We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jane Bauman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jane below.

Alright, Jane thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In 2003 I was a full-time fine arts professor at Coastline College and I built a Study Abroad program to Florence, Italy where I taught Renaissance Art History. This was a summer program that I taught for 6 sessions through 2013. Besides being wonderful for our students, being able to live in another culture that was so invested in the arts was a great thing for me. I began an ongoing art project of illuminating Dante’s Divine Comedy. This is an enormous undertaking and one that I plan on taking most of my life to complete. It’s composed of photographs with overlaid paintings. I have many other painting series that I am working on and have completed, but the Dante project is special. Instead of making an illustration of his text, I am making an illumination, an interpretation of the great epic poem. A lot of artists have illustrated and worked with Dante’s writings: William Blake, Botticelli and Gustave Dore are just a few, but I haven’t been able to find any female artists who have worked with La Commedia. It’s been fascinating to work on a project that has such scope and resonance.

Jane, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was one of those children who wanted to stay inside and play with my crayons. I was born in Burbank, California and growing up in Los Angeles County was a formative influence. Surf Culture, the hippie movement, psychedelic music and Hollywood were all there and combined to make for a provocative environment.

After graduating from Santa Clara University I went to graduate school at the San Francisco Art Institute (MFA 1980) where I became an active participant in the punk/no wave culture of the late 1970’s. This is when I began to do my first street art as well as making studio paintings and sculpture. After graduate school in 1980 I moved to NYC and became a part of the East Village Art Scene where I was represented by Civilian Warfare Gallery. In addition to showing my art extensively in NY and Western Europe, I did collaborations with David Wojnarowicz, Huck Snyder, Paul Benny and Mark C.

In 1989 I moved back to Southern California and became a Fine Arts Professor at Coastline College. From 2003 – 2013 I taught six Study Abroad Programs in Florence, Italy which had a big impact on my art.

I have been represented in California by Terrain Gallery, Brett Rubbico Gallery, Jamie Brooks Fine Arts and Scape Gallery. Despoina Damaskou represents her in Athens, Greece. My work has garnered significant recognition and is in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt Museum of American Art (NYC), The Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (NYC), Historisches Museum Saar (Saarbrucken, Germany), and the Musee de Cloitre des Cordeliers (Paris, France). My recent art projects include an illumination of Dante’s Divine Comedy and Florabau, a mixed media body of work about the Southern Californian environment, water and desire.

My artwork is rooted in landscape and reflects a profound yearning for tangible connection amidst a digitally saturated world. Through the physicality of spray paint, stencils and fluorescent hues I explore the interplay between materiality and perception, inviting viewers to delve into the depths of imagination and memory.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me is the capacity to express myself in a skilled manner. There are so many outlets available today, especially with all the social media we have available, that it can be difficult to know if we are heard at all, but to be able to express emotions and ideas in an effective way is deeply satisfying.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

There are so many things that can be improved to support creativity in our culture. First, all public schools should have music and visual arts classes offered starting in the first grade and continuing through high school. World art and music history should be taught starting in the first grade also. Elementary and high schools should have regular field trips to museums, concerts and cultural sites. City and State governments should set aside much more monies for civic art projects, murals and public concerts. The anemic Federal National Endowment for the Arts needs to be more generously funded and expanded.

Contact Info:

• Website: Artatjanebauman.space
• Instagram: Janemagdalenabauman

Image Credits
Jane Bauman