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[techartinstagram-blog]

INTERVIEW ECRIT : SONJA KATANIC

1. Do you consider yourself an artist? This is a tough question to answer. I think at my core, yes. My friends continually reassure me that the way I view the world is as an artist, that just because I haven’t been creating as much as I normally do, that doesn’t mean that I’m any less of an artist than when I was producing a piece a week. I think it took a long time for me to even begin calling myself an artist because of imposter syndrome or my deep rooted insecurities about the art I create. But being in a space where I’m surrounded by other people I consider artists, or people I respect and love and having them reassure me that I am one, I would say, yes.

2. If so, how would you describe your art? One of my favourite things to do is to see how other people describe my art. Like, recently, someone described it as “german” which I love. What does that mean? I don’t know! I think they’re a sort of soft illustration. I focus a lot on portraits and people, which according to doodle science means I have a tough time connecting to other people. Generally, I think I just like to think of my art as tender reflections of the people I see around me.

3. What is your relationship to social media? It’s a necessary vice to me. So many of the people I love have been thrown to different corners of the world at this point that I need this medium to feel like they are a constant presence in my life in a way that isn’t just talking. I need the multimedia connections to them so I don’t get lost in the swirl of sadness and separation. I go through cleanses as often as I can, to get rid of my mental hangovers and the horrible pervasiveness of my comparisons with other people. I’ve loved using social media as a way to showcase my art, though. I don’t love showing people my work. It feels so self-centred to force someone to look and respond to my work while I’m there. This way I present myself as a gallery online and those who like it can stay and interact with me and those who don’t don’t give it a second glance, which is fine by me.

4. Would you consider social media something community building or isolating? There’s no way that it can be one or the other. Social media is consistently used as a tool of the universe to make me feel bad about myself and my art just because of the saturation of GOOD art on these platforms that you can’t help but compare yourself to. That’s nothing new. But I also owe a huge debt to social media for the community I’ve found through it. Especially from other young female artists, I am constantly getting support and reassurance and love that I don’t find as heavily in real life.

5. Do you sell anything on your social media(s)? The magazine I edit + design, Plasma, is the only thing art-related that I actually sell, and social media is used to promote and publicize that, but nothing I draw personally is sold on social media.

6. Is Instagram another form of curating ? Definitely. I have multiple accounts that I use to an even bigger extent for curating. But as I’ve grown up with social media, I’ve definitely begun to use it more for myself. I scroll through my timeline more than anyone else does I’m sure, just because I love looking at these different eras of my life and to see what choices I’ve made. The thought processes that go into what you’re going to post are very very similar to the thought processes that go into curating.

7. Are there any artists/people that you look up to? I think there is no end to the people I look up to, and those people tend to be artists since that’s my interest and therefore that’s who I chose to follow or consistently be exposed to. On instagram, a lot of the people I’ve met through the magazine I edit like this one girl, Maia Boayke is a huge inspiration, because she is consistently plugging out just fantastic work that really resonates with me. But on a bigger scale, I’ve always found that movies are the thing that inspire me most. Maybe it’s because their medium is so wildly different from mine that I don’t feel a competitive urge with them, or maybe it’s just because they’re something I connect really deeply to, but that’s where the people I look up to come from. A great example is how much I (obviously) love Lady Bird, which I just saw. Great Gerwig has always been a huge inspiration, even though nothing she’s done could really influence my visuals, but there is something about who she is at a core that jives with me. I was recently just FINALLY pushed to making art again a couple days ago, and it was a direct correlation to me seeing Lady Bird.

8. What compelled you to go into the arts? I’ve always been interested in the arts, since I was a kid. I would love to go back to when I was young and find out exactly what it could have been to get me sucked in. It’s just been not ignoring that voice in my head for my whole life.

9. How do you think social media is affecting the art market?   It’s complicated - while social media allows so many more people to have their stuff put into the world, it becomes oversaturated. I feel so overwhelmed by how much work is out there and how to differentiate myself. I think a lot of young artists feel the same way. But at the same time, it gets a lot of people inspired to be doing stuff. Regardless, it’s wonderful because it’s getting just such a huge volume of people creating things and connecting to other people, which I think is ultimately what we need. People who create art are some of the most introspective, careful, thoughtful people I’ve ever met and we need more of them.

10. Do you have anything exciting coming up for 2018 we could be looking forwards to? The magazine I edit with my best friend, Plasma Dolphin, is going to have two more issues coming in 2018. The upcoming issue this winter is something I’m especially excited about since it’s a concept that came when I really needed it and I think people are going to connect to it in the most wonderful way. I’m also going on exchange to Madrid so hopefully the spanish lifestyle will inspire me to make just MAKE STUFF even if I’m not unbelievably proud of it. Hopefully this year will be the year I stop needing other people’s assurances that I’m an artist and can wear the label myself.