Paper, Poetry, and Performance: Inside Anja Notanja Sieger's Artistic World

Her creative journey has been anything but linear, weaving through the intersections of poetry, performance, and visual arts, each medium reflecting an era of her life.

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Anja Notanja Sieger’s artistry is as multifaceted as it is enigmatic, blending humor, whimsy and deeply personal narratives into every stroke, snip and syllable. With a vintage typewriter in tow, this poet and performance artist sets up in public spaces across Milwaukee, forging intimate connections with her audience while creating personalized poems on the spot. Sieger will be at the Cream City Creatives Fair, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24 at Turner Hall; and Saint Kate Marketplace, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

Her creative journey has been anything but linear, weaving through the intersections of poetry, performance, and visual arts, each medium reflecting an era of her life. From crafting poetry on-demand in the streets to creating silhouettes from hand-cut paper, Sieger’s work thrives on improvisation and spontaneity. 

In this interview, Sieger shares the origins of her art, her process of creating without preconceived boundaries, and her reflections on how collaboration, community and connection inform her work. Through it all, she remains delightfully unpredictable, a “local character” who defies conventional artistic labels while inviting us to explore the magic in the everyday. 

First off, are you working on anything new? 

Right now, I am cutting intricate paper people, animals and things. Then I lay these shapes on light-sensitive paper and get a printed silhouette. I’m going to have a whole show of these prints in January at Grove Gallery. 

Let’s talk about the beginning of your artistic journey. Can you share more about the story of how you first began selling poetry on the street and how this experience shaped your career? What inspired you to explore multiple mediums such as typewritten poetry, performance art, and paper cutting in your work? 

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After graduating art school in 2009 I landed a job at a puppet theater which I promptly lost, resulting in recession-depression and self-doubt. I ran out of food and had no AC. I just laid on my floor through 100+ degree heat listening to NPR. One day they had a story about a guy in Brooklyn who sold poems on-the-spot and had a thriving business. I snorted, “Are you kidding me? I could do that!” I stood up, put on a dress, grabbed some paper and pens and walked out my door. I’ve written custom poems ever since, but if it becomes my only creative outlet I begin to resent it. I need a variety of challenges and mediums to keep in flow. 

Who were some of your early influences or mentors in your artistic career? How did they shape your approach to art? 

My mom was an art teacher who made me carry a sketchbook as a kid. She encouraged me to draw on everything from the tablecloth to the weekly bulletin at church. I was never discouraged from interpreting my surroundings. I loved watching Robin Pluer perform at Bastille Days—such dramatic ensembles and presence! Reading Roald Dahl got me into writing. His absurd dark humor still tinges mine. 

What do you find most fulfilling about working in the intersection between art, writing, and storytelling? 

There’s a medium for every mood. When I’m lonely I can make an interview podcast or group performance piece. Unhelpful thought loops? Time to crochet a frumpy hat! Each project records the eras of my life. 

Let's talk about the creation process. You mention that improvisation is a uniting force in your work and that you create without preliminary sketches or goals. Can you describe a typical day in your creative process, the final outcomes, and how you capture the essence of the present moment in your art? 

There is no typical day. Right now, I am drawing straight from my head onto paper and then cutting a shape out. Sometimes I don’t even draw first, I just use my scissors as the drawing tool. The same thing happens when I write poems for people. They tell me what’s on their mind and then I blank out and type whatever words burble up from who knows where. When I run out of paper, I hand them the poem and hopefully I’ve captured the current mood of the customer rather than my automatic, tired thoughts. 

Your work often explores themes like the spirit world, the animal psyche, and the performance of gender. How do you decide which themes to focus on for each piece, and do any personal experiences influence these themes? 

Ha ha, you got that from my website! I haven’t updated that in years but I guess those qualities are still true. I rarely decide what my work is about in advance aside from necessary constricting perimeters like “I will use this size of paper.” Only after I make a project is when it can be fully decided what IT IS. And even then, I can miss out on tons of conceptual nuance with an artist statement. The only thing that may be clearer about my work now that my website statement misses is how much I use analogue technology to create real-life interpersonal connection. This work is the opposite of social media. 

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How do props and costumes contribute to your work? 

Costumes and props invite me to go deeper into my ever-developing role as “local character.” Outside my house if I am in an eye-catching ensemble that means I am “on,” and a storied interaction will likely be recorded in my diary the next morning. Props invite rituals. Rituals create both boundaries and invitations for collaboration. 

How has your artistic style evolved over the years? Are there any significant turning points or events that led to changes in your work? 

First it was drawings of pretty ladies. Then, my early 20s were making books and prints of dragons, devils, and intestines. Post-college was my decorative hat phase, word collages, solo shows of abstract paper cuttings, and shadow puppetry. I was able to do all of that because I lived with my folks for five years while I figured out health stuff and skipped the day job life. 

But when I needed adult autonomy in my later 20s, it brought me to typewriter poetry, live radio as performance art, community advice tents and slight food insecurity. When my collaborator Freesia McKee moved away in 2018 it took me a while to recover from that artistic breakup. Around 30 I finally got a day job and also a husband which meant a bit less time for art. During the pandemic I started making cartoons and podcasts. When the world started to gather again suddenly I was all experimental theater. 

Could you share with us a particularly memorable project you've worked on during your career, and what made it stand out to you? 

I loved doing the “Subtle Forces” show on Riverwest Radio with Freesia! The show could be heard on the street thanks to speakers, and we were always trying to connect with the people passing by the window as we broadcasted. One time Heidi Parkes taught a yoga class on the sidewalk, and we pretended to be sportscasters and heckled the students on live radio. 

About “La Prosette” Can you explain the concept of “Prosettes" and how you came up with the idea of combining poetry and letters for customers? The term seems playful and unique. How did you come up with it, and what significance does it hold for you? 

It’s a combo of prose and poetry because I always ride that line when I write. I am also a total Francophile but the word means nothing at all in any language as far as I know. 

Do you still perform on the street, and how do these performances differ from those at art fairs or other events? 

Now that Deep Lake Future has closed and I’m one part-time job down, I’m taking on more poem typing gigs at festivals but the only time I truly “busk on the street” is in front of Voyageur Bookshop on Bay View Gallery Night. Undoubtedly times are changing but I think Milwaukee still isn’t thick with quite enough tourists to be a regular sidewalk busker... unless the Public Market would like me there? Please let me know, Captain of the Public Market. 

What is the experience like for you when performing as a typist at festivals and events? Do you have any memorable interactions with customers you'd like to share? 

One time a woman with my unusual first name (Anja pronounced with a “j” sound rather than a “y”) bought a poem so I asked her about her life, and we kept in touch. It took a bit but we discovered that she was a student in my mom’s art class in the 1970s, the same enchanting kid my mom remembered a decade later when she was trying to figure out what to call her baby. 

You mention that writing letters requires you to empathize with the customer. How do you approach understanding and embodying their thoughts and feelings during the composition? 

I tend to ask a lot of questions of a person before I start writing. Whether it’s a serious or comedic poem, it’s important to mirror back what the person wants to hear. So I ask questions and use my ears. 

How do you engage with your audience both during live performances and through your online presence? What kind of feedback do you find most valuable? 

I try to avoid online life as much as possible! If I could just throw my phone in the insinkerator I would. Nonetheless, live, digital or alone I feel conscious of an audience, real or pretend. I generally dislike work that rejects the idea that someone is taking it in and needs to be either entertained, challenged, educated or put under a hypnotic state. I engage with my audience by always remembering that they exist and must receive effort from me in order to continue deserving them. However, that effort arrives at my own pace, not some hyper warp speed content creation nonsense. 

Collaboration seems to be a key aspect of your work. How do you approach collaboration and ensure that everyone's vision is effectively translated into design assets? 

My eye is always out for people who are up to creative things I admire. In most of my collaborative projects I’m usually the creative producer setting the perimeters, and I design things to highlight these people and their skill sets. We meet, I discuss exactly what I am looking for and what I can offer in exchange for their time and effort. If it is not a match, they can say no. 

Can you discuss a time when you had to balance creativity with practical considerations, such as budget or time constraints, in your projects? 

Since there is very little arts funding in Milwaukee most of my experiments are made without it. I pay collaborating artists with whatever I can: my own money, favors or barter. I try not to ask too much of their time and keep things transparent from the start. If I were Scrooge McDuck I guarantee you I’d be a full-time collaborative artist. But since I am not, I have day jobs, and I don’t really sign up for volunteering. I’m already a volunteer by making no-budget art! 

How would you describe your current work and projects to those who know nothing of art and design? 

I cut-out wacky paper dolls and then put them on a magic piece of paper that creates permanent shadows of the dolls when you set it outside under the sun. 

Lastly, what are your future aspirations as an artist? Are there any new mediums or themes you are eager to explore? A legacy you want to leave? 

I just hope when I croak people have more good things to think than bad, and maybe they get a waft of those good things (whether or not they knew me) when they come across the crumbling remains of my work in the found-in-a-landfill museum. 

I hear critics but I’m mostly just emoting.