Interview
Alyssa McLaughlin
Alyssa is a US born artist, whose emotive art takes an intimate approach to life and death. She views it as the highest honor to confront the impermanence of life, while also connecting the dead to the living.
Alyssa attended the Art Academy at West Seneca East High School from 2014-2017, exhibiting work at the Albright Knox and The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Buffalo, NY.
She was also awarded a Congressional Recognition for work done in Visual Arts Academy in April 2017, as well as a Certificate of Merit from Senator Patrick M. Gallivan in May 2017. The National Art Honor Society shortly thereafter awarded her membership.
Alyssa’s work has been exhibited at the 'Ghosts on Tape' Art Show in Buffalo, NY in October of 2019, and at the DorDor Gallery in November 2021 as part of their 'Connect' Group Art Show.
Her journey through the art world continues to advance, when in the Spring of 2020, she was accepted into the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Photographs courtesy of Robert Simmons
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. My father has a degree in art history and always had a passion for art, whereas my mother was always very crafty and creative. I started painting when I was around 5 or 6 years old as a way to express myself.
As a child I was kind of a loner, and wasn't very suited to school in the beginning, but I always excelled in my art classes and took pride in being able to share myself through art. Later on, I was a part of the Art Academy within West Seneca East high school, and my teacher, Mr. Perna, was the one to give me a set of oil paints.
From there my passion for painting only grew bigger and bigger. Discouraged by others saying my art wouldn't get me ‘a real job’, I went to college to study politics and anthropology and hated it two years in. I then realized there is nothing else in this world that will represent me as a person more than art would. Since this realization, I have switched colleges, moved to New York City to follow my passion, and now study Fine Art at The Fashion Institute of Technology.”
What inspires you most?
“My biggest inspiration would probably be my spirituality, as well as my own experience in trying to figure out life and death. As a spiritual person, I believe that the dead are never truly gone, so to honor the dead is to honor my ancestors that have walked the earth before me. In my own experience, there were many times I struggled with mental health issues and the value of life, especially concerning the complexity of death.
Finding art that explored this topic became really important to me at these times, and I became inspired by works from the baroque period, mainly Caravaggio, as well as artists from more the modern era like Takato Yamamoto.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I have always had a fascination with death, more importantly the intimacy and complexity behind the process. While most wouldn’t see death as an intimate thing, I believe there is a certain beauty in how the transfer of the soul to the afterlife creates such a deep emotional connection to everyone who experiences this loss. With my work, I strive to capture how we the living have connections with death and all the emotions that this concept entails.”
“To me, death is something we all have to come to terms with eventually, and I find that whenever I think about death there are so many questions that consume me: Where do we go when we die? How important is our soul? The most pressing question I base my work around is - How are the living still connected to those who have passed?”
How would you describe your work?
“I assume most people would consider my art quite dark, but I believe my art is emotive and intimate. I make art to express myself as well as to pull emotions from the viewer. While I may make a piece with one thing in mind, often when shown to others they relate it more to themselves. I like to believe my art is a reflection to the more sensitive part of ourselves.”
Which artists influence you most?
“For art styles I would say Caravaggio, Takato Yamamoto, Peter Paul Rubens, Artemisia Gentileschi and Eric Lacombe. For expressing emotions it would be Denis Sarazhin and Egon Schiele. I would also like to mention Uzo Njoku, because she is an incredible business woman as well as a talented artist.”
What is your creative process like?
“It can take me a little while to become inspired. Usually an idea will just hit me out of nowhere. Often I am just on social media and see a picture that inspires me, or I'll be walking and see people doing an activity or listening closely to a song lyric that gives me a shock of inspiration, that almost forms together the entire composition in my head. After that it's all about getting the image that’s in my mind onto canvas. I usually just go right in and paint an underpainting, and continue changing the outcome until I feel as though it is as close to the image my mind originally thought of.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I believe an artist's role in society is to express themselves in a way that also connects us to other people in our community and society. Life is all about our connections with other people, animals, the earth, the solar system, etc. Expressing these connections into a physical creation that can be acknowledged and shared is how I determine a successful artist.
I believe that in our modern day, art has so many platforms to be seen and shared, that in a way it connects more people than it ever has before. My opinion is that the art world will see more traditional art forms and uses of expression becoming more intimate and social, as the push for digital art forms has taken the main stage the past decade. I believe art has become so versatile with advancements in technology, that it is now even more possible for people who never had access to artistic forms to become knowledgeable and explore their creativity with art. Furthermore, I also believe that this phenomenon will create a deeper appreciation for art within our entire society.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I most recently had an exhibition at DorDor gallery in Brooklyn in November, and I look forward to participating in more exhibitions in New York City while continuing my studies.”
Website: alyssarae.art
Instagram: @alyssarae_art
