CREATIVE FREEDOM TO CREATE IMAGINARY BEINGS: AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHANNA GOODMAN

1. You went to Parsons School of Design. What are your thoughts on art school ?

It was wonderful to be immersed in a community of artists in a city like New York with such a huge and vibrant art world.  Making a commitment to your artistic exposure and education cannot be underestimated but I don’t think that necessarily means you need to go to art school.  No one needs a degree in art to practice.

2. How would you describe your creative style ?

I feed myself a lot of visual inspiration - other artists’ work, ads, music, crafts, and people on the street.  Then I try and take as many cues as possible from my intuition. Not knowing exactly where a piece is going is the best way for me. If I have it too planned before starting the work, the journey isn’t as surprising and fulfilling.  

3. How would you say your surroundings have influenced your work ? 

I’m no longer in the city so I’m not as influenced by the tight spaces, chaos and high-energy of it. I revel in having more space and light and air and quiet. I feel more centered now with more focus.

4. Out of all the clients you worked with, which collaboration was the most enjoyable and successful? Why ?

It’s hard to boil it down to a single best collaboration.  All of the best collaborations are the ones where the client trusts me enough to give me the creative freedom to express my vision while also having an acute enough eye to help me to tweak the things that need tweaking.  

" All of the best collaborations are the ones where the client trusts me enough to give me the creative freedom to express my vision "

5. What is the story behind the Imaginary Beings series? What art materials did you use for this series ?

The Imaginary Beings series were an accidental result of a project I was doing for a window display.  I sewed huge fabric pieces out of numerous different fabrics and at the end of that project I was left with all of these small scrap pieces that weren’t used, but they were beautiful so I started playing around with them and started collaging them into fantastical outfits on collaged women and then one thing led to another and they started to evolve away from fabrics to other objects and photography and I just couldn’t stop. Still can’t!

6. Which one of your Imaginary Beings images is your favorite? Why ? 

I hate to choose just one. They’re all my babies.  My favorite one is usually the one I just finished.

7. How do you keep yourself motivated ?

Motivation is not a problem for me. I love that I get to make art for a living. Imagining having to get a day job is probably all the motivation I need to keep generating work!

8. How could the art industry become better in your opinion ? 

It depends what you mean by the art industry.  I pay only a limited amount of attention to gallery and museum work, which I love, don’t get me wrong, but there are so many other outlets to find great art work.  Of course I’m a big fan of Illustration (being an Illustrator).  I feel like the art world is getting more democratic with social media and the Internet.  There are so many great blogs out there.  Unfortunately though, it seems that so often art is undervalued monetarily.  Artists need more advocacy, more support for each other.  

" I feel like the art world is getting more democratic with social media and the Internet.  There are so many great blogs out there.  Unfortunately though, it seems that so often art is undervalued monetarily."

JOHANNA GOODMAN