Norton Pease: A Visual Examination of American Culture
Artist and Educator Norton Pease invites the viewer to contemplate the many ways in which white privilege permeates our culture. Drawing inspiration from children's books, news footage, comic books, and advertisements, Norton integrates both traditional and non-traditional approaches to art-making. In this interview, Norton discusses the evolution of his creative journey, and shares his goals for 2022.
Tell me about your background and where your creative journey began.
As early as I can recall, it was evident that I had artistic talent. However, this was something that I took for granted at a young age. Of course, I didn't starve or entirely neglect it, but I certainly didn't feed my artistic skill as I look back to my early years. The same was true of my outlook on education. I didn't have much school related ambition through high school, let alone to go to college, but place and privilege had me on that track.
In short, college is where a light switched on within me; it was a place where I found ambition, excelled and decided to commit to being an artist. I continued my education, receiving my MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. After getting my MFA, I moved back to NYC in 1999, where I started working as an Adjunct professor and took my first tenure-track position in Montana in 2002. Since 2010, I've been in administration in higher ed, and now the journey continues for me in the Deep South--following my calling as an artist and educator.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
As part of my creative process, I sift through the detritus of American culture, finding inspiration from children's books, news footage, comic books, and advertisements. Source material related to white privilege is endless. Another point of inspiration comes directly from music. I see and formalize compositions in my head while listening to certain songs. This process may stem from synesthesia, as this influences my color choices. I tend to play those songs repeatedly, sometimes thousands of times, until the work is complete--something that understandably annoys my wife.
How has your work shifted and evolved?
I categorize my work into before and after graduate school. For example, I just completed Wonder Breed this past July. I had started this painting in Fall 1999, and after painting my sister, her family, and the Wonder Bread on a white background, I rolled it up. It sat in storage until last May when I decided to work back into it. Over this extended time, the painting's content and subject matter did not change for the most part. However, it took a bit longer than usual (22 years) to formalize the narrative in that painting.
Good or bad, I'm still rolling the same content snowball that began in 1999. It's much bigger and more complex, but there's a reasonably straight parallel with the content of the work produced over the past 22 years. However, I have moments where I break from a consistent style, which stems from a continued inner turmoil related to my approach to figuration. I still have the impulse to show that I can paint and do it well like I have something to prove, but I also desire to push the medium itself. Over the past decade, I found myself falling to a resolution where impulse and desire could coexist. This resolution has produced stylistic shifts in my work. So, some may see the shifts as an evolution of the work, but I see them fitting to the concepts of the individual paintings, which still relate to the same old content. I think 2022 will be an opportunity to do some breakout work, producing a sizeable shift and new direction.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
My practice has remained the same since moving to the Deep South in 2018. I attribute this to time management. A typical studio day depends on whether it's a weekend or weekday. As I work 40 hours a week as an Associate Dean, I attempt to put in 2 hours every evening. My studio is next to my home, which makes this possible. The 10 hours that I'm able to put into my studio during the weekdays assist my practice as I work through multiple layers. Because of this practice of layering, then sanding, I work on numerous paintings at once. The weekends are a time to focus and refine those layers, as I can afford 16-20 hours in the studio on Saturday and Sunday or during holidays.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
All experiences shape our work. However, I can pinpoint a single moment that has dramatically shaped my work. When I was seven, I had just moved from a diverse community to one that was homogeneously white. I was unhappy with my new surroundings and missing my friends, and I remember seeing the lack of diversity around me as a loss. At that age, it was more in line with missing my friends, most of which were people of color.
Although I had no substantive understanding of white privilege until college, this event was an obvious starting point on my road to discovery. Of course, it was an innocent point in time, but the awareness that came from this shift in surroundings at this formative age became my MFA Thesis's primary focus and a foundation for my continued work.
How has Instagram impacted your art career?
Although I'm relatively new, Instagram affects my career through connections. It's a powerful resource that I admittedly don't fully comprehend or take full advantage of as a resource. It also brings reconnections with someone you had not seen over time. For example, Cayce Zavaglia (100K followers) was in the MFA Painting Program with me--in our first year, as I had taken a year off--at Washington University in St. Louis. I randomly found her profile on Instagram and had completely lost track of her since '98. It was great to catch up, and I'm thankful to Instagram for that opportunity. Instagram is also a place where you might have a significant artist that you follow and admire, follow you! When I see one of their likes to my posted painting, it's a moment of reaffirmation.
What are your future goals and aspirations?
My future goal is to gain a larger audience and continue creating work.
Instagram: @norbertnorton
Website: nortonpease.com