Interview with contemporary artist Craig Stover
Bhagya Bose
January 31, 2020
Standing on the shoulder of giants, learning from the past and creating a new present is what drives contemporary artist Craig Stover.
I don’t have any idea what the final image is going to look like. Rather, I invent and discover it on the spot. It’s more akin to an invention process than the traditional ‘artistic vision’. It’s as if I’m trying to tap into that beginner’s luck for each image I make.
Tell us about your tryst with art?
My artistic life began with the encouragement of my parents. They encouraged my creativity at a young age but I didn’t really see a future in it until I became a teenager and learned being an artist was possible. At 16 I made the decision to dedicate my life to the arts. I then went on to university to learn the basic skills of image making. I made a point of learning the business side of the art industry and realised that I was able to use this knowledge to help other artists. Regardless of where I was employed, I always found time to make art and to exhibit it.
Tell us about the evolution of your practice over the years. What were the lessons, hurdles and memorable moments?
Once exposed to many of the great artists of the world, I quickly realised that I was at the very beginning of a life-long journey. My first years at university were focussed on learning as many techniques as I could, primarily within the disciplines of painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture. At the heart of if all was a desire to develop my skills as a draftsman, as I came to understand that drawing was at the root of my art.
My biggest challenges were a lack of understanding of the business of the fine arts and the sheer breadth of possible avenues in which to choose from. It took a long time for me to realise that the path I wanted was the route less travelled. I learned that the definition of success as an artist can have many answers and for me, success became defined as an intense studio practice to make great strides in the quality of my work.
As for a most memorable moment, when I look back, it wasn’t one moment but a series of them when I became exposed to each new artist. Usually this started with a single work of art which then led to a search for that artist’s body of work.
Tell us about your fascination with historical contexts and commitment to ethnography via art as a medium.
While I was still in school, I began a life-long journey of absorbing as much art from as many artists as I could to learn from. I knew early on that learning from those artists who came before me was just as important a tool in the creation of art as learning a new technique or discipline. It was this understanding that led me in the beginning of my career to insert references to other artists in my work in an often subtle way to show that I was using their discoveries to help craft my own narrative.
I had no interest in just repeating the works or styles that they did but rather as a way to get my audiences to understand the historical contexts I was contemplating. In other words, I wanted to stand on the shoulders of giants but still be able to point to my own specific imagination and creativity. I knew that as I aged as an artist, these references to art history would lessen as I continually gained a better understanding of my own work.
It was also this method of referencing that eventually brought me to the understanding that when I created a new work, I usually referenced myself, in particular, the last work of art that I made. In this way, my entire body of work emerged as complete autobiographical story. Each picture being a snapshot of my life at the time that then led to the next.
What inspires you? Take us through your process and continuous frameworks of reference.
What inspires me now is just about any and everything. It’s something I believe all artists should be open to. But, this inspiration isn’t always the spark that starts a conversation. I have learned that I needed to invent a process to use what I found inspiring. By that, I developed a way of creating that allows me a framework for a series but gives me enough room to play and experiment.
My process has developed over the years to be very specific. I first determine the basic idea I want to do. I might be thinking of a single figure, a group of them, a landscape or something completely abstract. Then, after selecting the materials I want to use, I attack the surface. I don’t have any idea what the final image is going to look like. Rather, I invent and discover it on the spot. It’s more akin to an invention process than the traditional “artistic vision”. It’s as if I’m trying to tap into that beginner’s luck for each image I make. Long ago I dropped the idea of chasing a style of art as I’ve found this to be a fruitless pursuit and one that I find happens automatically anyway.
Through it all, I still find myself attracted to the lessons that other artists have learned. I live just a few blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and frequent its galleries. When I do, I like to find at least one thing that I can bring back to my studio. But it’s not just other artists that inspire me. Obviously nature is the greatest teacher as many artists can attest, and studying nature can be a life-long obsession.
What is the primary role of an artist? How do you describe yourself in the context of challenging people’s perspectives via your work and art?
I don’t believe there is one primary role for an artist. There isn’t one way of doing anything let alone one reason for it. I know first-hand that there are a large number of roles that society needs artists for. From making large social and political statements that hold up mirrors to our society to those who make works for decorative and illustrative purposes or those who blaze their own trails and create art for art’s sake, there is no one single or best path.
As for challenging people’s perspectives… To be honest it’s not something I’m focussed on. I see my audiences as broken into different groups. For those who know nothing about art and nothing about me, they see my work and might respond to the colours and the shapes and find it pleasant. Then there is the next group that might know something about art and they might see that I’m making some historical references, classical techniques or secret geometry and their understanding of my work is elevated.
Then there is the group that knows me best and might see that I have made allusions to my earlier works or specific biographical references. I don’t really try to challenge people’s perspectives through my work because I truly believe that the most complete definition of a work of art is everyone’s understanding combined. Trying to force a specific narrative never completely works, at least in my experience. What I mean by this is that for example, if I were to make a completely abstract picture and someone were to say that it looks like a picture of an elephant, who am I to say that what they see isn’t real to them?
How do you balance art and life?
I’m lucky in that I have found a great path for myself. Like the vast majority of artists in America, I have a second job that affords me a living and an artistic life. I’m the executive director for a small arts center in Philadelphia called Allens Lane Arts Center. With four core programs that I oversee – a theatre, two art galleries, a summer art camp and a variety of classes in the visual and performing arts – I am afforded the rare opportunity to help bring life to the arts in my community. In my career, I have had the luxury of curating over 100 exhibitions of other artists.
I have helped produce over 60 theatrical plays as well arranged for thousands of children and adults to take classes and workshops. Although the job does keep me very busy, I still have a daily studio practice and exhibit my work in galleries and exhibitions throughout the region. I am lucky in that my artistic practice does not depend on the commercial success of my work since it’s extremely difficult to do where I am, but have created a great balance for me so that the arts are always a central part of my life.
How do you deal with the conceptual difficulty and uncertainty of creating work?
This is a problem I hear about from the vast majority of artists I come across and knew from an early age that this was something that I was going to have to deal with. I have learned to flip that problem on its head and use the energy that comes from uncertainty to fuel my work. Since I’m now about to enter my fourth decade of making work, I’ve learned how to approach the creation of work into a rather Zen-like state. I learned long ago that my drive to make artworks does not stem from commerce but rather because it allows me an opportunity to answer the bigger questions in life like who am I, why am I here and what is reality?
How does your audience interact and react to your work?
Usually my audiences either react favourably or not at all. It’s very rare that anyone says anything negative or even critical of my work. I believe it has to do with either not wanting to offend me or not caring to be engaged. I personally believe that arts education in America hasn’t been taught correctly if at all for at least three generations. This means that the vast majority of people I come across either don’t know about the arts or aren’t interested. I don’t mean to sound pessimistic but as someone who’s been selling artwork (mine and others) for over 30 years, I can say that the vast majority of challenges that artists confront can be boiled down to this lack of education. This is probably what has led me to create a studio practice that relies on my own artistic experimentations rather than saleable artworks.
What are you looking for when you look at other artists’ work? Who are your maestros?
I have been collecting artist monographs, catalogues and other artist books over the years and have amassed a large collection. I love reading about other artists’ life and work, and have a voracious appetite for every artist I come across. Also like looking at every artist I can as everyone has something to teach me. From world famous artists to those who have lived and died in obscurity, I desire to see it all. It all in some ways gets transferred into my works. Approaching art this way levels the playing field and disrupts the current brand awareness that is so prevalent in our society. Looking at everything and being able to absorb it without all the cultural baggage allows me to see the beauty of the marks of Van Gogh paintings as well as a child’s scribbles.
When I was just out of university, I had the rare opportunity to be a studio assistant for a wonderful artist named Sam Maitin. He was internationally known and I learnt from him a great many things about how an artist can sustain their practice outside of the traditional gallery model. I also learned a good number of techniques from him like collage, assemblage and printmaking. If anyone, he was the one artist that showed me that an artistic life can be had on one’s own terms, in one’s own direction.
You have spent time amongst artists in flow. What have you observed?
Running two galleries, which have 12 shows a year, means I’m in the lucky position where I’m working with new artists continually. Most of them are the most intriguing and inspiring in our region. Most of those with whom I work with end up becoming friends. What I have learned is that the vast majority of artists are in the same boat. They make art because they are driven to do it and not because of commerce. They make way more art than they can ever sell. If they can’t afford large artist studios, they will set up their studios in even the smallest of spaces. They deal constantly with being misunderstood or worse, ignored by the masses. They, not patrons, not galleries, not foundations, are the main driver and supporters of the arts.
What is that one thing you wished people would ask you but never do?
When talking about art, I find that it depends on who it is that’s asking. As Picasso said, “When art critics get together, they talk about form, structure and meaning. When artists get together they talk about where to buy cheap turpentine.” I find that outside of these two groups, the general population more often than not seem a bit afraid to ask any questions at all.
Like a lot of artists, I enjoy talking about my work when people are engaged but I find that there are very few people who actually want to engage and it’s often disconcerting. It’s the case with most artists. If I had to pin it down to just one question, I’d be happy to just be asked, “Why?”
What is one imperative piece of advice you would give to someone who is just starting out?
Listen to everyone’s advice but feel free to ignore almost all of it. With the arts, there is no one way or even a best way of doing things. If you really want to make art for a lifetime do it because you love it. It’s easy to start an artistic life but much harder to maintain it. When starting out, you find yourself with a number of opportunities like open calls for art competitions to working with companies that offer marketing and exposure. You need to do your research when you do these sorts of things as a good number of these opportunities are good for the companies and not so much for the artist. Finding the right partner who believes in you and understands you sometimes takes a lifetime.
How does your interaction with a curator, gallery or client evolve? How do you feel about commissions?
Collaborations with curators, gallery owners and clients work best when it is established as a friendship that can then last for a lifetime. Even though it’s a business, nobody wants to be in business with someone that they don’t like or don’t understand. I make it a point to be open to friendships with these individuals because doing so gives them a better understanding of who I am and what I’m trying to do. Ultimately, I want to change people from admirers to supporters.
As for commissions, I feel that they can be a necessary connection between the artist and the client. For me personally, it would depend on the details of the commission. I have gladly made works for people when they gave me the freedom I require when making art. But I have also refused others when the stipulations are specific and it would result in works that are outside of my oeuvre. I don’t mind turning down work if it’s not something I want to do.
What are you working on now? What’s coming next season?
My last series of works of Bathers, based on a Cezanne painting, in the Barnes Foundation surprisingly lasted for 10 years, which resulted in a book entitled Craig Stover – Bathers. I am hoping my next series doesn’t stretch out that long, but I’m willing to take it on anyway. Have started something new with a group of large drawings of rather abstracted women warriors. I have been updating my instagram handle and my website with some of these new works and expect to announce future exhibitions on them as well.
