Note from the Art Editor: I grew up as an expat kid in Senegal and Indonesia, but I was born in the Philippines and still carry a Philippine passport. We spent summers in Bacolod City (my mom’s hometown), but I always felt excluded from my Filipina roots, I often felt like an imposter. This was complicated because I was multinational-my father was from Afghanistan. Over the last year, much of my artistic exploration has been centered on the diasporic experience. What does participation in a “home culture” mean? Am I Filipino enough? What does finding your roots mean when there is a clear divide in monetary privilege between my life in the US and my family on the archipelago? In this issue we are featuring two artists who are first generation Americans with Filipino parents. What it means to be a diasporic individual is different for every person and every art practice.
–Nasreen Khan, Art Editor
April Knauber
Artist bio:
Indianapolis based artist (b. Cincinnati, OH), April Knauber, depicts her experiences as a Filipino-American with her use of materials such as readymades, video art, and other mixed media. Knauber received her BFA in sculpture with a minor in art history at Herron School of Art + Design. Recent exhibitions include: Satellite Art Fair (Miami, FL), ROY G BIV Gallery (Columbus, OH), Vinegar Projects Gallery (Birmingham, AL), Lightwell Gallery (Norman, OK), 924 Gallery, Berkshire, Reese, and Paul Galleries, Tube Factory, Sugar Space Gallery, Harrison Center for the Arts, Storage Space Gallery, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum among others. Knauber was awarded the Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship through the Indy Arts Council in 2022, and both the Power Plant Grant funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the CICF Artist Ambassadors Travel Grant Program in 2023. Knauber currently has a show at Garfield Parks Arts Center in Indianapolis, IN and an upcoming show at Lightwell Gallery in Norman, OK.
Website/social handles:
http://www.aprilknauber.com, IG: @aprilknauber
Tell me a little bit about your artistic practice. What mediums do you create in? How did you start? Who were your teachers/influences?
My art practice is heavily political and research based, so I spend a lot of time thinking, writing, and being angry. The image of everyday objects is the foundation of my art practice because of the familiarity that comes with them. My work, while conceptual heavy, has undertones of humor which is purposeful in the sense that it makes the viewer more curious about the piece. The use of readymades, concrete, assembling and disassembling objects into artwork is also inspired by my Filipino-American heritage of “using what you have”. Concrete, which is widely used in my practice, is not just for the accessibility and relatability to the working class, but the physical and conceptual heaviness it adds to a piece. Using these materials allows me to experiment in ways that classical medium doesn’t, finding beauty and meaning in the objects around us.
A lot of my view on life and work ethic are credited to my parents. My dad worked third shift in a factory and my mom works in kitchens. I wouldn’t have the opportunities I have today without the weight my parents carried. I feel this is common with those of us who didn’t grow up with economic privileges, you understand the world more and are resilient because you were forced to.
BLOW ME, 2017-Present, readymade, gum, gum wrappers
Ang (r)ebolusyon, 2019, bronze, cinderblocks
What made you want to learn your craft?
I remember going to the Cincinnati Art Museum during my childhood and being in awe of the museum. I’ve never been in a place so nice, and I knew right away that I wanted to be in the arts. When I was deciding what focus to go into when I reached university, choosing sculpture came naturally as well. I wanted to learn a medium that I knew would push me and one that I didn’t know much about. As soon as I stepped into a wood shop, it felt like home.
This month we are featuring artists with Filipino roots. Can you tell us a little bit about your own relationship to your Filipina identity as someone part of the diaspora?
I’m very lucky to have my mother, someone who has been a consistent positive force. She instilled a lot of pride in our identity and culture, and never shied away from the matriarchal system within my family. The history of our people is so complex and violent. A close-to-utopia that was then colonized by Europeans (333 years), sold to the Americans (Philippine-American War), taken from the Japanese (WWII), even though we have been here for thousands of years. With that, I never shy away from my love for our culture and our people because that would mean they have won. If I were to come back, I would choose to be who I am over and over again.
In what ways do your art and cultural identity intersect and inform one another?
I am in a long term affair of learning more about myself, my people, and my culture. My identity and art are one in the same and cannot be separated.
Kalayaan, 2022 Video Art
LOLO, 2023, readymade, oil paint
What do you most want people to understand about your art?
From what I’ve gathered over my years of being an artist, is that people are either aversed or fond of my art. What I want most is for people to take 10-15 minutes with my pieces. That is far more interesting to me than understanding it.
What are your artistic goals ? this can be anything–new and challenging designs? Greater reach and sales. Anything
I have a growing interest in film that I would like to explore within the next decade.
BAGGAGE, 2022, concrete, suitcase hardware, foam, chicken wire, rivets
MOTHERTONGUE, 2023, video art
Ang (r)ebolusyon, 2019, bronze, cinderblocks
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