Alyssa Monks: How loss helped one artist find beauty in imperfection
愛麗莎.蒙克思: 「失去」如何幫助一名藝術家尋找不完美中的美
Alyssa Monks transfers the intimacy and vulnerability of human experience onto a painted surface. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
about something personal
may be helpful to somebody.
能幫助到一些人。
I grew up the youngest of eight.
我是家裏八個孩子中最小的。
載我們到城中各處,
from when I was eight to 16,
她帶我參加所有我能參加的美術課,
in New York City.
I learned a few survival skills.
我學會了一些生存技能。
see you do anything stupid.
and stay in line.
to be an artist.
就決心做一名畫家。
to support my painting.
女服務生來支持我的繪畫開支。
and I got an MFA,
並獲得了碩士學位,
my brother asked me,
我的哥哥問我,
mean next to the paintings?"
是什麽意思?」
that the paintings were sold
had four electrical outlets,
and a toaster at the same time,
微波爐和烤麵包機,
from back around that time.
as realistic as possible.
isolated and in total control.
完全有主導權的地方。
of painting people in water.
the perfect enclosed environment.
與外隔絕的完美空間。
that kept me busy for a decade.
也讓我忙了將近十年。
with the bathwater to make it cloudy
讓水看起來有煙霧瀰漫的感覺,
I couldn't wait to paint it.
我等不及想馬上畫了。
kind of impulsive curiosity,
in my head and hair
別人對我的認同,
with more than four outlets.
四個插座的公寓裏去。
and inspiring each other.
who made this painting
在海邊跳舞的畫。
他回答說:
into adulthood, you're no longer a child,
by the responsibilities of life."
扛起生命責任的那段時光。」
and it was in her brain.
她的骨頭和大腦。
我跪倒了。
and I looked at her,
how to help her.
having him in charge,
taking care of her.
everything I could to help,
I'm going to need you later."
我之後會需要你的。」
and the internet didn't know:
經歷這一切。
and whatever situation came up,
then now I was surrendering,
the uncontrollable
那些不可控的東西,
into bed with her and sleep with her.
她的被窩裡和她睡在一起。
his car coming up the driveway.
我們都會很開心。
自己做的大馬克杯,
for breakfast.
這樣她就不會著涼。
and bring their kids,
會帶著他們的孩子過來,
we could find to drink her coffee.
最小茶杯來喝咖啡。
to help me with the showers.
《美麗的痛苦時光》。
after her diagnosis.
一年又三個禮拜後,
supportive and attentive way.
關愛的方式一起度過。
all together in this unknown,
of my time alone in a studio working,
都待在畫室的我,
卻一無所知。
for me to go back to my studio.
and I drove back to Brooklyn,
so that's what I did.
我只會做這件事。
that was unraveling in me.
rendered safe place
I didn't want to paint anymore.
and I wasn't a landscape painter,
much of any kind of painter at all,
不計後果地創作。
一盞路燈旁。
It didn't matter. It didn't matter.
一點都不重要。
back to my studio,
在頂層作畫。
好多小蟲在裏面的畫。
that were fascinating me,
the paint like I used to.
去控制我所畫的。
and suggesting,
chaotic, turbulent surface
as I was when I was a student.
就像我學生時代那樣。
to put figures in these paintings, people,
放進到這些繪畫當中,
both people and this atmosphere.
能融為一體。
what I've been working on.
我最近的作品。
and it's like a preview, I guess,
來得及展示的畫作,
畫展預告吧。
what matters most to me,
對我最重要的意圖,
where there's no resisting or controlling.
big losses in our lives,
我們都會經歷到一些重創,
are out of our control.
我們能控制的。
活著的人事物做連結。
to find something beautiful
痛苦中的美麗事物吧!
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alyssa Monks - PainterAlyssa Monks transfers the intimacy and vulnerability of human experience onto a painted surface.
Why you should listen
Alyssa Monks blurs the line between abstraction and realism through layering different spaces and moments in her paintings. Using semi-transparent filters of glass, vinyl, steam and water to flip background and foreground in her 10-year water series, she seduced the viewer into shallow spaces. Today, she is imposing a transparent landscape of infinite space over her emotionally evocative subjects.
The tension in her mostly large-scale paintings is sustained not only by the composition but also by the surface treatment itself. Each brushstroke is thickly applied oil paint, like a fossil recording every gesture and decision, expressing the energetic and empathic experience of the handmade object.
Monks's work is represented by Forum Gallery in New York City. She lives and paints in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her latest solo exhibition "Resolution" took place March and April of 2016 at Forum Gallery. Monks's paintings have been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions including "Intimacy" at the Kunst Museum in Ahlen, Germany and "Reconfiguring the Body in American Art, 1820–2009" at the National Academy Museum of Fine Arts, New York. Her work is represented in public and private collections, including the Savannah College of Arts, the Somerset Art Association, Fullerton College, the Seavest Collection and the collections of Eric Fischl, Howard Tullman, Gerrity Lansing, Danielle Steele, Alec Baldwin and Luciano Benetton.
Born 1977 in New Jersey, Monks began oil painting as a child. She studied at The New School in New York and Montclair State University and earned her B.A. from Boston College in 1999. During this time she studied painting at Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence. She went on to earn her M.F.A from the New York Academy of Art, Graduate School of Figurative Art in 2001. She completed an artist in residency at Fullerton College in 2006 and has lectured and taught at universities and institutions nationwide. She continues to offer workshops and lectures regularly.
Monks has been awarded the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for Painting three times and serves as a member of the New York Academy of Art's Board of Trustees.
Alyssa Monks | Speaker | TED.com