Interview
Barbara Pollak-Lewis
Barbara Pollak-Lewis grew up in the suburbs of New York, where she was raised in a traditional nuclear family. Her parents furnished their home with classic mid-century modern furniture, abstract art and books. After graduation from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Animation/Film, Pollak-Lewis traveled west to San Francisco where she began a commercial art career first as a staff artist and then a Freelance Illustrator and Art Director. Her specialty was capturing expression and emotion for children's products, books and games. Throughout her career, she has maintained a painting studio where she works in a variety of mediums including oil paint, graphite, ink and collage. She has also been fortunate to have opportunities to curate several group art exhibitions through her studio’s gallery. Pollak-Lewis completed her MA in Arts Education from Boston University. She currently works as an arts educator and mentor/coach both in person and in the virtual realm. In her free time she enjoys cycling, travel and cooking.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I’ve always been a maker and someone who was always drawing and studying people. In art school I majored in animation and photography, but I always religiously kept a sketchbook of drawings and collages. After I graduated from RISD, I decided to move to San Francisco and become a commercial artist, working in the game industry and then eventually freelancing as an illustrator, working with publishers and editors. Finally, around 8 years ago, I decided to devote my time to painting and teaching art. At the same time, I secured an art studio which also allowed me to curate gallery shows.”
What inspires you?
“I’m inspired by gallery and museum visits, travel, music, theater and by other creative people. I’m both an introvert and an extrovert. As an extrovert, I absorb energy from external influences. As an introvert, I process what I’ve learned and reinterpret it. I also love to collect kitschy objects and old magazines.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I’m interested in feminist themes: women’s relationships to their bodies and to their place in the world. I also critique our shared American cultural history. Much of my early work alludes to that, such as my ‘TV Dinner’ series and a series I call ‘Housewives and Breadwinners,’ based on vintage magazine advertisements. It’s tied to feminism in the way that our gendered roles were very narrowly defined during the 1950s and 1960s. I like to play with images of businessmen with headaches and upset stomachs and housewives wearing ridiculous hairdos. As an artist, I am extremely sensitive to the emotions of those around me. Shortly after the 2016 US Presidential election, I witnessed groups of people from all over San Francisco crying. There was a great deal of angst, anger and frustration in the air. I decided to start documenting people screaming, which I turned into a series of paintings. I found this personally cathartic and I believe it also provided a measure of therapy for my subjects!”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is mostly representational, with a little collage and surrealism thrown in.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I love artists who paint real people, such as Alice Neel, Amy Sherald, Max Beckmann, David Hockney, etc. But I also love artists that push the idea of experimental portraiture such as Liz Steketee, Michael Mapes, Delita Martin and others.”
“My work is mostly representational, with a little collage and surrealism thrown in.”
What is your creative process like?
“I always start with a photo shoot. For the ‘Boxed’ series, I have a large cardboard box that I have my model interact with, in various positions, with a few changes of clothing. Once I get at least 3 photos that I think I can work with, I’ll manipulate the colors a little in Photoshop and then create a painting from that.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I think most artists are hyper-sensitive humans who are constantly absorbing and interpreting life around them. Many artists use their work as a voice to hold a mirror up to society. I see contemporary work becoming both quiet/abstract as well as more confrontational and political. I think this speaks to our polarized society.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I was really inspired by a recent retrospective of Judy Chicago’s work at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. Before this exhibit, I was only familiar with her ‘Dinner Party’ installation, but her work also has incorporated textiles, painting and performance pieces. For its time, the work was groundbreaking and had a lasting impact on the 2nd wave feminist movement, bringing visibility to women artists. Another recent noteworthy exhibition was a retrospective of Vija Celmins’ work at the SFMOMA. I found it breathtakingly beautiful. My own recent exhibitions include: ‘Being Human’ SFWA Gallery, San Francisco, ‘Through The Looking Glass,’ Arc Gallery San Francisco (co-curated by me and Paulette Traverso) and ‘Access, an Ordinary Notion’ NCWCA national juried show.”
Website: www.barbarapollakart.com
Instagram: @happypixart
Other links: www.facebook.com/freckleshopxyz
