Carol Collicutt
Published Saturday June 27th, 2009
Fredericton artist is seduced by the colours and patterns of rocks. They are like 'pieces of a giant cosmic puzzle one must fit together.'
q Age?
a Older than rocks - well maybe not quite!
q Provenance?
a I was born and grew up in Halifax and was educated at Dalhousie University and NSCAD. I lived in Montreal for 13 years then moved to Fredericton with my family and had my studio at Gallery Connexion for almost 20 years until the flood of last year.
q Why art?
a I never seriously considered anything else. I felt very early in my life that that was what I wanted to do and what I had to do.
q What was your breakthrough moment?
a Reading The Horse's Mouth when I was a teenager and later seeing huge challenging works at museums in Canada and the U.S., but most of all Anselm Kiefer's and Antoni Tapies' monumental paintings, as well as the work of Louise Bourgeois.
q What would you be if you weren't an artist?
a A geologist. Then I could identify all those rocks I keep bringing home from the beach. Every time I go for a walk on a rocky beach, no matter where it is, I am seduced by the colours and patterns of rocks, as if they are pieces of a giant cosmic puzzle that should somehow fit together. There are always some that are so beautiful, I can't leave them. I'm surprised my house hasn't fallen into the basement from the weight of them all.
q Your current obsession?
a Reconfiguring my house for studio space after losing my big, beautiful studio at Gallery Connexion. It was one of the most traumatic events of my life. I'm still mourning its loss. I can conjure up its smell and atmosphere and all of the totemic objects I had around me, and I don't think I'll ever get over losing it. But now I'm adapting my work for the space I have - installation work, sculpture and photography.
q What are you working on next?
a Big gut pieces and a new series of photo-based work.
q What place on earth inspires you?
a Rome - past and present. It's monumental. They don't call it the Eternal City for nothing. There are beaches everywhere. I have always wanted to live on a beach so I could walk along it in all kinds of weather and be lucky enough to look at it all the time.
q What place in New Brunswick inspires you?
a I enjoy hiking at New River Beach - I love the ocean in all sorts of weather and moods. And there are great rocks there.
q Secret indulgence?
a Secrets.
q Your favourite hero of fiction?
a Lizzie Bennett from Pride and Prejudice - guts, a sense of humour and intelligence - a kind of rebel in her time, and a person who would never compromise her principles.
q What is your greatest extravagance?
a Wasting time. You can never get it back and there never seems to be enough of it.
q What is your greatest fear?
a Running out of ideas.
q Greatest joy?
a My kids and travelling. In that order.
q Your favourite painting on Earth?
a Anything by Anselm Kiefer. The textures, colours and perspective are amazing. His work is jaw-dropping. I've also seen a few paintings by other artists that have literally made my heart feel as if it has stopped for a moment. It's always an magical, exhilarating moment when that happens to you.
q Favourite painting by a New Brunswick artist?
a I love Romeo Savoie's work - so much depth and texture and vibrancy. His work makes you feel alive.
q What are you reading?
a José Saramago's Blindness and The Cave. I recently read The House in Paris and am currently reading The Death of the Heart, both by Elizabeth Bowen.
q What's on your iPod?
a White Stripes, Dandy Wharhols, The Cure, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, the Rolling Stones, Dead Can Dance, Bleak Angels by Nebris, Tragically Hip, Bob Dylan, et cetera.
q What talent would you like to have?
a The ability to build things.
q What is the greatest public misconception about art?
a That it's a frill and unnecessary, or that it's something that has to be understood.
q Your most treasured possession?
a My dogs, if you can call them a possession. It's more like I belong to them.
q What is your motto?
a Life is short.
q How would you like to die?
a Loved.
q What is your favourite art museum?
a The Tate Modern. It is all amazing - from the architecture to the work they show. It offers the best of the best of contemporary art.
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