Artist Interview: Komikka Patton
Komikka Patton is a 2D media artist based in New York City. She uses ballpoint pen, ink, paper, and assorted printmaking techniques to create works that are centrally based on the African Diasporan human condition, each illustration and print tells a different story, reflecting life, death, and the tribulations of characters that are symbolic of the stereotypical black identity. She has been featured on Hyperallergic and in FOA and Botticelli Magazine. A solo show at The Ne’-Na Contemporary Art Space in Chiang Mai, Thailand as well as various galleries in NYC and around The States. She is the winner of a Darryl Chappell Foundation Grant, the Tolesdet drawing prize and the May and Samuel Rudin Foundation Scholarship. She has obtained her BFA in Fine Arts from Columbus College of Art & Design and an MFA from New York University.
It was a pleasure to learn more about Komikka, the artist behind life-size illustrative collage pieces. We chat about stories within a larger narrative, finding the positive within alienation, the importance of highlighting African diaspora, and seeing failures as doors to new opportunities instead of things that did not work out.
Tell us a bit about your artistic journey and how it began?
My artistic journey began probably around the age of 11. I was fortunate enough to attend Northwest School of the Arts, which is a magnet school in Charlotte North Carolina. I like to joke and say that I believe my mom was afraid to send me to public school because I’ve always been a kind-hearted spirit and quite eccentric and so I’m quite fortunate that she made the decision to send me to an art school quite young. So I have been figure drawing, taking printmaking classes, painting and design classes since 6th grade. From there I attended Columbus College of Art and design for my BFA degree and then moved on to NYU for my MFA degree.
Your work resembles a tasteful mixture of comic book art, highly detailed scene illustration, collage, and printmaking. How did your style evolve over time and could you tell us more about the ideas behind it?
I consider myself a narrative artist my work always tells a story. Balancing macro and micro small stories within a larger narrative. All collaged together to create these worlds spaces in which Blackness can thrive. My motifs relate to Black Femme identity, motherhood, mother-wounds, relationships with Mother, Mother universe, Mother Gaia, Mother deities, and often times Motherships. My works cycles maternity and explores futuristic Utopias/Dystopias a balancing act that I believe humankind is partaking in everyday. A tightrope with one side leaning to observation and another side experience. Cut paper, drawing, printmaking, and layering allows me to explore the phenomena of existing… of consciousness, subconsciousness, collective consciousness, and collective unconsciousness. My style grew and became more layered as I grew and discovered all the layers of myself. I’ve always been a drawer, attracted illustrated books, comic books, manga, and etc. I’ve always loved the human figure and so as I started to develop my practice by mimicking what I’ve always loved.
Why Martian?
I get this question a lot! As of recently I am slowly distancing myself from Martian simply because I’ve moved past my Solar Plexus chakra. But Martian originated from a childhood name that my grandmother gave me just as a description of how other I was compared to my family, my cousins, and etc. I started to embrace Martian when I went off to college and started to discover my independence and started to embrace and appreciate my differences, my uniqueness, and so Martian became this confident energy within me that allowed me to show up in ways that I had never shown up before. And as I moved to New York and started to experience street art...I would tag things Martian. At parties I would tag Martian as my signature and I found great comfort knowing there were other Martian tags and so I felt very seen and also as if I had distant relatives who understood what it was like to be a Martian. Martian was birthed out of me being a black sheep of sorts, out of alienation, but I was able to transfigure and transmit that energy into something that was positive, confident and eccentric and beautiful. Now I’ve been able to integrate Martian into my being without them being separate or a cloak that I would put on going to art openings or doing art panels. Martian is just the bold, fiery, animated, sanguine version of self.
The pieces from Gatekeepers series portray strong Black female figures, quite empowering! You mention they are reflections of you in other powerful women. Can you elaborate?
I believe anytime I draw another person or another portrait that isn’t a self portrait, I am simply drawing a reflection of myself. The individuals in this particular series were or are soul family or acquaintances of mine and these pieces represented our relationship. They were not necessarily meant to be portraits or so I didn’t have that idea in mind when creating the pieces. They were more so destinations of where our friendship and bonds were at the time and where it had the potential to go. These pieces represented what resonated in their being with my own. Where I saw myself in them. Our connection. In what ways were we similar in our frequency and therefore how I saw them existing in the world that I was and still am creating. I believe a portrait captures the essence of an individual and I don’t think these do that at all. I think these destinations capture how I see the individual’s energy therefore is simply a perception and illusion of sorts, through a Komikka filter. A reflection of me.
Photo Credit: Sindayiganza Photography
We want to embrace and discuss the various aspects of what it is to be a womxn in the arts and often discuss cultural backgrounds with our artists. Would you want to share your perspective of what role does race play in the art world? Has it affected how you express yourself artistically?
I am a Black femme artist making work accentuating femme energy. Highlighting the African Diaspora. Highlighting the beauty of being a portal, existing, being, growing, learning, and thriving all through the lens of a young Black woman. Race plays a role in my art simply because I am of th
e African diaspora and therefore choose to honor that side of myself. My maternal lineage. I choose to show it’s beauty and to embrace and heal it’s pain. As both African descent and femme appearing, I believe my spirit chose this vessel to assist in my work. The art world has its token African descent artists, some truly heavy hitters in the contemporary art world, but there are still too few for the amount of trauma transmitted into beauty from Black identifying vessels. There are new narratives being experienced everyday and so I choose to use my artistic outlets to add to the library of contemporary visual artists. Another voice in the conversation.
We are strong believers that the more people discuss failure, the less significant the possibility of it becomes. In our society, we are so terrified of possibility of something not working out, that it halts all our efforts to begin with. We ask all of our interviewees if they can share a time where something (a project or opportunity) did not work out and how did you move forward?
This question is a little difficult for me to answer because I don’t believe in failure or even an opportunity that didn’t work out in my favor. There are moments and I could think of that maybe I didn’t get into the art residency I applied to… or maybe a certain gallery didn’t get back in touch with me. But this always showed me another chapter in my life in which maybe I did not need to be in the space I was applying to at the time. I believe how I move forward is knowing that all things work in my favor and if things do not move in the way that I wish they would move, then maybe taking heed from the universe, knowing that the universe wants me to succeed, wants what is best for me, and wants me to grow to be the best version of myself and therefore everything works in divine timing.
I think that being humble and knowing who you are and knowing that if you have a goal or destination in mind for yourself that as long as the intent is pure and what you want aligns with your divine purpose then things will come as they should. There is no such thing as failure, only forward movement.
Any events, shows, or projects coming up you'd like to share with the readers?
I am currently in Puerto Rico working on murals and a coloring book dedicated to our youth that focuses on galactic time that will be available early 2021. Check them out soon!
Find Komikka:
