From Sonic Youth co-founder and feminist icon, to visual artist, Kim Gordon is a creative voice that shows no signs of staying quiet. Listen up!

Davina Semo&nbsp;I was reading the press release for your upcoming show and began wondering about this idea of presenting oneself as an artist. Is this something you&#39;ve identified with over time, given that you&rsquo;re also a well-known musician?

Kim Gordon&nbsp;I kind of try to really not think about having a public persona so much. I don&#39;t think people walk around thinking that way. I don&#39;t know. My persona, it&#39;s not a big public persona, but it&#39;s kind of hard to escape nonetheless.

So, I guess, the best thing is just to kind of play with it. There&rsquo;s also a fine line between wanting to do work that doesn&#39;t just function on that level of celebrity a la Warhol, because, although he was a big influence I think that&#39;s sort of a trap.

&nbsp;

DS&nbsp;How would you describe your studio practice?

KG&nbsp;I&#39;m an erratic worker. I am always trying to make more of a schedule, but it&#39;s hard unless I have a show or a deadline. I need that to guide me in what I&#39;m gonna make. And then sometimes I&#39;ll work on music stuff.

Courtesy Charles Peterson

An installation view of Design Office, The City Is a Garden; 2015

DS&nbsp;I was listening to your single, &ldquo;Murdered Out&rdquo; and began reflecting upon how it&#39;s very visual in its language&mdash;in terms of the lyrics themselves and how the sounds wash over the listener. And then I started thinking about your text paintings, such as Pussy Galore. It&#39;s hard to avoid feeling an emotional or psychological overlap between the pain or power that your voice carries in the song, and then the visual associations with a work like Pussy Galore. Do you consciously think about translating the vibe of your songs like &ldquo;Murdered out&rdquo; into your paintings?

KG&nbsp;I don&#39;t usually, consciously think about it in that way. But, when I wrote that song I was actually using blacks in my pieces, doing stuff on mirrors with black spray paint and some of the lyrics came out of that process.

Kim Gordon, #ResistResist, 2017, acrylic on canvas, courtesy the artist and 303 Gallery

Kim Gordon, The Pitch, 2018, variable dimensions, courtesy Reena Spaulings Fine Art, L.A.; installation view, “Design Office: The City Is A Garden,” 2015, courtesy 303 Gallery

From left: Kim Grodon, Pussy Galore, 2017, acrylic on canvas, courtesy 303 Gallery; installation view, “Design Office: The City Is A Garden,” 2015, courtesy 303 Gallery

Kim Gordon on Finding Her Voice as an Artist

L'OFFICIEL USA December 2024 - Julianne Moore Cover

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Kim Gordon on Finding Her Voice as an Artist

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