Episode 042 - Emily Moores

In today's episode, I welcome Emily Moores! Emily is an installation artist based out of Ohio. She creates largescale, original designs out of hand-cut paper to provide a joyful moment in time for her viewers to take everything in. She shares about why she doesn't feel the need to define art, how being fully present brings better perspective to an art interaction, and the importance of creating playful art. (Fun fact: the cover image is a photo of one of Emily Moores' art installations!) 

 

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Episode 42 - Emily Moores

Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.

[00:00:07] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.

[00:00:13] Roman: All I can do is put my part into the world.

[00:00:16] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, and you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.

[00:00:24] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experience as so beautiful.

[00:00:32]Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Artfully Told. My name is Lindsey and I am so excited to introduce to you today, Emily Moores. She is an installation artist focusing on hand- cut paper, and thank you, Emily. So very much for being here and for sharing your stories about art.

[00:00:54] Emily Moores: Thank you so much for having me.

[00:00:56] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. Well, I would absolutely love if you would share just a little bit about exactly what being an installation artist means and what that process looks like, and also just sort of how you got involved. This is fascinating to me. I'm so excited to learn more.

[00:01:14]Emily Moores: So as you said, I'm an installation artist that focuses mainly using hand-cut paper. Over the past year, I've started using other things like fabric or lights in my artwork, but an installation is like an immersive sculpture. It's something that is made to fit a particular space. And if you move or transfer it to a new space, it adapts to that space. So it's not something-- like a sculpture stays the same, regardless of what room it's in, whereas the installation kind of fits into the space. So what I really love about installations are they, there's something that you have to live in the moment. It's not something that you can come back to when it's moved to another gallery. It's-- you have to be present for it when it's in this space at that particular time.

[00:02:05]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. That's amazing. And so how did you get started into that artistic endeavor in the first place? Or what kind of, what is your background, what it kind of prompted you that direction?

[00:02:18]Emily Moores: Well, I went to art school and I got a degree in painting. I took a few years off and I mostly stayed within drawing and painting. And then I went to the University of Cincinnati to get my master's degree in studio art. And it was while I was at that program that I started to take things-- I started to cut apart my drawings and break away from like a flat space. And so for my like final thesis for my master's project, I ended up building like a large scale installation in a stairwell. And so that kind of is where the starting point for me and how I built myself into a 3D space.

[00:03:02]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that makes complete sense. And how cool to go from, like you said, just cutting up your own artwork and realizing that it can transform into something completely different. Love that. I love that about art. And so, you know, growing up, were you always drawing and, and painting or whatever? I mean, like, have you always kind of been an artist or did that interest develop later?

[00:03:24]Emily Moores: I had always been-- I guess I had always been an artist. I was fortunate enough to have my parents signed me up for Saturday afternoon art classes when I was younger. And I was just never really good at anything else. And so I ended up only applying to go to art school and that was kind of the only vision I had for myself.

[00:03:45]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, definitely. I think when you start growing up that way and it's just like, okay, well, this is the course of the natural next step. Yeah. So, okay. I'd love to hear a little bit more about the work that you do and maybe some different experiences that you've had. You had mentioned that it doesn't stay the same when it's from one gallery or space to another. And I'm kind of curious what you mean by that. Obviously I'm sure the space dictates quite a bit of, of how it's maybe laid out. Forgive me if I'm not using all the correct terminology.

[00:04:22]Emily Moores: It's, so basically like let's say, okay, so a couple of months ago there, I built an installation for ROY G BIV Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. And so I had two nooks in the gallery, and then I had a window space. But the nooks were like seven feet wide was one, and then I think the other one was like five feet wide. And so the way that I built the beams, the beams were built for that space. So if I were to, if somebody were to request that artwork again in a different space, I would have to kind of alter the beams to fit because they were like nailed into the wall. And then they were the support structure to hold the paper and the lights up. And so I would have to kind of refigure the wood and kind of cut it into different configurations so that it would fit into a corner because not every gallery is going to have like a seven foot wide nook.

[00:05:19]And so, and I think a lot of times too, when we think of like, how everything is documented in our lives, constantly with our phones. And  there's something that I really love about installations in that a lot of times, especially when they're larger, you can't get them all in one picture. You have to  move around from different vantage points. And also with the temporary feel of it, you know, you can't wait for it again. Like, it's something that you have to be there.  You have to move around the space in that moment.  I do love, and I feel really flattered, when people take pictures and post them on Instagram of my artwork, but I still love the idea that they have to physically move and walk around and that you can't basically take a picture and kind of hold onto it completely, you know?

[00:06:08] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. I think that's a really special thing about walking through installation art, and I haven't had as much opportunity as I would love to, but I think that those experiences have been the most memorable. I mean, even as you were talking, I was thinking about some of the various installation art I've gotten to witness and it is kind of a magical experience because you're-- you're right-- you can't capture it in one frame and one instant and that's special, cause you, you kind of have to explore or come back, you know, to fully appreciate it. So that's really cool. Yeah. And now do you work both inside and outside with your work?

[00:06:49]Emily Moores: I have not worked outside. It's not something that I'm opposed to. I haven't had a chance yet. So most of mine  within the past year or so have been all indoor installations, but they've been  looking through a window. So there's like the vantage point of looking in the gallery. But then also when you walk outside of the gallery, like looking through a window at the artwork, and so  when I am constructing the installation, I'm thinking about the composition of  when you're inside the gallery looking at it, but then also as you're walking past it in the window.

[00:07:20]Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, neat. Okay. Very cool. And then as far as the various locations that you've been able to do work in, do you mostly work in a certain geographic area or have you been able to travel with your installations or anything like that?

[00:07:36]Emily Moores: So I've done mostly like local shows as of right now, like I'm have two small children and so going long distances isn't as much of an option right now. And I think I think there's a lot of benefit to doing local shows. Because the people who are coming to see your artwork already have a familiarity with your work. And so the kind of conversations you have, like people are asking how you transitioned or transformed or people already kind of feel comfortable with like thinking about  the paper that I'm cutting or noticing, you know, kind of different techniques that I'm using. And so I think there's a lot of value in exhibiting or continue to exhibit in your local community.

[00:08:19]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And kind of build that reputation and build that community, you know, of people who are like, "Oh, you're doing a new one. I want to come back and see that." Yeah. Yeah. That's neat. So with your artwork, I'm sure, obviously, you always have a lot of intentionality behind what you do of course, but are there specific themes that really kind of pull at you that, that are really important for you to express, or is that also dependent on how you're commissioned or how was that whole process? How was the creative process for you?

[00:08:54]Emily Moores: I would say, so my creative process is usually I build like a little model of the gallery out of foam core. And then I play around with like a tiny version in my studio space, but a lot of times I'll have  a basic vision or an outline with the larger materials. So like over the summer, I was in an installation at the Riffe Gallery and I had like three triangles made out of wood that were kind of like little pyramids, just like three beams kind of going up. And those were pre-planned, but there was a lot of it that I built to fit. I kind of like build components. And then after I get the main structure set up, then I'm walking around the gallery, thinking about how the viewer, like, when the viewer walks into the space, what are they first going to look at? You know? And then when they walk past, what is going to change.

[00:09:49] And so a lot of times I can just build the main structure and then I go into the actual physical space and thinking about the person who's standing there, looking at it. And one of the themes that I think about a lot is being playful. And I also think about like using a sense of texture too. I guess going off on the installation is helping you be present in the space of the gallery. One of the things that I really am inspired by is a book by Susan Best called " Visualizing Feeling" where she talks about an effect, which is like, it's not exactly your feelings, but it's like if you-- you know how, like you can feel people like looking at you, even though you might not be looking at them, or you might be able to walk in and feel like a sense of danger or you can feel a mood. And so thinking about that, when you're engaging a work of art. And so a lot of times I try to use texture as a way to be playful and kind of create that feeling. But also kind of like push the viewer to like walk around and be curious and and to kind of like playful light-hearted way.

[00:10:58]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Yeah, so a lot of textures and I, I love texture in art that always-- I don't know why it just, it, it speaks to you on such a different level. I just think it's always so cool  whenever it's used. Yeah. Lots of texture. Okay. Now are all of your exhibits or your installations, do they, are they kind of view- only, or because there's that texture aspect, have any of your installations been something that people were invited to actually physically touch, like participate that way or?

[00:11:34] Emily Moores:  I am not opposed to moving into a place where people could touch it, but right now they are not. They're just for your eyes only. So, and some of the times I use like little wires or it could, you know, maybe they  would need to be more secure if people were to start like touching them or engaging them. So, because I usually use  tiny little wires to attach the paper to each other. And so while it's the cure to like, hang up on its own, it's not secure to be like, touched on or pulled on,  you know?

[00:12:09] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, definitely. Well, and you know, it's not like that's something that has to happen or something. I was just curious, cause I know some artists end up creating some things that, that that's part of the intention behind it, which is kind of cool too. Okay. So you mentioned, you know, the playful aspect, which I love. I think that's really a charming thing that you do. Do you also use your artwork to address things, concerns that you have or to speak about? Like current events-- not that you have to, because I think there's so much room for so many different kinds of art and I'm, you know, like I think the whole spectrum is fantastic, but I'm just curious. Do you use some of what you do to speak out about, you know, things that are important to you or is most of what your work does for, you know, for that experience, for that joy, for that playfulness?

[00:13:00]Emily Moores: I would say it's not really connected to current events in that it leans more for the joy or playfulness. I think about it more like an abstract painting where like, when you think about the brush strokes creating a sense of movement, and your eye going through the composition of a painting, that these are like textures that are pulling you in and out for this kind of like immaterial, but like feeling of engagement where you're like walking and exploring maybe like a, a real life or 3D kind of painting, abstract painting.

[00:13:37] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, cool. I love that description. That is so fun to think about it in those terms. All right. Very cool. Now, have you dabbled in other art forms as well? Or is your primary focus right now your installation art, which I'm sure takes up an extensive amount of time?  You talked about your process being starting very small with these models and then kind of building out from there. So obviously you're, you're very engaged with your work, but do you do other art firms as well? Or is this kind of your gig?

[00:14:08]Emily Moores: I play with-- sometimes between like a lot of installations I'll make like wallwork, so there'll be like sculptures that hang on the wall. And a lot of times it's like taking the remnants or the leftovers from my installations and playing with them in a new way. And so I'm able to kind of like push ideas or like different uses of colors, like quickly.  I'm going to be veering into that direction right now because I'm finishing up my big projects. I've been storing my scraps, and so I will kind of like use a smaller wallwork as a way to kind of rethink how I'm moving my colors or the scraps of paper or the textures.

[00:14:50]Lindsey Dinneen: So cool. Very cool. Now you had mentioned-- and I loved this-- you had mentioned being able to do quite a bit of indoor work last year. And last year as we all know, was a little wonky, to say the least. So I'm curious, how did COVID affect your work or, or did it? Or did it make things adapt or your galleries change or whatever? What was the outcome for you?

[00:15:16] Emily Moores: Well, the first exhibition I had last year, I set it up and then like a week later everything was shut down. So the gallery was not really prepared for that. And it was also on a college campus. And so they, nobody really saw that exhibition. But then when I was at the ROY G BIV Gallery, they did like virtual. They did a lot of like social media. In Instagram, I got to do an Instagram takeover, which was really helpful. And they also, you could look, look at things through the window and they also did like scheduled tours too. So you could schedule it with your, like, wear your mask and just go one at a time into the, or like, like your family could go one at a time. And then, over the summer, I was at the Riffe Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, and they we did some virtual artists talks. But a lot of it was just like posting online. They did an artist talk on YouTube where they walked around the gallery and talked about the artwork that was in the show. So that was helpful because then people who were out of state, you know, that I was familiar with, I could just email them the YouTube link of the exhibition talk. So.

[00:16:31] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that's nice to have that ability to share your art actually with maybe a wider audience than you would have necessarily. Yeah. And I love the fact that those galleries were so innovative in their approaches. I've just been so impressed with the adaptability-- and of course we shouldn't be surprised, this is what artists do, right? But I've just been so impressed with the adaptability and flexibility that I've seen with that kind of thing in mind, like sure --one- at- a- time tours or one group at a time, or look through the window or let's do this virtually. That is really cool.  I'm so glad to hear that you were able to do a lot of work regardless. That's encouraging. So I'm curious, are there any stories that kind of come to mind of times where maybe either you watch somebody react to some art work that you had done, or you went to go see some art and you had this sort of gut reaction or this moment that you thought I really need to remember this? This is kind of something that stands out to me as an encounter with art?

[00:17:34] Emily Moores: Yeah. I do not remember the artist's name off the top of my head, but I went to MOCA in Cleveland and there was an like a installation where you walked in and sat down, like you were in a movie theater and then you put on these headphones. And then the artist had done like where you stick the microphones into-- so you do like two microphones that she stuck into foam heads when she recorded. So when you put these headphones on, it would sound like she was right behind you because the speakers matched your ears. So she was like whispering in your ear while you were like watching this movie and you couldn't focus because it really felt like there was a person like standing behind you, like making fun of the movie. And, and so I really love artwork that I guess kind of throws you off a little bit and kind of makes you-- I guess, I don't know. I just really had one that was really memorable because it was just so  unexpected, I guess.

[00:18:35] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. Yeah. Unexpected. That's a great word. Yeah. So essentially things that surprise you because maybe they're a little bit different or a little bit more innovative, or like you said, like having her voice feel like it was right behind you, immersed in this experience. That's really cool. Yeah. And then, do you often have an opportunity to witness people witnessing your art or is it more you set it up and then, you know, people kind of witnessed it on their own time.

[00:19:05]Emily Moores:  I would say that there's like, so as I'm building it, a lot of times people, you know, before COVID, would come up and talk to me about what I was doing and I really love that engagement. And also  you can watch people interact with it during the opening, but especially now with social media, you know, if people tag you,  you can see their reaction when you're not in the gallery. So, or kind of like learn more about what they say when they talk about like what they're looking at. And so I think that that's also really powerful too.

[00:19:41] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, definitely. So I have a few questions that I always like to ask my guests if you're okay with that. Okay. So first of all, how do you personally define art or what is art to you?

[00:19:54]Emily Moores: I know maybe this isn't like the right answer, but I actually don't really worry about defining art because I think there's a lot of people who push, you know, especially when you think about like the past. A hundred years where people are like doing social practices, art, or they're switching into doing installations and all of these norms were broken, but they're still really meaningful ways of engagement. Sometimes I think if we get too caught up in trying to define something, then we can lose our ability to be open. And, and so I'm not-- I guess I'm not as concerned with having a definition. I know for me, I definitely practice within like the realm of installation and within, you know, making wall works. You know, like maybe I'll go back to making paintings or drawings, but like if I were to walk into a gallery and there's like a performance and it's mostly dance, I don't feel like I wouldn't necessarily want to adhere to a definition.

[00:20:59]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Well, I actually love that answer because I have never heard it said quite like that. And I, I agree with you. I think, I think sometimes we can get bogged down too much in the definitions, but I love your openness.  Okay. And then also, what do you think is the most important role of an artist?

[00:21:20]Emily Moores: I think that there are a lot of different kinds of roles for different kinds of artists. Like some artists have you reflect on, you know, historical events or connect you to maybe an idea or group of people that you wouldn't have a connection with. And I guess in any situation, whether, you know, like if I'm just creating artwork to be playful, I'm still creating a connection to this like physical, tangible object existing in space. And so for me, I would say artists create connections where we maybe haven't thought about them previously.

[00:22:00]Lindsey Dinneen: Mm. Yeah. I love that. Yes, and you're, you're completely right --the playfulness matters. I mean,  it's so important to have art be fun and joyful too. I mean, again, like I was saying earlier, it can do so many things, but I just, I love that what you do is playful. That's fantastic. We need that in our world.

[00:22:22]Emily Moores: I was at a baby shower recently, and somebody told the expecting mother that all the cliches that people say about having a baby are completely true. And in some ways, like when you think about these things that you talked about, or maybe were cliche from like kindergarten. So sometimes I think about, do you remember that book about, was it Ferdinand the mouse? Or maybe it wasn't Ferdinand. It was a little mouse who all the other mice were working and he was like collecting images of colors in his head and he kept them going through winter. I don't remember the name of that book, but sometimes it's kind of like these moments of play. Especially, you know, before COVID, so much of our culture was just like rushing and trying to accomplish so many things and if you're always rushing, you know, like you miss all these beautiful moments in your life. And so, and even now with so many people being quarantined and things are struggling, taking these moments of playfulness are still really important. And so sometimes those things that seem cliche are still really important.

[00:23:32]Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely amen to that. Love it. Okay. And then my final question is, do you think that art should be inclusive or exclusive? And I'll define my terms a little bit. So inclusive referring to an artist who puts their work out there and provides a little bit of context behind it, whether it's their inspiration or program notes, or it titles, something. Versus exclusive referring to an artist who puts their work out there and doesn't provide context so it's left solely to the viewer or participant to make of it what they will.

[00:24:08]Emily Moores: I would probably say a little bit of both, and kind of like, depending on the artist, their intent, like leaning towards one way or another. So like, if somebody is creating artwork about a historic event and they want you to feel a connection to something that happened, that inclusiveness of creating like a wall text, or like parameters for how to look at the artwork would be really important. Whereas for me personally, I don't feel like when people walk in to look at my installations, I don't think that they need to really know.  My artwork is not biographical. It's not necessarily connected to anything specific, other than like wanting people to be present in the moment in a really playful, engaging way. And so I don't, for me, I wouldn't say that I need to have that wall text, you know? So it kind of, it kind of depends on what the artist's intentions are, but I feel like both are valuable.

[00:25:10]Lindsey Dinneen: I agree with you. Yeah. I liked that a lot. Perfect. All right. Well, first of all, Emily, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your stories. And it's so interesting to me to hear about your process and how installation art just changes and adapts. And I love that seems just like a perfect metaphor for artists and art in general. So.

[00:25:36] Emily Moores: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity. Yeah.

[00:25:40] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course! Yeah. And I would love if our audience is able to connect with you or follow your work, or now, since some of your things are virtual, I guess we can mostly all engage. Do you mind sharing a little bit of, kind of how to, to follow your journey?

[00:25:57]Emily Moores:  I have a website. It's just emilymorres.com. But if you go to my biography, that's where all the links are going to be, like the curator talks or any kind of like interviews I've given. And then also I post on Instagram. So it's @emilymoores_art. And those are more like studio shots, which my studio is a little crazy. I think the most recent shot is my daughter. She just like squirted the paint and was like washing her hands in it. She's learned how to open the paint. So that is a little messy right now.

[00:26:29]Lindsey Dinneen: Aww, I love it though. I love the behind the scenes. I, I often joke with fellow artists about how sometimes there's this perception that an artist's life is really glamorous, but if you look behind the scenes, you know, there are moments of glamor for sure, but that's maybe like the 5% and the other 95% is messy.  Yeah. I love it. Well, thank you so much again, Emily. I really appreciate your time today and sharing your stories, and I'm excited to take a look at some of your artwork and I'm sure our audiences as well. And I just appreciate what you do. I love your stance on playfulness and joy, and just that's that's so cool what you do. So thank you. And thank you to everyone who has listened to this episode. And if you are as inspired as I am, I would love if you would share this with a friend or two, and we will catch you next time.

[00:27:30] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.

[00:27:40]Hey, Artfully Told listeners, Lindsey here. And I just want to share with you a little bit more about the SpeakEasy Method. Now, if you've had a chance to listen to Gregg Gonzales's interview on Artfully Told, you're already a little familiar with the process that is so unique.  The SpeakEasy Method is for people who are ready to write their books, but maybe aren't super confident about their own writing ability, or just want a more streamlined way of doing it. Gregg and his team at SpeakEasy are experts at these amazing questions that help your authentic voice to shine through. So what they do is they go through recorded audio interviews with you and these recordings are then transcribed and put into manuscript format ready to go. So what's cool about that is instead of months and months, or years and years, of you writing a book, they will actually take you from concept to published and it can be as little as nine months. That is one of the most recent success stories that they have accomplished. And it is just a really innovative method that I am personally so excited to help represent and help share the word about because what Gregg and his team are doing is absolutely life-changing for prospective authors. And I highly encourage you to book a discovery call with Gregg or another member of his team to learn more and see if this could be the perfect fit for you. It's a hundred percent complimentary and you can do so easily by going to his website and that's www.joy-ful-living.com/speakeasy. And again, that spelled out is J O Y dash F U L dash living.com/speakeasy.