Ubiquitous Imagery: Q & A with Sarah Jamison
Sarah Jamison’s series, Ubiquitous Imagery, is inspired by the amount of time people spend absorbing images on their digital devices. Each piece is a tribute to scrolling through apps, a testament to the fact that through our perpetual media engagement, there is a universal visual language, where everything from cat videos to Kim Kardashian’s “Breaking the Internet” is immediately understood. Born out of her own revulsion for and dependence on her phone, Sarah seeks to reorganize and reinterpret these digital images, laboring in traditional fine art media to depict the absurdity of our fascination and consumption.
Originally from small town Virginia, Sarah moved to Washington, DC in 2006 to attend the Corcoran College of Art + Design, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2010. Sarah finds the act of careful rendering both meditative and motivating; she delights in the level of control and precision offered by colored pencil. Sarah is inspired by color, media culture, and whimsy.
Having a body of work that pulls all sorts of humorous internet icons and languages together, what do you think is the role of humor and satire in contemporary art?
Humor and satire, to me, are important vehicles to deliver a point, in contemporary art and otherwise. I believe when something is funny or fun, you capture people’s attention—it is the perfect segue to deliver your ideas to an open and receptive audience. In Ubiquitous, I wanted my drawings to have recognizable, comedic elements, but I equally wanted to discuss the darker parts of digital culture—how unkind, obsessive, vapid and disturbing it can be. The internet, as a space for conversation, can be heated, contentious and divisive. Humor is important because it helps to poke at the absurdities of the internet in an accessible way, and hopefully, allow us to relate to it in a way that is more light-hearted and reflective.
How did you find that colored pencils, markers, and gouache were your material of choice for your work? How do they conceptually fit into the ideas you want to portray?
For this series I wanted to use traditional fine art media and specifically chose mediums, particularly marker and colored pencil, that any viewer would be familiar with and likely have used themselves. In doing this, I hoped to reinforce the concept of relatability and common experience. Additionally, my intention in “Ubiquitous” was to create juxtaposition between pop culture or lowbrow imagery and established, time-honored technique. In choosing highly rendered drawing, I intended to elevate imagery that is typically associated with impermanence to the strata of art history. I have a deep love for drawing and my hope was that even if people didn’t understand the references in my works, they could appreciate the artistry.
How do you go about getting ideas for your work? Can you go into a little detail about your process of going from research to idea to rough sketch to a final piece?
Like anyone, I interact with digital media every day. I find my inspiration when I am thinking consciously about the images and language that exists on the web pages, social media apps, comment threads, or wherever I may be on the internet. I am always on the lookout for notorious and iconic images and when I see something that resonates with me, I save it to a digital folder so I can use it to compose “sketches” for my drawings in Photoshop. Often, I start the creation process with a specific concept in mind and know exactly what I want my piece to look like, but sometimes it evolves through experimentation. I use Photoshop because it allows me to immediately edit and refine my drawings before I ever touch pencil to paper. Once I am happy with my design, it is used as a reference for my actual drawing. My process begins with a base layer of marker and the rest is rendered primarily in colored pencil with white and light values reinforced with gouache.
You were educated and have begun your art career here in DC. Do you think that living in this particular city has played a part in influencing your work?
Living in DC has absolutely influenced my work. The accessibility to museums, galleries and fellow artists has had a profound effect on me. DC offers countless opportunities to learn from, research and be inspired by the creativity of others. Specifically, DC public transportation has helped influence my current body of work. Over the years riding on Metro, I’ve watched people glued to their cell phones, filling every quiet moment with constant stimulation. Noticing this reliance on digital culture in others helped me to notice it in myself—which ultimately acted as a catalyst for this series.
What do you think is the next step in your body of work?
In general, I am still thinking about my next steps. I am interested in exploring the lifecycle of digital content as something akin to contemporary artifacts. Social Media and digital content is both fleeting in its relevance, but also seemingly permanent—the internet is an immediate archive. How we interact with these extreme timelines is, to me, compelling. I am so fascinated by our collective digital experiences that I plan to continue to explore and evolve these themes in my artwork.
