An Interview With Katherine Hunt
Katherine Hunt is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans moving image, installations, and mixed media. Her practice studies the integrated specifics of personal experience with the broader forces of social psychology, delving into how cultural backgrounds shape our most intimate, private perceptions and fundamental modes of seeing.
Can you tell us a little bit about you?
I am a multidisciplinary artist specializing in moving images, installations, and mixed media. I hold a BA in Cultural and Social Psychology, Indigenous American Studies, a minor in Gender & Women's Studies from the University of Minnesota, and an MFA from the California Institute of Arts (CalArts). My work explores how culture shapes perception and ways of seeing. The Andy Warhol Foundation, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts, among others, have recognized my art practice. My work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and I am represented by Ki Smith Gallery in New York City. Little known fun fact: From 1994 to 2018, I was a rural and urban farmer, developing urban gardens in Minneapolis, New York, and Los Angeles. In 2018, I created a public art weaving installation and heirloom seed garden with youth in the community of the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo in northern New Mexico. This experience profoundly influenced my art, instilling a need for tactile work and repetitive labor akin to working with soil.
What does your current process look like and how has it developed since you began painting?
While attending graduate school at CalArts, I created short, non-narrative 8mm and 16mm films, hand-processing the film strips with materials like coffee, wine, salt, and soap. I enjoyed the tactile process of handling celluloid. After moving from Los Angeles, accessing film and development facilities became challenging, leading me to explore mixed-media painting. Traditional tools like paintbrushes and pencils lacked the physical qualities I sought. Like handling film strips, I wanted to hold the lines in my hands, leading me to "paint with fiber." I developed a process of methodically layering cotton string back and forth. This new practice coincided with the COVID lockdown and a personal health condition. The methodical repetition of applying line upon line became a calming ritual, helping me cope with the ambiguity of a genetic illness. My weakened health gravely reminded me of life's fragility. It inspired me to create works that left a physical trace of my presence—the extreme concentration required to make such a systematic piece grounded me in the moment. My interest in strictly using monochromatic white pigments is rooted in my upbringing in the Midwestern United States. The snow-covered landscapes of Wisconsin and Minnesota heightened my sensory perception, allowing me to discern even the most subtle details. There's a quote from a 2007 interview with Robert Ryman that captures this sentiment more poetically and humorously than I ever could: "It wasn’t a matter of white, the color. White has a tendency to make things visible. With white, you can see more of a nuance; you can see more. If you spill coffee on a white shirt, you can see the coffee very clearly. If you spill it on a dark shirt, you don’t see it as well."
You work across moving image, installation, and mixed media. What draws you to using such a variety of mediums in your work?
I was part of a college theater and performance art collective, creating props and set designs for live performances. I worked in art departments in Los Angeles production studios on films, music videos, and television. Although I enjoyed these immersive installations, I wanted my work to reflect my thoughts on perception and cultural psychology, leading me to non-narrative, non-representational art as a universal means of communication through visual representation.
How do you aim to explore and convey an individuals subconscious influence through your work?
Non-narrative, nonrepresentational visual art provides a space for introspection, inviting viewers to observe and engage with nuances. In today's world, we're overwhelmed by sensory input from devices that constantly connect us to information. We have gotten accustomed to accessing instant answers at our fingertips, anytime, anywhere. The temporary discomfort with silence, undivided attention, and ambiguous imagery, whether through a painting or a film, forces us to sit still and move through our discomfort, actively engaging our senses. Movement through initial impressions and obvious conclusions, whether through the repetition of lines or within a film frame, encourages more profound thought. Rather than overt meaning, subtlety connects us to our subconscious, allowing personal memories and associations to surface long after experiencing the artwork. I avoid easy representational art, preferring to create spaces that provoke a questioning of assumptions and perceptions and offer the viewer an intimate experience. In a constantly stimulated world, I aim to provide an alternative, even if for only a few moments.
How do you challenge viewers to become more aware of their own cultural biases through your art?
By slowing down, carefully observing and listening, and repeatedly offering a blank slate, I’m attempting to reduce clutter and distill an image to its essential geometric line and form. By minimizing unnecessary patterns, colors, and details, I focus on the core materials, shapes, and nuanced variations in monochrome. These questions make one aware of their bodies and thoughts in relation to that object or those moving images in that particular space at that specific time. That moment cannot be replicated; engaging with undivided attention allows a transition from immediate interpretation to a more nuanced, personal connection.
When did you first realise that you wanted to become an artist?
During my final undergraduate year in a cultural psychology class, we explored the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), a projective psychological test in which subjects create narratives about ambiguous pictures. This test uncovers underlying motives and perspectives influenced by conscious and unconscious factors. Cultural psychologists note that interpretations of these images vary significantly across cultures, providing deeper insights into cultural influences on perception. I was particularly intrigued by a study called the "Michigan Fish Test," which presents an underwater scene featuring larger fish, smaller fish, bubbles, and seaweed. When American and Japanese students viewed the image for five seconds and described it, notable cultural differences emerged. American students typically focused on the larger fish, often overlooking peripheral details, while Japanese students observed the entire scene, noting the environment and interactions. Additionally, the Japanese participants could also identify subtle changes in the image, whereas most Americans could not. This test underscores how cultural narratives shape fundamental perceptions: Japanese culture's collectivist nature emphasizes group orientation and holistic context, while American individualism prioritizes prominent elements, such as the large fish. Realizing how my American background had unconsciously shaped my perceptions was both eye-opening and unsettling. At the same time, I was taking a beginner’s photography and 8mm film class, where the instructor introduced us to Stan Brakhage’s experimental, painterly short films. Experiencing those moving images for the first time felt like an epiphany, igniting a desire to integrate the concepts I had learned in cultural psychology into a new visual language for bridging cultural divides. This experience highlighted the importance of recognizing and controlling our perceptions, thereby fostering open-mindedness and enhancing effective cross-cultural interactions.
What inspires you to keep creating? Is there a specific artist or movement you admire?
I am captivated by the obsessive focus that comes with being fully immersed in my work. The repetitive, methodical movements serve as my form of meditation, prayer, and rituals. When I encounter creative blocks, I step back and immerse myself in films, exhibitions, books, and artist research. This reset often sparks new ideas. I'm drawn to Fluxus, Minimalism, and Post-Minimalism. Artists I admire are Heidi Bucher, Dora Maurer, Hanne Darboven, Agnes Martin, Robert Ryman, Robert Rauschenberg’s 'White Paintings' series, and John Cage’s musical response to them with his 4’33” score.
Have you seen any exhibitions or artworks recently that sparked new ideas for your own work?
Seeing Robert Ryman's work at Dia: Beacon always inspires me. On a road trip to Marfa, Texas, I was fascinated by Donald Judd’s home, especially his library. Judd spent hours each day reading about various artists and subjects.
What is your favourite book or film and why?
As a steadfast cinephile, I can't name just one favorite movie. Films and filmmakers that have strongly influenced and continue to inspire my artwork include: "Wanda" by Barbara Loden, "L’Rendez-vous d’Anna," "Jeanne Dielman," and "News From Home" by Chantal Akerman, "Beau Travail" and "35 Rhums" by Claire Denis, "Woman of the Dunes” by Hiroshi Teshigahara, “Red Desert” by Michelangelo Antonioni, "Paris, Texas" by Wim Wenders, “Winter Light” by Ingmar Bergman, “Stalker” and “Mirror” by Andrei Tarkovsky, Anything by James Benning, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Krzysztof Kieslowski. These filmmakers are associated with "Slow Cinema," an art cinema genre characterized by a minimalist, observational style with little or no narrative, typically emphasizing long takes. It is contemplative, somewhat existential, and often contains absurdist humor. With slow, straightforward camera movement and minimal sound design, relying on ambient noise, field recordings, or silence, these filmmakers create visuals that require active engagement from the viewer. They evoke a sense of mystery from the landscapes and lives they depict, encouraging a nuanced way of observing and listening. This approach is what I strive to achieve in my short films and artwork.
Are you working on any projects you are particularly excited about?
I'm returning to small observational filmmaking, revisiting old VHS found-footage of New York City. My goal is to explore themes of perception through the use of time code manipulation and repetition.