Life and Work: Elena Volkova

As promised in entries past, I'm launching a new feature on the blog: one that expands my narrative to include other artists who aren't supporting themselves with their art, who have struggled, who need to make choices every day about how to juggle life with creative work. There are a lot of artists out there producing fascinating work, and I'd like to carve out a space for unique conversation about how we do it.

Our journey starts, appropriately, in Baltimore. I stumbled across a writeup for one of Elena Volkova's photography installations and loved the humor and subversion inherent in her concept. Here we learn a little bit more about her creative life.

How do you describe yourself as an artist?
My goal as an artist is to create an experience. Using photography, I create site-specific installations that bring viewers "in the moment" and invite them to ponder the surrounding overlooked details in the environment. I follow the post-minimalist tradition in my practice, where the work is stripped down only to the essential elements; nothing extra. I am interested in the idea of creating art out of "nothing"—uneventful, familiar, mundane, everyday situations on the periphery of our lives.

What are you working on now?

I have two practices: photography and drawing. Drawing is my passion and my studio practice. I use photography to create site-specific installations. I’m currently working on a series of large format drawings of fortunes (from fortune cookies). For several years, I have been making various drawings of paper, where I'm exploring the same idea of "nothingness.” I asked my friends to send me most their most precious fortunes—the ones they consider particularly insightful—and make graphite drawings of them using a grid.

Tell us about your background/education. What made you choose to get a BFA/MFA, and was it an investment you had any trouble explaining to your family at first?

I have a BFA from MICA, where I studied photography. I fell in love with photography when I took a Basic Photo class at a local community college. After a few years working as an art teacher, I started looking at low-residency MFA programs and found an amazing professor that I really wanted to study under. Four years later, I got my MFA in Studio Arts, also from MICA.

What are your art-making rituals? What keeps you dedicated and in shape?

I have a tendency to produce a body of work when I have a show lined up. This keeps me in focus, and working constantly. Luckily, there is always something happening, and I am busy working. At the same time, I really value this "down" time when I’m not actively producing work because it allows me to think, to read, and to figure out where I'm going next. I try to keep up with my drawing practice, but it’s not at all regimented.  

Where do you get inspiration when things get tough?

A few years ago, I realized that it's tough to be a photographer who wants to produce large-scale work: it is very costly, galleries are reluctant to show it, there are problems with storage space, etc. I started making drawings because I needed a practice that would keep me working no matter what. I also think that drawing is a process-oriented medium, and photography (for me) is product-oriented. When things get tough, I come back to drawing. 

Tell us about your creative space.

I have a studio in the basement of my house, which I share with a filmmaker. We’re both interested in many other art practices, like ceramics and printmaking, so we have sort of a heaven of computers, art supplies, photo gear, pigments, ceramic glazes, clay, etc. It’s very cozy. We really love being in the space and working there. 

What's your most precious memento or piece of gear?

I used to work with this one medium format Yashica camera; it was so old that the lens had moisture trap and all images were coming out blurry with crazy light flares, and had dream-like quality. It was my favorite, but now I use only digital equipment.

What was the darkest time for your work? How’d you get out of it?

The darkest time for me is when I have too much going on. Every day, I have to juggle between parenting, my teaching jobs, housekeeping, and art making. I love all those things equally, but at times, things get overwhelming. The only way to get out of this is to wait until this period is over.  I usually do a lot of work in the summer, and I always know that some sort of break is coming soon. 

What are your current goals? Where do you see your work going in the future? You've done some traveling for your art and received a few awards and fellowships—do you see yourself eventually supporting yourself with your craft or do you want to keep teaching in Baltimore?

I don't see a possibility of being able to support myself and my family making art. The type of work I do rarely appeals to collectors, and I truly believe that art does not have to be a commodity. I found that many artists who depend solely on gallery representation have to compromise their practice to suit the art market; and I certainly don't want this to happen to me. Teaching is a great option for artists, not only because it is a noble profession, but also, because it offers some form of academic support and freedom. My ultimate goal is to teach college full time and continue to make art.

Elena currently has a show up at Hamiltonian Gallery in Washington, DC through December 4. If you're in the area, check it out!