Photo courtesy Alexa Hollywood
Femme, Queen, Male Perogative Alexa Hollywood
On Alexa Hollywood’s page on the Milwaukee Artists Resource Network website, she writes:
I am a conceptual artist and writer who works across media. I create paintings, drawings, assemblages, collages, photographs, mixed media photographs, videos, and books. It is in my nature to crave novelty, to experiment and invent. A recurrent concept in my work is iteration and iterative change. This derives from my experience as an old woman. I understand change over the life span is due to small iterative changes. It is these iterative changes that drive cumulative experience. I work in series. Often times I will create a persona to amplify and explore the series. This relates back to the recognition of iterations and the fact that I have been many people over my lifespan.
I have recurrent themes in my work. They are feminism, art throughout history and in different cultures, old age, and death.
While my style can be disparate across each series there are several constants. I typically use vibrant, saturated colors. When I paint, I use a variety of brush strokes because the texture delights me. I am mostly self-taught. Fred Bell, one of my few teachers from when I was a beginner, once told me that I was a messy painter. He admonished me not to be trained out of it. My work continues to be looser in style and I leave marks that others might paint out or erase.
I create and invent. While I am a conceptual artist, I intuitively explore across media. All artists are both conceptual and intuitive artists. My intuition drives my concepts. My concepts drive my intuition.
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Which avenue do you prefer and why?
For me the creative process is paramount. The medium provides structure for the creative process. For the past year I have been applying to local Milwaukee grants. My goal is not to be awarded the grant but to clarify who I am as an artist by reviewing my work and refining an artist's statement. The medium I prefer is always the one in which I am currently exploring.
You’re currently working on some photography. Describe your style or subject matter.
I became interested in photography during the pandemic shutdown. The way to escape my condo was to walk. I began to take photos. The photos that particularly interested me were photos of the superimposition of a reflected image and the image inside a window. As a result, I started to make composite photos. I did a series “Milwaukee Double Exposure.” Then I made composite photos of drawings and painting superimposed on images I had taken during the Milwaukee walks. I consider these works mixed media pieces. I believe all art is local. It is made in a locale. These mixed media pieces are a manifestation of that.
What sort of performance art do you do?
I did a brief stint as a choreographer/dancer when I was in my thirties. I did not enjoy it. However, it informs my work. I've created picture/storybooks where I am the protagonist and self-published them on Blurb. They are theatrical in nature. In 2018 I became interested in video and created brief video vignettes where I performed my writing. This series of works I dubbed the “LilliandDottir Confessional Poet Cycle.” I often return to video making and story/picture books as I work on each new series.
You’re from Seattle. How is Milwaukee different for you, and do you prefer it?
I love Seattle. It is my birth city. It is a city surrounded by mountains and nestled between Lake Washington and Puget Sound. But the city I grew up in is not the city that exists today. I prefer Milwaukee. Milwaukee is my adopted city and suits me far better than Seattle. I love Milwaukee's history. Milwaukee was a socialist city while simultaneously being the machine shop of the world. I walk the green spaces often. I explore Milwaukee architecture and history.
What do you say to those who tell artists to focus on one particular medium?
In the 21st century artists and brilliance are commonplace. Product exceeds demand. Artists are admonished to focus on a style or medium so that their work is easily recognizable. Both the artist and their work become the commodity. A collector not only buys the work but the artist’s name brand. I started creating visual art when I was 60. I began by taking drawing classes through Milwaukee Parks and Recreation. I suspect I won’t live long enough to become a brand.
Creating art is my vocation and discipline. By temperament I crave novelty. I invent and explore. It is my nature to define myself by working across all media.
