10 Questions with Noah Spivak

ISSUE09 Art Magazine | Featured Artist

Noah Spivak studied at the Cooper Union School of Art, New York, and received a Bachelor of Fine Art in photography from Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, in 2015. Shortly after graduation, he migrated to Melbourne, Australia, and since then has actively produced work for exhibitions in his Brunswick-based studio. Spivak has exhibited both nationally and internationally.

www.noahspivak.com | @_noahspivak_

ARTIST STATEMENT

The artist’s compulsive urge to collect – objects, relationships, meaning – is used to explore how we experience the small phenomena of the reality we inhabit. Spivak aims to provide a space that challenges viewers and artists alike into considering the value of (self)image in our visually saturated culture. Spivak’s fascination with the human senses, the ambiguity of everyday life, and the space in which the art experience occurs culminate in a body of work exploring how we experience visual art and the subconscious decisions we make leading up to this moment.

INTERVIEW

First of all, tell our readers a bit about you. Who are you, and how did you start experimenting with images?

My name is Noah Spivak, and I am currently 28. I was born, raised, and educated in Vancouver, Canada but have been based in Melbourne, Australia, since 2015. I hold a BFA in photography, but my current practice is installation-based and relies heavily on materialism.  

I can probably trace my fascination with the photograph back to my first year of art school. Specifically, the moment I first saw a photograph develop in the darkroom. Ever since then, I've been obsessed with the capabilities of the photograph(ic) and the magic of alchemical reactions. 

What is your aim as an artist?

Simply put, my aim is to be an exhibiting artist for the rest of my life! But more specifically, I have set myself a lifetime goal of one day existing in an Art History textbook. Well knowing that I may not be one of the most famous artists in the world, but being referenced as culturally important to a specific time (or art movement) is of great significance to me and is what drives me forward. I used to daydream in lectures at Art school about how someday students would see examples of my work on the projected screen in front of them. I think this level of recognition (or whatever form it may take) is crucial to the Arts, as it fuels creative confidence and lets artists know they are valued within contemporary society.  

Your statement says you have a "compulsive urge to collect objects, relationships, meaning". What does this urge come from? And how does it influence your work?

I'm going to have to blame my parents! I grew up in a home that was decorated and celebrated and filled to the brim. They have spent a great deal of time traveling the world and bringing many forms of meaning home with them. As a result, they have a fantastically eclectic Art collection that isn't limited to what the world may perceive as Art. I love my parent's house, and it has definitely influenced my relationship to objects - I wouldn't say in a materialistic way so much as a memory-association kind of way. I grew up collecting rocks (and really whatever else I could fit in my pockets), and since then, I have been downloading my emotional responses to life events into a random array of bits and pieces (that now decorate my own home). It's this behavior that led me to sculpture and installation work. I love objects with history, patinas of time, and things consumed by natural processes. I bring that sense of ephemerality into my work quite frequently as I think it helps remind myself, and by extension my viewers, that we are, in fact, fleeting and not a forever moment.  

Another theme that we can find in your production is "the value of (self)image in our visually saturated culture". Do you think there is a way out of this culture? And how can art help us find this way?

To be frank, I don't! I think we've come too far for there to be a way out. We are completely saturated by the things we see on our screens, and this has surely desensitized us to the value of a single image in our day to day. But this isn't to say all is lost - I do think we will learn to live with our consumption in ways that will hopefully bring meaningful engagement back to the Arts. As long as artists continue to be genuine in their creations, we will remain on the right path.  

Where do you draw inspiration from for your work? Do you have any specific references?

I cast a wide net – encompassing all of what the natural world has to offer. I pull inspiration from what my senses have access to, but perhaps more specifically, their limitations and inaccuracies. I enjoy reminding my audience that we, as human beings, are severely flawed in our design. Furthermore, I've had a long-running fascination with alchemical science – the transmutation of material - making the unseen seen is very important to me. With this I can form concepts or ideas for work that I then apply to a heavily influenced aesthetic of minimalism and materialism. I strive to simplify complex ideas in overtly simple ways. Some of the Artists that first caught my attention are Wolfgang Laib, Olafur Eliasson, Liz Deschenes, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Felix Gonzales-Torres, and Studio Zimoun, to name a few. 

You mostly work on large-scale installations. What is your creative process like? And how much planning goes into each work?

I'd say my creative process is constantly in motion. I typically have several ideas on the go at once, and more often than not, completed work will return to the creative cycle in the form of both recycled material and ideas. I believe this has begun to weave thematic similarities into my larger body of work. However, I am always keeping my eyes open for new materials to experiment with and to see how these react with the past processes. As these ideas become more refined, I do my best to hone in on the skills needed to achieve how I see the work in my head. My work is rarely finished unless it's being exhibited – site responsivity plays a large role in the majority of my work. So for these reasons, I can't say much planning goes into any of my work until the very end. Before this, it's simply an idea on the studio floor.  

You are currently based in Melbourne. What do you think about the art community and market there? Is it different from North America, and how?

The Art community here is vibrant. There is so much content being created – and not only by visual artists but by performers, musicians, comedians, designers. We really are quite saturated here, and although that means there is lots to engage with, it also means competition (for space, sales, viewership). So I'd say both the community and market here are competitive in a way that pushes you to keep your best foot forward. I am not too familiar with the current North American art market, but while studying in Vancouver, the community seemed dominated by art schools. So at the time, I felt very engaged and enthralled by it all. It was great, but it certainly did not prepare me for one that wasn't backed by an institution. I do hope to soon re-familiarize myself with the community there as an artist who is much more confident in their practice and abilities. 

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

Like my creative process, I always have several things on the go. Melbourne is currently in lockdown, so without access to my studio I've been focusing on exhibition proposals, grant applications and trying to finish the final edit on my second artist book. In addition, I've been doing research for my upcoming 2022 exhibitions – reading scientific journals on the properties of silver and other precious metals as well as dipping into my archive for a revival show early in the year. 

Time has been moving so quickly recently that I am trying to focus on the year ahead rather than plan too far into the future. That being said, I would like to lock in a residency sometime soon, preferably in Europe. I'm interested in integrating myself into the Italian minimalism scene, as I believe we approach our materials rather similarly, and I think it would be a fruitful place to spend time with my practice. And a little later on, looking at MFA programs. 

Something exciting I'd like to mention is that my partner and I are launching Odllum (@the.odllum.effect) next year – a company we conceived to explore our shared interest in unique design, specifically mirror making. We see it as the creative brainchild of an art-chemist and metal designer who collaborate with chemical processes to create one-of-a-kind objects. If everything goes according to plan, we will have a product range ready for the world to engage with in early 2022. 

What is one lesson you learned from this past year's experience? And how did it help you further develop your art?

If this last year has taught me one thing, it's that being a visual artist is what I want to do with my time on this earth. It has kept me sane. It has kept me engaged with the world. It has given me some kind of daily purpose. I have learned to trust myself as an artist and to allow myself the time and space to do so. The culmination of this has really driven me to push myself and my practice, and as a result, I have been recognized for it. This past year has shown me that I have a fruitful future in this field, and I have no intention of ignoring that. 

Finally, what is one thing you would like the world to know about you?

Biking is my preferred mode of transport. So much so that I haven't taken public transit once in the six years I've lived in Melbourne. I ride my bike everywhere. And you'd be very surprised at how many people have a problem with that!