“While You Were Sleeping…”
A talk with FARRAR HOOD
by Beth Fiore
Recently, I had the opportunity to converse with Farrar Hood, young and accomplished, with a graceful demeanor and alluring presence that command attention, her fire and self certainty bringing to mind my image of a young Georgia O’Keefe. As I asked Farrar about her process, new works and latest show at the Spike Gallery, she responded while shifting about her studio, unceasingly showing me the objects, paintings and photographs from which she pulls on for her ideas. Having presented these elements, Farrar went on to explain the laborious process of staging the photographs from which she works, pushing the envelope of representational painting.
R40: In your last show at Spike Gallery, “ Somnolence,” you explored the placement of bodies while in the state of sleep. Some of these paintings are more surreal than others. Are you influenced by Surrealism or Surrealist theories?
FH: Well, initially I got into this “sleep thing” because it of portraiture. Then I was like, “how can I use portraiture,” how can I make the composition work? And sleep allows that. I was able to position bodies in ways that would not be warranted if one were awake. Once I started playing around with sleep, that allowed me to incorporate the unrealistic. But at the same time, I was very much interested in the real, it is real, they are based off photographs I’ve taken and everything has been composed in a realistic way. Nothing is from the imagination.
R40: For the “Somnolence” series, did you wait for your subject to actually fall asleep?
FH: No, I set them up an just said “ do this, do this and do this” The sleep is an inferred thing. I’m not particularly concerned with actual sleep.
R40: Why do you mostly use women as your subjects?
FH: Initially it was because they were sisters and friends, the figures closest to me, the figure I understood and had more of a connection to. As the paintings went on, I realized that in the context and placement they became more self referential.
R40: So your paintings are like self portraits?
FH: Sure.
R40: So would you ever consider putting yourself in one of your paintings?
FH: I have and I may consider working more on that in the future. The other aspect of that is that I’m pretty controlling of what’s going on in the photograph, so I’m not sure anyone else could get what I want in the photograph . But the other part of that is more of what happens with suspicion and disbelief. If you see the artist in their work it’s too much of a direct reference, and it cuts out any ambiguity. Then it becomes about the artist completely.
R40: You have an interesting dual degree in both the Fine Arts and Art History. Because you have a background in Art History, do you find that distracting when you are coming up with new ideas for your work?
FH: No, that was the whole idea of going into art history, to have that knowledge base. And I’m constantly looking through books and going to shows. It helps to fuel and flush out ideas.
R40: I see you are now working on a diptych of an octopus. Why is it that there is a re-occurring use of aquatic life, such as fish and floral patterns in your work? What does that represent?
FH: The fish for me represent spirituality. Although they are dead in the , I envision them being alive, and that is something initially no one saw. When they were hung next to the women, people associated dead fish with dead women. Yet, at the same time I’m okay with people making their own assumptions. Again, for me the fish are very much a spiritual reference, I certainly don’t wish to impose that on the viewer. The floral, that can be a couple of things. Where I grew up my mother always had these patterns, super chintzy ( laughter) upholstery coverings, wall paper, comforters, everything. I think that’s just engrained in me. And I liked that kind of decorative stuff. And definitely the femininity that couples with the subject matter, and if anything I think that needs to betempered a little bit. That is what I’m trying to think about now. I can see the course that the work has taken, the sleep has allowed me to position figures in ways that allowed me to free up my thought process for compositions. But now, what if on the strength of the idea I don’t need the crutch of sleep. So that’s were I’m at. The octopus is different, I’ve thought about an octopus for a while. The octopus is about texture. I often think about texture. I’ve come to notice I think most about things that have a great amount of detail and variation in surface.
R40: I see that you have hundreds of photographs here in your studio, some of them of sculpture objects you have created for your paintings. Do you work in other mediums or do you find yourself solely a painter?
FH: I have definitely thought about it. ( Showing me a photograph of a staged situation she is working from) I wonder if in certain pieces, like this, are more powerful in reality. At some point I’m going to have to make that jump. I am thinking of working sculpturally, that sort of is a new thing with these ideas I’m working with now.
R40: Where do you see yourself fitting in with contemporary artists around you?
FH: I am representational painter, figurative realism. But, I’d like to push that. I would like to create an image within realism. There is a lot to be pushed within representational paintings. And I think a lot of my work explores these different realities.
Editor’s Note: We welcome new contributor Beth Fiore and are please to present this intriguing and enlightening interview with a prominent artist based in Brooklyn.
Farar Hood website
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