Women in Culture - Interview: Clara Coulambon - French artist
For our new theme ‘Women in Culture’ we have chosen to highlight female talents throughout the month. Today we introduce you Clara Coulambon, a young French artist, Paris-based, who accepted to answer our questions.
Can you introduce yourself? When did you begin to draw?
Clara: For all I remember I always liked drawing, most of time at school! I quickly began to be interested in artistic studies, which I have done in Lyon. First of all, I wanted to work in the BD universe but finally I think drawings are more exciting. I like spending time on an illustration, it can tell so many things and it gives access to the place of people’s fantasy and subjectivity. I found it funny the way that people interpret the same drawing in different ways! I dive into drawings like into a story. I really think it is a way for me to escape.
Can you speak about your favorite topics? Why have you chosen to draw women and to use ethnic patterns?
Clara: Actually I don’t really know why I try to represent women… Maybe because I am one? In fact, I find women beautiful, so it is a great source of inspiration. I like sharing a feeling through body gesture or a look. I also focus on hands, it is a straight way to represent expressions.
I often use ethnic patterns or some specific directive lines in my drawings, it structures the image well and I really like spending hours filling out a paper with it. Tattoo universe inspires me and geometric drawings are limitless for me, I can let my imagination be expressed..
Where do you find your inspiration?
Clara: I really like Sergio Toppi we clearly see it in my black and white drawings. And I simply like looking around me, checking art books to find inspiration. I also look at other artist's work, but not one in particular as I think it is interesting to open your mind to different horizons. Fashion industry inspires me also!
You have a very varied style, can you introduce us to your different techniques?
Clara: I am quite hyperactive, so I like testing different kinds of styles and working on different things. It allows me to quickly adapt and improve all the time. I work according to my mood and to my work conditions: painting for home, black and white drawings for everywhere, I can quickly draw things on my scrapbook. The “humans-with-animal-heads” are very trendy, and I find it absurde so I am glad to roll with it and to do it with humour. I also like using pencil and playing with form, using different colors and sizes to make my drawings.
Which one of your creation do you prefer?
Clara: I think it really depends on your investment and also on the moment… It is crazy how you can love one of your creations and some time later being fed up with it. But now I can say that it is ‘La fille a la cigarette’. I recognize myself in her - I know it is quite self-centred - but I have to admit that when we are touched by something we are attached to it more deeply.
What do you think about ‘Women in Culture’?
Clara: Women are wonderful! Men are lucky… Or not, I’m joking.
Women have a large role in culture but actually it is more as muse than as artist. In some industry, like the fashion industry, women are exploited. I think women can change things at their core. Before women had a very defined role in society, and they could not cross the line. It is not the case anymore but this idea remains in people’s subconscious. I know a lot of women with great talent, we just have to pay attention to their work. That is why I think it is always more difficult for women than for men. But I am really against the positive discrimination concept, I think choosing women to fill out quotas is really hypocritical. Yes, it is difficult to express yourself in a man's world!
As an artist, which difficulties are you facing?
Clara: Currently it is to live just due to my Art. It is so complicated when you are not someone’s daughter and when you have to live by yourself. Sometimes I hope it would be easier . I hope I will stop the odd jobs to live due to Art. Another problem is time. I have not got enough time - I want to create the things I want.
What about the future?
Clara: I would like to work with my sister in the cinema industry, more specifically in movie set. I also hope I can have a studio to do exhibitions of my own work.
Check out Clara’s website: http://claracoulambon.weebly.com/