We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lane Buoen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lane, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?
Ive been trying to redefine what “success” means for me. It’s easy to get caught up in the logistics of success which I think to a lot of people can consist of making money and being well recognized in your craft. In reality I think the epitome of success is having balance and commitment to what you do. To be successful as an artist, as a creator, is showing up to your work but also knowing when to look away and take a step back. There must be room to breath, to detach from your work and see it for what it is. I think that is success.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a visual artist. I knew when I was little that I wanted to make art for the rest of my life, although I didn’t quite know what that meant. My Dad was a big inspiration to me growing up. He works in the movie industry making storyboards and concept designs and I always remember him creating these worlds within his works that really drew you in and hypnotized you. It was really astounding to me that a person could create such depth within something two dimensional. I was lucky to be able to go to a lot of museums when I was younger and feeling visceral reactions while looking at paintings. There’s this painting I remember seeing of a dead rabbit being hung upside down with this bright red sheet behind it at the Norton Simon and I was so confused by the look of beauty I saw within that painting, it made me feel guilty but I couldn’t help but be so attracted to it. The red felt so inviting. In those moments looking at art I felt the world around me go silent, and I think i’ve been chasing that feeling ever since through my own work. For me art is a very therapeutic process. I like to sit down and really be present with what i’m working on. I like taking symbols or things that I see around me and reinventing them, its very personal and I learn a lot about myself through the process. Thats what art feels like to me, a process with no end and its always very exciting.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I always try to not be afraid to dig deep within myself because thats were the gold lies. It can be really draining at times which is why It’s important to take care of and nurture yourself through it. Like any artist I want to be able to connect to the people around me and cause these reactions I experienced when I was younger looking at art. Although I also want people to wonder and be a little bit confused.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I try to learn as much as I can about whatever I can but It took me a while to be this way. Most of my teenage years I had a very closed mindset about education and wanted to only ever focus on art because thats what I was passionate about. I came to realize the importance of being educated about a variety of things and how much it influences my practice. I took a Religious Anthropology course that really opened me up to this love for knowledge and made me better realize how vast and complicated each sector of humanity is . The intricacies of religious practices really inspire me and have fizzled off into my work although I don’t consider myself a inherently religious person, I just think it’s beautiful the way communities come together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lanesgraveyard.com/about
- Instagram: @Bonchive
