Sunday, July 1, 2012

Brett Manning Interview

Brett Manning Interview

I sat down with Brett Manning last week to have a quick talk about her art practice and work in general.  Her show “Warmness” opens Friday, July 6th  at One Strange Bird (2515 W. North Ave Chicago, Il)  Her work, technically awe inspiring and contemporary at the same time, address themes of universality, the relationship between humans and animals, and pattern and decoration. 

Brett originally went to school to study fashion at The Illinois Institute of Art.  She started to focus more on drawing and illustration after becoming slightly disillusioned by the fashion world.  This original fascination with fashion still shows through in her portraits.

This interview starts after a quick discussion about our similar upbringings in Southern Illinois.  Both coming from small towns and being slightly artistic, I wondered if she was as angry as I was as a teen:

Were you an angry teenager?
No… I was always very passive didn’t really care about anything and always kind of did my own thing.

How old were you when you finally left Springfield?
Eighteen

Were you drawing constantly when you were really little too?
Yes. I’ve always drawn lots of animals. Lots of animals when I was younger then I started doing more self-portrait-y type things in college.