Emily Wist

"Looking back on all the work I've done in these two years, it seems crazy that I should end up with the body of work that I did. But once I look more closely, I can see that everything I did, good, bad, ugly, brilliant, or sucky, had something to contribute to what I showed in April."

Within the sculpture and drawings of Emily Wist, a single line is able to capture the attention of its viewer, leaving him spellbound as he follows it throughout the piece, tracing its seemingly never ending turns, twists, and alterations. The exposed details of the wrapping used in her standing sculpture provoke the idea of mummified aliens. In each of her pieces, the materials, colors, and shapes are morphed together in such a way it feels as if it happened organically, without the help of a human hand.

GE: Can you talk about the long-legged figure series: how was the concept conceived? What materials are involved?

EW: These pieces evolved from actively looking at how people walked and how they distribute their weight when standing.  I was curious to see if I could create works that stood on their own, literally, not just conceptually.  As for materials?  They have a skeleton of welded steel, "muscles" of brown packing paper bunched, rolled, and contained with masking tape, and "skin" of various materials like sewing thread, paint, polyurethane, yarn, rope, etc. 

GE: Some of your pieces similar to the figure series have a steel exterior – why the decision to expose metal in these particular works? (i.e. "Strain" & "Struggle")

EW: Actually, these works were the predecessors of some of the other pieces.  Each piece in this body of work started in all steel. I loved that process and the results I got, but I found it too be too slow for the rate of ideas I wanted to execute.  I also wanted to experiment with different surface techniques so I switched to welded skeletons instead of entire welded pieces.

GE: This series was created in 2012, in the final months of your graduate school experience. Is this where you hoped you would be by the time your completed your MFA program? Are you satisfied with this project being your final graduate work and how has your previous grad work led up to this series?

EW: I'm incredibly satisfied with where I am and the work I have made.  Looking back on all the work I've done in these two years, it seems crazy that I should end up with the body of work that I did. But once I look more closely, I can see that everything I did, good, bad, ugly, brilliant, or sucky, had something to contribute to what I showed in April [at the Boston University MFA exhibition].

GE: Do you consider your 2D work as artwork in itself, or primarily as preparatory studies for your sculpture?

EW: Both.  The prints and drawings are in direct conversation with my sculptures.  I needed printmaking as a way to explore colors but it's more than that.  Printmaking helps me develop my sense of composition as well and it also gives me a faster outlet for my ideas.  Drawing is a little different.  I draw A LOT - I have hundreds of drawings. I use them as ideas for new sculptures even if, at the end, the sculpture looks nothing like the drawing. Although, not all of my sculptures come from drawings.  Sometimes it's reversed and I make drawings after I made the sculpture.  But the drawings I have do serve as preparation.

GE: Your drawings on dictionary pages – was the imagery influenced by the text on the page?

EW: No, not really.  Sometimes, but I would have to say in 95% of the cases, no.  I like drawing on dictionary paper because of the two columned format it has and because of the quality of the paper.

GE: Do you think its important for an artist to work across a variety of media? That practice in one medium helps the other?

EW: Yes, absolutely!  How can you learn anything if you're not pushing your boundaries?  And that goes for more than just materials!

GE: What does the graduate school experience give you that undergraduate does not?

EW: The time to work.  I spent anywhere from 8 to 14 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week in my studio.  You just can't do that in undergrad.  Not only that, but you're surrounded by people who are doing the exact same thing!  It's a great environment for sharing ideas and working hard and I loved it!

 

GE: Would you ever consider becoming a professor of art yourself?

EW: Yes, but aside from perhaps teaching a course here and there, I'm not ready for that yet.  I'm too young, I have more to learn before I can turn around and say, "This is what I have to teach you." I want to know more so I can give my future students more. 

Check out more of Emily's work on her website here.