A Fruitful Conversation with Debra Disman
Photo Credit: Bernard Wolf Photography
Debra Disman is a Los Angeles-based artist known for her work inspired by the book, both as a solo practitioner and in the public sphere of community engagement. She is a maker and teaching artist who creates work and projects that push the book's body and boundaries into new media and materials, inviting altered ways of viewing the world and how we inhabit it.
Debra's works have been shown in museums, galleries, universities, and libraries, including Launch LA; The Mike Kelly Gallery at Beyond Baroque in Venice, CA; The Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale, CA; LA's Craft Contemporary; The Long Beach Museum of Art; The University of the Arts in Philadelphia; The Cape Cod Museum of Art; The Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA; The University of Puget Sound; and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. Debra's most recent awards include Santa Monica Artist Fellowship, Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, Santa Monica, CA 2021-22 City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Artist-in-Residence, 2017-2023/present 18th Street Arts Center, Local Artist-In-Residence, Santa Monica, CA 2018- present. Her current shows are Book / Art / Artifact, San Francisco Center for the Book, and San Francisco, CA (catalog). Alternative Fiber, The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock, TX (Honorable mention winner for "Hopes and Fears and..."). She has the following upcoming shows, All Media 2022 (Collaboration with Luciana Abait), The Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA. PAPERWORKS 2022, B.J. Spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY. The Fiber Art Now exhibition, Yarn/Rope/String, has the image of the artwork that will appear in the summer issue of Fiber Art Now, released on July 1, 2022. Most recently, Debra had An Open Studio which she held on June 25 at 18th Street Arts Center to share the works completed for her 2021-22 Santa Monica Fellowship project: Investigating, linking, and responding to the groundbreaking oeuvre of artists Charlotte Salomon and Eva Hesse. This self-organized event culminates her fellowship year of work. This project emerged from many years of work that will be ongoing: investigating the relationship between trauma and transformation through the invention of new forms of visual art. She features in an onsite exhibition at the New Bedford Art Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts, from December 8, 2022- June 26, 2023. Debra's current residency is "We Write The Book!" 2022-23 through the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles at the West Valley Regional Branch Library, Los Angeles Public Library. She works with community members of all ages in Bookmaking/Book Arts! I had the pleasure of asking Debra why it is essential for an artist to work in and with the community and vice versa, how she incorporates the artistic character of the book, and so much more.
UZOMAH: How would you describe to someone new to your work how you incorporate the artistic character of the "book" process?
DEBRA: I currently work in the form of the book, in forms evoked by the book, and in multidimensional media of my own devising, which encompasses tapestry, hangings, installation, and sculpture. Although some of the work remains tethered to loose definitions of the book as structure, my oeuvre has moved progressively into other conceptual realms where devotion to material labor, tactility, and a passion for the haptic become powerful motivators and themes. Having worked with the built environment for many years, I am fascinated by the parallels between books and buildings in terms of architecture, meaning, and utility. Each constructs public and private spaces where stories are "read" on many levels, often revealing more than their authors and makers ever intended. Much of my work is also related to the body and the corporeal space it creates and inhabits. I seek to offer places of contemplation, solace, and bafflement while instigating exploration, investigation, and examination of what we think we know and are.
"It's Not Black and White", 2021, 9 x 22 x 7.5", book board, repurposed typewriter ribbon, mulberry paper, hemp cord, canvas. Photo Credit: Elon Schoenholz Photography
U: What has been something intriguing about a society that you have noticed that only an artist would see?
D: We come from ourselves always, contained in this mind and body, soul and spirit we call the self. An ego we cannot eradicate nor even control drives us, and yet we can recognize this and attempt to be honest with ourselves. In style, dress, speech, presentation, actions, and everything, we can see our own and others’ intended or unintended statements, feelings, concerns, dreams, wounds, hope, fears, joys, histories, aspirations, responses to life, points of view. It is all there, however much we try to hide one thing and parade another.
Everyone needs wants and is trying to grasp to get the same things, and it can be challenging to see this through the sometimes obscuring veil of unique styles, wiring, approaches, cultures, and histories. However, there really is no difference between us when all is said and done, and even before. It is each of us our own task to lift the veil of apparent difference and see the unifying human threads of life below.
This is a hard task, harder than we know, harder than we expect.
We work from/against/in reaction to/driven by the overwhelming fear of loss inherent in being mortal on this earth. The release that comes from unexpected kindness, being listened to, and receiving a moment of care and attention cannot be underestimated.
"Excavation of the Interior", 2021, 12 x 28 x 12.5", wood, canvas, muslin, mulberry paper, hemp cord, linen thread. Photo Credit: Elon Schoenholz Photography
U: Why is it essential for an artist to work in and with the community and vice versa?
D: “Connecting to the community through my work, I can connect more deeply to myself through the community.” This is what I have found to be true.
Artist residencies allow for direct contact between working artists and the community-at-large through various organizations, allowing for art experiences in a wide array of forms and media to be available to those who may not otherwise have access to them, providing the space, skills, and encouragement to engage directly and hands-on in many cases, with the arts.
Residencies allow artists to connect directly with their own and other communities, to share what they have learned and are learning, to give back, and to get feedback from those outside their studios, professional and planned collaborative situations, and immediate environments. In essence, to learn and grow in unexpected ways while providing a vital service.
In the words of our 18th Street Arts Center Bookmaking with Compassion Arts Learning Lab @ Home art-making workshops for families all around wellbeing and self-compassion:.
“May was Mental Health Awareness month, and taking time for creativity together with loved ones is a key part of self-care in these uncertain times. We partnered with WE RISE LA on these moments for creative growth, centered around the theme of well-being as we navigate coming out of a pandemic and transitioning to new routines together.
…Explore what the pandemic has meant to you while learning new skills and creating a unique expression of renewal and rebirth during the spring season.”
"Maximum Security", 2018, 15 x 18 x 10.25", book board, watercolor paper, mulberry paper, acrylic paint, canvas, hemp cord. Photo Credit: Elon Schoenholz Photography
U: How can the government (s) improve on providing more funding for museums and art-based programs that bring art awareness to communities that usually would not have access to Museums or top-notch art programs?
D: Incentive-based donations to museums and other programs that provide this, “adoptions” of specific arts organizations and institutions by public and private businesses, organizations, and institutions to support them, IE partnerships between businesses and institutions with arts organizations to work towards specific goals.
Redistribution of tax/ such as SF- Hotel Tax to provide/create arts funding; this requires legal and financial expertise, organization, and potential volunteers.
Art not guns: campaigns to redistribute monies that fund the military, weaponry, and even aspects of current law enforcement, to organizations, institutions, and initiatives that fund and support the arts in our communities.
"Missing", 2019, 27 x 72”, cloth/fabric, linen thread. Photo Credit: Elon Schoenholz Photography
U: What is your favorite part about creating art?
D: Flow state. The state when mind, heart, hands, soul, and spirit seem to come together in a moment of unity, inner purity, and unobstructed fluidity. From my Artist Statement:
When working, I try to sidestep my conscious, critical mind and allow my flow state to take over, remaining aware and receptive to the visceral, conceptual, and concrete directions the work is taking. Achieving and remaining in this sense of flow where potential is infinite is mission critical to my working process. It is this state of openness and unlimited possibility that allows new levels of connection and meaning to emerge and purpose, knowledge, and direction to be clarified.
"Hopes and Fears and...", 2020, 24.5 x 16.25, textile samples, linen thread. Photo Credit: Elon Schoenholz Photography
U: What about the book-making process inspires you the most?
D: Related to flow state: losing myself in the repetitive processes of stitching, tying, wrapping, knotting, and gluing; materiality; engaging with materials in a visceral, tactile way; finding infinite inspiration and engagement with cloth and string; the acts of punching (holes), folding, cutting and sewing; somehow finding my way to the object as a result.
From my Artist Statement:
I currently work in the form of the book, in forms evoked by the book, and in multidimensional media of my own devising. Although the work remains tethered to loose definitions of the book as structure, it is moving progressively into other sculptural and conceptual realms where devotion to material labor and a passion for the haptic become powerful motivators and themes.
From my Bio:
Debra Disman is a Los Angeles-based artist known for her work inspired by the book, both as a solo practitioner and in the public sphere of community engagement. As a maker and teaching artist, she creates work and projects which push the body and boundaries of the book into new media and materials, inviting altered ways of viewing the world and how we inhabit it.
"Torrent and Tangle: Keep Your House In Order", 2019, 10.5 x 25 x 18”, book board, watercolor paper, mulberry paper, acrylic paint, ribbon, lace, hemp cord. Photo Credit: Elon Schoenholz Photography
U: What are your current projects?
D: I am part of “Please Touch,” an exhibition of participatory works embedded in the Arts at Blue Roof 2022 Summer Festival, “A Celebration of Creativity and Joy”. My project “Womb” allows participants to enter a space in which they can contemplate and yet observe in a unique way what is going on around them.
To complete my Santa Monica Artist Fellowship project, “Charlotte Salomon/Eva Hesse: Investigation/Concurrencies/Response,” I am holding an Open Studio at the end of June to share research and a series of pieces created for this project.
I am beginning my seventh Artist Residency, “We Write the Book,” through the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs at the Los Angeles Public Library, which is comprised of a series of participatory bookmaking workshops followed by a culmination event for the surrounding community.
For more information about Debra’s artwork, please visit her site. Also, follow and like her on Instagram and Facebook.
