The Artist

MdN is a thick, lavish computer art magazine that comes complete with a new CD-ROM that pertains to each issue, and is published bimonthly in Tokyo, Japan. The magazine recently featured an eight-page article on the works of Clare Vanacore, including the interview that is reproduced here:


Tell us a little about your background. Did you start out wanting to be an artist?

I grew up in Philadelphia and as a child had aspirations to be both a dancer and an artist. I was trained as a classical ballet dancer, and at about age 12 found that if I wanted to be a dancer it required total commitment of time and energy. I chose dance but continued to draw and paint for pleasure.

Did you dance professionally?

Yes. At the New York City Opera in Manhattan. That ended, however, with a back injury.

So, from there you switched over to an art career?

Well, yes, but it wasn't that easy. I decided to take a couple of years off to catch up on my youth, that is, experience all the things I missed as a teenager while I was devoting my life to dance. Eventually, I decided to go for a formal art education. I pretty much took in as many techniques and influences as I could.

And where was that?

The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.

Which techniques and influences have had an impact on the way you work now?

Well, oddly enough, nothing in school influenced me whatsoever. I learned to be a good draftsman, but it wasn't what I was really interested in. As time went on, I found that what interested me most was the art I loved as a child, which was Japanese prints, particularly the ukiyo-e woodcuts. As a young child, my parents took me often to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I was exposed to all different styles of art, but the Japanese prints and 12th- to 15th-century European religious art made a great impression on me.

It's interesting that a lot of artists and writers say that once they "find themselves", it's usually when they get back to what originally really impressed them early on.

This time in my childhood also tied in with the images that were all around me, growing up in the city: oil refineries, the waterfront, the airport, and so forth.

What sort of neighborhood were you raised in? Was it an industrial area?

Sort of. We lived close to the waterfront, and to visit relatives, we drove through the area of the city where the refineries and airport are.

Do you find the whole industrial image romantic?

Yes.

So, it seems that trips to the museum combined with your environment gave you your specific point of view.

Yes, absolutely.

How long have you been working on the computer?

About a year and a half.

What media have you worked in and how did you arrive at the computer?

I have always loved the printed media, and first worked in woodcutting and serigraphy. I hand-pulled 14 serigraphic editions of industrial images using transparent inks which I sold through New York galleries. I suddenly found myself duplicating this look with acrylic paint and canvas when I was commissioned by an interior design firm to produce two 4' x 5' canvasses for a restaurant in Arizona. The images were of Shea Stadium in New York. The restaurant owner had been a famous baseball player. By then, I was also working on illustration assignments and needed a much faster of working, so I duplicated this look, once again, with airbrush and acrylic paint of paper. I also enjoyed painting for my own pleasure using this medium. Then, about two years ago, I was introduced to the computer. I was and still am intrigued with the many possibilities for computer-generated art.

What is the process you go through to produce an image, whether it be painting or computer-generated?

Wherever I go, my camera is with me, and I pretty much use it as my sketchpad. I prefer to work from my own slides. When I take my own photographs, I get emotionally involved with the subject, and this feeling, I believe, translates into the sketches and finished art. I take the slides and draw from them, using a carousel projector. I often will combine images from several slides into the drawing, editing and rearranging the composition to my liking. Then I scan the drawing into the computer and create the final piece, using Adobe Illustrator.

We notice your art depicts locations from all over America. Is your idea of a great vacation to visit oil refineries?

(Laughing) Not just refineries. I did a series of paintings from slides I took while on vacation crossing the Atlantic on the QE2, and quite a few industrial paintings from shots taken out of a train window while on a vacation crossing the country from New York City to Los Angeles on a train. A couple of years ago, Lou and I (Clare is married to illustrator Lou Brooks)happened to be in Indianapolis to see the Indianapolis 500 automobile race. The next day, while we were driving around, I noticed an industrial site whose gate was open and unguarded, and I took advantage. I sneaked in and got some wonderful shots before the guards noticed me. I never stick around once I've been spotted, since they might think I'm some sort of saboteur or troublemaker and take the film from me.

Oh, so you don't get permission to photograph?

Rarely. Once I took my portfolio with me to an industrial site and asked permission. They looked at me like I was crazy and told me to leave. So now my technique is get it as fast as you can and run when they see you!

You've been chased a lot?

Yes. Once we were in the desert outside of Las Vegas, and came upon some refinery tanks with beautiful stairways. In the background were snow-peaked mountains and a gorgeous sunset. I just had to have this shot. It seemed that in minutes we were surrounded by soldiers with rifles and large dogs. I think they must have believed we were artists, because they didn't shoot us and they let me keep my film!

©2003 Clare Vanacore