Group interview with Krystal Rothermund
Source
"Clarity" [Painting] P004
Publisher
UNC Greensboro University Libraries
Date
2019
Contributor
Rights
All rights reserved
Relation
Click to explore other items related to the present record.
P004 [painting], C004-A [musical interpretation], C004-B [musical interpretation], D004-A [audio description], D004-B [audio description], S004 [sculptural interpretation]
P004 [painting], C004-A [musical interpretation], C004-B [musical interpretation], D004-A [audio description], D004-B [audio description], S004 [sculptural interpretation]
Format
Language
English
Type
Identifier
D004-C
Transcription
Allison Johnson (00:10):
Hi, my name is Allison Johnson.
Angela Melton (00:12):
And I'm Angela Melton
Christopher Dagenhart (00:13):
And I'm Christopher Dagenhart. We are art history students at UNCG. Today. We have a special guest. We are here with Krystal Rothermund.
Krystal Rothermund (00:21):
Hello.
Christopher Dagenhart (00:22):
We're excited to have you here and have a nice conversation today.
Angela Melton (00:25):
So before we get into the specifics of this collaboration, could you tell us about yourself?
Krystal Rothermund (00:32):
Yeah. Um, I'm a fourth year, a studio art major with a concentration in painting. Uh, I work with 3d sculpture and 2d paint drawing. Um, also a little bit of digital art as well.
Christopher Dagenhart (00:46):
So today we're here to talk about UNCG's College of Visual and Performing Arts and their collaboration with Industries of the Blind. Would you mind giving us a brief description of the project?
Krystal Rothermund (00:58):
So the project is about giving Industries of the Blind visibility within the Greensboro community, and to just introduce what they're about to the community, which is to give visually impaired and blind people opportunity to enhance their personal and economic independence.
AJ (01:15):
So you personally, what was your impact and your part on this project?
Krystal Rothermund (01:22):
So for Painting III, we were paired with an employee from Industries for the Blind through a drawing, and then we were to interview this employee and listen to their experiences through that conversation that we have, we have to and interpret through visual language, what that would look like.
Angela Melton (01:43):
So did you know about this project when you signed up for the course? Or how was it presented to you?
Krystal Rothermund (01:50):
When I signed up for the course, I did not know that this project was going to be a thing. Um, initially I was nervous. I was scared to have to talk to people cause like in general, I just don't like talking to people, but, um, the opportunity was exciting though. Just to think about what could come from being a part of a project like this.
Christopher Dagenhart (02:11):
Did you have apprehensions or like, were you nervous about specific things? Because I know it feels like a little like sensitive or like a sensitive subject to be talking about art and like visual language and talking about like visual impairment as well.
Krystal Rothermund (02:26):
Yeah. I try to think of it, not in a way that would be, I wasn't trying, I wasn't trying to be too sensitive and sort of treat their blindness or visual impairment as some kind of like special thing that you've got to tiptoe around. And I didn't want to have them feel like that's something that is to be ashamed about. So I try to not even make that connection or the supposedly irony behind that. Um, just to treat it like a comfortable conversation.
Christopher Dagenhart (03:00):
Right. Um, so I know that you had to interview the person that you drew out of the hat. So who is, who is this person? Can you tell us a little bit about them?
Krystal Rothermund (03:08):
Yeah. Um, my partner was Daryl Wells. He was an army, he's an army veteran and he served as a paratrooper in the 82nd airborne division. Um, he was initially sighted, but he lost his sight through, uh, boxing accident because he was a boxer for his battalion and um, yeah, he's very open and forthcoming about his experiences. Um, yeah, he's, he's, he was very friendly and welcoming to me. So...
Angela Melton (03:38):
How did you feel the interview went overall? Were you really nervous going into it? Did you feel like he was really open to and excited about the project? What were your reactions to the interview
Krystal Rothermund (03:51):
Going in? I was really nervous. I was not sure if I would be able to perform well in a way that would elicit responses that I needed for the project and also make him comfortable and want to be more open, but he was, he was perfect. He was very open with me. He understood the position I was in and that this is my first interview and, uh, it went really well and he was excited for the project. So that also helped.
AJ (04:17):
So during the interview, was there anything that your partner said that really stuck out to you and you knew that this was going to affect your final painting, how you went about that?
Krystal Rothermund (04:30):
Yeah. Um, his descriptions of just his past, like his memories of the past, when he was fully sighted, they were very, just poetic and very descript. And I could instantly imagine that scene in my head, like specifically like about the night sky and the crispness of the stars and how he misses just being able to look up and observe that kind of thing. And he was very, he was very, uh, in tune with like nature. So his, his recollection of like mountainous, like landscapes and just, just the way he described it, it stuck with me and I wanted, I wanted to make it part of my pieces in some way.
Christopher Dagenhart (05:13):
I just think that your project is a little interesting because your partner did have sight, but then lost his sight. So that's like a whole different kind of way of thinking about this project as compared to others who have been blind since birth, you know?
Krystal Rothermund (05:27):
Hmm.
AJ (05:29):
I do think that is a really interesting concept when it comes to the final pieces that will be, you know, on the street, on the Industries of the Blind's building, how different they are going to be, depending on the interviewee and the painter and how they portray that.
Angela Melton (05:48):
So when you left the interview, did you have like a set idea of something that you really wanted to do? How were you feeling and what was your next process?
Krystal Rothermund (05:59):
Um, coming out of the interview, I had a, I had a bunch of notes and I had to listen through the interview again to get to specifics, but I had different themes and aspects of our conversation that I wanted to focus on, which were, like I said, his descriptions of just a landscape. So I was like going to play with landscape and my sketches, um, or just the way he described the sky and try to translate that into images. Um, I also wanted to work with an idea of like faith and spirituality, because in our conversations he would talk about how, um, he was angry with God about this, uh, or shake his hands at the heavens or, but, um, and he believed that it was divine intervention that he lost his sight. I wanted to work with that idea somehow and also just the physical, like what he's he is able to see, um, there, his peripheral and just the concept of high contrast in the room and how he is able to make out light and dark and the higher, the contrast in the room, the better he's able to make out his space. I wanted to sort of play with space in my, um, pieces. So going back the first, um, aspect of like, um, just recording these ideas was going to the press and doing monoprints, um, because I wanted to play with the idea of ghost prints.
Christopher Dagenhart (07:35):
Could you describe ghost prints for us please?
Krystal Rothermund (07:38):
So monoprints are basically an image that you put onto a matrix and you, it's, it's relief ink that you put onto the matrix. So when you run it through the press, whatever comes off, you can't replicate. Um, so just the idea at which mono one, you know, there's one of each, every one is unique. So if you run the image to the press again, that would make it a ghost print because it's a faded version of the original image.
Christopher Dagenhart (08:06):
Also, I wanted to ask you about like your very beginning, cause I know you said you did a lot of sketches and I can only imagine how many sketches you went through. So like, what was that process like? Did you get frustrated?
Krystal Rothermund (08:17):
Um, it was pretty spaced out. So we had like scheduling, like let's try and get this amount of sketches done, uh, this, this, the end of this week. And so we had good spacing time, but when it came with, like in conjunction with other projects that are being due, um, you just have to work out that time, which was kind of stressful, but it's, it's worth, it's worth the final project.
AJ (08:43):
So thinking about your studio class, I know that any studio art class can be intimidating and the amount of work that you're doing in that class. So paired with that. Did you ever feel intimidated by having to make this final project that was reflective of your interviewee? Did you feel together that that was intimidating? How did you feel about the process of coming up with something that you felt was worthy?
Krystal Rothermund (09:13):
Yeah, those are like a main concern. When doing just a collaboration piece in general, I always have in mind, like, is this going to do him justice? Like, is this, is this indicative of the conversations we had? And am I highlighting the things that I want, that he wants to be highlighted? And just thinking about what he would want out of the piece was a main concern for me.
Angela Melton (09:38):
I've heard a lot of public artists say that they feel like their original design is so different from the end product. And they feel like because there were all these stipulations about what the client wanted, their hand was kind of removed and it wasn't something that they felt like they had personally made. Did you feel that way at all? Or did you feel like this was kind of a joining of your hand, meaning his story?
Krystal Rothermund (10:06):
Yeah, I think, um, the latter and was, uh, the joining of my hand to his story, I think what helped with that was our instructor's, like, constantly like reassurance that this is not elimination of your idea of the conversation or just your interpretation, but also keep in mind what he has said. I didn't have that much issue, but just thinking just the constant thought there, um, is something that is part of this process.
Christopher Dagenhart (10:36):
I don't think we've touched on this yet. These pieces are going to be like blown up and put on the side of the Industries of the Blind building on West gate Boulevard. So these are going to be in public and they're going to be not only portraying the stories of some of the workers that work there, but also like giving them visibility to the community because this building feels very like closed off and kind of bleak. And a lot of people don't even know what it is. So I feel like this project is like giving them visibility to the community. Like the community is getting to know who they are and what they do. I think that's a really cool aspect of this project. So I'm kind of piggybacking off the last question since this is public facing and like towards the community, I know you said it's a joining of your, of his story and your hands, but is there subjects that he may have talked about that you felt might not have been appropriate to be on like a giant wall on the side of a very busy,
Krystal Rothermund (11:33):
Um, I had trouble trying to relay different aspects of our conversation without making it solely what that banner would be representing, you know, like on the side of the building, if you saw a big piece about say, if I focused on spirituality, which is something that I to do, um, it would kind of blurred the message that is behind the project, which is about blindness and about awareness. And if you saw like just Christianity symbols and just the faith. Yeah. That's something that I didn't want to me, the main focus also. Um, I didn't want the main focus to be about his time in the military. Just things that would stray away from the, the idea of the project.
Angela Melton (12:23):
So after your trials, your sketches, your ghost prints, when you chose to move forward with the three proposals that you have for each of those, um, what points were you really going after? Was it kind of the same point in each one or did each one, did you go for a different section of something he may have said or something that you wanted to?
Christopher Dagenhart (12:50):
Okay. And could you maybe describe the initial three pieces that you submitted?
Krystal Rothermund (12:55):
So my idea behind these three pieces were about the same, just different ways of executing. The first piece that I introduced was a man standing above his reflection in a park setting, but it's upside down. The man is standing upside down. The reflection is right side up to disorient the viewer. I wanted it to be about self-reflection and inward thoughts. I wanted to use the water and the scene that he is in to be indicative of two separate worlds, which would be his past self and his present self, his sighted itself and his condition. Now what's how that affects him. Just like the idea of turning your world upside down. That's the kind of idea I had for the first piece. And then the second two are about the same of a man just being either emerged or emerging from the water and a profile portrait view. And then the reflection is obscured or, uh, absent in a way the features are absent. Um, just to question identity and perception of reality.
Allison Johnson (14:04):
Um, were there any other pieces that you created throughout the semester or was it just these three that you submitted to the Industries of the blind?
Krystal Rothermund (14:13):
These three were the main, the main pieces that I fully resolved the rest were sketches to pull from. And I had quite a few of those. So it's just a conglomerate of different ideas and sketches. These three were the main,
Christopher Dagenhart (14:28):
Right. So I also wanted to ask what your experiences, so like, do you have experience with people, do not have sight or like are visually impaired? What does this project mean to you? Did it have any personal meaning?
Krystal Rothermund (14:40):
Um, I don't have any experience with people with this condition. Um, so going into it, um, I wanted to treat it like it was something that shouldn't be picked apart or, um, as evident as it is.
Christopher Dagenhart (14:58):
So I know that you did multiple pieces and you submitted three for the final submission. Can you talk a little bit about the one that was accepted and kind of like describe the visual imagery and what it, what the story behind it and what it meant to your interviewee?
Krystal Rothermund (15:14):
So the chosen piece was a portrait view of a man and it's a profile. So he's emerging from the water, half his face is reflected on the opposite side and it is more obscured and rippled and wavy. Um, the idea that I wanted to incorporate into this piece was just another aspect of reflection, self-reflection, and inward thinking of feelings, uh, access that way. And the ripples and the waves were supposed to be sort of like a symbol for visually, like physically, what he's able to see and what it's like for him. Like being able to see in his peripheral, he described to me that sometimes he starts to forget, um, people's features and even how he looks. So that's another aspect that went into this piece and just figuratively, just the idea of past and something that can't be accessed again.
Angela Melton (16:23):
And when I look at, uh, the water and what you just described, I think the water goes so well with it. Something that's always changing and it's never really the same again, but it's not really affected by that change.
Christopher Dagenhart (16:39):
Right. And I can see like what you did with like very like high contrast with the use of all the colors. Did you find a way to work in anything about spirituality? Because I know you said that was important to him. So is there anything that we could be looking for that you may have included?
Krystal Rothermund (16:54):
Yeah. I wanted to be discreet, basically water encompassing, just all these ideas and just, you can interpret through the water, like the idea of clarity or rebirth, spiritual rebirth, that kind of thing.
Angela Melton (17:09):
Or like a baptism.
Christopher Dagenhart (17:11):
Yeah. Kind of that kind of inventory. Whenever I look at the final piece, I really see like what you're talking about. Like self-reflection.
Allison Johnson (17:18):
So out of the three pieces, did you feel that this one was the one that was going to get chosen or did you feel like a different one was better suited?
Krystal Rothermund (17:29):
I'm really happy they chose the one that they did. I was happy with the two where it's the interaction with the water physically submerging or emerging? Initially, I thought the submerging one was a good one to go with because just the disorienting view and the perspective, but I'm glad they chose the one with emerging and the more positive message and outlook behind that one.
Christopher Dagenhart (17:54):
Right. My quick question is, I know we said in the beginning, um, that multiple focuses in the School of Art are working on this project as well as people from the music department. So the sculpture department is making bronze reliefs of kind of, of your work or like inspired by your work. Do you think that that would change the meaning of your work? Or do you think that it's one big, like interpretive collaborative idea?
Krystal Rothermund (18:22):
Yeah, I think it's a, it's a good opportunity to show more, uh, about this, the idea of collaboration and just the filtering through, by ideas and interpretations of different source material, I guess. So it doesn't have to be exact replica of our, our interpretation. It's their own interpretation of our pieces,
Christopher Dagenhart (18:43):
Right? Because like arts, not just visual it's, it can be tactile and like sensory, like
Allison Johnson (18:47):
There are so many different interpretations you can take from one piece.
Christopher Dagenhart (18:51):
it's not fixed.
Angela Melton (18:53):
I know we spoke earlier about your hand in the work. Do you feel that these pieces in your body of work, can you feel that you're represented there and that they are similar or drastically different because of the experience?
Krystal Rothermund (19:12):
Um, just the subject matter of, uh, figures in my work is something I work with often, so that wasn't eliminated completely. The themes I like to work with are more conceptually tied to just, well, it is more that I think about it, more connected to my work, which is about memories and nostalgia. So I guess subconsciously I'm like incorporating these themes and the way they can relate to our conversation. So.
Angela Melton (19:43):
so do you think the experience of this project, even though, like you said, subconsciously, you are dealing with these themes, do you think anything will change in your work going forward from this experience?
Krystal Rothermund (19:58):
Um, I think just considering other people's, uh, responses to the work is something that I'll be thinking about more and just to keep up with scheduling times,
Christopher Dagenhart (20:10):
Right, because I feel like you're handling this project while you're in school full-time so I think the advice about prioritizing is very important because this project, while it is being graded, it's going out into the community. Like it's going to be seen, you know what I mean?
Allison Johnson (20:24):
It lives outside of the classroom.
Krystal Rothermund (20:26):
Exactly.
Angela Melton (20:27):
Yeah. And for us too, we're getting an aspect of that. Like you're having to work with us now, as we're doing, you know, the artist's interview
Christopher Dagenhart (20:38):
From my understanding the main point of this project. Well, at least when it was introduced to us is that the paintings are going to be like blown up in like a banner size, put on the side of the Industries of the Blind. But we've talked about sculpture, the sculpture department, um, also doing like reliefs interpreted by your paintings. So what is the communication between you and the sculpture department and do you know what's going to happen with the reliefs? Like, are they going on the wall or is there going to be some kind of exhibition?
Krystal Rothermund (21:10):
Um, we were paired with, uh, one of the sculpture people and we exchanged information. We basically introduced our pieces and the ideas behind them. So they're going to interpret our final piece and they're going to make bronze reliefs of them. They also have access to the original interview with the employee, so they can reference that when making their piece, um, as far as the display goes, I'm not sure if it's going to be displayed next to the audio box underneath the banner, or if that will be inside somewhere. But it'll, it'll be nice when it's done.
Christopher Dagenhart (21:46):
Right. I think this project is really, um, groundbreaking. Like I know that other projects like this may have happened, but this is a first for Greensboro because the Industries of the Blind is such a big building and like a big company in Greensboro that gives such big opportunities to the visually impaired that normally wouldn't be there. I think this project is really nice because it allows artists, art, historians, and like music students and composers and that kind of area to get a sense of like what working in the real world would be like, like working for nonprofits and working fundraisers and benefits. You know what I mean?
Allison Johnson (22:25):
I definitely agree that this project is so important and it's really going to have a positive impact on the community.
Angela Melton (22:31):
So was this the thing that you started right off the bat? Like as soon as the semester started, was it just this project or was it kind of something that you found out about midway through after y'all were already working on different things?
Krystal Rothermund (22:49):
She had introduced the project on the day that we talked about the syllabus and what was going to go on for the semester. And then like a couple of weeks in, we like met with them and introduced ourselves and basically paired up to do the interviews.
Angela Melton (23:05):
So this has taken the whole semester for you. This has been a full semester experience.
Krystal Rothermund (23:12):
Yeah.
Angela Melton (23:13):
That's now coming to a close, do you know when they will be exhibited on the building?
Krystal Rothermund (23:21):
Yeah, April of next year, hopefully. Yeah.
Angela Melton (23:24):
So this is a long process for everyone who participates in this going forward. And I think it would be hard to have an experience that is that long and that personal and not be affected by it.
Christopher Dagenhart (23:40):
So I just wanted to ask, um, you've talked about your professor and them being very transparent with you in the first day of class. What role does your professor take? Like did they offer some helpful advice? Did they help you overcome any struggles?
Krystal Rothermund (23:56):
Yeah, she made sure we were well equipped to handle everything, to handle the interview, to handle our conversations and make sure everything flows smoothly through the pieces. And she had very helpful advice. Just every time we had appointments to go over our sketches and ideas behind it, and she made sure we were able to contact the employees again, if we needed to, she was a very good mentor in that respect. And she made sure that we were able to present fluently and eloquently in front of the board to make sure that our pieces are well understood and taken in. Yeah.
Allison Johnson (24:36):
So I knew the faculty at UNCG and the employees at Industries of the Blind, we're really hoping to continue this project going forward and for future semesters. So would you have any advice for students who are going to be in your shoes later on?
Krystal Rothermund (24:52):
Yeah. Just to learn, to add here to the schedule, that's laid out for them and to prioritize this project over other projects that may be going on in their classes, because this is something that's going to be outside of the classroom that other people outside people are going to see, and you're going to get recognition and the public eye. So just to have that in mind when working on this project,
Christopher Dagenhart (25:17):
And I think it's kind of different, whatever you're working for, like the public, rather than doing like your own personal art or doing art work for class. I think it's very different in that the stresses are different, talking about the people who are going to see this. People are going to be listening to it. I think this is going to be a very like kind of transformative experience. And I think the Industries of the Blind and UNCG, I think this is a really good collaboration. I really do hope it continues and goes off as a success.
Krystal Rothermund (25:47):
Yeah, definitely.
Angela Melton (25:48):
And I know I am excited to see all of this because it's such a huge part of the semester for many classes and many students are participating in.
Christopher Dagenhart (26:01):
Right. And I just feel like it's, it's so different than doing work for a certain studio class or doing personal work. You know what I mean? If it sends us into public feeling like a sense of responsibility, because you want to provide the right story, you want to give a voice to these people who society has like pushed them away. You know what I mean? I just think it's, it's different. And I think it's a transformative experience and I really do hope it continues. It's like such a great collaboration. And I hope that more people that work at the Industries that the Blind get to tell their stories through art. I think that's a really interesting combination.
Angela Melton (26:38):
So to the audience in April of 2020, the six paintings will be exhibited on the West Gate City Boulevard side of the Industries of the Blind building. So everyone should go out and see that.
Christopher Dagenhart (26:54):
So I, I think that about wraps it up. We had a great conversation talking about the industries of the blind and it's collaboration with UNCG. And we've been here with Krystal Rothermund, an artist working on the project. We've got some insight, we've talked about her experiences and it's been a great time. Thank you so much.
All interviewers, together (27:12):
Thank you.
Krystal Rothermund (27:13):
Thank you for having me.
All interviewers, together (27:18):
A special thank you to Industries of the Blind, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's College of Visual and Performing arts, Krystal Rothermund, Daryl Wells, Dr. Nicole Scalissi and Professor Mariam Stephan.
Hi, my name is Allison Johnson.
Angela Melton (00:12):
And I'm Angela Melton
Christopher Dagenhart (00:13):
And I'm Christopher Dagenhart. We are art history students at UNCG. Today. We have a special guest. We are here with Krystal Rothermund.
Krystal Rothermund (00:21):
Hello.
Christopher Dagenhart (00:22):
We're excited to have you here and have a nice conversation today.
Angela Melton (00:25):
So before we get into the specifics of this collaboration, could you tell us about yourself?
Krystal Rothermund (00:32):
Yeah. Um, I'm a fourth year, a studio art major with a concentration in painting. Uh, I work with 3d sculpture and 2d paint drawing. Um, also a little bit of digital art as well.
Christopher Dagenhart (00:46):
So today we're here to talk about UNCG's College of Visual and Performing Arts and their collaboration with Industries of the Blind. Would you mind giving us a brief description of the project?
Krystal Rothermund (00:58):
So the project is about giving Industries of the Blind visibility within the Greensboro community, and to just introduce what they're about to the community, which is to give visually impaired and blind people opportunity to enhance their personal and economic independence.
AJ (01:15):
So you personally, what was your impact and your part on this project?
Krystal Rothermund (01:22):
So for Painting III, we were paired with an employee from Industries for the Blind through a drawing, and then we were to interview this employee and listen to their experiences through that conversation that we have, we have to and interpret through visual language, what that would look like.
Angela Melton (01:43):
So did you know about this project when you signed up for the course? Or how was it presented to you?
Krystal Rothermund (01:50):
When I signed up for the course, I did not know that this project was going to be a thing. Um, initially I was nervous. I was scared to have to talk to people cause like in general, I just don't like talking to people, but, um, the opportunity was exciting though. Just to think about what could come from being a part of a project like this.
Christopher Dagenhart (02:11):
Did you have apprehensions or like, were you nervous about specific things? Because I know it feels like a little like sensitive or like a sensitive subject to be talking about art and like visual language and talking about like visual impairment as well.
Krystal Rothermund (02:26):
Yeah. I try to think of it, not in a way that would be, I wasn't trying, I wasn't trying to be too sensitive and sort of treat their blindness or visual impairment as some kind of like special thing that you've got to tiptoe around. And I didn't want to have them feel like that's something that is to be ashamed about. So I try to not even make that connection or the supposedly irony behind that. Um, just to treat it like a comfortable conversation.
Christopher Dagenhart (03:00):
Right. Um, so I know that you had to interview the person that you drew out of the hat. So who is, who is this person? Can you tell us a little bit about them?
Krystal Rothermund (03:08):
Yeah. Um, my partner was Daryl Wells. He was an army, he's an army veteran and he served as a paratrooper in the 82nd airborne division. Um, he was initially sighted, but he lost his sight through, uh, boxing accident because he was a boxer for his battalion and um, yeah, he's very open and forthcoming about his experiences. Um, yeah, he's, he's, he was very friendly and welcoming to me. So...
Angela Melton (03:38):
How did you feel the interview went overall? Were you really nervous going into it? Did you feel like he was really open to and excited about the project? What were your reactions to the interview
Krystal Rothermund (03:51):
Going in? I was really nervous. I was not sure if I would be able to perform well in a way that would elicit responses that I needed for the project and also make him comfortable and want to be more open, but he was, he was perfect. He was very open with me. He understood the position I was in and that this is my first interview and, uh, it went really well and he was excited for the project. So that also helped.
AJ (04:17):
So during the interview, was there anything that your partner said that really stuck out to you and you knew that this was going to affect your final painting, how you went about that?
Krystal Rothermund (04:30):
Yeah. Um, his descriptions of just his past, like his memories of the past, when he was fully sighted, they were very, just poetic and very descript. And I could instantly imagine that scene in my head, like specifically like about the night sky and the crispness of the stars and how he misses just being able to look up and observe that kind of thing. And he was very, he was very, uh, in tune with like nature. So his, his recollection of like mountainous, like landscapes and just, just the way he described it, it stuck with me and I wanted, I wanted to make it part of my pieces in some way.
Christopher Dagenhart (05:13):
I just think that your project is a little interesting because your partner did have sight, but then lost his sight. So that's like a whole different kind of way of thinking about this project as compared to others who have been blind since birth, you know?
Krystal Rothermund (05:27):
Hmm.
AJ (05:29):
I do think that is a really interesting concept when it comes to the final pieces that will be, you know, on the street, on the Industries of the Blind's building, how different they are going to be, depending on the interviewee and the painter and how they portray that.
Angela Melton (05:48):
So when you left the interview, did you have like a set idea of something that you really wanted to do? How were you feeling and what was your next process?
Krystal Rothermund (05:59):
Um, coming out of the interview, I had a, I had a bunch of notes and I had to listen through the interview again to get to specifics, but I had different themes and aspects of our conversation that I wanted to focus on, which were, like I said, his descriptions of just a landscape. So I was like going to play with landscape and my sketches, um, or just the way he described the sky and try to translate that into images. Um, I also wanted to work with an idea of like faith and spirituality, because in our conversations he would talk about how, um, he was angry with God about this, uh, or shake his hands at the heavens or, but, um, and he believed that it was divine intervention that he lost his sight. I wanted to work with that idea somehow and also just the physical, like what he's he is able to see, um, there, his peripheral and just the concept of high contrast in the room and how he is able to make out light and dark and the higher, the contrast in the room, the better he's able to make out his space. I wanted to sort of play with space in my, um, pieces. So going back the first, um, aspect of like, um, just recording these ideas was going to the press and doing monoprints, um, because I wanted to play with the idea of ghost prints.
Christopher Dagenhart (07:35):
Could you describe ghost prints for us please?
Krystal Rothermund (07:38):
So monoprints are basically an image that you put onto a matrix and you, it's, it's relief ink that you put onto the matrix. So when you run it through the press, whatever comes off, you can't replicate. Um, so just the idea at which mono one, you know, there's one of each, every one is unique. So if you run the image to the press again, that would make it a ghost print because it's a faded version of the original image.
Christopher Dagenhart (08:06):
Also, I wanted to ask you about like your very beginning, cause I know you said you did a lot of sketches and I can only imagine how many sketches you went through. So like, what was that process like? Did you get frustrated?
Krystal Rothermund (08:17):
Um, it was pretty spaced out. So we had like scheduling, like let's try and get this amount of sketches done, uh, this, this, the end of this week. And so we had good spacing time, but when it came with, like in conjunction with other projects that are being due, um, you just have to work out that time, which was kind of stressful, but it's, it's worth, it's worth the final project.
AJ (08:43):
So thinking about your studio class, I know that any studio art class can be intimidating and the amount of work that you're doing in that class. So paired with that. Did you ever feel intimidated by having to make this final project that was reflective of your interviewee? Did you feel together that that was intimidating? How did you feel about the process of coming up with something that you felt was worthy?
Krystal Rothermund (09:13):
Yeah, those are like a main concern. When doing just a collaboration piece in general, I always have in mind, like, is this going to do him justice? Like, is this, is this indicative of the conversations we had? And am I highlighting the things that I want, that he wants to be highlighted? And just thinking about what he would want out of the piece was a main concern for me.
Angela Melton (09:38):
I've heard a lot of public artists say that they feel like their original design is so different from the end product. And they feel like because there were all these stipulations about what the client wanted, their hand was kind of removed and it wasn't something that they felt like they had personally made. Did you feel that way at all? Or did you feel like this was kind of a joining of your hand, meaning his story?
Krystal Rothermund (10:06):
Yeah, I think, um, the latter and was, uh, the joining of my hand to his story, I think what helped with that was our instructor's, like, constantly like reassurance that this is not elimination of your idea of the conversation or just your interpretation, but also keep in mind what he has said. I didn't have that much issue, but just thinking just the constant thought there, um, is something that is part of this process.
Christopher Dagenhart (10:36):
I don't think we've touched on this yet. These pieces are going to be like blown up and put on the side of the Industries of the Blind building on West gate Boulevard. So these are going to be in public and they're going to be not only portraying the stories of some of the workers that work there, but also like giving them visibility to the community because this building feels very like closed off and kind of bleak. And a lot of people don't even know what it is. So I feel like this project is like giving them visibility to the community. Like the community is getting to know who they are and what they do. I think that's a really cool aspect of this project. So I'm kind of piggybacking off the last question since this is public facing and like towards the community, I know you said it's a joining of your, of his story and your hands, but is there subjects that he may have talked about that you felt might not have been appropriate to be on like a giant wall on the side of a very busy,
Krystal Rothermund (11:33):
Um, I had trouble trying to relay different aspects of our conversation without making it solely what that banner would be representing, you know, like on the side of the building, if you saw a big piece about say, if I focused on spirituality, which is something that I to do, um, it would kind of blurred the message that is behind the project, which is about blindness and about awareness. And if you saw like just Christianity symbols and just the faith. Yeah. That's something that I didn't want to me, the main focus also. Um, I didn't want the main focus to be about his time in the military. Just things that would stray away from the, the idea of the project.
Angela Melton (12:23):
So after your trials, your sketches, your ghost prints, when you chose to move forward with the three proposals that you have for each of those, um, what points were you really going after? Was it kind of the same point in each one or did each one, did you go for a different section of something he may have said or something that you wanted to?
Christopher Dagenhart (12:50):
Okay. And could you maybe describe the initial three pieces that you submitted?
Krystal Rothermund (12:55):
So my idea behind these three pieces were about the same, just different ways of executing. The first piece that I introduced was a man standing above his reflection in a park setting, but it's upside down. The man is standing upside down. The reflection is right side up to disorient the viewer. I wanted it to be about self-reflection and inward thoughts. I wanted to use the water and the scene that he is in to be indicative of two separate worlds, which would be his past self and his present self, his sighted itself and his condition. Now what's how that affects him. Just like the idea of turning your world upside down. That's the kind of idea I had for the first piece. And then the second two are about the same of a man just being either emerged or emerging from the water and a profile portrait view. And then the reflection is obscured or, uh, absent in a way the features are absent. Um, just to question identity and perception of reality.
Allison Johnson (14:04):
Um, were there any other pieces that you created throughout the semester or was it just these three that you submitted to the Industries of the blind?
Krystal Rothermund (14:13):
These three were the main, the main pieces that I fully resolved the rest were sketches to pull from. And I had quite a few of those. So it's just a conglomerate of different ideas and sketches. These three were the main,
Christopher Dagenhart (14:28):
Right. So I also wanted to ask what your experiences, so like, do you have experience with people, do not have sight or like are visually impaired? What does this project mean to you? Did it have any personal meaning?
Krystal Rothermund (14:40):
Um, I don't have any experience with people with this condition. Um, so going into it, um, I wanted to treat it like it was something that shouldn't be picked apart or, um, as evident as it is.
Christopher Dagenhart (14:58):
So I know that you did multiple pieces and you submitted three for the final submission. Can you talk a little bit about the one that was accepted and kind of like describe the visual imagery and what it, what the story behind it and what it meant to your interviewee?
Krystal Rothermund (15:14):
So the chosen piece was a portrait view of a man and it's a profile. So he's emerging from the water, half his face is reflected on the opposite side and it is more obscured and rippled and wavy. Um, the idea that I wanted to incorporate into this piece was just another aspect of reflection, self-reflection, and inward thinking of feelings, uh, access that way. And the ripples and the waves were supposed to be sort of like a symbol for visually, like physically, what he's able to see and what it's like for him. Like being able to see in his peripheral, he described to me that sometimes he starts to forget, um, people's features and even how he looks. So that's another aspect that went into this piece and just figuratively, just the idea of past and something that can't be accessed again.
Angela Melton (16:23):
And when I look at, uh, the water and what you just described, I think the water goes so well with it. Something that's always changing and it's never really the same again, but it's not really affected by that change.
Christopher Dagenhart (16:39):
Right. And I can see like what you did with like very like high contrast with the use of all the colors. Did you find a way to work in anything about spirituality? Because I know you said that was important to him. So is there anything that we could be looking for that you may have included?
Krystal Rothermund (16:54):
Yeah. I wanted to be discreet, basically water encompassing, just all these ideas and just, you can interpret through the water, like the idea of clarity or rebirth, spiritual rebirth, that kind of thing.
Angela Melton (17:09):
Or like a baptism.
Christopher Dagenhart (17:11):
Yeah. Kind of that kind of inventory. Whenever I look at the final piece, I really see like what you're talking about. Like self-reflection.
Allison Johnson (17:18):
So out of the three pieces, did you feel that this one was the one that was going to get chosen or did you feel like a different one was better suited?
Krystal Rothermund (17:29):
I'm really happy they chose the one that they did. I was happy with the two where it's the interaction with the water physically submerging or emerging? Initially, I thought the submerging one was a good one to go with because just the disorienting view and the perspective, but I'm glad they chose the one with emerging and the more positive message and outlook behind that one.
Christopher Dagenhart (17:54):
Right. My quick question is, I know we said in the beginning, um, that multiple focuses in the School of Art are working on this project as well as people from the music department. So the sculpture department is making bronze reliefs of kind of, of your work or like inspired by your work. Do you think that that would change the meaning of your work? Or do you think that it's one big, like interpretive collaborative idea?
Krystal Rothermund (18:22):
Yeah, I think it's a, it's a good opportunity to show more, uh, about this, the idea of collaboration and just the filtering through, by ideas and interpretations of different source material, I guess. So it doesn't have to be exact replica of our, our interpretation. It's their own interpretation of our pieces,
Christopher Dagenhart (18:43):
Right? Because like arts, not just visual it's, it can be tactile and like sensory, like
Allison Johnson (18:47):
There are so many different interpretations you can take from one piece.
Christopher Dagenhart (18:51):
it's not fixed.
Angela Melton (18:53):
I know we spoke earlier about your hand in the work. Do you feel that these pieces in your body of work, can you feel that you're represented there and that they are similar or drastically different because of the experience?
Krystal Rothermund (19:12):
Um, just the subject matter of, uh, figures in my work is something I work with often, so that wasn't eliminated completely. The themes I like to work with are more conceptually tied to just, well, it is more that I think about it, more connected to my work, which is about memories and nostalgia. So I guess subconsciously I'm like incorporating these themes and the way they can relate to our conversation. So.
Angela Melton (19:43):
so do you think the experience of this project, even though, like you said, subconsciously, you are dealing with these themes, do you think anything will change in your work going forward from this experience?
Krystal Rothermund (19:58):
Um, I think just considering other people's, uh, responses to the work is something that I'll be thinking about more and just to keep up with scheduling times,
Christopher Dagenhart (20:10):
Right, because I feel like you're handling this project while you're in school full-time so I think the advice about prioritizing is very important because this project, while it is being graded, it's going out into the community. Like it's going to be seen, you know what I mean?
Allison Johnson (20:24):
It lives outside of the classroom.
Krystal Rothermund (20:26):
Exactly.
Angela Melton (20:27):
Yeah. And for us too, we're getting an aspect of that. Like you're having to work with us now, as we're doing, you know, the artist's interview
Christopher Dagenhart (20:38):
From my understanding the main point of this project. Well, at least when it was introduced to us is that the paintings are going to be like blown up in like a banner size, put on the side of the Industries of the Blind. But we've talked about sculpture, the sculpture department, um, also doing like reliefs interpreted by your paintings. So what is the communication between you and the sculpture department and do you know what's going to happen with the reliefs? Like, are they going on the wall or is there going to be some kind of exhibition?
Krystal Rothermund (21:10):
Um, we were paired with, uh, one of the sculpture people and we exchanged information. We basically introduced our pieces and the ideas behind them. So they're going to interpret our final piece and they're going to make bronze reliefs of them. They also have access to the original interview with the employee, so they can reference that when making their piece, um, as far as the display goes, I'm not sure if it's going to be displayed next to the audio box underneath the banner, or if that will be inside somewhere. But it'll, it'll be nice when it's done.
Christopher Dagenhart (21:46):
Right. I think this project is really, um, groundbreaking. Like I know that other projects like this may have happened, but this is a first for Greensboro because the Industries of the Blind is such a big building and like a big company in Greensboro that gives such big opportunities to the visually impaired that normally wouldn't be there. I think this project is really nice because it allows artists, art, historians, and like music students and composers and that kind of area to get a sense of like what working in the real world would be like, like working for nonprofits and working fundraisers and benefits. You know what I mean?
Allison Johnson (22:25):
I definitely agree that this project is so important and it's really going to have a positive impact on the community.
Angela Melton (22:31):
So was this the thing that you started right off the bat? Like as soon as the semester started, was it just this project or was it kind of something that you found out about midway through after y'all were already working on different things?
Krystal Rothermund (22:49):
She had introduced the project on the day that we talked about the syllabus and what was going to go on for the semester. And then like a couple of weeks in, we like met with them and introduced ourselves and basically paired up to do the interviews.
Angela Melton (23:05):
So this has taken the whole semester for you. This has been a full semester experience.
Krystal Rothermund (23:12):
Yeah.
Angela Melton (23:13):
That's now coming to a close, do you know when they will be exhibited on the building?
Krystal Rothermund (23:21):
Yeah, April of next year, hopefully. Yeah.
Angela Melton (23:24):
So this is a long process for everyone who participates in this going forward. And I think it would be hard to have an experience that is that long and that personal and not be affected by it.
Christopher Dagenhart (23:40):
So I just wanted to ask, um, you've talked about your professor and them being very transparent with you in the first day of class. What role does your professor take? Like did they offer some helpful advice? Did they help you overcome any struggles?
Krystal Rothermund (23:56):
Yeah, she made sure we were well equipped to handle everything, to handle the interview, to handle our conversations and make sure everything flows smoothly through the pieces. And she had very helpful advice. Just every time we had appointments to go over our sketches and ideas behind it, and she made sure we were able to contact the employees again, if we needed to, she was a very good mentor in that respect. And she made sure that we were able to present fluently and eloquently in front of the board to make sure that our pieces are well understood and taken in. Yeah.
Allison Johnson (24:36):
So I knew the faculty at UNCG and the employees at Industries of the Blind, we're really hoping to continue this project going forward and for future semesters. So would you have any advice for students who are going to be in your shoes later on?
Krystal Rothermund (24:52):
Yeah. Just to learn, to add here to the schedule, that's laid out for them and to prioritize this project over other projects that may be going on in their classes, because this is something that's going to be outside of the classroom that other people outside people are going to see, and you're going to get recognition and the public eye. So just to have that in mind when working on this project,
Christopher Dagenhart (25:17):
And I think it's kind of different, whatever you're working for, like the public, rather than doing like your own personal art or doing art work for class. I think it's very different in that the stresses are different, talking about the people who are going to see this. People are going to be listening to it. I think this is going to be a very like kind of transformative experience. And I think the Industries of the Blind and UNCG, I think this is a really good collaboration. I really do hope it continues and goes off as a success.
Krystal Rothermund (25:47):
Yeah, definitely.
Angela Melton (25:48):
And I know I am excited to see all of this because it's such a huge part of the semester for many classes and many students are participating in.
Christopher Dagenhart (26:01):
Right. And I just feel like it's, it's so different than doing work for a certain studio class or doing personal work. You know what I mean? If it sends us into public feeling like a sense of responsibility, because you want to provide the right story, you want to give a voice to these people who society has like pushed them away. You know what I mean? I just think it's, it's different. And I think it's a transformative experience and I really do hope it continues. It's like such a great collaboration. And I hope that more people that work at the Industries that the Blind get to tell their stories through art. I think that's a really interesting combination.
Angela Melton (26:38):
So to the audience in April of 2020, the six paintings will be exhibited on the West Gate City Boulevard side of the Industries of the Blind building. So everyone should go out and see that.
Christopher Dagenhart (26:54):
So I, I think that about wraps it up. We had a great conversation talking about the industries of the blind and it's collaboration with UNCG. And we've been here with Krystal Rothermund, an artist working on the project. We've got some insight, we've talked about her experiences and it's been a great time. Thank you so much.
All interviewers, together (27:12):
Thank you.
Krystal Rothermund (27:13):
Thank you for having me.
All interviewers, together (27:18):
A special thank you to Industries of the Blind, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's College of Visual and Performing arts, Krystal Rothermund, Daryl Wells, Dr. Nicole Scalissi and Professor Mariam Stephan.
Original Format
recorded group interview
Duration
0:27:51
Collection
Citation
Dagenhart, Christopher, Johnson, Allison, and Melton, Angela, “Group interview with Krystal Rothermund,” accessed April 19, 2024, https://uncglibraries.com/publicart/items/show/51.