Group interview with Liliana Joyce Teta
Publisher
UNC Greensboro University Libraries
Date
2019
Contributor
Rights
All rights reserved
Relation
Format
Language
English
Type
Identifier
D005-A
Transcription
Sidney Pettice (00:03):
The college of visual and performing arts here at UNCG has created a collaborative banner project with the Industries of the Blind to bring visual art, something that privileges the sighted and is thought of as inaccessible to those who are visually-impaired, to this organization. Six artists have created their works in different mediums based on conversations they have had with employees of the Industries of Blind. Laura Levin, Makayla Goldsborough, and I, Sidney Pettice, as art historians, had the opportunity to interview Liliana Teta, one of the six artists. Her artwork was based on a conversation she had with Cynthia Hundley. Hundley is one of the employees and one of the only sighted people that work at the Industries of the Blind. Her job is to oversee her coworkers' safety and act as their eyes.
Makayla Goldsborough (00:56):
I wanted to ask you, what is this story that you wanted to implicate when their creation was done?
Liliana Joyce Teta (01:07):
Well, I basically wanted to, um, not only, um, highlight and Cynthia's experiences as a sighted worker at Industries of the Blind, but also all of the other sighted of workers, because I didn't know Industries of the Blind was, um, the facility that it is. And I didn't realize that they actually hired blind people. And I also didn't realize that they hired sighted people to assist with the blind people. So, um, there's obviously more blind people than sighted, but, um, yeah, I just, I wanted to give the sighted people an opportunity to shine, I guess, in that environment because they do a lot of work.
Makayla Goldsborough (01:55):
What is your favorite artists and why?
Liliana Joyce Teta (02:00):
I have a lot of favorite artists. Um, and, uh, the ones that went into like inspiring this project would probably be like, I have some Instagram like inspiration. So there's an artist called Rana Balca Ülker and she's an embroidery artist and she does like a lot of embroidered, like eyes and stuff, like on different things. So I really liked that. And that kind of inspired me for one of the pieces. Um, there's also an artist called Emilio Villalba and, um, he had, did a study on eyes and a few of his paintings. He's a painter, um, really well known, but also like I'm really into surrealist stuff. So like Salvador Dali? Love him. He was great. So yeah, definitely like a bunch of different vibes going on.
Makayla Goldsborough (03:04):
So you get a lot information, uh, inspiration from... That's good. Is there artists that you may feel like relate to you and your artwork that you create,
Liliana Joyce Teta (03:11):
Um, that I create outside of this project? Um, yes. There are. I like, um, I really like clouds and so I feel like J. M. W. Turner does like so many beautiful, like paintings of just clouds they're so dreamy and like, there's so much drama, but also, um, to get back to like illustrations, like Robin Eisenberg, um, you guys have probably seen her stuff. She does like all the like alien girls and they're like all different skin tones. Um, I love that. Um, so yeah, there's just like a bunch of different things that I pick and choose from, like artists wise.
Makayla Goldsborough (03:58):
Thank you so much.
Sidney Pettice (03:59):
Yeah. Well, I guess I was more like interested in the kinds of processes that you use to create the artwork. Like how did you decide where you wanted to start and what did, what, how did you decide on the main focus of the piece?
Liliana Joyce Teta (04:17):
So that was very, very difficult. Um, I started out sketching in my sketchbook, you know, I was basically during the interviews, writing down things that Cynthia, likes, just to like trying to understand her as a person, somehow trying to draft up something. And I think that it was starting to be like too literal. Um, and I felt like I was just putting like pieces of things in something that like wasn't going to fit. So then I decided to scratch all that and switch to collaging. Cause I feel like that really opens me up and, um, it can bring it a new meaning. So collaging was definitely like, it wasn't like a final piece in this project, but it helped me get to the final piece. So that was, yeah. Yeah.
Sidney Pettice (05:04):
And, um, are you the like collaging or is that something that you often do to kind of like help your, I guess artistic processes?
Liliana Joyce Teta (05:14):
Sometimes I, um, I definitely use collages to help me. um, I've been getting way more into collaging, just as a medium and like it being like a final like piece, but, um, I mean a lot of times I sketch there's just different, different projects call for different, you know, ways of doing,
Sidney Pettice (05:36):
Um, like how did it feel working with someone who was sighted in the industries of the blind, because often like the other artists that are in this project, they're working with people who are blind. So how did it feel working with the only sighted person?
Liliana Joyce Teta (05:53):
It was really interesting. Um, we didn't get to pick who we worked with, but we picked from a hat and I was very lucky to work with Cynthia. Um, it was not what I expected because obviously coming into this project, I was thought that I was going to be working with somebody that was visually impaired. Um, so I was like kind of excited, not that I wasn't excited to work with Cynthia because she's an amazing woman, but, um, it was, it was challenging to come up with something for her. Um, because basically, um, the project was creating something through somebody else's eyes. And so my colleagues were able to talk to their, the people that they were interviewing and come up with something maybe abstract, maybe something personal, but mine was kind of like I was going, I basically had to ask Cynthia what it was like, you know, helping out a blind person, like every day. And I felt like it was like interviewing somebody once removed or something like that, you know, like I wasn't getting clear insights, so I decided to like work just on her experience and yeah.
Sidney Pettice (07:09):
Um, and, um, my last question is like, why did she choose eyes to play such a big part in the artwork?
Liliana Joyce Teta (07:20):
That's a very good question. So, um, that kind of came, um, midway through working on the project. I absolutely wouldn't have thought I would've picked eyes as the center piece or whatever. Um, so I was in one of my meetings with Cynthia and, um, I forget his name at the moment, um, which is not really good because he's been like helping us out all semester. But, um, basically he's like one of the people in charge and he came in, he works there, uh, industry of the blind and he came in and gave us a talk about, cause he knew it was going to be hard for me. And it was hard for Cynthia to help me. So he talked to us about how I'm supposed to be highlighting what it's like for sighted people working there and basically said something that stuck out to me. And it was basically like when Cynthia is in her job, she is acting as their eyes. So when she threads their needle, because they can't, she is their eyes in that moment. So that's what really like brought out the eyes for me.
Sidney Pettice (08:33):
And I really liked that. It's like, um, you're still doing something like it was embroideries something that's big and your artwork and that's part of your job as well. I think that's really cool.
Liliana Joyce Teta (08:43):
Thank you.
Laura Levin (08:45):
How was your process collaborating with Cynthia?
Liliana Joyce Teta (08:50):
Um, it was very, very interesting and it easily was something that I don't want to say distracting. Cause like, it's basically like I made a new friend, right. You make a new friend, you want to get to know them and we're talking about like whatever we're supposed to be talking about. And then we get sidetracked. So it was a lot of getting sidetracked. That was how it was working Cynthia, which was like totally fine. Cause you know, I got to learn more about her as a person. She's awesome. And really cool. Um, but yes, there were definitely a lot of, a lot of information recordings that I got that, um, was not necessarily used in my, um, my own research on processes and artists.
Laura Levin (09:38):
What would, would some of those things have like inspired future artworks, maybe?
Liliana Joyce Teta (09:42):
I'm not sure. Cause it was more like a day to day life. Like I would just like learn about like Cynthia's family and like what kind of things Cynthia would do. Like every morning, like her life growing up, like her children and stuff like that, which didn't really like go around working with industry of the blind, which was something that they wanted. So, um, yeah, but it was, it was interesting learning about her.
Laura Levin (10:10):
So how, how did, uh, working with Industries of the Blind make you consider a visual forms?
Liliana Joyce Teta (10:17):
Honestly, I didn't really think about, um, the fact that me being a visual artist, um, doesn't allow people with visual impairment to actually see things, um, which I don't really like, honestly, cause I feel like that is, um, you know, not, I don't even know the word for it. I can't think of that at the moment. Unfair. Yeah. It's just, I don't know. I wish that there were ways I feel like 3D art and like sculpture you can definitely do, but that's not something that I do. I'm more of a painter. So I don't know. I feel kind of upset that I can't share things with everybody or they can't experience things...
Sidney Pettice (11:10):
...and feel it in a way? Yeah. Art is so like, you know, it's so I guess, it heavily emphasizes meaning and seeing what you want and not being able to do that is it's it isn't fair. It is something that we don't think about every day.
Liliana Joyce Teta (11:28):
Yeah. And it's like y'all's job to like basically come up with descriptions and stuff, which is very helpful. I mean, cause you can kind of come up with your own understanding of the image, but actually seeing the image for a visually impaired person. I mean, unless they can like see a little bit or like depending on the distance they can see, like they probably won't be able to unfortunately see it.
Laura Levin (11:52):
How this, um, impact your, your thoughts about accessibility in the arts in general and with your work?
Liliana Joyce Teta (12:01):
Um, honestly I don't think that I am going to change much of like how I work. I mean, it definitely has been eye opening. Um, I would like to, um, maybe collaborate with like sculptors and like musicians in the future. Cause I think that that other using your other senses, um, would be beneficial for people that have certain impairments and disabilities. But um, I mean as a visual artist, there's not very much that I can do, unfortunately.
Laura Levin (12:38):
And then, um, what, what themes did you really want to address, um, in your, in your piece?
Liliana Joyce Teta (12:48):
So, um, I kind of, I wanted to address the tactility of, um, the material used at Industries of the Blind cause there's sewing a lot. Um, and it's a very like factory environment. So that's why I, um, used the thread and some of the pieces. Um, but also, I mean, I feel like anybody that has seen like my body of work, they can definitely see that it's like my personality in it and I wish I could have brought more of Cynthia's personality, but it's so hard. Like only having like for like one hour sessions with a person to really understand their personality. So, um, that's like probably one regret is to like put more of her personality into the piece, but it was inspired on her.
Laura Levin (13:39):
Yeah. Yeah. Is that something you'd want the audience to take away from your piece or is there anything else you'd want the audience to take away from, from you work? Um, or your process?
Liliana Joyce Teta (13:52):
I mean, I feel like it's definitely mostly up to the audience. Um, I mean, yeah, I don't know. Um, I have, uh, a speech that I wrote about it that I can send to you guys. So you guys can get a better understanding and maybe fill in some of your questions if I didn't completely get them. But, um, yeah...
Makayla Goldsborough (14:17):
So overall, like how do you feel about the artwork itself that you have completed? Like are you proud?
Liliana Joyce Teta (14:23):
I, um, well it is a thing. It's something that has been critiqued over and over and over again this whole semester. So, um, I'm proud that it is complete, um, I am not very, I've learned as an artist when you go into these things and you're making art for somebody, you have to basically take away a lot of the like, um, meanings that you put into it as an artist. And it's kind of like a watered down meaning at the end, cause you want to consider everybody else's thoughts and feelings into it. So, um, is it the piece that I would've picked? Maybe, maybe not. I'm not sure to be completely honest, but um, am I proud of it? I'm happy. It's over. Yeah. I'm happy that I did it.
Sidney Pettice (15:19):
How does it feel knowing that you're going to have this like 8-foot by 10-foot gigantic public facing artwork with your name on it, like by you?
Liliana Joyce Teta (15:32):
It's an incredible opportunity. Um, I'm super psyched to see it up and obviously, but I like take pictures in front of it and stuff, but, um, it's also scary because that's just going to be out there and everybody that drives on West Gate is going to see it. And I don't know what they're going to think about it. Like I have no way of knowing. So hopefully they like it. I think, I think It's a really beautiful, like I really love it. Thank you. It's really impactful. And you see it and you're kind of drawn to it.
Liliana Joyce Teta (16:12):
I actually added more embroidery to it. So it's actually completely embroidered in that like background design now in like various, um, very de-saturated colors, um,
Sidney Pettice (16:27):
Overall, like what do you feel like you learned about Cynthia or from her? Like what is like a big takeaway that you have?
Liliana Joyce Teta (16:36):
Um, that people have different lives and just how, I mean like opportunities that people have, um, how they grow up, how they get from one place to the other. Like Cynthia is a very interesting woman because she comes from not a very like well-off background and she has like kids that she loves and she manages to make ends meet and um, she, she does everything for them and um, yeah, I mean, it's just, it's amazing seeing how strong of a person she is and like what she does every day and then like also being so [inaudible] as to like working out of a place like Industries of the Blind. I mean, she's like a hero, you know,
Makayla Goldsborough (17:28):
Did you know there was the Industries of the Blind before the project?
Liliana Joyce Teta (17:32):
So actually I honestly thought, cause I would walk by or I would drive by and I'd see people that are blind, you know, walking with the sticks or their dogs. And I was like, Oh my God, that's so cool. This is a school for blind people. That's what I thought. I was like, that's that it's right here in Greensboro, you know? And then like I find out that it's actually like a work opportunity for them, which is even better because I mean, I never thought about how like they don't really get opportunities to be employed at all. So it's amazing. And it's been around since the 1930s, which I thought was even crazier. That's like the Great Depression, and they are still like making things happen. That's amazing.
Laura Levin (18:16):
How do you think like your project and like this whole project as a whole will impact, um, Industries of the Blind and um, the public seeing as you didn't even know much about industry for the blind?
Liliana Joyce Teta (18:34):
I hope that, um, my piece and my colleagues pieces all, um, allow people that see them to realize what Industries of the Blind really is and what it stands for. And they're actually also making a cafe in the building. Like that's going to be a little part of it. Um, and that should actually happen around the same time that our pieces go up. So I think that there is definitely, um, uh, a want to be more interactive with the public coming from them. So I think that's exciting for my understanding. I'm pretty sure she either is a high school graduate or like had dropped out of high school and um, because she had her first daughter and she has two daughters and I believe she might have a son. I'm not a hundred percent sure. I think he's like younger. Yes. I think she does because they play like that. Like they played sports, she really likes sports. She loves gardening. She like she's, we have a lot in common, but we come from like different backgrounds. It's really interesting. Um, she likes music. Um, she she's, I don't know. I mean, I feel like you guys would know a lot more if you like went through our recordings and stuff and like listened to the conversations. Cause that's like word for word, like her describing her life to me.
Sidney Pettice (20:01):
And when you did interviews or there did he go to, it is a little blind. Like, did he get to see like what it was like, like what their environment was like?
Liliana Joyce Teta (20:11):
I, um, I got to walk through the, um, facility where all the magic is done, which is really cool, like all the factory parts, but the interviews took place upstairs in the office environment. Um, so we would basically borrow somebody's office for about 45 minutes to an hour and we would have conversations and yeah.
Laura Levin (20:39):
So did, um, I know you had discussed some of your inspirations before, but um, did embroidery kinda come first or the fact that a lot of their work, um, at Industries of the Blind, um, go around that, did that influence you or was it kind of a little bit of both?
Liliana Joyce Teta (21:09):
So, um, I come from a family of artists and, um, my sister is a fiber artist. My mother's a seamstress. So, um, I had already been messing around with embroidery and initially when we went to meet everybody involved, I had jokingly mentioned that I might embroider on the canvas. It was just a joke. I didn't realize like I would actually be doing it because in a lot of my first drafts and stuff, especially like in the collaging process. Like I wasn't even thinking about like embroidering anything. Um, but it definitely came like later. Um, cause I wanted to make that connection with the work and tactility.
Liliana Joyce Teta (21:56):
Is there a title of the artwork?
Liliana Joyce Teta (21:59):
Um, no. I actually have a very hard time titling any of my art pieces. Um, so no, I typically have other people name them for me, but um, yeah. Yeah.
Sidney Pettice (22:15):
So if you could name this like anything you wanted, what would... The title of this artwork be?
Liliana Joyce Teta (22:23):
That's a very hard question. I feel like it needs to have some thought put into it, but I might overthink it.
Makayla Goldsborough (22:31):
Like "Now You Can See," but isn't that like a movie already?
Interviewer (22:36):
"Now You Can..." no, "Now You See me!" [Laughter].
Liliana Joyce Teta (22:47):
Is it copyrighted? [laughter] ... I don't know maybe something about, um, "see together?"
Sidney Pettice (22:53):
Thank you and talking with this. I feel like it's really important to talk about accessibility and you know, stuff that we don't think about everyday in learning about what people are experiencing also.
Laura Levin (23:07):
Yeah, we really appreciate you spending the time with us and talking about your process and how you've spent your time with Cynthia and the whole great opportunity that, um, this university has had with Industries of the Blind. Um, yeah. And it sounds like you've had a really, really great experience overall.
Makayla Goldsborough (23:33):
Yeah. So I feel like we really do appreciate this and giving, you know, another outlook on something from your standpoint, you know...
Liliana Joyce Teta (23:47):
Thank you guys for having an interest and for interviewing me, it's been a pleasure. Thank you.
The college of visual and performing arts here at UNCG has created a collaborative banner project with the Industries of the Blind to bring visual art, something that privileges the sighted and is thought of as inaccessible to those who are visually-impaired, to this organization. Six artists have created their works in different mediums based on conversations they have had with employees of the Industries of Blind. Laura Levin, Makayla Goldsborough, and I, Sidney Pettice, as art historians, had the opportunity to interview Liliana Teta, one of the six artists. Her artwork was based on a conversation she had with Cynthia Hundley. Hundley is one of the employees and one of the only sighted people that work at the Industries of the Blind. Her job is to oversee her coworkers' safety and act as their eyes.
Makayla Goldsborough (00:56):
I wanted to ask you, what is this story that you wanted to implicate when their creation was done?
Liliana Joyce Teta (01:07):
Well, I basically wanted to, um, not only, um, highlight and Cynthia's experiences as a sighted worker at Industries of the Blind, but also all of the other sighted of workers, because I didn't know Industries of the Blind was, um, the facility that it is. And I didn't realize that they actually hired blind people. And I also didn't realize that they hired sighted people to assist with the blind people. So, um, there's obviously more blind people than sighted, but, um, yeah, I just, I wanted to give the sighted people an opportunity to shine, I guess, in that environment because they do a lot of work.
Makayla Goldsborough (01:55):
What is your favorite artists and why?
Liliana Joyce Teta (02:00):
I have a lot of favorite artists. Um, and, uh, the ones that went into like inspiring this project would probably be like, I have some Instagram like inspiration. So there's an artist called Rana Balca Ülker and she's an embroidery artist and she does like a lot of embroidered, like eyes and stuff, like on different things. So I really liked that. And that kind of inspired me for one of the pieces. Um, there's also an artist called Emilio Villalba and, um, he had, did a study on eyes and a few of his paintings. He's a painter, um, really well known, but also like I'm really into surrealist stuff. So like Salvador Dali? Love him. He was great. So yeah, definitely like a bunch of different vibes going on.
Makayla Goldsborough (03:04):
So you get a lot information, uh, inspiration from... That's good. Is there artists that you may feel like relate to you and your artwork that you create,
Liliana Joyce Teta (03:11):
Um, that I create outside of this project? Um, yes. There are. I like, um, I really like clouds and so I feel like J. M. W. Turner does like so many beautiful, like paintings of just clouds they're so dreamy and like, there's so much drama, but also, um, to get back to like illustrations, like Robin Eisenberg, um, you guys have probably seen her stuff. She does like all the like alien girls and they're like all different skin tones. Um, I love that. Um, so yeah, there's just like a bunch of different things that I pick and choose from, like artists wise.
Makayla Goldsborough (03:58):
Thank you so much.
Sidney Pettice (03:59):
Yeah. Well, I guess I was more like interested in the kinds of processes that you use to create the artwork. Like how did you decide where you wanted to start and what did, what, how did you decide on the main focus of the piece?
Liliana Joyce Teta (04:17):
So that was very, very difficult. Um, I started out sketching in my sketchbook, you know, I was basically during the interviews, writing down things that Cynthia, likes, just to like trying to understand her as a person, somehow trying to draft up something. And I think that it was starting to be like too literal. Um, and I felt like I was just putting like pieces of things in something that like wasn't going to fit. So then I decided to scratch all that and switch to collaging. Cause I feel like that really opens me up and, um, it can bring it a new meaning. So collaging was definitely like, it wasn't like a final piece in this project, but it helped me get to the final piece. So that was, yeah. Yeah.
Sidney Pettice (05:04):
And, um, are you the like collaging or is that something that you often do to kind of like help your, I guess artistic processes?
Liliana Joyce Teta (05:14):
Sometimes I, um, I definitely use collages to help me. um, I've been getting way more into collaging, just as a medium and like it being like a final like piece, but, um, I mean a lot of times I sketch there's just different, different projects call for different, you know, ways of doing,
Sidney Pettice (05:36):
Um, like how did it feel working with someone who was sighted in the industries of the blind, because often like the other artists that are in this project, they're working with people who are blind. So how did it feel working with the only sighted person?
Liliana Joyce Teta (05:53):
It was really interesting. Um, we didn't get to pick who we worked with, but we picked from a hat and I was very lucky to work with Cynthia. Um, it was not what I expected because obviously coming into this project, I was thought that I was going to be working with somebody that was visually impaired. Um, so I was like kind of excited, not that I wasn't excited to work with Cynthia because she's an amazing woman, but, um, it was, it was challenging to come up with something for her. Um, because basically, um, the project was creating something through somebody else's eyes. And so my colleagues were able to talk to their, the people that they were interviewing and come up with something maybe abstract, maybe something personal, but mine was kind of like I was going, I basically had to ask Cynthia what it was like, you know, helping out a blind person, like every day. And I felt like it was like interviewing somebody once removed or something like that, you know, like I wasn't getting clear insights, so I decided to like work just on her experience and yeah.
Sidney Pettice (07:09):
Um, and, um, my last question is like, why did she choose eyes to play such a big part in the artwork?
Liliana Joyce Teta (07:20):
That's a very good question. So, um, that kind of came, um, midway through working on the project. I absolutely wouldn't have thought I would've picked eyes as the center piece or whatever. Um, so I was in one of my meetings with Cynthia and, um, I forget his name at the moment, um, which is not really good because he's been like helping us out all semester. But, um, basically he's like one of the people in charge and he came in, he works there, uh, industry of the blind and he came in and gave us a talk about, cause he knew it was going to be hard for me. And it was hard for Cynthia to help me. So he talked to us about how I'm supposed to be highlighting what it's like for sighted people working there and basically said something that stuck out to me. And it was basically like when Cynthia is in her job, she is acting as their eyes. So when she threads their needle, because they can't, she is their eyes in that moment. So that's what really like brought out the eyes for me.
Sidney Pettice (08:33):
And I really liked that. It's like, um, you're still doing something like it was embroideries something that's big and your artwork and that's part of your job as well. I think that's really cool.
Liliana Joyce Teta (08:43):
Thank you.
Laura Levin (08:45):
How was your process collaborating with Cynthia?
Liliana Joyce Teta (08:50):
Um, it was very, very interesting and it easily was something that I don't want to say distracting. Cause like, it's basically like I made a new friend, right. You make a new friend, you want to get to know them and we're talking about like whatever we're supposed to be talking about. And then we get sidetracked. So it was a lot of getting sidetracked. That was how it was working Cynthia, which was like totally fine. Cause you know, I got to learn more about her as a person. She's awesome. And really cool. Um, but yes, there were definitely a lot of, a lot of information recordings that I got that, um, was not necessarily used in my, um, my own research on processes and artists.
Laura Levin (09:38):
What would, would some of those things have like inspired future artworks, maybe?
Liliana Joyce Teta (09:42):
I'm not sure. Cause it was more like a day to day life. Like I would just like learn about like Cynthia's family and like what kind of things Cynthia would do. Like every morning, like her life growing up, like her children and stuff like that, which didn't really like go around working with industry of the blind, which was something that they wanted. So, um, yeah, but it was, it was interesting learning about her.
Laura Levin (10:10):
So how, how did, uh, working with Industries of the Blind make you consider a visual forms?
Liliana Joyce Teta (10:17):
Honestly, I didn't really think about, um, the fact that me being a visual artist, um, doesn't allow people with visual impairment to actually see things, um, which I don't really like, honestly, cause I feel like that is, um, you know, not, I don't even know the word for it. I can't think of that at the moment. Unfair. Yeah. It's just, I don't know. I wish that there were ways I feel like 3D art and like sculpture you can definitely do, but that's not something that I do. I'm more of a painter. So I don't know. I feel kind of upset that I can't share things with everybody or they can't experience things...
Sidney Pettice (11:10):
...and feel it in a way? Yeah. Art is so like, you know, it's so I guess, it heavily emphasizes meaning and seeing what you want and not being able to do that is it's it isn't fair. It is something that we don't think about every day.
Liliana Joyce Teta (11:28):
Yeah. And it's like y'all's job to like basically come up with descriptions and stuff, which is very helpful. I mean, cause you can kind of come up with your own understanding of the image, but actually seeing the image for a visually impaired person. I mean, unless they can like see a little bit or like depending on the distance they can see, like they probably won't be able to unfortunately see it.
Laura Levin (11:52):
How this, um, impact your, your thoughts about accessibility in the arts in general and with your work?
Liliana Joyce Teta (12:01):
Um, honestly I don't think that I am going to change much of like how I work. I mean, it definitely has been eye opening. Um, I would like to, um, maybe collaborate with like sculptors and like musicians in the future. Cause I think that that other using your other senses, um, would be beneficial for people that have certain impairments and disabilities. But um, I mean as a visual artist, there's not very much that I can do, unfortunately.
Laura Levin (12:38):
And then, um, what, what themes did you really want to address, um, in your, in your piece?
Liliana Joyce Teta (12:48):
So, um, I kind of, I wanted to address the tactility of, um, the material used at Industries of the Blind cause there's sewing a lot. Um, and it's a very like factory environment. So that's why I, um, used the thread and some of the pieces. Um, but also, I mean, I feel like anybody that has seen like my body of work, they can definitely see that it's like my personality in it and I wish I could have brought more of Cynthia's personality, but it's so hard. Like only having like for like one hour sessions with a person to really understand their personality. So, um, that's like probably one regret is to like put more of her personality into the piece, but it was inspired on her.
Laura Levin (13:39):
Yeah. Yeah. Is that something you'd want the audience to take away from your piece or is there anything else you'd want the audience to take away from, from you work? Um, or your process?
Liliana Joyce Teta (13:52):
I mean, I feel like it's definitely mostly up to the audience. Um, I mean, yeah, I don't know. Um, I have, uh, a speech that I wrote about it that I can send to you guys. So you guys can get a better understanding and maybe fill in some of your questions if I didn't completely get them. But, um, yeah...
Makayla Goldsborough (14:17):
So overall, like how do you feel about the artwork itself that you have completed? Like are you proud?
Liliana Joyce Teta (14:23):
I, um, well it is a thing. It's something that has been critiqued over and over and over again this whole semester. So, um, I'm proud that it is complete, um, I am not very, I've learned as an artist when you go into these things and you're making art for somebody, you have to basically take away a lot of the like, um, meanings that you put into it as an artist. And it's kind of like a watered down meaning at the end, cause you want to consider everybody else's thoughts and feelings into it. So, um, is it the piece that I would've picked? Maybe, maybe not. I'm not sure to be completely honest, but um, am I proud of it? I'm happy. It's over. Yeah. I'm happy that I did it.
Sidney Pettice (15:19):
How does it feel knowing that you're going to have this like 8-foot by 10-foot gigantic public facing artwork with your name on it, like by you?
Liliana Joyce Teta (15:32):
It's an incredible opportunity. Um, I'm super psyched to see it up and obviously, but I like take pictures in front of it and stuff, but, um, it's also scary because that's just going to be out there and everybody that drives on West Gate is going to see it. And I don't know what they're going to think about it. Like I have no way of knowing. So hopefully they like it. I think, I think It's a really beautiful, like I really love it. Thank you. It's really impactful. And you see it and you're kind of drawn to it.
Liliana Joyce Teta (16:12):
I actually added more embroidery to it. So it's actually completely embroidered in that like background design now in like various, um, very de-saturated colors, um,
Sidney Pettice (16:27):
Overall, like what do you feel like you learned about Cynthia or from her? Like what is like a big takeaway that you have?
Liliana Joyce Teta (16:36):
Um, that people have different lives and just how, I mean like opportunities that people have, um, how they grow up, how they get from one place to the other. Like Cynthia is a very interesting woman because she comes from not a very like well-off background and she has like kids that she loves and she manages to make ends meet and um, she, she does everything for them and um, yeah, I mean, it's just, it's amazing seeing how strong of a person she is and like what she does every day and then like also being so [inaudible] as to like working out of a place like Industries of the Blind. I mean, she's like a hero, you know,
Makayla Goldsborough (17:28):
Did you know there was the Industries of the Blind before the project?
Liliana Joyce Teta (17:32):
So actually I honestly thought, cause I would walk by or I would drive by and I'd see people that are blind, you know, walking with the sticks or their dogs. And I was like, Oh my God, that's so cool. This is a school for blind people. That's what I thought. I was like, that's that it's right here in Greensboro, you know? And then like I find out that it's actually like a work opportunity for them, which is even better because I mean, I never thought about how like they don't really get opportunities to be employed at all. So it's amazing. And it's been around since the 1930s, which I thought was even crazier. That's like the Great Depression, and they are still like making things happen. That's amazing.
Laura Levin (18:16):
How do you think like your project and like this whole project as a whole will impact, um, Industries of the Blind and um, the public seeing as you didn't even know much about industry for the blind?
Liliana Joyce Teta (18:34):
I hope that, um, my piece and my colleagues pieces all, um, allow people that see them to realize what Industries of the Blind really is and what it stands for. And they're actually also making a cafe in the building. Like that's going to be a little part of it. Um, and that should actually happen around the same time that our pieces go up. So I think that there is definitely, um, uh, a want to be more interactive with the public coming from them. So I think that's exciting for my understanding. I'm pretty sure she either is a high school graduate or like had dropped out of high school and um, because she had her first daughter and she has two daughters and I believe she might have a son. I'm not a hundred percent sure. I think he's like younger. Yes. I think she does because they play like that. Like they played sports, she really likes sports. She loves gardening. She like she's, we have a lot in common, but we come from like different backgrounds. It's really interesting. Um, she likes music. Um, she she's, I don't know. I mean, I feel like you guys would know a lot more if you like went through our recordings and stuff and like listened to the conversations. Cause that's like word for word, like her describing her life to me.
Sidney Pettice (20:01):
And when you did interviews or there did he go to, it is a little blind. Like, did he get to see like what it was like, like what their environment was like?
Liliana Joyce Teta (20:11):
I, um, I got to walk through the, um, facility where all the magic is done, which is really cool, like all the factory parts, but the interviews took place upstairs in the office environment. Um, so we would basically borrow somebody's office for about 45 minutes to an hour and we would have conversations and yeah.
Laura Levin (20:39):
So did, um, I know you had discussed some of your inspirations before, but um, did embroidery kinda come first or the fact that a lot of their work, um, at Industries of the Blind, um, go around that, did that influence you or was it kind of a little bit of both?
Liliana Joyce Teta (21:09):
So, um, I come from a family of artists and, um, my sister is a fiber artist. My mother's a seamstress. So, um, I had already been messing around with embroidery and initially when we went to meet everybody involved, I had jokingly mentioned that I might embroider on the canvas. It was just a joke. I didn't realize like I would actually be doing it because in a lot of my first drafts and stuff, especially like in the collaging process. Like I wasn't even thinking about like embroidering anything. Um, but it definitely came like later. Um, cause I wanted to make that connection with the work and tactility.
Liliana Joyce Teta (21:56):
Is there a title of the artwork?
Liliana Joyce Teta (21:59):
Um, no. I actually have a very hard time titling any of my art pieces. Um, so no, I typically have other people name them for me, but um, yeah. Yeah.
Sidney Pettice (22:15):
So if you could name this like anything you wanted, what would... The title of this artwork be?
Liliana Joyce Teta (22:23):
That's a very hard question. I feel like it needs to have some thought put into it, but I might overthink it.
Makayla Goldsborough (22:31):
Like "Now You Can See," but isn't that like a movie already?
Interviewer (22:36):
"Now You Can..." no, "Now You See me!" [Laughter].
Liliana Joyce Teta (22:47):
Is it copyrighted? [laughter] ... I don't know maybe something about, um, "see together?"
Sidney Pettice (22:53):
Thank you and talking with this. I feel like it's really important to talk about accessibility and you know, stuff that we don't think about everyday in learning about what people are experiencing also.
Laura Levin (23:07):
Yeah, we really appreciate you spending the time with us and talking about your process and how you've spent your time with Cynthia and the whole great opportunity that, um, this university has had with Industries of the Blind. Um, yeah. And it sounds like you've had a really, really great experience overall.
Makayla Goldsborough (23:33):
Yeah. So I feel like we really do appreciate this and giving, you know, another outlook on something from your standpoint, you know...
Liliana Joyce Teta (23:47):
Thank you guys for having an interest and for interviewing me, it's been a pleasure. Thank you.
Original Format
Recorded interview
Duration
0:23:57
Bit Rate/Frequency
192 kbit/s
Collection
Citation
Goldsborough, Makayla, Levin, Laura, and Pettice, Sidney, “Group interview with Liliana Joyce Teta,” accessed April 18, 2024, https://uncglibraries.com/publicart/items/show/11.