Judy Wilkenfeld is a mixed media and book artist from Sydney Australia. Her mixed media art works, Visual Anthologies™ tell the story of a life or lives, past or present.
Presented in book form or wall art she uses layering and the re-contexturalization of the materials to build the history of the subject matter. Through the use of colour, textures, found objects and mixed media techniques, Judy conveys the stories behind the lives of those within the anthology. Bringing history to life.
Judy has been featured several books and art magazines, as well as in he three leading paper arts magazines in Australia.
MP: What made you decide to become an artist and how old were you when you knew?
I knew I was artistic from a young age. I did well at art at school but studied teaching at University. A career in art was not exactly encouraged back then. However, after I had my first child I made him an “interactive learning” book out of felt. The pre-school wanted one and so did a few other mothers. I dappled in more crafty areas and it was when my second son had his Bar-Mitzvah that I compiled a large book for him, inviting everyone to participate. This book precipitated my change of career from CEO of a not-for-profit to doing my Visual Anthologies™.
MP: Can you tell us about your mixed media art works, Visual Anthologies™?
My mixed media art works, Visual Anthologies™ tell the story of a life or lives, past or present. They are usually presented in book form, or sometimes wall art if it is a commission based artwork. How I present it is wholly dependent upon the subject matter.
Most, if not all my art pieces involve some sort of research.
My artistic style and works have to be fluid; the style is dependent on the type of story I am telling. The mix of objects and style can certainly be termed eclectic however the pieces are a reflection of a life. The reality of some life stories is often harsh yet with my use of fabrics and textures I try to take some of the harshness out of it without detracting from the essence of the piece. I like to blend the harsh with the soft, the simplistic with the highly detailed, and the static with the fluid – a true reflection of the lives of those I am telling the story of.
I utilize my knowledge of customs, traditions and the spiritual nature of things or research when necessary, in order that the experience of the observer/recipient when viewing the piece, understands the reasons for the placement of materials. The recipient or viewer peels though the layers and symbology in order to make sense (often personal sense) and to place, in context, the story the piece/s are intending to portray.
My pieces portray the good and the bad, happy or sad elements of life and sometimes, the complex subject matters of the persecution of races, religions and minority groups which are tackled with the utmost of sensitivity. To communicate the message of tolerance and understanding is imperative in my pieces.
MP: Would you share with us about your love affair with antique books?
It is simple really, the antique book has so much to tell us and I am not referring to content. As I am passionate about the art form of hand binding books it is always fascinating for me to see the many forms of bindings that have been used over time.
Antique books and manuscripts used to be handwritten and illustrated to perfection. The calligraphy is an art in itself and one I adore.
Being of the Jewish faith I have grown up seeing calligraphy all around me. Whether going to the synagogue and seeing the magnificence of a Torah scroll, all handwritten, or seeing a handwritten parchment placed on every door in our homes has certainly had an impact on me.
Anything historical interests me. It so often occurs that one picks up an old book and one finds writing scrawled on the inside cover or items fall out of the pages, left there by the previous owners. I have found amazing things within book pages from hair, to flowers to love notes. There is character to an antique book that has been through many many hands. It leads me to wonder about the former owners, what their history was. Geraldine Brooks wrote my all time favorite book on this subject. “People of the Book” relives the true story of a mysterious Jewish codex known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. The lead character discovers a series of artefacts in its ancient binding. Via the binding and the tiny artefacts left behind in it, the history of the book and its author are traced. Going back 5 centuries to figure it out though. Fascinating what an old book can reveal about civilisation and the history a people.
MP: I have always said, every one has a story to tell and I know you too believe it can be done without words. Can you share with our readers how this is done?
I use layering and the re-contextualization of found materials to build the history of the subject matter.
Because I do not normally write the history I had to find another way to tell the story. The use of symbolism is tantamount to assist me in the telling. Through the use of colour, textures, found objects and mixed media techniques, I can convey the stories behind the lives of those within the anthology.
For example if I were doing an anthology on a Holocaust survivor it would be a disaster were I to put anything yellow in the book. Yellow was the colour of the star with the word Jew on it that they were forced to wear at that time.
The use of text is very important to me. In my piece “Harbin 1941” one sees a lot of text used but not just nay random text. The anthology was about war, one of the antique books I found was ‘The art of war” by and this was used. Whilst I cannot read Chinese, I made sure I was putting in the correct text to match the theme. Can you imagine if, in time to come, an Asian person was viewing the piece and in the background of this very serious piece of work I had put pages of Alice in
Wonderland for example? It is this research and dedication to the correct details within my pieces which can draw out the length of time it take to do a piece but the accuracy of it enables the viewer to, almost subliminally say, oh this book is about war. It further tells the story by combining with elements and objects that assist in the telling.
MP: Your Antique Studio Cards and Tintype Journal Blank Hand Made Books are wonderful little treasures. How did you come up with this idea?
I was testing some different binding techniques for a book structure I wanted to do. I buy antique photo albums from time to time to use in my art. Many of them I have tintypes and studio cards in them. However, I do not use those images. I have tried so many times to use them but just cannot do it. I use images of people who I know or about whom are the subjects of an anthology.
I have a tintype photo of a little boy on my study table. I don’t know why but he “speaks to me”, as it were. There’s something about him. One day I will know why.
I decided to up-cycle the studio cards and tintypes to make for people who enjoy them. I get many requests from people who want to buy something I have made, fortunately. Most of my work is commission based or I make the art for arts sake. So I decided one day to make them into blank journals in order for those people.
MP: What are two art supplies you don't think you could live without and why?
Paper or book board:
They are key components to book arts and whilst many of my books are not paper based, one will find a lot of paper used for the layering.
Waxed linen.
Because my books are heavy being made from mixed media objects, I need to ensure that the binding will not fall apart. The linen is strong and comes in varying thicknesses. The wax component allows the thread to hold in place. Because I bind only at the completion of the pages, invariably the book can weigh a lot and binding it is difficult as such anything that assists the process is sought.
MP: Your Thursday, February 4, 2010 Blog post “Never judge a book by its cover” is one of my favorites and a must read. Can you tell us of other great finds you became the recipient of thanks to the “man” that scans the entire store with a type of x-ray vision, spots something and then says “Hey Bebe, come look at this!”?
Well that is a tough question for not all of my great finds are made by “de man”. But there is one that I recall.
Some time ago Michael deMeng and I decided to do a collaborative piece to see if our styles could mesh together.
“Esh”, meaning Fire in Hebrew is a piece dedicated to my father’s mother, sister and brother and to all those 2.5 Million children who perished in The Holocaust.
I needed to find some objects that could assist me in relating the subject matter. We decided to go to an artist recycle warehouse first, just to see if there was anything we could find, mainly for Michael to build the outer housing of my books. The warehouse had a section of books, mainly new 2nd hand. As I walked over to the large mess of books, I leaned over the pile and a book fell on top of my foot which was somewhat painful at the time. When I looked down to see what had fallen on my foot, I was shocked to see the book in the image below, the one with the swastika on it. Perfect!
MP: Do you have any upcoming projects/books/events/etc we can look forward to seeing in the future?
I am working on a piece on The Holy Inquisition period. But as always, the project seems to grow and grow the more I research it. It now has numerous components to it. Part one is complete and I am working on part two.
I hope to write a book soon but it will not be a techniques book. I want it to feature my Visual Anthologies™ and all the stories that going along the journey of making one. There is an amazing amount of synchronicity that occurs with them. It is a real journey when I make one and I would love people to come along with me.
I just did a major slideshow presentation entitled “Harbin 1941”. It features on my blog and has two parts to it and gives an insight into how the piece came about and how’s and why I put it together.
MP: What advice would you give an emerging artist?
Follow your passion and allow the passion to merge with your art. If you love what you do and put all you heart and soul into a piece, it will show and others will respond to it.
Try to be unique. One can appreciate another artists talent but don’t mimic it draw what you like out of it and use your own inner voice to guide you to your own unique artwork.
You can learn more about Judy and her work through her blogs Red Velvet Creations and Visual Anthologies™, as well as through her Etsy shop.
Judy , I want to thank you for sharing with our readers your art and life as a working artist.
