Sean Ashcraft (00:00): Support for Pop of Culture comes from Stallings Wealth Management, Daniel Stallings financial advisor, securities and advisory services offered through Cetera Advisors LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, a broker/dealer and registered investment advisor. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity. Jen Blackmer (00:16): This week on Pop of Culture, creating art in the age of the internet. We'll speak to playwright Alice Tuan about writing in the age of constant feedback, and why it's important to sit in discomfort. Alice Tuan (00:28): That's exactly what the stuff of art is made out of. I mean, the difficult things. How do you sit through difficult things? Or even how do you present it so that folks won't run away from it? Maya Doss (00:39): And it's the last installment of our paint month. All that is coming up. Luke Jones (00:46): Support for Pop of Culture comes from Stallings Wealth Management, the Innovation Connector. And from you. With state and federal money eliminated, you are the difference in keeping local programming on the air at IPR. Become a member today at Indianapublicradio.org. Maya Doss (01:13): From IPR, this is Pop of Culture. I'm Maya Doss. Jen Blackmer (01:17): And I'm Jen Blackmer. Maya, great to have you in studio today. Maya Doss (01:21): Thank you, Jen. I'm happy to be here. And as you know, we've been doing a theme for this month, which I will reveal. It's painters at Ball State. Jen Blackmer (01:29): Yay. Maya Doss (01:29): Because as many of us know, Bob Ross also painted at Ball State. But we have one more painter to feature, but before that... Jen Blackmer (01:36): I am thrilled today to be in studio with a very special guest. Playwright Alice Tuan has been on campus for a while, I would say. Alice Tuan (01:49): End of January, yeah. Jen Blackmer (01:50): End of January, yes. Working with Ball State students in the Department of Theater and Dance to help create a new piece of theater that just closed, but we are so thrilled to talk to Alice about your visit and the process. Welcome, Alice. Alice Tuan (02:06): Thank you so much, Jen. Wonderful to be here. Jen Blackmer (02:08): So Alice, one of the... I've been watching your career for a while, and one of the things you said during a class visit was that you are an accidental playwright, and I love that idea. Can you explain that a little bit? Alice Tuan (02:22): Well, I always knew I wanted to write, but I didn't know how or what. And so just very simply, I deduced, well, I can't describe a room very well, so I can't be a novelist, but I can get people to talk to each other, and so I should be a playwright. Jen Blackmer (02:44): There you go. Alice Tuan (02:45): And through the course of playwriting, I realized it's not so much what people say to each other. It's what they're not saying to each other that is the most compelling. Jen Blackmer (02:55): Oh, absolutely. Oh, yeah. Alice Tuan (02:57): So that's kind of the accident. And I decided, oh, I'm just going to save up enough money so I could write for six months and just write a play. And so much of it is, I'm from a Chinese background and grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the suburbs of Los Angeles. And so at home it was lots of Chinese values of family, patience, save, long-suffering, just all the old world values. But then I was schooled in American thought, me, instant gratification, consumption. And so it was very contradictory. And so I think that I chose... I wanted to write to kind of sort that out. The opposite value systems that I was experiencing caused what I term cultural schizophrenia because they're so opposite. Jen Blackmer (03:59): Absolutely. Yeah. Alice Tuan (04:00): And so I think that writing helped me sort it out. And so my grandfather and grandmother came to live with us when I was seven years old, and they were just so Chinese. They lived to be very, very old. But my grandfather was a Lieutenant General in Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Army fighting against Mao Zedong. So they all had to go to Taiwan. And then my grandmother came from the generation that had bound feet. Jen Blackmer (04:31): Oh, wow. Alice Tuan (04:31): So she was a young girl when the 1911 revolution happened in China. Jen Blackmer (04:36): Wow. Alice Tuan (04:36): So for a seven-year-old kid in Los Angeles going, "Who are these people?" It was kind of very bizarre, but also so endearing because they were just so non-American. I fried on television as a child, and then here were these just monuments of Chinese culture. Jen Blackmer (04:59): Yeah. The notion of cultural schizophrenia is so interesting. And I often talk about art being made within those contradictions, that push and pull and the struggle of two very different worldviews. Alice Tuan (05:13): That's right. That's right. Jen Blackmer (05:14): And how does that inform your work as a writer? Alice Tuan (05:17): Well, I think that it's about housing the contradictions that make things interesting. Although it seems like these days it's such a... I mean, we're on such a binary. I mean, I think that the difficulty of housing a contradiction within your mind is the reason we've become so binary. And I'm feeling, and especially coming to Ball State and writing this play for the students, I found a great opportunity to come to Indiana and also start a conversation with the younger generation. People don't like discomfort, people sway away from it. And that's exactly what the stuff of art is made out of. I mean, the difficult things. How do you sit through difficult things? Or even, how do you present it so that folks won't run away from it? Jen Blackmer (06:10): Right, right. And you mentioned coming here and working with our students, which has been the focus of your residency. And I find with my students a lot that this idea of sitting in discomfort is difficult for them. And I think they have been told by media, popular culture, that discomfort is to be alleviated or shied away from. And yet, we're training artists and trying to encourage them to sit in these hard spaces. Alice Tuan (06:41): Right. And I think that it needs practice. We have to practice doing it. And I don't think that that's a chance now because we have these devices and the palms of our hands that are obstructing our vision towards our lifelines. Literally, we have these pocket gods and there's a great... I think it was E.B. White who said," We're primitive emotions in medieval institutions with God-like technology." Jen Blackmer (07:05): Wow. Yeah. Alice Tuan (07:07): And that's kind of like the knot of an intersection, and the knot K-N-O-T that I think that we're all really trying to figure out and untangle and unlock from. Jen Blackmer (07:18): Sure, sure. Alice Tuan (07:19): And so, I mean, it's just been fascinating to be here. I mean, it's fascinating to be in the theater now. I feel like I've taken... I've renewed my theater vow in that it used to be I came to theater because I wanted to write people talking and trying to figure out my cultural schizophrenia, but now it's like, oh, it's actually a space for humans to watch humans be human sitting next to humans. I mean, that is the renewal because at some point it was just like, do we really need another piece of theater? We have so much entertainment. We have so much entertainment. And now I'm feeling like we have too much entertainment. We're just kind of addled by constant entertainment to the point where I feel like we need exittainment. Jen Blackmer (08:05): Oh, I love that term. That's great. And you said with humans, for humans, next to humans. I mean, and that is, I think that the draw of this art form now is everything comes to us, but it's also very isolated, right? That you're looking at this thing and it's just you looking at a thing. And the promise of all of the technology when it was coming out is that it's going to connect us and it's going to connect us in ways that we hadn't been connected before, which I think is true across distance. But in doing that, we've lost what it feels like being in space with another person. Alice Tuan (08:41): That's right. I think it's because we all have different algorithms. I mean, I feel like two things are the bane of our existence now, algorithms and zoning. So maybe theater is not only just stepping out of the house, stepping away from your screen for 90 minutes, but it is actually to go into a place where you can actually be human again and to breathe the same air. And I mean, theater, you could see it on Zoom and stuff, but it's just not the same. Jen Blackmer (09:07): Oh, it's definitely not, yeah. Alice Tuan (09:08): Anything kind of filmed. It's just not the same because there's not molecules being exchanged with each other. I feel like that's the thing about theater. Every night is different, depending on the makeup of the audience, what the actors ate for lunch, just like all the... There's just so many subjective factors that make it special. Jen Blackmer (09:30): What has it been like working with younger artists then? I mean, over the last month or so, you have been working with an ensemble, a large ensemble. I'll say there's 16 roles in this play, which is just unheard of outside of a college environment, right? Alice Tuan (09:48): Absolutely. Absolutely. Jen Blackmer (09:49): How's your experience been with this younger group? Alice Tuan (09:54): Oh, it's been tremendous. It's a gift, really. I mean, because like in the business of theater, it's so expensive to make. So basically, can you write two characters, a table and maybe a chair? Jen Blackmer (10:04): Right, yeah. Alice Tuan (10:05): But to have 16 characters is unbelievable. And also, to just get the feedback from them in the play Balls, Balls, Balls, that started out as The Ball States because I'm here at Ball State and I chose three States of Ball, which is sports, sex, and fancy dress dancing. And so just kind of started there. And then I really wanted to explore what non-binary means. I mean, it's like I have these young folks that I can... And so I actually visited Diana Grisanti's advanced playwriting class, Diana Grisanti being one of the theater faculty, and she is running the theater creation portion of the theater school. (10:48): And so she commissioned this play because usually large class plays are historical or non-contemporary, and she really wanted to try this undergraduate, large cast play, and also to put everyone through a new play process. So we come from a new play culture, and it seems like... I mean, I'm from Los Angeles, Hollywood has collapsed because it's gone to the tech bros. There's just the notion of development, and I feel like so much has gone towards gaming and just all these other kinds of performances in the screen, in the internet. And so to be able to bring a new play process to young folks, young theater folks, I mean, it's been quite the challenge. Jen Blackmer (11:29): We talk to our students all the time about taking risks and the fact that being an artist involves risk-taking, because you're putting something out there for people to understand that in this world where the comment section exists and you can get that anonymous sort of knee-jerk reaction to your risk, it becomes a part of the calculation. Alice Tuan (11:49): Right. And I feel like just even reminding or introducing what the process is, that when you're reading the play, because this is the fourth draft now that the students are working with, and it's not baked, it's half-baked and it's still growing and it's still evolving. And so how do you sit with either discomfort or this is not quite anything yet? So how do you refrain from judgment? Like, would you judge a rose from its bud form? And so that is something that takes practice. It takes practice to be able to just kind of let things go, just let things be as they are, or to even like if you don't agree with it, to allow it to coexist with your own ideas. There was a mini revolt about the ending of the play. Jen Blackmer (12:42): Oh, wow. Alice Tuan (12:43): I mean, because in the play, besides... I wanted to show cis head values versus non-binary values. So the cis head world is represented by football players and cheerleaders. And the non-binary are more of the creatives, those people who want to start a club for world repair, they're not quite happy with the way things are. And so in the play, there's Davey Fatbeard, who was inspired by David Letterman because he has a fat beard. Jen Blackmer (13:12): He really does, doesn't he? Alice Tuan (13:14): It's so healthy. And so he's a billionaire, and then he has an AI companion named Nubu, and Davey is unhappy with this world that can't even share space. Davey is an old school billionaire. He still wants good in the world. He's like, "What good are my billions if nobody is aware of each other and everyone's suffering?" He always wants everyone to look up, look up from their screens, look up. And that's also about an optimism too. He's still old school about the future. He wants one. And so he sees that nobody can share space anymore. Everybody's kind of terrorizing each other, or at least the football players won't share the field. And I mean, we just saw Bad Bunny share the field with the book with his joy ball, with his joy ball. Jen Blackmer (14:04): Amazing. Alice Tuan (14:05): It was unbelievable. Jen Blackmer (14:06): It was wonderful. Alice Tuan (14:07): So Davey takes off in the rocketship because that's where billionaires go these days. And then Nubu, his artificial intelligence companion or some form of it, that's still in process. We're not sure how that character is working, lives to continue Davey's presence. And they're like, "No, we can't have AI live. We cannot have AI live." They're like, "How come you're idealizing AI like it's a good thing?" Jen Blackmer (14:30): What's so interesting about that too is there's this assumption, especially on college campuses that because AI is readily available to the students, they all use it and they all love it. And that is not true for as many students who embrace the technology and use it. There are as many others who understand the environmental impact, understand the fact that this is scraping other people's works. So it's a really interesting dynamic when you look at this younger generation. Alice Tuan (15:01): I learned about that. Jen Blackmer (15:02): Yeah. Alice Tuan (15:03): I learned, and I'm very happy with it because I'm just wondering why are the humans giving away their agency to AI to an unknown quantity that seems to be able to act like a human, but is not human. It's an inorganic communicating machine. Jen Blackmer (15:20): Sure. Alice Tuan (15:20): And so that is worrying. But I was very, very heartened that they revolted and so Nubu gets deactivated at the end. Jen Blackmer (15:27): There we go. Alice Tuan (15:28): So thank God. And then the humans are spinning with their palms released from their devices, with their palms in the air and they're just spinning unencumbered and free again. Jen Blackmer (15:39): So the play has now closed. I mean, what's interesting about this process from our perspective is that it changed every night, right? So you would see a show, see a performance, have an audience there, and then actually continue to do changes even after the play quote unquote opened, right? Alice Tuan (15:57): That's right. That's right. It's about the storytelling and it goes back to also the actors. New play actors are a very, very special kind of actor because the words are not gelled and so they need to go on their instinct, but they also have to report what is on the page. If the actor is kind of performing it and making it work, that does not help the new play because it's like, oh, that's fine when in fact the writing does need to be attended to. Jen Blackmer (16:24): Exactly. Yeah. Alice Tuan (16:25): Yeah. You know that, Jen. It's impossible to go into a world that has so many ideas swirling around, and Veronica Santoyo, the director, has been incredible in just trying to embody all the ideas and to find the form in which we can tell the story. And so much of the audience feedback has been fascinating because it's... Yesterday I was asked, "Did you mean for this character to be anti-Christian?" I'm like, "Oh, I didn't think of it that way because I felt like there was another character that was actually showing Christian values, even though they did not declare that they were Christian." (16:58): This is the breadmaker who bakes bread and is offering it to the public. And everybody is just wary of him and suspicious. What are you? Are you lonely? Do you have a permit? All the bureaucracies for anything to even happen these days. So it's been really interesting to just, is it possible to, if you don't understand it right away, to not run from it, to actually just stay with it. And that's just, again, sitting through a discomfort. If you don't know this moment, maybe you'll know the next moment. But it's so helpful when the audience tells me, "Oh, I didn't get this or it wasn't complete or I have questions about it." That is signaling to me that something is necessary. (17:43): But I think that I also learned that sometimes you get stuck on a point and then you miss the bigger message. So the one person who is not happy with this point, it's kind of sticking with them while the play is happening and happening. At the end of the day, the message is share space, make room for others. It's sandbox skills that we have lost. It's like instead of sharing your shovel and your pail, folks are throwing sand in each other's eyes. So it's like it's literally back to the sandbox politics. And so at the end of the day, share and in our play, it's a Mudita ball, Mudita being sympathetic joy, that you are happy for someone else's joy. And all these little messages. And so when I got the anti-Christian message, I was like, well, it's not that I'm anti-Christian. It's like I'm presenting Christianity from the outside as I see it, but also trying to present Buddhist concepts too. (18:45): Can we coexist all these different kind of religions? And to me, religion is anything that gets you through the night is a kind of religion. Jen Blackmer (18:53): Right, absolutely. Well, you had this experience here on campus with us and working with a cast of 16 in this play that was developed really with this time and place in mind. Do you anticipate anything happening with this play after you're done here? Alice Tuan (19:11): I don't know. I haven't thought that far. And just for technicality's sake, there are 16 characters, but there are also five chorus members, but I don't know. I don't know anyone who is willing to produce a 16 character play, but I have to say that it has been a phenomenal gift to be able to respond to our moment right now, our just very complicated and just exhausting and overwhelming moment. I've been able to play at Ball State University with these very talented actors, with Diana being the dramaturg, with Veronica directing, and just so much support that it made room. Ball State made room for this process to happen. And hopefully just the new play process is, it's not just about making theater. It's about when things are confusing and difficult and not gettable in life, that you just kind of sit through it and maybe you don't get it this moment, but you might get it in a future moment and to not give up. And the big message I think is try impossible things, but try. Try it. We have to try. Jen Blackmer (20:23): Alice, that was lovely. Alice Tuan (20:25): Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Jen Blackmer (20:25): That was fantastic. Amazing. Alice Tuan (20:28): Thank you. Jen Blackmer (20:28): Alice Tuan is a playwright based in Los Angeles. She was recently in Muncie after being commissioned to write a play for and by Ball State's Department of Theater and Dance. (20:55): This is Pop of Culture. I'm Jen Blackmer. Maya Doss (20:58): And I'm Maya Doss. Here at the show, we're interested in all kinds of art and all kinds of artists. Jen Blackmer (21:04): We get to speak to professionals who've spent decades perfecting their craft. Maya Doss (21:08): And hobbyists who are filling their free time. Our next guest is somewhere in between. Our co-host, Kara DuQuette, takes it from here. Kara DuQuette (21:16): We are talking with artist Melody A. Lynch. Melody is also the chief operating officer at Whitewater Valley Rural Electric Membership Corporation in Liberty, Indiana. Thank you for talking with us. Melody A. Lynch (21:30): Thank you. Thank you for having me. Kara DuQuette (21:32): Of course. We are interested how you got started creating art, and what you do. Melody A. Lynch (21:38): Well, I started... So a backstory first. My mom and dad, they raised us with a very strong work ethic. So I have always been busy all the time. If I have a minute to fill, I fill it. And during 2020, we all know what happened, and I was stuck at home a lot. And so I told my husband, "I'm going to order a painting kit and just give it a try." My grandmother was a fantastic artist and I thought, "Well, maybe I got some of her genes somewhere." So I ordered a painting kit, started painting with acrylic paints, and then soon I moved to oil medium, and that's primarily what I paint in now. Kara DuQuette (22:25): Okay. So you would say it pretty much began with the pandemic. Melody A. Lynch (22:32): Yes. Kara DuQuette (22:33): And your familial art ties. I was also wondering if the fact that you are the COO of White River Valley, and for those who don't know, it's kind of a cooperative, member-owned electrical service for that part of East Central Indiana. Melody A. Lynch (22:53): Yes. Kara DuQuette (22:54): And I wondered if that sensibility plays out in your art at all. Melody A. Lynch (22:59): It really does. At work, it's a very stressful environment, lots of moving parts all the time. I'm involved in a lot of different projects. So art has been a way that I can calm my mind. Everything just leaves my brain while I'm painting, and I think that is just so important for people to embrace those moments, to be able to have some calm during all the crazy in our world right now. Kara DuQuette (23:29): Yeah. It gives you a chance to express yourself and disappear into the work. I don't know. Is that how you feel about it? Melody A. Lynch (23:38): I do. I do. I lost my father a few years ago, and my sister had asked me to do a painting of him, and as I'm painting, I could just see him come to life, and just I sat there and had conversations with him. So that's kind of what art does for me, just bring some of those memories back. Kara DuQuette (24:01): That's wonderful. That leads me to ask you, what do you primarily paint? Melody A. Lynch (24:07): Typically, my main focus is animals. I just love painting animals. I also like to do landscapes, anything that kind of brings that calm, that sense of community. When I paint animals, I've done things from tigers all the way down to family pets. And I put a lot of focus on painting the eyes and the nose, and I think that's what draws people in. If you can get those eyes to sparkle and the nose to look like a nose, when you look like at a black dog, people see black, but when you're creating art, there's just so much more to it. There's flickers of blue in the fur, just the way the light is hitting the dog. Kara DuQuette (24:59): Oh, yes. I've seen some of your work and you are able to make the images come to life and that calm you were talking about, I feel like it comes through as well. Could you possibly kind of like, if you will, paint us a picture with words of one of your pieces, kind of walk us through it. Melody A. Lynch (25:21): Sure. One of my favorite ones that I've done is a lady sitting on stone steps and flowers around her, the sky twinkling through. If you think about the sky, people see blue and white, but it's more than blue and white and creating that sky. That's where I started and then put a fence in there to kind of create a barrier between the sky and the lady on the steps. The flowers just kind of set that tone and give you that little sparkle of life. When I was creating that painting, I also looked at different colors of flowers, different shapes, and how the sunlight would be hitting those flowers. And then I did the same with the lady, just looked at how the sun would be reflecting on her face, how it would twinkle in her hair. And it was just a really neat painting to create. Kara DuQuette (26:24): So realism is your wheelhouse, I would say. Melody A. Lynch (26:27): Yes. Kara DuQuette (26:27): You're really looking to make things look like you're seeing. Melody A. Lynch (26:31): Yes. Kara DuQuette (26:32): And what's your process for that? Do you look at photographs? Do you paint from real life? Melody A. Lynch (26:38): I do look at photographs a lot. I follow some local photographers and then also some national photographers. And I have one lady that I follow, she goes on safaris and takes some of the most amazing photography of animals out in the wilderness. And I'm able to take those photographs and turn them into paintings. And it's amazing. Kara DuQuette (27:04): Excellent. So do you think about, when you're looking at these other photographs, do you kind of do a different size ratio? Do you change the imagery and color or how do you interpret them? Melody A. Lynch (27:18): Yeah. So you're looking at a small scale photo, so you have to then take that. My primary size of painting is either 12 by 16, 16 by 20. I've done some even bigger than that, but you're taking this little photo and trying to expand it out, but keeping the image true to itself, which is difficult as well. But I just take dark paint on a paintbrush and just start brushing it out. Kara DuQuette (27:48): Okay. So you start with your darker colors and build out from there? Melody A. Lynch (27:53): Yeah. Yep. It creates all the shadows behind everything that you see, and that's what creates the depth in the painting too. Kara DuQuette (28:03): Well, now you are a self-taught artist, but do you mix your paints? Where do you source your oils? Melody A. Lynch (28:14): I have purchased oil paintings from a lot of online vendors, and then yes, I do mix my own colors because I think it does give it that little extra something instead of just using straight blue or straight white and just creating some depth in that paint color. Kara DuQuette (28:33): I completely agree with that. As you were talking about the sky and there being multiple colors, you find that in everything. Melody A. Lynch (28:41): Yes. Kara DuQuette (28:42): Now, have you ever painted something for someone else that you hadn't decided to paint, but they ask you for? Melody A. Lynch (28:49): Yes. Kara DuQuette (28:51): What was that? Melody A. Lynch (28:51): So just recently for a Christmas gift, my boss at work, actually, our CEO had asked me to create a dog painting, which was their family pet for his daughter as one of her main Christmas gifts. And it was just so fun to be able to create that and then to hear his take on how she received that art. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall and witnessed her seeing that painting for the first time, but I created that piece with the dog kind of snuggled in covers on the bed and it was amazing to create for him. Kara DuQuette (29:33): Awesome. Okay. So you were talking about before painting your father, and how you had this conversation with him during the painting. I don't know if you knew this dog or not that you painted for your coworker, but it sounds like you were able to capture the spirit of this pet. How do you capture the brightness and vitality of your subjects? Melody A. Lynch (30:00): I Usually on that one, I just asked for some really good photographs of the pet. I had never met the pet, but I felt like once I got done with the painting, I knew the dog, and I just wanted to reach out and pet him. Kara DuQuette (30:17): So you prefer multiple images of something when you paint? Melody A. Lynch (30:21): Yes. Yep. Kara DuQuette (30:23): Excellent. Well, is there something else you'd like to talk to us about your art? Melody A. Lynch (30:28): I don't get a whole lot of time to paint, but when I do, I'm usually creating three or four pieces in one day, just making up for lost time. But hopefully as I get towards retirement time, I can start creating more art. And my husband and I's plan is to go travel and do outside art fairs once we retire. Kara DuQuette (30:55): Well, I was going to ask you, before we started talking, you said you have gained a day that you'll be able to paint in. How do you usually make time for your art with your other full-time work? Melody A. Lynch (31:09): Usually I try and at least dedicate one day a month. If I can get more, fantastic. If I can get more peace, that's even better. But at least one day a month. In the wintertime, I usually can get two to three days a month because there's not so much to do outside and take care of. But my husband is so supportive. He will even say, "We're not doing anything. You're going to have an art day." And I'm like, "Thank you." Kara DuQuette (31:43): Well, and you said you make several paintings in one day or one session of making art. I would like to know, do you work on them simultaneously or in succession? Melody A. Lynch (31:58): I'll start one and try and finish it and then go on to the next. And then in a week or two, once that painting's dry, because with the oil paints, they take forever to dry. I do use a medium that will help the drying time. Kara DuQuette (32:13): Yeah, like an accelerant. Melody A. Lynch (32:15): Yeah. So then I can go ahead and add another layer if I need to. But most paintings, once I start, I finish and I'm done. Kara DuQuette (32:24): Oh, okay. Melody A. Lynch (32:25): Yeah. Kara DuQuette (32:25): So you don't always revisit and create more layers, you kind of envision it? Melody A. Lynch (32:30): Yes. Kara DuQuette (32:31): At the beginning. Melody A. Lynch (32:32): Yep. Kara DuQuette (32:33): Excellent. Melody A. Lynch (32:34): And I use the wet on wet method so you can... I start creating from the top down, and that way I can finish the whole painting in one setting. Kara DuQuette (32:45): So for those of us who don't know, can you explain that a little more, the wet method? Melody A. Lynch (32:50): Yes. I start with a base coat on the canvas and that is the mixture that will help the paint dry a little quicker. And it also helps the paint move across the canvas while I'm painting. And you create sections on the canvas and paint them one at a time so that you're building on your color and can mix them in as you go. And that way you can finish the whole painting in one sitting. Kara DuQuette (33:16): And you start at the top so you're not dragging your hand through anything as you go. Melody A. Lynch (33:22): Yes, yes. Yes. And I have a lazy arm, so I have to use a maulstick to help me steady my hands so that I don't get lazy and run it across my canvas. Kara DuQuette (33:32): Well, now can you tell us what that is as well? Melody A. Lynch (33:34): Yeah. So a maulstick, it attaches to your canvas, and you can lay your arm across it as you paint so that you're not laying your hand on your wet canvas. Kara DuQuette (33:45): They're very handy. Melody A. Lynch (33:46): Yes. Kara DuQuette (33:48): Well, is there anywhere else we can see your artwork? Melody A. Lynch (33:52): I do have a Facebook page that people can follow me for my art. It's Melody A. Lynch Studio, and you can see some of my artwork there. And the first one that grabs it is the one that gets it. So I don't have any other upcoming shows. The coffee shop locally in Liberty has asked me to do an art wall at some point, so we need to still work that out. Kara DuQuette (34:20): Very nice. Well, I very much enjoyed talking with you today, Melody. Melody A. Lynch (34:26): I enjoyed it as well. Thank you for having me. Kara DuQuette (34:32): Of course. Melody A. Lynch is the chief operating officer at Whitewater Valley Rural Electric Membership Corporation in Liberty, Indiana, and a painter. I'm Kara DuQuette. Maya Doss (34:54): This week on WAYWO, I am finishing off our painting theme with Anthony Reyes, who won best in painting at Ball State's 91st annual jury art show. Jen Blackmer (35:02): Yay. Maya Doss (35:03): I can't think of anyone better to close out this month's theme. I hope you love what you hear. (35:08): Anthony's a student at Ball State, and we'd love to know what are you working on? Anthony Reyes (35:12): Well, hi, I'm very excited to be here. I'm very honored that you invited me to come on here and talk about my experience. Maya Doss (35:18): Of course, Ant. Anthony Reyes (35:20): So what I'm currently working on right now is as a student, I'm currently just working on bettering my craft and figuring out what it is that I like to make art about. And I'm just currently taking painting classes and other studio courses to better supplement what it is that I want to do. Right now, I'm feeling a little burnout from painting, so being able to have those other courses is definitely helpful to help feed into my creativity that isn't just one thing that's like- Maya Doss (35:47): The one medium. Anthony Reyes (35:48): Yeah, the one medium. So yeah. Maya Doss (35:50): What other art classes are you taking? Anthony Reyes (35:52): So right now I'm currently in a murals class. Maya Doss (35:54): Oh, nice. Anthony Reyes (35:55): Which I think is going to be a lot of fun just because I feel like murals is a great way to get into the art world. There's a lot of things that you could do with that. So I'm very excited about that course. And then I'm also taking experimental figure drawing, so I'm very excited about that. Maya Doss (36:11): Is that a class where you have a live person model? Anthony Reyes (36:14): Yes. Maya Doss (36:15): I see you use a lot of figure in your painting, so it's probably a good practice too. Anthony Reyes (36:19): Oh yeah, for sure. I feel like drawing the figure is a lot helpful than it is when it comes to painting, just because if you have a better understandment of what the figure is and you're able to draw it out, then I feel like it's a lot easier to be able to paint it, at least for me. That's my process of, I guess, working around the figure. Maya Doss (36:40): What do you feel like being a painting major has taught you in your time? Anthony Reyes (36:44): I'd say the biggest thing is the importance of practice, and making sure you actually are putting in the time, the studio time that you need for your art. Maya Doss (36:53): That's so real. Anthony Reyes (36:55): Just because if you don't put in the time, then you're never going to be really proud or happy with the end product because you aren't putting in those hours that you really need to to really make sure that you are getting the results that you want. Maya Doss (37:06): Especially in the time of AI, I think some people get this misconception that you're just immediately really good and you can immediately bring forward the visions you have in your mind physically, but it does take practice. Anthony Reyes (37:17): Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Maya Doss (37:18): How would you describe your painting style that you've developed? Anthony Reyes (37:21): My painting style? I would say, well, because I would like to work with acrylics as my main medium, I would say it's very expressionate just because I like to work fast and because acrylic paint tends to drive fast, it kind of pushes me to work in that kind of way. So expressionate, but also I'm very detailed oriented when it comes to the figure, making sure I'm rendering things properly. So expressionate and detailed at the same time. Maya Doss (37:53): One of my favorite paintings of yours is the one you sent me called Party of One. It's truly so beautiful and colorful. Will you talk to me about the artistic choices that you put into making that piece? Anthony Reyes (38:04): Yeah. So the painting itself is just a painting about coming into yourself or growing up and realizing how you've changed. And for me, it's mainly me expressing how I'm becoming less introverted and more so extroverted. So it's basically depicting the scene of me at a party as a wallflower and sort of like me throughout the years inviting myself to join the party and be part of the fun and not to be afraid of being myself and to let loose. Maya Doss (38:36): That's so awesome. I feel like I loved it so much because I related to that feeling of being in this colorful, vibrant, energetic atmosphere and feeling kind of like, "Can I join in? Is it safe?" Anthony Reyes (38:48): Yeah. Maya Doss (38:48): So if you were to share with our listeners because they can't see it themselves, how would you visually describe us and walk us through the piece? Anthony Reyes (38:55): Okay. So this piece is a diptic. So it's two different canvases making up one image. And so you have the central figure, which is me dancing my way, shimmying my way into the party scene, I guess. And I would say that's the fully evolved version of me where I don't necessarily need help from anybody else. It's my own decision of wanting to participate in the party. And then on the left-hand side is sort of like a statue-esque Grisaille painting of me sitting in a chair and that sort of represents basically my younger self when I would just stare and watch people have fun at parties. And so that kind of represents my shyness, my introvertedness and not wanting to participate. And then on the right-hand side of the other canvas, we have myself basically inviting myself to dance and to participate in a party. So I guess that just shows me of wanting to show growth, wanting to push myself to be out there and do the things that I want to do, but wouldn't be able to do without that courage, I guess. Maya Doss (40:04): And aesthetically, the colors, it feels like when you imagine a party scene in a movie, what makes you decide what colors to include? Anthony Reyes (40:14): Color is a really big part of the way that I work. I'm very inspired by colors. I feel like colors convey so much emotion and symbolism within everything. And so because it is a coming into self painting, I figured that the more vibrant and the most colors that I could use would be able to help create this sort of environment, but also just as a reference to queerness itself, I try to make sure I got the whole spectrum of the rainbow in there to really show like, "Hey, this is a part of me also." Maya Doss (40:46): When you're including aspects of yourself in your work and you're exploring identity, what aspects of your identity inspire you to share with others? Anthony Reyes (40:56): So the main thing is obviously my cultural identity with me being Latino, especially within this day and age, I feel like it's very important that I use my voice as an artist to create the space. Maya Doss (41:10): Absolutely. Anthony Reyes (41:11): As representation for my community. Even if it's not relatable to everybody, I still want to be able to be at least a person within the community to have a voice, to share my own experiences, but also the experiences of others. I think that's something that's very powerful and I want to uplift my community in that way. Maya Doss (41:32): That's awesome and very inspiring. I feel uplifted as a fellow Latina. Anthony Reyes (41:36): Yes, as Ms. Cuban queen. Maya Doss (41:40): When you look into the future as an artist, what do you hope to achieve? Anthony Reyes (41:43): Oh yeah. So I've thought about this for quite a while now. I would definitely say my long-term goal would definitely be teaching art at some point. I think that that's my main goal in life is just to be able to teach others what I've learned along the way. And in doing so, hopefully I also learn something just by doing that. But other than that, it's just being able to put out my art anywhere that I can and have people see it and being able to appreciate it. Maya Doss (42:09): Absolutely. What level would you want to teach at? Anthony Reyes (42:14): I definitely thought about going to grad school for sure just because I want to continue to support my community in the sense that I want to be and support the statistic of how many Latino Americans are going into higher education. I think that's a very important thing for me. Education has always been important, has been pushed by my parents. That's one of the main reasons why they immigrated here so that we would have all these opportunities. So I feel like going to grad school is one way that I could honor them in that sense. Maya Doss (42:46): Oh, you're making me emotional. Anthony Reyes (42:49): Yeah. But also I want to do it for myself just because I really enjoy the learning environment. It's hard to imagine myself outside of a learning environment, especially being in one for so long and not really knowing anything else. So that's another main reason, but also I feel like it's a step-up, a way to level up my artistic practice as well. Maya Doss (43:11): Yes. And I could totally see you being a great person for that. Anthony Reyes (43:14): Thank you. Maya Doss (43:15): Where can our listeners go to see your work for themselves? Anthony Reyes (43:18): For themselves? So I do have an art account on Instagram. It's Antstract.Art, like abstract art, but with my name Ant. And it's a period between the antstract and art. Maya Doss (43:29): Awesome. Thank you so much for coming on the show today, Ant. It was a real treat. Anthony Reyes (43:33): Yes. Thank you so much for having me. I think this was a really fun opportunity. Jen Blackmer (43:43): Hey, Maya. Maya Doss (43:45): Hey, Jen. Jen Blackmer (43:45): Get ready. It's time for the arts calendar for this week. This is the last weekend to see Open Space: Art About the Land. Since 2001, this exhibition has encouraged artists from across Indiana to draw inspiration from the land that surrounds us. It is a diverse showcase of creative talent that celebrates the beauty achieved when nature inspires art. There are two galleries, one at Minnetrista Museum & Gardens and one at Anderson Museum of Art. Maya Doss (44:16): If you go to Minnetrista, it's also the last weekend to see Threads of Home. We spoke to artist Jessica Calderwood in our first episode of season three. Her handcrafted metal and glass pieces represent textile patterns that belong to members of the diverse communities across East Central Indiana. There's also photographs of the community members with their textiles, along with stories and maps to put traditions in context. Minnetrista.net has all the last minute details. Jen Blackmer (44:44): And you can see another artist featured on the show, Saturday, February 28th. Katie Jo Robinson will strike up their one person band at RoHo's Martini Bar in downtown Muncie starting at 7:00 PM. KJ brings funky fresh originals. I sound like Michelle Kinsey. KJ brings funky fresh originals and a few popular covers and crafts, a genre-bending, feel-good, live listening experience. More details at RoHos, that's R-O-H-O-S, muncie.com. Maya Doss (45:18): It's not quite as explosive as Dynamite. It's Dino-Light. When a scientist with magic powers brings a friendly dinosaur to life, the dino wanders away from home. He discovers a wonderful world of creatures that light up the dark. This glow in the dark adventure is a blend of puppetry, technology, and dance. The dinosaur is loose at the Honeywell Center Ford Theater on Saturday, February 28th at 7:30 PM. Jen Blackmer (45:45): Honeywellarts.org. Maya Doss (45:47): And at 3:00 PM Sunday, March 1st at the Paramount Theater in Anderson. Jen Blackmer (45:51): Andersonparamount.org. He'll be performing at Red Rock's amphitheater in Denver, the London Palladium and Wrigley Field. But before that, you can see standup comedy star John Mulaney at Emens Auditorium this Sunday, March 1st. I know, right? Muncie, Muncie's on the map. If you're a fan, you don't need an introduction. Only to know that tickets are still available as of this taping. The website is bsu.edu/emens. If you have an event happening here, get it on here. Contact the show by going to Indianapublicradio.org/contact and click Pop of Culture. Luke Jones (46:51): Support for Pop of Culture comes from Stallings Wealth Management, the Innovation Connector, and from you. With state and federal money eliminated, you are the difference in keeping local programming on the air at IPR. Become a member today at Indianapublicradio.org. Maya Doss (47:14): And that's our show. Our director of audio operations is Sean Ascraft. Jen Blackmer (47:18): This week was produced by Luke Jones and Andrew Montavon. Luke is so relieved to have Andrew on our team, and Andrew is paid to tolerate Luke. Maya Doss (47:28): Our audio fellow is Maya Doss. Our show was hosted by me, Maya Doss. Jen Blackmer (47:34): And me, Jen Blackmer. Pop of Culture is a production from IPR on the campus of Ball State University.