FSU Painting and Drawing Area Head and Professor Carrie Ann Baade recently interviewed Andy Marlowe, an FSU Art alum and multidisciplinary artist. Their conversation is documented below.
What have you been doing since graduation?
Immediately after graduating I started the Apprentice Training Program at the Fabric Workshop Museum in Philadelphia. My mentor, Prof. Jiha Moon, told me about this opportunity and encouraged me to apply. For me, it was the perfect program to transition from student to working artist. In addition to learning from the master printers at FWM and creating my own work, I learned how to navigate a big city and the professional art world for the first time in my life.
Shortly after completing the apprenticeship program, I left Philadelphia for New York City, where I now live and work. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out my next move artistically and professionally. I took a lot of odd jobs, sometimes in the art world sometimes not. It took me a few months to rebuild momentum and for a long time I was rejected from almost everything I applied to. I figured out a way to get a studio and asked my friend if I could do a show in his experimental art space. Things have started to come together which is really exciting. Right now, I work at a bookstore in Manhattan and spend most of my time off at my studio in Queens. I’ve started to participate in group shows in the city and just wrapped up my DIY show. Next month, I’ll be going to a residency at ChaNorth in upstate New York.
As I’ve been forging my path in the art, I’ve also gotten some amazing work supporting other creatives. In my senior year at FSU, I worked for author Jeff VanderMeer as a research assistant and ended up contributing translations and artwork to his novel Absolution. Now, I’m working with VanderMeer again for some upcoming books. Stay tuned!
What are your plans for the future?
I plan to continue developing my career for the next year or two. I’ll be doing some more DIY stuff soon and some group shows. My goal right now is to find a gallery that I want to work with. I also have some writing projects that I’m eager to develop in the coming months.
After that, I’d like to get my master’s degree in Medieval English. I also have my eye on a few MFA programs.
Was there anything in your classes or working with a professor that helped you prepare you for this experience?
I had so many great professors at FSU. Dr. Diane Roberts from the English department and Prof. Jiha Moon were my two main mentors. I love them both dearly and am so glad to have worked with them. Dr. Roberts recommended me to Jeff VanderMeer for the research position and gave me amazing guidance for my English thesis. I interned for Prof. Moon and she is one of the most genuine and supportive people I’ve gotten to work with. Prof. Tenee’ Hart is one of my biggest inspirations and a huge guiding force in my life, Profs. Kevin Curry and Katie Kehoe both pushed me in directions I never considered before and helped me make some of my favorite work, Prof. Rob Duarte changed the way I think about art and design, Prof. Lilian Garcia-Roig was and continues to be an amazing mentor, Prof. April Webb was always there to problem solve, and Prof. Carrie Ann Baade has been such a cheerleader for the BFAs. I think FSU’s art program has an exceptional faculty and I feel really lucky to have learned from so many stellar artists and educators.
Do you have any advice for students in our art program?
Take advantage of all the resources you can get your hands on, apply to the art awards, apply for an IDEA Grant, apply for open calls outside of school, check the COCA classifieds, take classes outside the Art Department, take classes during the summer semester, document all your work, join a club, forget to attend the club because you have too many commitments already, do a Phyllis Straus show, do a Working Method show, do a show in your friend’s house, do a thesis, go to artist talks, share your work online, support your friends, go to openings, go out to dinner after openings, do your schoolwork, save as much money as you can.
