We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kevin Wallace a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kevin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
The Center is a unique and authentic Ojai experience tied to the place and its history. We also have an historical connection with the art world, due to both
Annie Besant co-authoring the first book on non-representational art,
influencing Kandinsky, Mondrian, Klee and other great artists, but also
through Beatrice Wood’s long history as an artist, which included being
tutored by Marcel Duchamp in his studio as part of the 1917 New York DADA
Movement. We are concerned with history and continuum – keeping artmaking, cultural studies and an expansive approach to the arts thriving.
We live in a physical world yet are so married and involved in the digital realm
that tactile experience is crucial to maintaining our humanity. We present
exhibitions, workshops and performances intended to nourish the soul, as the
arts have so much to teach us about being human and creative. We hope that
you’ll truly take in the art, take part in workshops where you sink your hands
into clay or take a brush to canvas, listen to wide-ranging music, from the
classical to emerging artists in our intimate venue. Our work is to present all of
this and for others to enjoy it and we are a success when this happens.
Simply visiting the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts has the ability to lift
individuals from their day-to-day, well-known life into a realm of possibilities.
Beatrice Wood was very open about the challenges and heartbreak in her life
and the fact that she managed to be true to her dreams and live her life on her
own terms is inspiring. If reading Beatrice Wood’s story in the didactic texts at
the Center, exploring the permanent collection and standing on the back patio
looking out at Happy Valley doesn’t inspire you, than you are most likely a
very difficult case.
Kevin, 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?
My name is Kevin Virgil Wallace and I am Founding Director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Ojai, California. The Center is an activity of the
Happy Valley Foundation, which was created in 1927 with the purchase of 500
acres in Upper Ojai, with the funds being raised in connection with a vision by
Annie Besant.
Besant was a famed orator and author who fought for women’s rights, worker’s
rights and other humanitarian causes and became the President of the
Theosophical Society, which began as a Victorian era spiritualist organization.
At the time, Besant hoped that J. Krishnamurti would create a center there,
becoming one with the same spirit she believed dwelt within the Buddha and
Jesus Christ and fulfill the role of World Teacher. Ultimately, J. Krishnamurti
made a speech in 1929 at a castle in Europe, where he announced that he was
NOT the World Teacher – something he had been putting off, as he knew it
would break the elderly Besant’s heart.
Annie Besant was Beatrice Wood’s hero, which is why Wood built her home
and studio in Happy Valley and left everything to the foundation. A great many
people – we welcome them every weekend – consider Beatrice Wood to be
their hero, or at least a great inspiration in their lives. I understand this, as she
was an inspiration to me, which is why I heartily agreed when the Chairman of
the Board of the Happy Valley Foundation asked me to create an art center in
Beatrice Wood’s home, as an activity of the foundation.
Our work is aligned with Annie Besant’s original vision, as she believed that
arts, cultural studies and education were paramount to create a better world. I
like that we’re a “center” as that was the word Besant used for the work that
would take place in Happy Valley.
We’re joined in Happy Valley by the Besant Hill School of Happy Valley,
which is a relatively large activity compared to us, though they are an
intentionally small boarding school, in line with plans for the school sketched
out by Aldous Huxley and J. Krishnamurti in the 1940s. There is also the Topa
Institute, which focuses on holistic education, arts and culture, land cultivation
and sustainability.
It is gratifying to be part of the work of the Happy Valley Foundation in line
with almost a century of individuals who have sought to create a better world
through the individual. How I came to be in this situation however is not easy
to explain, as it seems that I was summoned. A few decades ago, I made a
decision to turn away from what might be considered a rational career path –
being more concerned with surviving in order to follow that which inspired
and called to me than following a career that was largely concerned with
monetary gain. Once that happened, one thing led to another… I had worked
in management, but was interested in the arts, and there was an opportunity to
manage a gallery. From there I segued into curating gallery exhibitions and
writing and this led to me guest-curating exhibitions for museums and writing
books and articles. It was one of those exhibitions, titled Beatrice Wood: The
Art of a Life, that led to my being invited to create the Beatrice Wood Center
for the Arts.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
People tend to dislike change or challenge, which is understandable, I think. It’s the way we grow, from the time we’re toddlers and trying to walk and
falling and hitting our heads. Change and challenge can be painful, or at least
scary. I feel fortunate that I was able to embrace fairly early on in life that
reinvention is possible and preferable – and reinvention means embracing
change and challenge.
But here’s the thing that those folks who tell you to follow your dreams and
take that risk don’t usually tell you… it’s more work than staying on your
current path. When I first left my work at a gallery with the idea of working as
a writer and curator I had to propose a lot of different things in order to get a
small percentage of the necessary work, and there were times when I received
a lot of work and deadlines that had me working 12 hours a day. Ultimately,
that’s the trade off – you choose to do what you believe is your calling and
what you love, but you work harder, you need to be more disciplined and you
need to make sacrifices. Once you realize that there is no pie in the sky and it’s
ten percent inspiration and ninety percent hard work you are prepared to fulfill
your destiny.
This is something Beatrice Wood was very clear about – she taught that people
tend to reject discipline when it’s forced upon them, but that it’s a wonderful
gift to have self-discipline and to take on the work required to own your life.
Annie Besant was very strong in this regard as well, and the reason she was
Beatrice Wood’s hero. Beatrice had Besant’s picture on the wall to remind her
that she could always do more to make a difference and work harder both in
her career and in the service of humanity.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I believe that the world today is experiencing a profound spiritual crisis, driven largely by religion and politics. Internationally there are those who use their
religious and political views (though it’s often simply greed for money and
power) as reasons to judge, limit, hurt or kill others, rather than accepting
equality for all humanity. There is work to be done in creating a better world
for all and I believe that arts and cultural studies are the best way to
understand the expanse of history and humanity and to develop the means for
self-expression and to share who we are.
I believe that we consist of body, mind and spirit (even though spirit can be
difficult to define or measure) and the three must be integrated in order for us
to find happiness and satisfaction in the roles we perform and the part we play
in this world. My work in the arts and cultural education is to assist as many
people as possible to see the beauty of the natural world and the human spirit
and the ways that being creative can serve humanity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beatricewood.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatricewoodcenter/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Beatrice-Wood-Center-for-the-Arts/100063861881659/
Image Credits