Gina Kukulski, Still Life, and the Traveling Vessels
KARDIA: As an artist, what would you say is your most important responsibility, for yourself and for your viewers, when creating your work?
GINA KUKULSKI: My most important responsibility to myself is creating space and time for my photography. My work is extremely personal, so I owe it to myself to create art that is true to who I am as an artist and human. The most important responsibility is on me and how I am honoring my creative process. I have made thousands of pieces of work that no one has ever seen but me. If I take full responsibility of the viewer, my work would be immensely different. My work is private to me, until I decide to make it public for other eyes to see. I am thrilled when viewers resonate with my work, however it is not the ultimate motivation of why I am an artist. I participate because I love creating my work.
K: The photographs you produce are incredibly beautiful and translate sensitively by the colors and low contrast elements that you choose to incorporate. Have you always photographed in this technique? When did you begin to gravitate to this minimal style of still life photography?
G: I have always had an interest in still life, and creating compositions with things I find. When I started painting in college, I was taught color theory and began to have a greater understanding of strong compositions. Around that time, my still life work was very colorful and experimental. I went to an artist residency in Buenos Aires, and there I started experimenting with multiple exposures in still life.
After I returned home, I continued to photograph multiple exposures and gravitated towards monochromatic sets. During this time, my sister was put in hospice and passed away a few weeks later. I wanted to do something menial to help me feel productive in the weeks after her death, so I started painting everything in my sets the same color white.
As a photographer, I have always had multiple projects I wanted to produce in mind. I started this series of work three years ago, and I want to continue it until it doesn’t challenge me. It has been refreshing to give myself permission to only focus on this body of work for years. As a photographer, it is easy to bounce from idea to idea, but this grounded me and my photography in a way that works well for me. It is a constant reminder that I have grief, and that it will always be with me ... and that is okay. It gives me time to quiet my mind and work in a way that feels like the most natural, purposeful thing I have ever done.
Vessel 42, 8 (Fifty Is Better Than One)
K: What does the vessel represent to you? Do these vessels take on a different identity depending on their location or grouping?
G: For me, they have taken on many meanings. After I started painting a few vessels, I started numbering them, starting with one. The collection of vessels and their numbers now represent a passing of time and the memories associated with them. I have travelled the world with some of these vessels! I have found that creating compositions with them can be similar to a portrait. Although it was not the initial idea for the vessels, I often feel like I am posing them for family photos.
Kulkulski in Studio
K: What is your creative schedule like? Do you photograph daily? Sketch out your ideas first? Concepts of different vessels?
G: My days vary immensely when it comes to my creative schedule. Some days, I will photograph for hours. On other days, I will be on my computer working on the final edits, or I could be printing a piece several times until it is right. I am constantly writing down and sketching new ideas. I like to sketch out general compositions, or sizes, and I will start photographing, while playing off of the sketch.
K: What has your experience been like working with the Grand Rapids art community? Are there areas that you could see improvement being made? What about other communities you've experienced and how were they uniquely beneficial?
G: My experience with the Grand Rapids art community started from a young age. I was 18 years old when I participated in my first Festival of the Arts and sold my photographs in the artist tent. My experiences with outdoors festivals in Grand Rapids and throughout West Michigan continued for many years, and I am thankful for the relationships I built with the directors of these shows and the other artisans. Through these shows, I was able to build a seasonal business and create opportunities for myself that I didn't seem to find elsewhere in town.
In 2017, I was given the opportunity to have a solo show at Cerasus Studio. I also participated in a handful of group shows throughout college, and the years following. I have not participated in anything locally in a few years. I hope that can change in the future, but unfortunately some of the shows I have done in recent years in Grand Rapids have been disheartening.
Vessels 37, 23, 53 (Front Seat Home)
K: How has the online/digital art community influenced you as a creator? Are these platforms beneficial or destructive in your creative experience? How do you find balance in using these resources?
G: I have met so many people through online platforms that have been so influential and supportive. It has been an amazing resource to meet like-minded people in my own community and across the world. It is a great way to stay in touch with other artists, and keep up to date on their work. I have found online platforms to be beneficial overall, however, it can be hard to post work in a digital format that is better represented in person.
K: Outside of your work and studio practices, what are some other areas of life that bring you inspiration and spark your creative heart?
G: I love to cook! It has been an amazing creative outlet for me for years. It is one of my favorite things about working from home! I also love going for long walks in our neighborhood for a change of scenery during the day.
K: What do you imagine/hope your viewers are thinking or asking when they view your work in person/online?
G: My work is immensely different when viewed online versus in person. I love experimenting with different materials when it comes to printing. My parents owned a printing business for many years, so I have been able to test many different printing processes and experiment with scale of my work over the years. When you see my work online, you are usually just seeing a file uploaded into an app or my website. When you see my work in person, it is a totally different experience. Some viewers assume they are looking at a painting or drawing. I don’t mat and frame my pieces in a traditional way, and I really enjoy pushing those boundaries.
K: Are there any other concepts that you see yourself experimenting with in the future? Within still life photography or outside of it?
G: I am enjoying just working through this body of work as it is now. I have so many ideas within this that I am eager to create. We will see what the future holds! As challenging as painting can be for me, I enjoy still life painting. I am a very slow painter, but I will probably continue this exercise because it helps me have a greater understanding of my work.