…as if a worldwide virus killing thousands of people weren't enough, now the news of not one, but a string of black people being killed by police and others in succession - Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd. … I went numb.
— Lori Isom
——-
Jasper continues to check in with Columbia artists to see how we’re all doing during these strangely hypnotic times in which we’re living. Jasper editor Cindi Boiter had the opportunity to chat with Columbia-based portrait artist and fascinating human being, Lori Isom.
Here’s what we learned from Lori.
Artist and baker Lori Isom
JASPER: You and I met when you joined the Supper Table arts team last year, and I know you are originally from Brooklyn and that you studied at Parsons School of Design. What else can you tell our readers about your background and how you came to live and work in Columbia?
LORI ISOM: I like to tell people that I've had experience with just about all the arts. I had a love of drawing from a young child, and a strange obsession with cooking programs like The French Chef with Julia Child. I studied fashion illustration in high school and then portrait and figure drawing at Parsons. Due to an injury that my dad sustained on his job, I was unable to afford to continue going to Parsons, but I felt it was serendipitous because I'd really been wanting to explore my newest obsession which was dance! I went on to study and perform for several years, even creating and performing with my own dance company. I did go back to college eventually, Hunter College, but again got pulled away following the siren's song of show business. I spent about two decades of my life as a performer which included some touring and living in different states. I've acted in several plays, done musical theater, appeared in a handful of T.V. commercials, and even a couple of music videos.
I have lived in Columbia on a few different occasions. My parents left New York and moved here in the late ‘80s, and it was kind of a respite for me at times. During one of those stays I began to earnestly pursue my art again. I had the opportunity to exhibit my work, created a small business as a portrait artist, and taught children’s' art classes. I eventually met my husband at Fort Jackson. He was a Drill Sergeant there, and I would set up at the PX to do portrait drawings and paintings of the cadets and other military personnel. As a result of him being in the military, we lived in a variety of places, and I would navigate my way into the art community so that I could continue to work as an artist. We moved back to Columbia in 2011 and have been here ever since.
JASPER: Do you consider yourself to be primarily a portraitist? What medium do you prefer?
LORI ISOM: I do consider myself to be a portraitist. I have always been interested in the anatomy of the human face and figure. Capturing different expressions is also something that I'm very passionate about because facial expressions and body language are instantly relatable. That said, for my non-commissioned work, I prefer natural expressions rather than posed. My preferred medium is charcoal - it's what we worked with the most in school because knowing how to draw was essential. Also, to be honest, I really find having to mix colors to get the right skin tone and values to be tiresome. Charcoal is so immediate, and uncomplicated. I also really enjoy a simple number two pencil - the retractable kind because the point is always sharp.
Woman 12 by Lori Isom
JASPER: You've just finished up a beautiful project called Grey Matters. Can you tell us about this work - how the project presented itself to you, how long you worked on it, what your work entailed, and where we can see it?
LORI ISOM: A few years ago, it began becoming obvious that my aged parents would start to require more of my attention and help than just a few short years before. Of course, as time moved on, their mental and physical health continued to decline which made them increasingly reliant on me. These are my parents and I would do anything I could to maintain their quality of life, however I didn't realize it at the time how deeply I was being affected by their deteriorating health issues. Simultaneously, I started looking at my own life and asking myself questions like am I pleased with where I am at this stage of my life? And, more importantly, WHO am I at this point in my life'?
The "Grey Matters - Women in Progress" series developed out of the reality that I had in fact crossed over into a new age group. I was now a senior, and that was a shock to my system. I started journaling my feelings and sought out voices of other women whom I could relate to and receive inspiration from. So, I went to social media and asked women of my age group and beyond if they would send me photos of themselves participating in things that brought meaning to their lives, of course getting their permission to utilize them in a series that I was going to be working on. It took the better part of 2019 to do the paintings, however, it might not actually be completed. The work is not currently on display, but I did exhibit them this past February in North Charleston at the City Gallery.
Woman 4 by Lori Isom
JASPER: And I understand that not only our current COVID-19 situation, but also the myriad other challenges humanity is now facing has brought a new influence on your work. What can you tell us about what you've been pursuing lately?
LORI ISOM: Indeed. The onslaught of the Corona virus was something I took very seriously right from the start. No one had to persuade me to take precautions since I'd started following the news about it quite early on. As a matter of fact, they laughed at me at my job because I came in talking about it AND wearing a mask as soon as I was able to get one! A couple of weeks later as more information started coming out on an ongoing basis, the laughing subsided. I was, however, taken aback by the initial lack of response, and then the slowness of action by my employer. It confirmed for me how much you must take ownership of your own behavior and actions. No person or entity can do your thinking for you. If you see things going on around you, and you try to seek out as much information about it, then you have to weigh it through your own filter, and do what's best for you. I learned that from my momma!
Then, as if a worldwide virus killing thousands of people weren't enough, now the news of not one, but a string of black people being killed by police and others in succession - Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd. Then toss in the performance of the young woman making a call to the police alleging that an African American man was assaulting her in the park, as she practically hanged her dog on live video. I went numb.
So, one of the pieces that I recently finished is a self-portrait drawn in charcoal over a background of words that are partially covered by white gesso. Words like climate control, racism, poverty, mass shootings, and other issues of the day. It's drawn on mixed media paper that I fashioned like a piece of loose-leaf paper. The current title is "What Will We Teach Them. What Will They Learn", but it may change. Right now, I've been taking photos of as many people as I can - all ethnicities, ages, and backgrounds - with their faces behind masks. I'm still waiting for inspiration from my muse for this one!
JASPER: Your work is so empathetic, sincere, and authentically moving. When something as horrible as the murder of George Floyd happens, are you compelled to address it with art? To do so must be heart-crushing - does it help or hurt more? Do you have advice for others who are grappling with how to use their art to try to place such wrong-minded act of inhumanity somewhere in their world?
LORI ISOM: Thank you for that beautiful compliment. I would say that in the past, I never really tried to express my feelings in response to anything I'd seen or heard about in the news or elsewhere. Honestly, I felt incapable of taking my emotions about something external and successfully interpreting them on canvas. Even now, it continues to be a learning process for me; but at least I'm no longer running from it. I allow myself time to sit with my feelings in response to something that captures my attention and figure out how to best interpret those feelings in a way that's sincere and honest. I also find it helpful to write down ideas, descriptive words, and random thoughts about a new piece, even if they seem unrelated. I suppose the biggest piece of advice I would offer other artists is to keep working through things that are uncomfortable for you.
JASPER: What drives you as an artist? What makes you create?
LORI ISOM: As an artist, I am driven by the need to express something in a different way each time I venture to my easel. I don't ever want to feel that my work is stagnate and predictable. When I see the work of artists who I admire, or listen to music that moves me, or read something that uplifts me, that's what keeps me wanting to create and keep improving. I really want to know how far I can go as a creative person.
Woman 2 by Lori Isom
JASPER: What is your favorite piece that you have created during our sheltering in?
LORI ISOM: During our time of sheltering in, I have been drawing or painting something pretty much every day. I've had the pleasure of doing several commissioned charcoal and pencil drawings, and finally completed and delivered a large painting of two sweet little boys.
However, there are a couple of original pieces that I really enjoyed doing, each for a different reason. One is titled "Teaching My Sons to Swim" and the other is called "Banjo". The first piece was inspired by an old photograph I found amongst my parents' enormous photo collection. It seems to be from around the 1940s or 50s, and it has three young boys and an older man, all in swimming trunks. The photo is taken in front of one of those backdrops that used to be so popular in that era. The idea came to me that this man, who I felt could be their father, wanted to teach his sons something as basic as swimming. This seemingly ordinary skill that he could pass on to them, could not only save their lives, but possibly could help them see themselves and their place in the world differently.
The second piece, "Banjo" is a friend’s dog that I had just recently had the pleasure to meet. I completely fell in love with this lively creature, and he was the first doggie that I'd had close contact with since the loss of my own dog a couple of months earlier. I took several pictures of him and couldn't wait to do a painting that would capture his joyful personality.
Teaching My Boys to Swim by Lori Isom
JASPER: Where can we see more of your work now and in the future?
LORI ISOM: As of this moment, I have several pieces hanging at the public library on Assembly Street in downtown Columbia. However, due to Covid 19, the library has been closed for the last couple of months. I'm not sure what their plan is regarding the artwork that's been hanging during this time. I post work quite frequently on my Facebook page (Lori Starnes Isom) and on my Instagram page (artinthenow).
-Cindi Boiter
Cindi Boiter is the editor of Jasper and the founder and ED of the The Jasper Project. To support the work of Jasper, including articles like the one above, please consider becoming a member of the Jasper Guild at www.JasperProject.org