Art & Life with Margie Schnibbe

Margie, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
The cubist sculptor Jacques Lipchitz had a studio in my hometown twenty miles north of New York City. I grew up climbing on his sculpture “Between Heaven & Earth,” a gift to the village from Mr. Lipchitz that was installed in front of the public library. I took many art classes as a kid but had a difficult adolescence and almost died from a drug overdose when I was 19. Soon after, I fled the toxic suburbs and moved to Brooklyn and Manhattan where I worked as a production ceramics fabricator, ceramics teacher, and catering chef while attending the City University of New York’s Hunter College. At Hunter, I discovered my love of modern art, psychology, and philosophy. This is when I first began visiting art museums and galleries. I was a bit of a late bloomer and always had to work jobs, so it took me a while to finish my art degrees. I completed a BFA in Sculpture from Kansas City Art Institute when I was 27 and an MFA from Cal Arts in Experimental Film when I was 34. In between my two degrees I made art, performance and videos while living on the Lower East Side of New York and working as a dominatrix in a notorious commercial dungeon (Belle de Jour), a chef in an upstate summer acting school (The National Shakespeare Conservatory) and a freelance assistant to my former professor who wrote ceramic textbooks (Susan Peterson).

I have been making art every day for nearly thirty years. I am as driven today as I was in my twenties and I will never stop. However, this is not always easy, as I still have to work a “day job” too. Since graduate school I have worked many jobs to support my art practice: set dressing, props and background talent on TV, movies and rock videos; web developer; production designer and director of commercial pornography; creator and director of a documentary movie about porn stars and their pets; featured performer on a reality TV show; and various positions with not-for-profit arts organizations. The strangest and most stressful job I’ve ever had in Los Angeles was cooking Christmas dinner for Ringo Starr and his family in their fabulous Beverly Hills home.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I make personal, intuitive works using a variety of materials. The form or medium chosen for each piece or project is determined by its intention and purpose. I create drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations, poetry, prose, ‘zines, music, websites, films, and videos. I am inspired by my life and motivated by my passion and will go wherever that takes me. I practice a holistic approach to my art and my life- I cannot separate one from the other. When I was younger, living an art-life (including living and working in frenetic art installations I built) made my daily experience incredibly messy and complicated. However, as I have gotten older, I have learned to find a better balance.

I create intimate and psychologically complex worlds that generate pleasure and challenge the viewer to question the status quo. In much of my work, I seek to hijack and subvert the male gaze and the hegemony of a patriarchal power structure (although often times I mask that intention with humor, so it’s not always readily apparent). I hope viewers find meaning in my work or perhaps discover a shared moment, experience or feeling. When I put my artwork out there in the world, I set it free. The results are open to interpretation.

Recently I have been shifting my primary focus to working with materials that are more stable, enduring and permanent. I am revisiting ideas and processes that were a vital part of my practice over twenty years ago. I have recently returned to making ceramic sculpture. When I am working with clay, I feel a sense of childlike wonder and experience great joy. I also feel as if I am living simultaneously in my past, present, and future in the most fantastic non-linear way. This excites me tremendously.

Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities, and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
Firstly I want to say that I have always faced financial challenges. It’s important to stay true to your vision, but you also need to pay your rent and have enough money for food, art supplies, and other basic expenses. Keep in mind that your path is your own; do not be judgmental of rich kids who do not have to work jobs or whose parents can afford to pay their college tuition at expensive private schools and buy them houses. Being born wealthy does not make a person a better artist. Many wealthy people buy art, support museums and non-profit institutions and fund grants for artists. So don’t hate the rich if you want to sell your art to rich people or have a museum show or get a big grant — practice compassion. Making art is a lifelong pursuit: be patient and don’t give up.

If you don’t have a trust fund, you need to have a job. Most artists would prefer to not have a job; they would rather be making art fulltime. So if you don’t want to have a job, please remember that you are not alone. Get over your whining and find a job that you can tolerate. Figure out what you can do to make money that will leave you with enough time and energy to focus on making your art. Do not work soul-sucking jobs. If possible, try to work with other artists or people who can relate to your situation. Consider getting a job that helps people, serves the greater good and affects positive change.

It’s really important to set up a system for working on your art every day. This routine will serve you well especially as you get older because it will become automatic and not seem so much like making an effort. Many people who think “I’ll make money now and make art later” often do not develop good studio habits. If you cannot work in your studio on certain days because your day job is too overwhelming or time-consuming, keep a sketchbook or idea book next to your bed and make simple sketches or jot down project ideas before you go to sleep or when you first wake up. You can also make voice memos on your phone. If you cannot afford to make your dream projects now, do not stress out or beat yourself up. Simply take notes and make a plan of action. Every gesture counts. Your home can be your studio too. Designate a work area and be sure to make an effort to work on your art every day.

Going to art openings, exhibitions and museums is working on your art as well. It’s important to see historical works and also what other contemporary artists are making. If you are on a tight budget, this is a great way to socialize without spending money. Invite a friend to look at art with you. Galleries don’t cost money to visit and sometimes serve free beer, wine, and food at their openings. A few Los Angeles museums are always free, and the museums that charge admission have free hours every week. It’s also good to maintain a sense of community by going to your friends’ art openings to see their work and wish them well. When you see that your friends are focused on making art and are successful in their practice, this will motivate you, and you will feel happy that you have talented friends who inspire you.

If you are struggling with your focus, it is crucial that you find works of art that inspire you. I always find artworks of inspiration in museums and galleries, especially from artists who have spent many years making art and have faced a multitude of social, political and economic struggles. So far, my three favorite museum shows I’ve seen this year are:

1) “Outliers and American Vanguard Art” at LACMA (https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/outliers-and-american-vanguard-art)( This exhibition recently closed but you can find many images online and in social media.

2) “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983 at the Broad (on view until September 1). This is a ticketed exhibition, but there are student discounts and free hours available. (https://www.thebroad.org/soul-of-a-nation)

3) Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future at the Guggenheim (on view until April 23) (https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/hilma-af-klint) You’ll have to be in NYC to see this show. Many of us believed that this exhibition was coming to MOCA in LA, but sadly it is no longer scheduled.

One more way to find your focus if you are struggling financially is to read or listen to artist biographies in books or online. Get a library card if you don’t have one already. The Los Angeles Public Library has free audiobooks, and there are lots of free audiobooks on YouTube as well. When you hear the stories of fellow artists, you will find that you are not alone in your struggles and this will motivate you to keep making art.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I’m in two group exhibitions right now – one in New York and one in Los Angeles. The New York exhibition is “Circus of Books”, and it’s on view at Fierman Gallery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan until May 6. (https://fierman.nyc/) The exhibition is curated by the gallery and the artist Rachel Mason, with a publication edited by Billy Miller. Rachel’s parents owned the legendary gay bookstore Circus of Books (with locations in West Hollywood and Silver Lake, now closed). I was a big fan and customer of Circus of Books, and it is an honor to have my work included in the exhibition with so many queer artists I admire.

The Los Angeles exhibition is “Dreamhouse Vs. Punk House (plus Cat House)” and it is organized by Kristin Calabrese, Joshua Aster, and Torie Zalben. It is at Serious Topics in Inglewood and runs until September 29. (https://stretcheroptions.com/serious-topics/) For this exhibition, nearly two hundred artists created small artworks that are installed in three highly decorated, ninety-five-inch tall dollhouse towers. I feel honored to be included in this exhibition with so many great artists!

Later this year I am premiering two new sculptures and two new poems at the Finley Gallery in Los Angeles. (http://thefinleygallery.artcodeinc.com/) The title of the exhibition is “Mary and Masoud in Heaven,” and it’s an homage to my best friend and my boyfriend who both died suddenly in 2015. I don’t know the exhibition dates yet, but I will make an announcement on social media when I have more details.

I am an “artist’s artist” and receive an incredible amount of love and support from my community. For this, I am eternally grateful. Going forward I would like to have more work included in more gallery and museum exhibitions and sell more artwork. If more people would like to support my work, the best way they can do that is to buy my art or recommend me to people who can put me in exhibitions and sell my art. One of my goals right now is to pay off my credit card and student loan debt and cut back on my hours at my day job, so I have more time to make more art and spend more time volunteering for not-for-profit organizations.