Q & A with Julia Jacquette

How did you arrive at your Paper Variables edition; how much of an role did the medium have in your decision making/creative process, if any?

When I initially started thinking about the artwork I'd create for the Paper Variables edition for Dieu Donne, I decided I wanted to create an object that imitated a “real” paper object of some kind. I wanted to use the slow, “hands-on” process of making a hand-made paper object to imitate a ubiquitous, machine-made paper object (which seems ironic and humorous to me).
 

This edition features the hand painted phrase "If only I was as perfect as you", which recalls some of your earlier paintings that feature similarly evocative text. Was there an impetus for incorporating text in this edition, and is there any light you care to shed on the phrase; for instance, does it come from an existing source?

The phrase didn't come from an existing source, I wrote it (but it's probably highly influenced by many authors I've read!), and yes, is similar to text I used in some of my earlier work. I think it shows that I'll be returning to a few key issues in my work over and over for many years. The phrase comes out of the continuous longing that I feel we all feel throughout our lives. I thought that this might dissipate as one got older, but I think our minds just move onto other things to long for. I felt it was time to make fun of myself a bit, and acknowledge this longing once again.

What is your connection to Chantilly perfume; what is your favorite scent right now?

Chantilly perfume was the first perfume my mother gave to me as a gift when I was a little girl. I also think the packaging for Chantilly is very iconic and classic, and also ubiquitous (you can still buy it in almost every drug store you walk into). I've become quite interested in scent during the past few years, mostly due to the fact that there are now a few excellent writers whose subject is scent, and who really made me think about perfume in a whole new way. My current favorite perfumes run the gamut from some mega well-known scents, to some obscure perfumes by small producers. When the Museum of Art and Design did their exhibition on the history of perfume, “The Art of Scent” this past year, I was in heaven. 

 

About Dieu Donné

Dieu Donné is a non-profit organization dedicated to the creation, promotion, and preservation of new contemporary art made using hand papermaking techniques. The Dieu Donné gallery is open to the public Tuesday - Friday, 10 am - 6pm and Saturday 12 - 6pm or by appointment.

 

The artistic and educational programs at Dieu Donné are made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and Foundation support including: Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Inc, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Cowles Charitable Trust, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, The Greenwall Foundation, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Minnow Fund, The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts and The Partnership Fund for New York City along with major individual support.