Serrah Russell is a Seattle artist (some of her images below). She focuses on collage work, and has created some of the most breathtaking examples of this medium The Monarch has seen. They stop you in your tracks. She was also one of the first visual artists we had the pleasure of publishing. Now, quite busy, she took some time to chat with us about new projects, her inspirations and why she watches old school sit-coms while hard at work! 

Jake Uitti: So much of your work combines eye-catching, bold images with other eye-catching bold images, either as a stark contrast so well-fitting, or as a virtually seamless combination. What about this style compels you?

SR: The medium of collage is enticing because of its simplicity and accessibility. I am able to work very minimally and in almost any situation. When I make collage, I work intuitively, almost as a form of note taking, and I need little more than photographic material, scissors and tape. I enjoy that the final works are contained to the size of the materials I use, which is usually clippings from magazines. Many of the choices have already been made for me; I am working with the material as it is. My task is to respond to the material, to draw something out of the original image, to edit out the distractions and to focus on bringing the image(s) to a new place, a new home.

Simple juxtaposition and parallels allow me to form a narrative that is based on an experienced reality rather than a physical actuality. By using found images I am able to draw attention to what was and to what is now. It makes the impossible possible. I understand that there exists a certain fixed reality, i.e. laws of nature, but I also know that I remember moments much differently than their physical representation so making collages almost feels like a form of déjà vu. At times a collage can capture my understanding of an event or experience more truthfully than a straight photograph of the situation would have.

JU: Where do you look for your images? Do you hunt intentionally, or flip pages until something jumps out?

SR: Since many of my friends and family know that I work in collage, whenever anyone is cleaning out a basement or garage, they tend to check in with me to see if I’m interested in their boxes of old magazines. I always say Yes, believing that there will always be something there. I’ve received carloads full of vintage LIFE, National Geographic, cooking, fashion, travel and lifestyle magazines. This is traditionally what I work from, it feels most natural. But at times, I will visit Bulldog News in the U. District and pick out a new publication that I’m interested in reading as well as collaging with in the future.

When going through the material, I flip, usually on the couch with an old TV show playing in the background, (my husband and I are currently working our way through Cheers), and I just try to stay open to the imagery. I know that sounds a little cheesy but it’s true. I try to respond to the images, to allow myself to be receptive and to react, to see parts of an image that are intriguing beyond the whole of the image. I tear out full pages, for time’s sake, and then another step comes in when I edit down the full pages to the section of the image that I am drawn to working with.

JU: What is about old TV shows that is comforting, compelling?

SR: It can take a while to sift through a chunk of collage material, so it is nice to have something entertaining in the background. Admittedly, and sometimes unfortunately, I am also a constant multi-tasker and it is hard for me to do only one thing. Television shows, particularly comedies or sitcoms, like The Office or Cheers are perfect because they are concise, contained, familiar and also tend to keep to a construct that is easily followed without actually viewing it all. But most importantly, it allows me to act more intuitively as I gather images. My mind is entertained while my eyes react to whatever is visually compelling. It keeps things from being over-thought or images from being edited out too early in the process.

JU: If you had to invest in three Northwest visual artists, and had the dough to do so, who would they be and why?

SR: If you take invest as to mean purchase a substantial amount of their artworks, I would say that I would love a home filled with work by Zack Bent, Gala Bent, Debra Baxter, Susanna Bluhm and Celeste Cooning. That would be a beautiful dream world to live in and I think all of those artists are hardworking, collaborative, supportive, thoughtful and kind and deserving of greatness.

If you take invest as meaning financially fund their projects and exhibitions, I would wholeheartedly say Sierra Stinson, Klara Glosova and Sharon Arnold. I absolutely adore the work they do in supporting and expanding the Northwest arts community and I would love to see what they would do with more funding. What they have done now with limited resources has been inspiring and incredible. I am honored to consider each of them friends and if I ever win the lottery you can bet that dollars will be going to Stinson’s Vignettes and Onn/Of Festival, Glosova’s NEPO House, Arnold’s LxWxH or whatever other amazing project they’re working on next. Also, I really want Greg Lundgren’s W3Seattle project to come to fruition, so if I had the means, I would do all I could to help that on its way. Seattle desperately needs this and I can’t think of a better person than Greg to pull it all together.

JU: In an interview with Robert Hardgrave we asked: “What excites you about art in Seattle?” to which he responded, “Well to be honest I am not that excited about the art here in Seattle. There are a few exceptions, but I am a hard person to please.” What is your response to this question?

SR: I would not live in a city if I wasn’t excited about its creativity. Life is too short and it doesn’t make sense as an artist to not be inspired by your surroundings and community. For me, I am most excited about the collaborations that take place between artists, galleries, curators, and between genres. I appreciate that galleries share their spaces with each other, i.e. Prole Drift and Platform gallery hosting Season shows in their space. I love that established, international artists are willing to work with first time curators and to exhibit in non-traditional places, i.e. Joe Bar, Vignettes and on Violet Strays. I appreciate the mingling and collaborating of writers, musicians, artists, chefs, florists, photographers, fashion designers, and the list goes on, both personally and in their studio practice. I appreciate the attention given by our creatives to our specific landscape and to the community. There exists a desire to make things better, to work at making Seattle grow into the best Seattle it can be, not attempting to coerce it into a smaller version or an imitation of larger artistic cities. Most of all, I am excited that the people of Seattle are, as Scott Lawrimore said at a recent lecture at the Frye Art Museum, “building the city I want to live in.”

JU: In that vein, what are you looking forward to in the (near) future – what sort of collaborations, what sort of creations, what sorts of events?

SR: I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Gala Bent on creating a publication for a show in October at Gage Academy of Art. And I can’t wait to see her show with Diem Chau at G. Gibson Gallery in September.

I’m working on a couple projects with Krysta Jabczenski. They haven’t yet been announced or realized but I will say, one has to do with Islands.

I will have a solo exhibition of Polaroids at GAM Gallery in Vancouver, B.C. that opens on September 13th as part of the SWARM festival. I am really excited to be exhibiting work in Vancouver and to get to know the artist scene there.

As for upcoming exhibitions, I am always looking forward to NEPO 5K Don’t Run. It’s one of my favorite events of the year. It’s fun to participate as an artist and think about how to make work for an outdoor, site-specific venue, but really, I just love seeing what everyone else made. It’s always perfect weather (fingers crossed/knock on wood), the work is surprising and walking through the city together, with a vast array of people, you really feel like part of something.

Maggie Carson Romano’s show with Adam Boehmer at Vignettes is sure to be killer and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Also, Susanna Bluhm will be on Violet Strays starting on August 30th-September 12th, so that will be lovely! And ever since Scott Lawrimore started working at the FRYE, I just am so excited to see what happens next.

JU: What’s one thing you haven’t done, artistically, that you’re scared to do?

SR: I’m actually scared of a lot of things, art and otherwise. Art is what helps me sort through those or get to a place of acceptance about the fear. But let’s see, I think I would have to say video. Video seriously intimidates me. I made one video in a class in college, because I had to, and I wasn’t satisfied with it. I know that of course the first attempt at any new medium usually isn’t going to be successful, but I think it was more than how it turned out. There was just the vulnerability that I felt in having people watch it, and for me, that doesn’t seem to be present when I have people looking at other still works that I’ve made. I think it is the aspect of time, of trying to hold someone’s attention for a particular length and the risk of it being boring or tedious; it all feels ridden with anxiety for me. I should work on getting past this because I’m honestly really impressed by people who make compelling and beautiful video work. There is so much potential there.

Serrah’s work: