I’ve been keeping an eye on LA-based photographer Natalie Obermaier‘s artwork for some time now. Having enjoyed Natalie’s gallery show at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica for her Photo of the Day series, I was excited when she began sharing a new body of collage artwork based on some very relevant themes of today. See I’ve been fascinated by collage artwork for as long as I can remember; Ever so curious about the process and how an artist envisions remnants of disparate images coming together to form something entirely new and unique. So I asked Natalie a series of questions about her beautiful and evocative artwork – what goes into creating each piece, their meanings, what inspires her and more! I hope you enjoy this illuminating read.
- I love the collage artwork you’ve been creating lately. What inspired you to start working on it and where do you find your inspiration? How long have you been creating this artwork?
A few Christmas’ ago I decided to make as many gifts as I could. I was eager to play around with a new medium and just started cutting and pasting. It wasn’t until a few months after the holiday when I realized that I was sort of “onto something” and had unknowingly gifted away the originals. About a year later I put feelers out to some of the recipients to see if I could photograph collages I had given them, to have for my records/website/etc. It’s kind of interesting. I asked a very good friend and he “couldn’t find it” which sort of broke my heart a bit. I had to come to terms with the fact that if you gift someone something, you can’t control what they do with it. One of those life epiphanies that take you by surprise. I sort of put the medium away for a while after that, thinking that they weren’t being received the way I thought they might.
There were two Robert Mapplethorpe documentaries that came out around the same time. One of them interviews many people who were involved with him. I can’t remember the woman’s name, but I think she was a museum curator. She admits that Robert had given her a few of his collages at one point, and that, “embarrassingly”(in hindsight) she threw them away. It struck me that you don’t necessarily understand the context of art unless you want to. When you look at a series arranged together you can feel it out, decide if it speaks to you and perhaps choose a favorite. And sometimes you see something new and hate it…time puts things into perspective.
Anyway…I don’t give them away anymore.
- Tell me about the process of how you create your collages. Do you have a pre-conceived idea in mind when you create a new piece? Or does it evolve as you continue creating it? Do you already have one piece of the “puzzle” in mind at the onset?
A huge part of the process is just collecting magazines. I didn’t fully grasp how significant of an addiction that part would turn into. The quality of the paper is almost the most important part and you quickly learn which papers tear easily, or are so thin that you end up seeing the reverse image bleed through to the front. Often that won’t happen until you have decided you love it and apply the finishing varnish…I ruined quite a few pieces that way. Every once in a while you get lucky and it adds something to the composition.
So, you collect the magazines. Then you cut out the pages that appeal to you the most. I have flat file drawers to divide them into categories, but often they live in piles in my studio because you are always searching for “that one page” that you just saw the other day and you think it was in this pile…so the piles are ever shifting, like sand dunes, as you hunt for the particular hand, or that perfect eye, or the out of focus tree in the background.
The part I love most about the process is the serendipity of what floats to the top. I will go into my studio and start shuffling pages until I find a key element that I want to play with. I usually don’t have a very clear idea of what will become of it, but as you continue to shift pages around certain pieces will emerge and demand their own new pile. Sometimes you are completely ready to cut into them, but sometimes, if it’s a beloved component, anxiety takes over and forces you to sleep on it. There’s no control Z, and it forces you to slow down. I spent months trying to replace a particular perfume ad that I had damaged and finally gave up. And I love that. The entire process is very meditative for me. I am grateful even for the days when I spend hours moving piles around and make nothing. Inspiration can be a fickle collaborator.
- What are some of the themes and messages behind your collages? I see a strong female presence throughout the more recent work.
There is definitely a female presence! Photographically, I have always been obsessed with figures. All bodies. But women seem more willing to open up that way. More willing to be vulnerable with me. I find that it is actually somewhat difficult to find willing models in LA. Everyone here knows the value of an image, and for some reason nudes are frowned upon. I think it has a bit to do with the necessity to understand your own brand, even as a person, and figurative work doesn’t always fit into that puzzle.
As for the collage work, it seems much easier to find a range of female bodies in magazines. The majority of imagery with men makes it seem like the world is filled with six pack abs. I am constantly searching for androgynous figures. So let me know if you find that perfect magazine.
I also play with the theme of masks. I’ve always been fascinated with how we hide elements of ourselves and I find that it’s an even stronger theme now that social media has taken over. We are made of so many facets, and yet we only show the shiny, happy, perfect moments. Moments where everything is perfectly styled and we are eating organic kale salad en route to drop off the kids at soccer, piano, yoga before the tutor arrives to prep the five year old for their college entrance exams.
And don’t even get me started on the ‘camper van movement.’
- How has your photography and artwork evolved over the years?
Well, my relationship with photography is ever vacillating. I fully expect to be shooting film in my Hasselblad until I am in my 90’s, but I grow increasingly exhausted by the number of cameras in the world that make any average joe think they too are a photographer. I feel that the social media has given people a savviness towards imagery. A heightened vocabulary for what makes a picture popular. Culturally we digest so much photography that it would almost be impossible not to. And any expert can tell you that “the best camera is the one you have with you.” So now that we all have cameras in our pockets and this obsession for showing the world how great our lives are, it’s become a tool as ever present as a fork. And in these moments of cynicism towards a medium I know and love, at least I know I have sharpened my skills with an Exacto. I have found meditation in the intense precision of hand cutting paper, patience in the slowness of accumulating pages, and sanity in reimagining new worlds with fabricated players.
- Who are some of your favorite artists and photographers today and why?
Masao Yamamoto for the poetry he finds in the everyday, and the intimacy of his small weathered prints that become objects of nostalgia and permanence.
Julie Speed for her dark painted characters that seem to be raging agains the world, and the delicacy of her collages.
Koak because the stylized women she creates are the freshest form of cubism I have ever seen. And because you can feel the emotion of each line. Each piece feels like a charged dance. Unapologetically female. Check her out, you’ll see what I mean.
Mark Posey because I hadn’t felt so excited by a gallery show in years and when I walked in to his world, via the mind of the gallery and the artist, I could feel the surfaces, smells, and soundtrack. I experienced his work. I bought two of them knowing I wouldn’t be able to pay rent because of it and I still love love love them.
I could go on and on about other artists. I collect as much art as I can get my hands on. For me they are whispers of the unknowable aspects of the world. The parts we can’t always speak clearly about. Art will always be my first love.
Thank you Natalie for this insightful interview!
To appreciate more of Natalie’s artwork, please take a look at her website — http://www.natalieobermaier.com/
