Medium/Art Form: Visual
When and how did you start making art?
I began making art just as soon as I could hold a pencil. At age eight, I received my first camera and never looked back, later graduating with a degree in art from St. Norbert College in 2015. I have a real passion for experimenting in mixed media, so toying around with different techniques and combinations (essentially, through curiosity and a hefty dose of trial-and-error) is how my interest developed and it’s what continues to fuel my growth as an artist.
What inspires your work?
I’m most inspired by animals, both wild and domesticated. Photography has an incredible ability to communicate universal concepts without words — at essence, a direct line by which to access certain components of the human condition, part of which entails our connections to the natural world as well as our own fundamental natures as animals. But somehow photography manages to do all of that even when focusing only on one individual, or group of individuals, who may otherwise have been overlooked. Human life is hectic; we pass one another by every day, often without seeing. Likewise, we may pass by our pets in the same way, or by a wild deer, eagle or beaver, etc. My own personal philosophy is that no one should be part of your “background noise;” everyone and everything is equally important because of
those universal, connective components shared between all participants in human and animal life (e.g., group dynamics, kinship ties, dominance hierarchies, tribalistic leanings, cooperative efforts and empathy), be they positive or negative. I like to heighten that idea sometimes, too, by incorporating surrealistic elements on top of my photographic prints, borrowing from a tradition set by artists like Salvador Dalí and Leonora Carrington, both of whom I believe used symbolic animals, or animal-like creatures, to great effect in their works. In summary, I feel there’s a lot that can be expressed about humanity and human psychology through our relationships with, and similarities to, other animals.
How would you describe Green Bay/NE Wisconsin’s arts community?
Northeast Wisconsin’s art community, at least in my experience, has been nothing but supportive. Everyone, regardless of age or life experience, and no matter the level of formal training they’ve received, seems very welcome here. This is not an “elitist” community, as others around the country are often stereotyped as being, but an egalitarian one. It exists to embrace creativity, and no art medium is treated as “higher” or “lower” than any other.
What is the best advice you have for other artists?
I’m not much one for giving advice, but I can tell you the best advice I’ve ever received: create what you yourself would like to see created. While, yes, there can be a more practical, business-oriented side to an artistic career, you should always foster your creative freedom by guarding certain projects for yourself and no one else. Try and see what’s possible, rather than worrying about what’s already been proven possible. More likely than not (and today now more than ever), even the most seemingly niche of projects will one day find its audience. So get creating, and worry about the more practical side of things later.
Where can people find your work?
https://danielledejardin.wixsite.com/danielledejardin