Interview With Artist Kaz Brittenburg
Congratulations to Kaz Brittenburg for earning their place as a Finalist in the Boynes Artist Award 11th Edition!
Who are you?
Who am I? Tough question. The simple answer is that I am an American artist who recently received my BFA in Sculpture and Animated Arts. The more interesting version is that due to unforeseen circumstances of undergoing emergency brain surgery about 6 years ago, I have a lack of origin story–almost like what I imagine amnesia would be like, except I know my name and what my life is now. I have no memory of my youth, but through many family stories, it sounds like I was drawn to art from a young age.
My passion for art has spanned throughout my schooling, from kindergarten to college, starting with an award for a horse landscape collage in 4th grade. Halfway through my college career, I became aware of a brain tumor that changed my outlook on life and allowed me to learn more about myself—accepting a new perception of my life. This Included recognizing my Aphantasia (lack of mental imagery), Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory or SDAM (lack of personal memory), and identifying as Agender (lack of gender.)
“Untitled 1”
Clay
By Kaz Brittenburg
What inspired you to utilize sculpture as a medium?
I first became enchanted by this medium while I was in college. Required to take a 3D design course, I had the opportunity to explore a wide range of mediums like folded paper bas-reliefs, assemblage plaster portrait busts, and huge interlocking foam board sculptures. This is when I learned the aspect of sculpture that hooked me: the fact that sculpture could be anything. There are no limits to what materials can be used to create or what it should look like, whereas other mediums seem more limited.
As an artist, there are so many aspects of sculpture that keep me interested in the medium–from the way different viewing angles morph the piece's meaning to the push-and-pull choreography created by the artist's decisions and the material’s reactions to those decisions.
“Untitled 2”
Clay
By Kaz Brittenburg
How would you describe your work?
My art lives in this spectrum of ever-changing and evolving topics, shifting as I expand my perspective. Since undergoing emergency brain surgery, my art has become an opportunity to make sense of personal experiences, confronting them in a way. My work is personal yet ambiguous enough to allow the viewers to project their own experiences onto it.
Although my art spans a variety of topics, the overarching theme is confronting mortality. The narrative accompanies a more physical nature of my sculptures–it’s about the textures and layers building up to a final idea, and how infinite interpretations arise based on our own experiences.
Texture plays a huge role in my art. I believe it adds these extra layers to explore and helps subvert expectations. The main motivations behind my work are staying curious, exploring, experimenting, and instilling that nature in the audience. I hope viewers sit with a piece for a while, getting lost in the details and allowing their curiosity to take over.
“Fool’s Gold”
Shipping pallets, spray foam, spray paint, chicken wire
By Kaz Brittenburg
Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind your finalist work?
In my piece The Intangible Concept of Lacking (Figure #3), I wanted to portray a sense of emptiness– both emotionally and physically. This series of figures was created to embody the concept of “lacking,” a word that has come to define much of my life. Whether it’s lack of mental imagery(Aphantasia), the lack of my life’s memories(SDAM), or gender (Agender), this word encapsulates my experience.
During the creation process, I was researching the history of camouflage, which inspired the organic-shaped pieces cut from the metal. When the series of figures are displayed in a confined area, they can blend, mimicking the way camouflage works. Expressing that theme of this desire to blend in– whether with others to “fit in” or with the background becoming invisible.
This specific figure, The Intangible Concept of Lacking (Figure #3), was inspired by a pose I often find myself in during moments of deep thought and contemplation about my life. I create these sculptures to scale to allow the audience to project themselves onto the piece. Despite their life-size, metal presence making it impossible to truly blend in, the figures’ hollowness and lack of mass evoke the very concept of “lacking” that defines their essence.
“The Intangible Concept of Lacking (Figure #3)”
Rusted Steel, Posca Marker
By Kaz Brittenburg
Can you walk us through the technical steps of creating your finalist work?
In the initial planning for any of The Intangible Concepts of Lacking Figures, I create pose interaction sketches to capture the emotion and action of certain poses. Once I select a few of the strongest poses, I sculpt maquettes with clay to better understand how the 2D sketch moves in space as a 3D object. After this brainstorming, I finalized the pose and began fabrication.
The first step is cutting down large sheets of sheet steel with a plasma cutter to make them smaller and more manageable. Once I have smaller rectangular metal pieces, I use a paint marker to sketch organic, abstract shapes on the metal as guides. Once these lines are laid down on the metal, I then use the plasma cutter and roughly follow the lines, cutting negative spaces into my metal, creating a Swiss-cheese-like appearance.
Next is a back-and-forth process to manipulate the metal–a combination of bending, clamping, welding, and cutting. I start by building a ring of metal that acts as a foundation, allowing the sculpture to stand on a semi-even surface. The steel is thin enough allowing me to bend it by hand, and once I have some pieces shaped to my liking, I clamp them together. Using a MIG welder, I tack-weld the pieces in place.
I start at the base and work upwards, piece by piece, constantly referring to the model or mimicking the pose for accuracy in understanding how the body moves. If a piece of metal doesn’t move the way I need, I will use the plasma cutter to remove areas and make the metal more flexible.
What do you hope to communicate to an audience with your work?
Through my work, I hope to share my experiences in a way that enlightens and informs others about something new, like Aphantasia or SDAM. More importantly, I hope to share a sense of curiosity that invites viewers to sit with my work and explore.
I want them to get lost in the textures, the meanings, and themselves. I always find it interesting how different pieces of every object I create can be weaved into a different narrative depending on what artistic crumbs a viewer picks up on, like text, texture, composition, or materials. I hope my art encourages them to reflect on their own experiences and connections to the pieces.
“Descried Echoes of Obsidian”
Spray foam, expanding foam, wood, mirror, cotton, chicken wire, spray paint, punched hand lettered steel plates
By Kaz Brittenburg
Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your work?
There is always some challenge in art– It's a constant game of tug-of-war between the artist and the artwork. Every decision changes the outcome. With sculpture, one of the greatest challenges I often face is physics.
Learning how every manipulation affects the mass and balance of a piece is critical. Some concepts for sculptures initially are not always the most physics-minded, but during the making process, you adapt and alter the design to make them functional without compromising the artistic meaning or the original intention of the piece.
“The Intangible Concept of Lacking (Figure #2)”
Steel
By Kaz Brittenburg
Can you discuss your biggest success since starting your artistic journey?
Honestly, I don’t see my achievements as a hierarchy of success and failure because we are constantly in a state of growth and change. I believe every experience contributes to our development as artists and individuals.
That said, one of my most enjoyable and fulfilling experiences through my journey has been sharing my artistic knowledge with others and helping them grow. Whether it's teaching someone a new medium, recommending a useful tool, or providing feedback on their work, I find immense satisfaction in contributing to someone else’s creative journey.
“Unavailable”
Bandsaw blades, steel, faux leather, wire
By Kaz Brittenburg
Can you give us the best piece of advice you have ever heard/received?
I'm not sure it is the best advice I've ever gotten, but it was memorable. Back in high school, my art teacher said during a critique (paraphrased):
Never reveal your downfalls in your art. You're the only one who knows that it wasn’t planned.
“Ashes To Ashes”
Wood, car parts, rust dyed obituaries, Poly-fil, charcoal
By Kaz Brittenburg
As a finalist, do you have any advice for artists who want to apply for awards, competitions, residencies, etc.?
Don’t be afraid to be true to yourself and your life experiences. Don’t feel the need to fit into specific boxes we need more trailblazers.
To anyone wanting to take the leap and apply for opportunities like residencies or exhibition calls, I’d say: do your research to ensure the opportunities are legitimate, but don’t hesitate to apply for as many as you can – even if you feel underqualified. You never know until you try.
I would also say it is important to manage expectations. These opportunities often have a lot of applicants and few acceptances. Although artists oftentimes face more receptions than acceptances, those rejections can be valuable learning experiences.
For instance, you might realize you need to improve your documentation of the work or refine your artist statement. Whatever the case, do not take rejections personally. Instead, use them as an opportunity to grow and improve.
“Kamofleur #18”
Rust dyed medical gauze, pins, wood
By Kaz Brittenburg
What projects are you working on currently? Can you discuss them?
Currently, I am experimenting with a few different mediums. One of these is printmaking, where I’m exploring ways to add depth and layers of meaning to my metal figures (The Intangible Concept of Lacking series) through Intaglio, etching words and drawings into the metal surface. I am curious to see if this will add significant meaning.
Another medium I am exploring is clay. I’m transforming a creature from one of my animation art concepts into a 3D sculpture. The story concept revolves around an apocalyptic world where animals mutate with their environments. These creatures are loosely based on previous sculptures I created. Oddly a full-circle transformation kind of moment, where the 3D became 2D, and is coming back to 3D.
What is your dream project or piece that you hope to accomplish?
I constantly have new sketches and projects brewing in my mind and sketchbook, each waiting for the right time and place.
However, I've been intrigued by the idea of creating something larger than myself – an interactive installation. While I’m still unsure how this will manifest itself in my work, I’d love to incorporate that scale and interactivity into my art one day.
“Primordial Ooze”
Car parts, chain, expanding foam, metallic powder
By Kaz Brittenburg
Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists, what is your advice?
Allow yourself to be open to new experiences. Stay curious, explore new mediums, and don't be afraid to ask the strange questions. These are the aspects of life that drive art.
To view more of Kaz Brittenburg