We recently connected with Jana Cruder and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
This is a powerful question for me, at this moment. Overall I am incredibly grateful, and remind myself regularly that happiness is in the moment and to stop and be grateful. I have forged a path of my own existence, and for that I am incredibly grateful. For me there is no other way. It’s also in my blood, multi-generationally. I do sometimes fantasize about having a “job” –– something I show up to and leave, and don’t think about until I go back to it the next day. I fantasize about healthcare coverage and employer contributions to a matching 401Kfund. Those are the things that I think are perks. In reality, I send money towards my future investments in good years when I have steady workflow and big art sales. Other years, I live off of savings and hustle more. I very much value and deeply appreciate the opportunity to collaborate commercially or in my art practice. I’m a contractor, and love that line or flow. It works for me. I sign onto a brand or an organization for a period of time and know that at some point I’ll move on. All while continuing to expand my work, and use those resources to support the building of my art and commercial business. It’s quite a symbiotic relationship at this time. Many artists or contract workers allow the contract work to be all consuming. For me I make sure I’m always building my artistic skills alongside my business skills. I simply never set aside my art, and its success is as equally important as the clients I create with and the projects I creatively direct. It is all my thumbprint and essence, even if it’s coming in from all different channels. It’s all me –– from experiential installs, to visual content, to creative directing.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a multi-media artist. I sell limited editions of my photographic narrative works. I also create multi-media installations and branded experiential activations, and support brands as a creative director and director of content. I am available on a contract basis and love working with passionate people and brands. I specialize commercially in celebrity, hospitality and lifestyle. My fine art is considered more of a pop-art vibe. My work has been exhibited alongside some of the world’s greatest artists and I have exhibited internationally and won multiple awards in film and the arts. I’m classically trained as a photographer, and attended RIT in Rochester, NY. I was raised working in a family business, and I attribute this to my drive to succeed in the business of art. My father and mother were committed to supporting whatever path I chose, and when I said I wanted to be an artist, I think they didn’t quite know what to think. My father was concerned I’d starve. I chose to look at it as an opportunity and thus I walk the line between commercial and fine art. This sensibility has allowed me to develop both a commercial aesthetic and clientele as well as a distinct artistic practice which has led the way to gallery representation, art-fairs and fine art collectors. I love the mid-century art movement, rainbows of color, deep saturation and on-location shoots. I’m comfortable and skilled in creating and interacting with the complexities that celebrity productions bring, as well as passionate about the people I meet and the places I get to travel to.
My art side is based more on pure curiosity, expression and exploration of my internal worlds. My art is vulnerable, bringing out my inward ways of seeing things… My commercial side is still me, but more of a fun and glossed-up side, cultivated by listening to the needs and ideas of the client and putting my signature spin on it.
I’ve outgrown myself as a photographer, and over the past five years, I’ve been positioning myself more as a video director, multi-media artist and creative director. Sometimes I shoot, or simply direct motion-capture. I’m currently getting most of my commercial work as a brand director, creative director, or director of photography and content. Where I oversee the ideation and creative process, direct a creative team of designers, and develop the look and feel and production plan for a product launch or campaign. My team and I provide a range of services to agencies or direct to brands. From ideation and concept development and deck creation to assisting and editing post-production, we can oversee the development, execution and delivery of a wide array of content assets including branded social, digital billboards, motion animation and still images.
As a multi-media artist, I am holistically natured. I aim to inspire, change and move people to action by humanizing complex emotions and messages around human connection, the environment and technology. I am especially excited to bring more of my layered experiential installations to life through brand partnerships. Bringing large ideas to life and impacting people is what it’s all about for me. There are such precious life moments in there when someone is truly elevated or inspired by the work I do. Installation activations are a unique platform to blend art and commerce, and still deliver impactful public art. Many brands are aligning with artists to help tell complex and nuanced stories and connect-in with audiences on a deeper level. I see my latest activation work Audience With A Tree traveling to multiple urban installs with a company like Patagonia.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I love this question, I come across this often. Many don’t understand the non-linear lives of artists (especially my bank) but even they are getting on board these days. I love a balance of responsibility and freedom. This is how I get things done and into the world. Even the closest of friends and family stretch to understand my why’s. I can be all about something one moment and completely over it the next. I will deeply question, ponder and feel things others simply don’t. I’ll pull over in rushing traffic to rescue a turtle crossing the road. I’ll jump into almost any body of water for the thrill of it. I’ll walk barefoot while hiking and get up for sunrise to feed my eyes sunlight. What drives me is not money, but leading a life of my own making using creative abilities to contribute and tell beautiful and sometimes hard stories, and money is a great plus that I get to work with. My life experience, personal experience and emotional wells run deep, rich and diverse. I pull from the depths of personal experiences to connect-in and make art that hits the core of the human experience. This is not a linear path. There are no guarantees, but the reality is, as an artist I’ve accepted that a long time ago. I’ll travel just to explore, I’ll take months in new countries, I’ll invest my personal money, I’ll ask for investments from others, I’ll leave the house without a destination, I’m obsessed with light, I love color, and I can talk to most people and deeply engage quickly. My soul is old, I’m a committed channel of the creative web, I am passionate about making art that explores the complex and emotional nature of human relationships with each-other, technology and nature. I’m a deep nature lover and spend a lot of time in deep nature.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think the USA has a far way to go to be a thriving ecosystem for the arts. I love Berlin. I loved learning about their governmentally supported monthly stipend for artists. It’s a monthly basic income for professional artists, so they can contribute their art to culture. There is so much more support for artists in Europe. The funding, grants and public arts programs are baked in, and so much a part of their cultural ecosystem. There are even studios available and housing for artists. Here in the USA it’s more every person for themselves, regardless of the bigger contribution to culture and society. I always encourage people to show up locally and support your local arts programs through attendance, donation or volunteerism. If there is an artist you are inspired by, consider contacting them and letting them know how they’ve impacted you and offer a contribution to their works, or shop with artists first vs. giving places like Ikea and Cost Plus your money for mass-produced “art.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.janacruderfineart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janacruder/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janacruderphoto/
- Other: Commercial Work https://janacruder.com/ Latest Install Audience With A Tree project site https://www.audiencewithatree.com/
Image Credits
All images are ©Jana Cruder Studio