An Interview with Anne Wolf - the Artist behind the Indigo Heart
Allow us to introduce...
Anne Wolf, a contemporary artist and sculptor, who creates ground-breaking works with the most tactile and tangible materials, including clay, reclaimed materials, and denim. She is the creator behind the Indigo Heart, which was part of the Duel Denim AW14 Look Book.
What inspired your Anatomical Denim series?
The long and difficult process of bringing my son into the world resulted, for a time, in my preoccupation with his heartbeat. The series began as a hybrid of scientific inquiry and physical prayer...The inquiry was about the strength, fragility and mystery of this human embodiment.
Why did you choose denim to create the pieces?
I needed a material to make the hearts that felt like biological material. For some inexplicable reason, I had saved many of my old blue jeans for years...some I had worn since I was a teenager. There was a certain authenticity about them that was important to me. They held my own history. They were a part of me. The wear and fading, marks, paint splashes and other stains seemed to make them as much genes as jeans. They were real.
How long does each piece take to create?
The time it takes to create a piece varies - it's something like 12-45 hours, depending on the detail or other technical difficulties.
Is there anything specific that inspires your work?
There have been so many and such a wide variety of inspirations...It would be surprising to you because many of the artists who have inspired me make work that is nothing like mine. Some of my early mentors were the painter Joan Brown and sculptors Dennis Leon and Viola Frey. They each, in their own way, taught me to be true to myself and to follow my own visions and curiosities.
What do you enjoy most about being an artisan?
I value the ability to say something about human experience that words cannot touch...to find meaning and to better understand my world through a process of manipulating materials, physically working through questions and ideas.
Have you always loved created art or was there a something of a "eureka" revelation?
I've loved making art since I can remember. Although I was able to succeed in academic subjects, written and verbal language has always felt like a "second language" to me. Visual language is my first and most comfortable language. In art, I have always felt happy and at home.
Do you have a favourite piece and if so, which one?
I can't say. Each has its own value to me. Each piece does its work on me - even the disasters. I have something to learn from each one.
If you would like to find out more about Anne Wolf click here.