Today we’d like to introduce you to Annie Blazejack and Geddes Levenson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Annie and Geddes. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We grew up together in Miami. We played on the same softball team when we were in the fourth grade, and we’ve been friends ever since. We both went to college at Brown University. While there, we began our first earnest collaborations, a series of works in which we created a joint alter-ego.
After Brown, we moved to separate cities, but continued to periodically explore collaboration. Blazejack received her MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston / Tufts University in 2013, and Levenson received her MFA from Pratt University in 2014. While pursuing our graduate degrees, we decided to make all our work collaboratively.
To make work together while in different cities we created rules, systems, and structures to guide our practice. It led us into explorations of deep space, re-imagined mythologies and meddling with the sublime. Over time, these art-making systems have developed into a more intuitive process. Our practice is anchored in painting, but we sometimes turn to dyed textile, sculpture, fashion design, video, installation, performance, and book arts in our pursuit of the unknown.
Living together in Miami again and sharing a studio is a new and exciting stage in our collaborative process.
Has it been a smooth road?
For the most part, it has been a smooth road. We respect each other immensely, and we know it’s a privilege to be able to devote so much time and energy to our collaborative art-making.
We lived in different cities for quite a few years. Geddes was in Brooklyn, and Annie was in Boston. It was difficult to create a unified body of work – and especially a consistent color palette – when we couldn’t be in the same studio. Talking on the phone a lot and sending images back and forth can only get you so far.
Working as a creative duo instead of as a ‘Collective’ with a fancy name can also be hard. We want to respect each other’s individual voices and painterly instincts, not merge into one being. But grants, residencies, and other programs supporting artists aren’t really designed with teamwork in mind. There’s a romantic notion in our culture that an artist should be a solitary genius, not a team player.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Annie Blazejack and Geddes Levenson – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Mostly, we make oil paintings. It’s a very old-fashioned line of work, but we’re going about it collaboratively, which is new and unusual.
We are painting a conversation. Our imagery evolves slowly, because we pay very close attention to each other. I guess you could say there are many topics of painted conversation. These strands merge, diverge, mature, evolve.
We are modeling close listening, and, we hope, helping to carve out a place in our society for close female friendships that are valued as highly as family.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Our favorite thing about Miami is the nature that surrounds it. We’re inspired by the Everglades, Biscayne Bay, the beaches, the torrential rain in the summer, the dozens of different kinds of lizards.
Compared to New England, Miami seems flexible and full of possibilities. If you’re enthusiastic about a project, people will support you and you can make it happen. The community of artists in Miami is incredibly kind, supportive and hard-working.
We wish Miami had public transit options.
Contact Info:
- Website: annieandgeddes.com
- Email: annieandgeddes@gmail.com
- Instagram: @annieandgeddes
Image Credit:
Randal Levenson
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