Rebecca Juliette Interviews Artist Dina Kelberman
Artists Work is a BmoreArt interview series that explores the work that artists do to make a living while they work on their ‘real work’ – their art.
Dina Kelberman is an artist living and working in Baltimore, but she has shown and spoken about her work internationally. Kelberman was recently invited to create original web-based pieces for the New Museum and The Marina Abramovic Institute and was included in the Montréal International Biennial of the Contemporary Image. Her work has been written about in The New York Times, Art21 and NPR.
According to the artist, “My work comes out of my natural tendency to spend long hours collecting and organizing imagery from the internet, television, and other commonplace surroundings of my everyday life. I make things as I am compelled to make them and consider why later, often making connections I didn’t consciously set out to realize. I gravitate towards things that are simple, colorful, industrial, and mundane. I am also interested in using materials that are easily accessible and familiar to the everyday person. My work elevates the familiar and transforms brief moments into infinite stretches of time. In close examination of the simple or the seemingly insignificant the viewer may bring their own limitless associations.”
I’m Google, 2011 – ongoing
Found images and videos manually arranged
Name: Dina Kelberman
Age: 36
Website: dinakelberman.com
Description of Art You Make:
I am very interested in resourcefulness and enjoy setting up limitations and then seeing what is possible within them. In this way my work is very much a game. I make things as I am compelled to make them and consider why later, often making connections I didn’t consciously set out to realize. Much of my work comes out of my natural tendency to spend long hours collecting and organizing imagery from the internet, television, and other commonplace surroundings of my everyday life.
Day Job (Title and Location/ Employer):
Web design – Self, Writer/Graphics/Web – AB Video Solutions
Hours per week at work: Varies wildly from month to month, between 0 – 35
Hours per week in studio: same as above
Duties or tasks performed at day job:
Make websites for people (Self), Work in various capacities making videos & related web content (AB Video Solutions)
Best thing about your day job:
I never have to get up in the morning before I want to and I mostly work with my friends.
How does your day job enhance or detract from your studio practice?:
Learning code for web design leads to ideas for artwork but I’d always rather spend all my time making stuff in my studio if I could, which luckily at this point I do.
Favorite job ever: Artist
Job you couldn’t wait to leave: Anything full-time
Is it your goal to become a full-time artist? Why or why not?
Yes, of course. Why would I not want to be able to make a living doing literally whatever I want? How is this even a question? Who would say no?
What advice do you have for young artists just out of school, in terms of balancing your work and studio practice?
If you can afford to prioritize time over money do it, time flies, don’t keep thinking “I’ll do it later.”
What’s coming up next for you as an artist? What projects are you working on or looking forward to?
I’m working on a new animated GIF series for a collaborative project at the moment, soon will start working on a new series for Electric Objects and new work for a solo show at bb Gallery later this year, and have a few other large projects in the works that I wish I worked on more and hopefully I will!
Fountains (I Know It’s Been Done Before But I Can’t Remember When), 2015
4-channel video installation
Printers, ink, recirculated inkjet prints
Smoke & Fire, 2013 – ongoing
Arranged animated GIFs made from cartoons
BmoreArt is Rebecca Juliette’s day job. She facilitiates the Artists Work Interview Series and acts as Assistant Editor and Events Manager. Email her your events and calls for entry at events [at] bmoreart.com.
All images courtesy of the artist except feature photo (credit: Meredith Moore)
