Meet Carol Saft

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carol Saft.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I started my art career in the East Village in New York City and have been listening to the pulse of cities ever since. The people I meet and the objects I have acquired form my personal archive of history and events. I make video and sculpture and am inspired by unusual people and artifacts that I have collected that form the basis of new work. I look for people and things that don’t quite fit and that’s what makes them unique and interesting.

Please tell us about your art.
I am a storyteller in video and sculpture. My sculpture series, “Fallen Men,” presents small, bronze figures carrying someone who is in need of help. The gestures tell a story of caring and action. Some of the pieces suggest social norms that impose secrecy on intimacy. One such piece, “Shushing Man,” offers an invitation for several interpretations: Some people see him as a figure protecting our privacy, some see him as an enforcer of silence about
an unspoken secret.
A new series of sculptures transform familiar domestic objects into things that seem to be changing their usefulness and identity. Sometimes, I am repurposing objects that have been in my family for years and have personal meaning to me. Other times I gather materials from retail stores. A table, a chair, a piece of cloth become new materials that I can transform in order to highlight a new identity and utility. There is a ‘backstory’ suggested in each piece, but I do not feel that it is necessary to know exactly what has promoted the change the piece embodies. My references are disparate periods in design history like Colonial chair design, contrasted to a fabric that is post Modern, or a piece of Mid-Century furniture transformed into a wall sculpture. In one piece, a retail store packing paper for purchased goods, like the stripe paper from Sephora is laminated as a background surface for a 3-D piece with a floating section of pink, latex rubber, that I titled, “Afternoon at Sephora.” My sculptures usually suggest intimacy.

I use video to capture contemporary social and political issues.
I have made a series of over thirty videos about my brother, Todd. He was a fascinating person to observe. After he developed a chronic pain disorder his personality changed. He became a gun collector and marksman. His new hobbies also involved samurai swords and spears. The power of weaponry seemed to replace the joy he had had in his primary career as a copy writer in advertising. He used his sword play and marksmanship to live personas of heroism, and chivalry. The videos I make about Todd capture for me the social issues of gun control, safety and social responsibility toward others.

We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
For the last 18 months, I have been volunteering my video skills to document protest marches in metropolitan areas. I have made 12 videos for the 5,000-member artist collective, We Make America. Among the videos I have made for the group, I documented the Women’s’ March in Washington, and the recent March for our Lives in New York City. We live in a time of social unrest and I believe art has something to offer as both a mirror and diary of our times. My work is responsive to people and the pulse of life. In this way, I am engaged with other artists trying to help create positive change.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I am a sculptor who infuses objects with vulnerability and agitation. I am a filmmaker who is attracted to edgy people with a story to tell. I attended The Pratt Institute New Forms program and received a full fellowship to complete my MFA at S.U.N.Y. Purchase. My videos and sculptures have been shown nationally and internationally at film festivals, museums, and galleries. My screenings include, The Smithsonian Institute, Aurora Picture Show, the United Nations World Conference, the Islip Art Museum, The Guild Hall Museum, The Parrish Art Museum, Pierogi Gallery, Diverse Works, and CableVision’s 28sec project. I have had grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, the International Film and Television Workshop, CableVision Systems, a New York Foundation for the Arts exhibition grant, and the New York Community Trust.

Contact Info:

• Address: 401 First Ave, Apt.10D, New York, New York, 10010
• Website: http://carolsaft.com
• Phone: 347-668-2722
• Email: carol.saft1@gmail.com
• Instagram: saft1saft
• Facebook: Carol Saft
• Other: https://vimeo.com/user3183672

Image Credit:
Carol Saft and Meredith Allen.
George Day

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