Nurtured Nature

Dani Papa

Interview by L. Valena
September 24, 2023

Can you please start by describing the prompt that you responded to?

It was a stop-motion video that showed 'nurture' kind of digging its way down into the Earth and then fumbling over itself, developing into 'nature.' Then it popped out a little sprout. It was a very beautiful video.

What were your first kind of thoughts and feelings about that?

At first, I was trying to take in aspects of what I guessed the previous artist had intended. How nature is nurtured through time, development and growth. I took it quite literally, and actually went and searched up the definitions for ‘nurture’ and ‘nature,’ just to get a very clear understanding of the terms - a different perspective of how it's perceived. From there, I started to superimpose my own studio practices into the concept. I have a home-studio, but I'm also really big into my nomadic studio lifestyle. So, I have a backpack and another tote bag with me at all times that’s just full of art supplies for whenever inspiration strikes.

What I took from the prompt was nurturing the nature of oneself. I started to think about nurturing my studio practices or nurturing the process, until it instinctively became something true and organic. From there, I sought out one of my many reference photos of models I have taken. I'm a graduate student at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in my last year for my MFA thesis candidacy. With my thesis, I'm reimagining the essence of nudity through Greek mythology while also exploring identity. In Western culture, a nude body is so daunting in today’s society, so I reimagine Greek myths into these urban, street altarpieces that command attention. They showcase nude bodies, but are shrouded in aesthetics, so that people who didn't want to look at nude art… will be drawn to look at nude art.

For this piece, I drew the figure first in graphite, then applied washes of India inks. After that, I did a little bit of automatic writing in the background. I do this textile-pattern that produces itself from just writing automatically. With this excerpt, I wrote an automatic poem about nature, growth and development. I wrote it all in one direction and then after I reached the paper’s final boundary, I turned the orientation of the paper and kept writing the poem over and over again, repeatedly turning the orientation of the paper. You really can't read any of it and that's purposeful because it's very open and vulnerable. But it becomes this dynamic textile design that I like to do in some of my work.

After that written element, I played around with calligraphy, posca markers and did some doodling. I splattered and poured ink onto the paper and played around with having them directionally drip, and then just went in and started free-handing some expressive flowers to symbolize that nature/growth dynamic.

I love the layers of media that you have built in this piece, is that something that you tend to explore in your other work?

Yeah, I'm definitely a mixed media artist. I'm also a sketchbook artist. Within my nomadic studio practices, I take a sketchbook with me and it's kind of like a little mini portfolio where I can just keep taking inspiration and chronicling it in one vessel. I was at the beach yesterday, drawing for two hours until sunset - this is a common activity.

I draw anywhere and everywhere, but it's cool because I'll stop and then pick up at a different location and continue that same page with a different sense of inspiration. So the pages become these multifaceted little artworks in themselves. I call myself “The Eradicator,” because I create an amazing space in my sketchbook, then I eradicate it and create more on top of it, and then repeat again and again… and it's just a complex layering process over and over.

And how about automatic writing? Does that tend to be part of your practice?

Yeah. Well, more so automatic drawing. I use automatic writing as a kind of textile pattern-work design. You’ll often see sketchbook pages filled with incoherent scribbles of these automatic writing rants. I never remember what they were about, just the impassioned moment of the creative release. I'm also a live painting performer, and I get hired for different events; galas, weddings and whatnot. During these performances, I personify the environment and its instinctual essence. I show up to a gig with a blank canvas, and then after about two or three hours, it's a colorful array of different marks that is really dynamic. It's pretty synesthetic.

How does this idea of nature and nurture show up in your own life and/or practice?

I can actually relate nature and nurture with my thesis that I'm currently working on - my Greek Myths series. I have such an array of studio practices that involve preplanning and practice, but I allow a lot of instinct to just take over, where I enter this trance-like state while realizing a visual idea, epiphany, or urge. I sometimes stay in this state for a while. Even in the mechanics of drawing and painting itself, a lot of things are just decided in the moment and I kind of love that improvisational process. There's a lot of trial and error that goes into my work, especially with my thesis portfolio, but I really am appreciating just working with a lot of natural growth from one piece to the next. There's a cohesion between the entire Greek Myths series but they all stand alone and shine by themselves - like individual sprouts.

I love drawing the human figure and shrouding different aesthetics into the work; to bring a different understanding to the human body. And then doing these personalized interpretations of Greek mythology tales is pretty serendipitous because they usually relate to how I'm feeling or what I’m experiencing in that current moment. I really appreciate concepts that are fully in-depth - that it can mean something totally personal to you, but it can be totally personal to me too. There's a universality behind the whole concept and I love that interplay.

That's awesome. Do you see this piece that you made as directly relating to any particular Greek myths?

Currently I'm exploring the myth of Medusa, exhibiting her as someone who was gifted with abilities or powers to defend herself from future violence or assault. So, I'm making this homage to Medusa, where I depict her mid-transformation into a divine being of virtue with foreshadowed elements. This “Nurtured Nature” piece that I've created correlates with the research that I've been doing about Medusa and her origins. She is often described as a beautiful young Priestess of Athena's temple with luscious long hair prior to her rape and inevitable monstrous transformation - so I think this piece I created was a nice practice before I started on my Medusa project. I was so inspired by this work that I created two additional portraits that I’ve titled, “Nurtured Nature II & III.” I used the same model but different reference photos to naturally convey the next stages of growth - still shrouded in aesthetics. This auxiliary series now serves as part of my Medusa narrative, symbolizing her allure prior to her transformation.

Do you have any advice for another artist approaching this project for the first time?

Approach it objectively and without bias. First seek to understand what the artist's intention was, and from there, superimpose your own studio practices and identity into that and see how you can shine from what they previously created.

Call Number: Y115FI | Y117VA.paNu

Dani Papanikolaou (or Papa for short) is a mixed media painter and sketchbook artist that explores saturation and line in a variety of forms, usually with nude figures as his vehicle for expression. Papa’s style and aesthetic is inspired by urban tribalism, Neo-Expressionism, abstraction, action painters, and street art, with an exploration in mark-making and color dissonance. Dani Papa was born and raised in Florida and has lived in many parts of the state; though currently lives and works in picturesque Naples, FL, where he has been an educator, mentor, and community leader for the past nine years. His long-term goals reside in continuing education, essentially branching off into the university realm and philanthropic efforts once Papa completes his MFA in Painting online at Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD).