Today we’d like to introduce you to Alison Tirrell.
So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I first realized that I needed to make art while I was an intensive art history major at Hunter College in NYC in the 1990s. Almost all of my electives were studio art classes and I had the luck of being taught by Antoni Milkowski and Ron Gorchov. Concurrently, I did several independent studies with the wonderful art historian, William Agee, focusing on minimalism, post-minimalism and process art of the 1960s and ’70s. It was through my work with these generous mentors that my art-making direction began to be honed. The rest of my twenties were spent making art, playing in a band, working in coffee shops and making no money.
Then, the impending reality of turning 30 hit and I panicked! I completely switched gears and got a job on a help desk at a software company. I knew it wasn’t right for me but, before I knew it, I’d been recruited into their testing department (those are the folks that find the software bugs) and I was making decent money. Fast-forward through the next 15 (yes, fifteen!) years and, although I kept making more money, kept working for cooler tech companies, you’ll see a person who had very much lost her identity as an artist. And that identity remained lost until 2018 when I began, in earnest, making art again, one year after moving from Brooklyn to Key West.
Has it been a smooth road?
After having been out of the art-making game for so long, it was incredibly intimidating to get back into it but that’s what I decided to do in mid-2018. Even though, in the beginning, no one but me would be seeing what I made, I knew that it wouldn’t be a matter of just getting back on the horse. I was no longer clear on what direction I wanted to take. I began to revisit the artists who have always made me feel connected to myself (Eva Hesse, Antoni Tapies, Richard Tuttle, and Fred Sandback among many others) as well as discovering, connecting with, and being inspired by contemporary artists who I came across on Instagram such as Otis Jones, Howard Schwartzberg and Russell Floersch (and countless others!). It’s taken me a year of very consistent work (and working through endless frustration) to feel that I’m finally on the right path.
Please tell us more about your artwork, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Through the use of ordinary materials such as wooden shapes, rope, tape, and cardboard, along with traditional art materials, I make intimately sized (generally 5×7″), pared-down wall sculptures/objects often containing elements that can be read as buttons, knobs or pull cords, evoking a desire to physically engage with the piece on a very base level. This longing to engage can be a vital pathway through which the viewer can tap into long-forgotten feelings and sensations and, because of the ambiguity of the objects, allows the viewer to engage in their own unique terms. In terms of art-making, I definitely don’t fit in here in Key West but being an outlier is never a bad thing, right?
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Because of social media and the advent of online art-selling platforms, the role of the gallery seems to be getting murkier. I’m not sure that this is a good thing. While, of course, it’s great for a higher percentage of money to be going straight into an artist’s pocket, I’m not convinced that it’s in an artist’s best interest to have to invest so much time and thought on self-promotion, branding, bookkeeping, etc. Also, the reality is, there’s nothing like the experience of interacting with art physically, in a thoughtful and appropriate space. Where it’s all headed is anybody’s guess, I suppose, but I’m thrilled to be going along for the ride.
Contact Info:
- Email: alisontirrell@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/alisontirrell.art
Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
