Interview with Catherine Restivo by Cecily Caceu
Cecily Caceau - NEM Founder Artist
I had the extreme pleasure of corresponding with JQ Gaines and Catherine Restivo to find out more about how they view the world, their thoughts on what "reality" means and if there is a recurring motif or idea that is found through out their work.
I would like to thank JQ and Catherine for their time, trustfulness and honesty in answering these questions. I would also like to thank Andrea Bigiarini for composing such thought provoking questions.
Our intent here is to find out more about who the person is behind the art work. What motivates them and how their view of the world shapes their vision and ultimately presents itself to us. "We see the world, not as it is, but as we are" from the Talmud seems to explain our intent quite concisely. If we are to better understand our fellow humans we need to better understand their ideas on reality.
CATHERINE RESTIVO
Catherine Restivo - NEM Founder Artist
Please, introduce yourself in 2 paragraphs.
I guess I could describe myself as rather eclectic. My tastes in decorating, architecture, food, music, art, movies and my photography are all over the place. Maybe this makes me moody, as my mood seems to change regularly, although I wouldn’t describe my personality as moody; I think I’m pretty laid back!
The constants that never change are my love for nature and animals, and my love of travel. If I could combine those and turn that into my life, all would be grand! I believe I’m a really good friend too, and I cherish my friendships.
Can you explain what your idea of "reality" is? Please give your own definition, without thinking about a scientific or logical definition.
This is a tough question. Ever since I was a child, my favorite books were those that describe an alternate reality, things magical, time travel, other universes, tiny people who live in your attic. I used to wish and hope that a UFO would drop down and scoop me up and take me to another world (as long as they were friendly aliens, of course!) As an adult, I still read and re-read my favorites from Clive Barker, Stephen King, Ann Rice, and of course the entire Harry Potter series. Perhaps my perceived reality is boring to me, and I’m always yearning for an alternate reality? I’m not sure I can answer this question – I may still be searching for my perfect reality.
Tell us how you arrived at this definition and what your influences were that lead you to this definition.
See my answer above…
What is the theme song and/or the background theme for the primary essence of your work?
Oh, I’m eclectic, remember? I can’t pick one song! LOL... I really love Enigma, so maybe “Sadeness” or “The Child In Us”. Or, maybe I just WANT my work to be the essence of these songs.
Catherine Restivo
What is it that made you decide to become an artist? Do you remember the exact moment... and how it happened?
I’ve always loved artistic pursuits, and am drawn to people who are artists. I loved to draw and paint and take photographs as a child. Art was always my favorite class. My favorite school supply was the Crayola 64 color crayon box with the built-in sharpener. I wish I had taken art in college instead of business classes – that boring voice of practicality won the argument. I never decided to be an artist…it just fell into my life when I purchased my first iPhone, and discovered I could “paint” on photographs using these amazing apps. I don’t remember the first app I used, it may have been Lo-Mob, Camera Bag or PictureShow…but I remember the “WOW” moment! And then the discovery of other such artists on Flickr and MobiTog, and the iPhone art snowball raced down the hill, growing bigger and bigger, and I’ve never turned back.
Catherine Restivo
According to you, a painting, an image, or any other work of art, would be able to alter, modify, would improve reality, and awake dormant minds?
I think art can definitely take us to alternate realities…describe other worlds that lie within the mind of the artist, or perhaps actually exist if we could just open our minds to see them. Art that depicts the generally accepted reality, or that which we think actually exists, is beautiful but the work that really excites me is that which describes worlds within worlds, magic, ethereal feelings, things just beyond our grasp. It’s exciting and makes me feel that all things are possible!
And lastly what is the true mission of an artist?
I think this is a question that indeed could be asked of anyone, artist or not. What is our purpose here? I’m still trying to figure that out. Perhaps our mission is simply to invoke a bit of happiness, give someone joy through our art… I’m good with that.
Thank you Catherine.
Cecily Caceu
Catherine Restivo
Catherine Restivo
