Interview with Aimee Hertog

q)Introduce yourself please?

a)My name is Aimee Hertog. I live and work in New Jersey, in
the greater New York Metropolitan area.

q)How did you get started? How did you realize you wanted to become an artist?

a) I got started as an artist when I was a child. I can remember as far back as age 3 or 4 being
fascinated by the process of doing visual art. I identified myself as an artist from that
early time on.

q)What materials do you use and why?

a) I use a wide range of materials. Among other things, I use wood, plastic platters, discarded toys, old computer printer drawers, ribbon,feathers, hair accessories, ink, paint, glitter and resin. I have been using these materials because they pull me out of self consciousness with art. The results area often very
funky, original, colorful and upbeat.

q)What are your biggest influences, both art and non-art related?

a) My biggest influences in art are Miro and Calder because to me they evoke fun in their “serious” work. Influences which are non-art related include cooking shows which show the esthetics of food
preparation and make me want to create “delicious” art.

q)How do you dream up your wacky ideas?

a)They come from my subconscious mostly. I don’t usually know what I’m going to do until I set out to create something. My creative process is mysterious to me. I find materials that one does not usually associate with
art making and I make art out of it. I want to create something that is beautiful but not at
all “pretty” in a conventional sense. I don’t like shock value in art at all but I do like to try
to make people face the depths of the human comedy. If it makes them uncomfortable
sometimes then I think I’ve succeeded.

q)How long does it take you to finish a piece?

a)It depends. Sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes it will take months. I will start on a piece, find myself getting stuck and then have to put the piece away for awhile to come back to it later.

q)Are there any contemporary artists that you love?

a) Elizabeth Murray and Joan Snyder.

q)What haven’t you done yet that you definitely want to try someday?

a) I think I would like to try public art.

q)What music, if any, do you like to have on while you’re working?

a)I like to listen to classical music while I’m working.

q)Do you do many art shows?

a)It appears that way. I was just in two in the arty Williamsburg
section of Brooklyn, New York, at Sideshow and Holland Tunnel Galleries and
have a one-person show coming up at Galeria Janet Kurnatowski this summer in
Greenpoint, Brooklyn, just outside of Williamsburg. Also this summer I will be in a group
show pertaining to the subject of women at the Safe-T gallery in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
Other shows include a shows juried by the chief curator of Washington D.C.’s Phillips
collection, a former critic of the New York Times and a former curator of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

q)Tell us about a recent dream you had…

a)I had a dream I was taking a walk with figure
skates on. Maybe that means I need to do a piece pertaining to figure skating.

q)What are you doing when you are not creating?

a) I take care of my child and my household.
I also manage to read and exercise. I like to see good movies; I recently saw
“Pan’s Labyrinth” which was amazing.

q)Do you get emotionally attached to your work and miss your work when it is sold?

a) I do get attached but realize it’s important to sell my work and get it “out there.”

q)What is your favorite art related web site?

a)I like the Saatchi, Your Gallery website and the Surrealism Now website (both of which I was invited to be on recently).

q)What is the strangest thing you’ve ever seen?

a)I saw a video on YouTube of a cat playing a piano, but I don’t know if it was real or not.

q)What is the strangest thing you have ever done?

a)If you mean art wise, I think it’s my “French Actress” piece which is new.

q)Any advice you can pass on to aspiring artists/designers?

a)Try to reach into yourself and
find what really makes you happy; don’t try to please other people.

q)Your contacts…

a)My website is www.aimeechertog.com.
My email is achertog@aol.com.
I’m also on www.Surrealismnow.com and
www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile//24535.html or go to the your gallery
section and put in my name, Aimee Hertog. There is a competition going on now on the
Saatchi Gallery online. To vote for me, you can go to
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index.php?showpic=1554.
Thanks so much, Claudio.