Dolan Geiman – Constructing Memory’s Home

Much like kudzu found in the regions where his creative life began, Dolan Geiman’s art grows rapidly.  But unlike that infernal vine, Dolan’s works are something that you actually want to envelope a room and maybe even grab at some lost memory of an environment without concrete.  Dolan Geiman and Ali Walsh, his fiancé and partner, have carved out a balance between nature and city in their studio in Chicago, Illinois.  Reincorporating found objects and using sustainable materials in his work from conception to packaging are ongoing tenets in Dolan’s philosophy as an artist.  The personal journey into the natural environments of his own childhood is a compelling story as well.  Due to Dolan’s thankfully busy schedule, my interview with him had to be conducted through emails.  He is no stranger to blog interviews so I wanted to explore the creative terrain he uses to construct his elaborate and stunning pieces.   What is revealed is an artist acutely in tune with his voice and the living world around him.

in Develop[ment:  The repeated symbols in your work, from birds to crustacean to guitars to rusted things, are unmistakably indigenous to the southern region of the United States.  These symbols have wide appeal but I was wondering if they are more personal for you?

Dolan Geiman: “Short Trip Home” is the name of an album by Edgar Meyer, Joshua Bell, Mike Marshall, & Sam Bush. When I listen to that album, I am running down to the creek with my fishing rod. I’m crying in the tire swing at my Grandma’s in the crisp air of October.  I’m sweating in the hay loft at my Pawpaw’s in July. With each of those experiences, I was being imbued with the ingredients of my life, and for each experience I have a corresponding visual symbol that I can elicit to take me there.  Whether it’s a rotting apple on the ground filled with ants and bees, or a belted kingfisher at the creek or a rusted ford sitting in the barn, these symbols are my short trip home.

i-D:  Does some, or all, of your work tell a different story?

DG:  I think there is an overarching story being told here, of my childhood and my transition in to adulthood, but there is also a whole separate book of footnotes that are adjoining ideas and curiosities. You know, I’m so used to seeing that image of Ben Franklin with the kite and the string and the key, and I think that image is larger than life. When I see that image I think: How did he make the kite? What did the key look like? Did he try this fifty times? Was he dating some girl whose dad was a total jerk and collected stuffed birds? And so I think I want my art to tell stories of all the other curiosities that happen in life, and not just the grand performance.

i-D:  Your work is described on your website as folk art with a contemporary urban style.  Before I even read that description, my impression of your work the first time I saw it was something that transcended what I would think of as folk art.  Can you talk about the relationship or conflict between these two descriptions (folk and urban) of your art?

DG:  Growing up my mother was my greatest influence and teacher, matched only in her breadth of knowledge and her impassioned teaching techniques by my father, who, much to his own chagrin, had to give my mother center stage due to his role as the family’s breadwinner.  It was her role therefore to see that certain traditions and beliefs were exposed to me and if I chose to do so, I could carry on these particular traits, rituals, etc. Of the many teachings, I was most fond of her way of crafting and creating.  She used a few things she had been shown by her mother and grandmother but then she also invented her own techniques along the way.  And so, while something like a doorstop made from wood cut into the shape of Santa Claus might smack of uber-folk, it was passed through her vehicle of creativity and came out the other side as a more hip and creative work of craft. My mother was able to inspire in me this new tradition of taking a typical craft and turning it into a more fully fashioned work of art, and so I think it is along those lines that the world of folk craft and urban art come together.

i-D:  I know that your father was in the Forest Service and that has greatly influenced your art.  Do you see yourself as an anthropologist of sorts for the regions of your childhood?  Like a modern Audubon for rustic memories?

It’s funny that you mentioned Audubon.  There are so many times that I feel much like Audubon reincarnated.  I feel this intense and nagging desire to be greater than my body will allow.  Those are the things that keep me awake at night.  At times I feel as though no matter what I create it won’t be enough.  Most people don’t realize John James Audubon never really reached any great height of success in his lifetime.  He was a true pioneer and I can only aspire to be remembered as well as he was.  But back to reality, yes, I do see myself (on my better days) as an Audubon.  I become most excited when a memory resurfaces that I had totally forgotten about, and I get to re-catalogue it and move it into the light for closer inspection.  I remembered a few weeks ago being baptized down at Middle River Church of the Brethren.  I did some follow up research and discovered a wonderful list of other Brethren Churches and that led to another thought and then to a new painting.  One of my favorite churches was The Old Order River Brethren.  Rivers played a great part in the evolution of the Brethren Church, i.e. baptisms.

i-D:  It is possible to be a naturalist and be an urban dweller?

DG:  (laughing) I’d love to wax Thoreau here but I have to say yes.  There is no way to suddenly ‘not be’ a naturalist.  If you love nature, then you will always love it.  I have to work hard to convince myself that it’s okay to stay in the city, however.  For 8 years since I’ve been [in Chicago] I’ve lamented the loss of my childhood surroundings.  There is no way to describe the thrill of waking up in the middle of the woods, feeling totally safe, sitting by a fire and then picking fresh blueberries for breakfast.  There is no substitute.  However, I think it is much easier to be a naturalist in those surroundings.  For me it’s like saying, “Can you create a symphony on a broken guitar?”  Sure, and it will be extremely challenging and there will be something rare and beautiful in it, but it’s just different.  I’ve been really getting excited about the plethora of bird life in and around Lake Michigan, and so I’ve tried to take advantage of this.  I’ve also planted and constructed a small wildlife sanctuary in the backyard at my studio, and have been recording the numbers of birds and other animals who visit.

i-D:  Referring to the inspiration of region to your work, have you been tempted, in your art show travels, to use other environments from the US as backgrounds for your art?

DG:  Last year I visited California for the first time and it took me a year to get over the excitement. Actually, I’m not really over it.  I’d move to California in a heartbeat.  I’ve found a real connection to California, which is not hard since the landscape offers practically every possible environment from deserts to snow covered mountains.  I spent a few days in Joshua Tree.  This was my first time in any desert and it blew my mind.  My most recent paintings feature jackrabbits and cacti, and I think I might need to return to get a few more ideas…maybe next week?

i-D:  Your work has a three dimensional and sculptural quality.  You incorporate found objects and more textured materials to lay out a canvas.  Can you describe how that has evolved for you?

DG:  When I create, I create in groups, or flocks of art. I don’t want my paintings and constructions to become lonely, so I create about five or six works at a time. Actually it’s more about the creative process than any altruistic desires for the works themselves. I have to keep a few works going at a time, so if I get stuck on one piece, I can jump to the next piece and not lose my rhythm.  Rhythm is very important for me.  I’ve never had a time in the past ten years when I wasn’t working on something. I can’t afford to let time get the upper hand.  So, when I started creating paintings and collages to sell, I was making them all flat, and that was fun, and then I discovered the beauty of working on wood, thanks to my pal Leo Charre.

Leo and I were living in a warehouse in Stuarts Draft Virginia, and he asked me to get some wood for him to paint on.  I remember I got the wood and brought it back to the warehouse and he wasn’t there. We were getting ready for a show I was about to print a bunch of posters and instead I impulsively printed them on that wood.  I loved the surface and the texture, and thought it had so much more personality than paper and it was easy to obtain.  I got really excited about it.  At the time, there weren’t a lot of commercial artists doing silkscreen for art, except maybe Shepard Fairey.  Most of my peers weren’t into making art specifically to sell anyway.  Now everyone and his brother do that stuff.  But at the time, it was a new medium for me.  I stopped working on paper and for six months only worked on wood.  I developed a relationship with it and started to realize fully the potential of wood as a great medium.

i-D:  And the response?

DG:  The response of my work when I first started working on wood was great. People loved the wood, and it was different than what they were used to.  Especially in Virginia, where the juxtaposition of silkscreen and wood was the perfect pairing of urban and folk.  Now, it’s funny, but since I feel like everyone is creating on wood, I’m really determined to switch mediums.  I might even return to paper in more three dimensional forms.  I believe the key to any medium is experimentation.  When things get comfortable, it’s time to change perspective. That’s why I’m venturing into the realm of furniture this year.  We’ll see how that goes (laughing).  I think I have many loyal fans who will follow me wherever I go.  Hopefully!  If not, then I’ll just have to find new fans, dammit!

i-D:  According to your website, the origins of Dolan Geiman, Inc. started out in a sketchpad that isn’t far out of reach.  In this tech-centered world I found it incredibly comforting that a working artist’s business can still start with pencil to paper.  Do you still use that sketchbook for new ideas and developments for your company?

DG:  Truthfully, I couldn’t get far without a sketch book.  Ali and I both like to sketch out ideas, and even though she is eons ahead of me in the technology realm, we both find some common ground in putting graphite to paper.  Plus, some ideas just look better when they are framed by the blue and red lines of a steno pad.

i-D:  I know it’s been a busy year for you.  That’s a good thing right?

DG:  Indeed.  When I have time to actually think about what I’m doing, I tend to overthink and things proceed at a much slower pace.  I like things to be back to back to back and then some. If there isn’t a deadline around the corner, I start thinking about fishing on some stream in Virginia, and then I am totally useless in the studio.

i-D:  I believe I saw your art first in Nashville and then I started making my way to Chicago and saw your work all over the place.  For all of my Nashville friends out there, when will you go back?

DG:  I’ll actually be back this spring (late).  On May 22^nd and 23^rd my friend Maria Mariottini and I are organizing a brand new art fair down in Nashville called the East Nashville Arts Fest. Ali and I always wanted to do an art fair in Nashville, but there are not any real big street fairs.  So we talked to Maria and she said she would do it.  She is a pretty amazing show producer, so we’re excited to come back to Nashville and see all our friends down there.  Nashville has always had a special place in my heart and any opportunity to get down there I’m the first to sign up.  So if you are in Nashville, come by and say hey.

i-D:  Finally, for purely selfish reasons, is there a great restaurant off I-65 between Chicago and Nashville?

There is a great BBQ joint called Stop 30, 1007 Highway 76, White House, TN. I’ve eaten there three times, I believe.  The funny thing is, this place has eluded me for the past three years.  When Ali and I first found this place, we were so excited that I took a photo.  The next year we tried to find the place and couldn’t.  And I couldn’t find the photo.  The following year we found it, but forgot to write down the location.  Trust me, when you are on the road 22 weeks out of the year, you tend to forget things.  So when I was trying to answer this question for you, I went through my photos and actually found the place.  It’s the best home cooking you’ll find before Nashville.  And their pulled pork is great, too.

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Dolan’s Blog-Daily Dolan Geiman can be found here:
http://dolangeiman.blogspot.com/

Buy Dolan’s work on Etsy here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/dolangeiman

Read more about Dolan on his impressive Press Page here:
http://www.dolangeiman.com/press.php