Aug 24

Aug 24 Jo Rosenthal

How would you describe your aesthetic?
Aesthetic is such a funny word to describe how I express myself, so I consider my style to be 70's grandma with a 90's frazzled teenager twist.

Are there any other artists whose work you take inspiration in?
I take a lot of inspiration from Gordon Matta-Clark, Mimi Goese, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Fairfield Porter and Laurie Anderson at the moment. I'm generally drawn to extraordinarily emotional people with fascinating backstories.

How do you prepare for new projects you involve in?
All of my work centres around emotional experiences that I go through or have witnessed the people around me go through so I try and do a lot of research by looking at old sketchbooks and journals to remember how I was feeling during a specific time in my life. Sometimes it's a long process but with my writing work, I'm extremely impulsive so when I feel something I just write it down and don't ever question it.

What kind of link is important between language and viewing medias?
I'm sort of unsure how to answer this but I think that it's important to remember that social media is only a very small aspect of a persons life so to me, it's important to be as true to your actual self as you can be.

How has being from Miami has influenced your work?
It's funny because I feel like whenever I tell anyone I'm from Miami they are really surprised because I guess I don't seem like I'm from there. I had a really difficult time growing up and keeping friends and trying to figure out who I am. Now that I'm older, I've realized that I get a lot of influence from specific parts of Miami like Art Deco architecture, The Highway Men and this incredibly talented artist that I know named Naomi Fisher.

What is a message behind your Art?
I think one of the main messages behind my art is to try and show people that it's okay to be emotional and expressive. If you're feeling a certain way, I think it's always best to express that and not keep it bottled up. I have always been able to get over things in a healthier way by creating artwork around them. If I have the power to express myself through art, I'm always going to do it in the most honest and real way that I know.