AMANDA ROWAN: @AMANDAROWANIMAGERY

Where are you answering these questions from AMANDA?

Los Angeles/ Hawaii 
 

AND, Quick one, what 3 words would you use to describe your artwork?

Vivid, Hummer, Sensuality  
 

Tell me about the early years of your professional life and how you began to build your career as an artist.

 
My mother tells me then when I was very young, maybe 4 or 5 I would arrange objects and flowers in my house and make scenes with my dolls. I called them “Set-Ups” and would insist that they not be moved. But what I remember the most was playing dress-up! 
 

Who or what are your biggest influences, and how do you find them? How do these come out in your work?

The work of Man Ray, Jo Ann Callis, Maurizio Cattelan, Alma-Tadema, Cecil Beaton, and Julia Margaret Cameron are some of the artists I am inspired by. I found them in museums and newsstands and art books. They are all very different but amazing at lighting. They also all explore the intersection of fantasy and reality. Their work has all given me the bravery to be more whimsical in my work. 
 

What do you want your work to say? What are the main themes and motifs running through your work? Is there a narrative that runs throughout?

I am often thinking about themes of women's sexuality, and domestic labor. I am inspired by Dutch painting and vintage pinup photography, particularly of burlesque performers from the 1930s and food photography from the 1950s. I want to create images that are lush and visually aesthetic, but as you look closer, you see parts of a story and find unanswered questions. I like moments that are theatrical and timeless. Much of my work is self portraiture and I think this is an act of feminism. I am interested in my body as a symbol but I am also in control of objectifying it.

What is your studio like? 

My Project "Ritual" was shot entirely in the studio with elaborate lighting setups. It was dark and filled with tons of fresh flowers so it smelled amazing. I have had the pleasure of working with @floresebosquez on many of the elaborate arrangements for that project. The studio is also a place where I am building elements of the sets and I have several large tables dedicated to props. But since covid I have been shooting in my small kitchen and outside.