019 the line is completely
blurring and almost faded away completely. It
is the duty of artists, writers, musicians alike to
shed light and authenticity. I am exhibiting photography,
video, installation and performance
in my first 2 person show this September, at
Pen + Brush Gallery if you would like to see
what truth I will be sharing :)
The struggles of being a photographer....
I had a professor once say “stop telling me how
hard it is and just fucking do it.”
Whenever I get too in my head about my work,
less money coming in, I keep to it, and remind
myself of that. The hardest part for me, as of recent,
is being multiple people at once. I am my
own agent, my own PR, my own talent - you
have to stay dedicated and self disciplined, and
also keep yourself afloat, financially, so you
better figure it out!
Advice from an artist the good and bad...
Constantly push yourself in ways that are
uncomfortable and unconventional, risk take.
Keep asking questions.
Do not take anything at face value.
Make sure you eat well.
Do not make work to please anyone else.
To be an artist, you have to take your private life
and place it in the public domain.
Do not worry about developing a “style” it
comes in time, naturally.
Share your experience.
Watch your behaviors.
Stop saying everything has been done.
Not everything has to be a series.
The medium is the message.
Keep yourself organized.
Make your bed.
Just because you are good at something does
not mean you have to keep doing it.
Limit your time on your phone.
Gather a network of people around you that
PREY
she was last seen, 60 hours, NYC
and place it in the public domain.
Do not worry about developing a “style” it
comes in time, naturally.
Share your experience.
Watch your behaviors.
Stop saying everything has been done.
Not everything has to be a series.
The medium is the message.
Keep yourself organized.
Make your bed.
Just because you are good at something does
not mean you have to keep doing it.
Limit your time on your phone.
Gather a network of people around you that
you trust.
Art is painful.
Know when to take and leave advice, even this.
How did art found you?....
I started photographing based off a black and
white photograph I saw that my brother took of
our family dog. It was really good, and obviously,
super interesting to me! I used his jenky 35mm
camera, that eventually I discovered had a focus
problem, but for my first class with photography
in 9th grade, that was not too big of an issue. I
continued photography through highschool and
college, always having motivating teachers push
me to pursue. Art continued to find me wherever
I went after that and continues to do so
perpetually. I landed at the School of Visual Arts
and 3 years post college became involved with
photojournalism, performance art, video, and
fashion. I now work as a photographer and
portraits on boxer Michael Hughes
multimedia artist who wants to share stories and
expose truths to the world. I consider myself a
very nuanced, detailed artist who is exceptionally
interested in culture, people and locations. I wish
to capture the quintessence of people and places
as they are, in as raw a form as possible.
“ The girl in fur” editorial
katelynkopenhaver.com