Jaclyn Schanes paints works that have the power to disturb and amuse simultaneously. She is uninhibited and reserved in equal measure.
If the name of this particular artist is new to you, get acquainted on 7/31 as the Re:View Contemporary Gallery in Detroit will permit Schanes a mayfly moment in the spotlight with Show Pony. A one-night only/one woman show with Schanes supplying sounds to complement the canvases, marks her belated solo flight after several group sorties and other projects in the Detroit arts community.
A modest summary of Schanes' curriculum vitae would still come across like Wiki-lite, so let's go with the highlights: She went to CCS, mastered the art of glassblowing, established a design label called Motor City Baby, collaborated with several music combos and found time to furnish costumes for the Iggy Pop indie film Art House. She admits that over the years the occasional demon of self-doubt has hitched along for a ride, but she never stopped the car. Even better, she succeeded in running over quite a few of them. It's Pony time ...
The autobiographical is an element in every artist's work. Are your paintings a commentary on where you've been and where you are now?
I don't know much, but what I do know is my own personal history. When it came to Show Pony I made sure everything was self-informed and retrospective. Exploring the caverns and finding the stalagmites of my mind was the principal goal.
Prior to the show, I was in a major life transition. Owing myself time alone to discover my aspirations and desires, I began to conceptualize a solo show. The watercolors involved in the show are all self-portraits. Each painting expresses the flood of feelings I was experiencing when I was working on them. It is never my goal to be happy or content; I enjoy the rush and oddity of any emotion. So the range is wide — each painting is its own character. Where I am now is everywhere. The show has a soundtrack/score that I wrote and recorded. This will be very informing as to where I have been in the process of discovering myself through the show. It is not just the paintings that are autobiographical — it is the entirety of the experience.
How did this one-night only gig with Re:View come about?
Re:View is wide open, bright and just seemed to match the image I had in my mind. I expressed my idea to Simone De Sousa and fate took its course.
What's with this "zombie" thing of yours?
The "thing" is not necessarily just zombie-oriented. It's more like zombie on Monday, Lolita on Tuesday, sailor on Wednesday, geisha on Thursday, etc. To take a normal mundane task like going to the grocery store and turn it into a costume party equals entertainment to me. It is important for me to make every freaking moment creative and memorable. It's an isolation in my mind that is there to invent the next "me." It is rare that I don't put my heart into what I am wearing or working on. Everything matters much. Yes, that is the existentialist in me, but don't worry — I will think things into oblivion, when everything disappears but sand and stars.
Who are three people you would like to go to dinner with?
I would like to dine on sushi with Dare Wright, Mike Patton and Egon Schiele.
Do you have a motto to live by?
To "live life as art, and to live art as life" is, without a doubt, what wakes me up in the morning. To give meaning to the mundane rituals of day-to-day life gives me a sense of safety. Art/design/costuming is a weapon for me to control my fear of how odd and uncertain life can be. | RDW
Show Pony • 7/31 • Re:View Contemporary Gallery • 444 W. Willis St., Detroit • 313.833.9000 • reviewcontemporary.com
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