We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tara O’Gorman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tara, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project that I have worked on has been the most recent painting I’ve completed, called “Clown Cult Picnic”. In March of this year, I was invited to create a large scale piece for a circus themed group show in June. This was both exciting and also frightening, as I haven’t successfully completed a larger painting since Covid started, and only had a little over two months to complete it. I buckled down and started developing ideas, and this is where the meaningfulness comes in. You see, this time four years ago, during the pandemic and when the George Floyd protests began, I felt that I couldn’t continue making art and I wanted to be more involved in activist movements around me. I discovered a group in Oxnard that was at many of the local protests, and they were having readings in the park, discussing political text. The day I met them at the park changed my life. Over the course of almost two years, I had dedicated my artistic skills to them, helping create “propaganda” and basically nothing else, as it felt like making personal art was selfish and meaningless. As time progressed, what started as young activists that sought to build ties with the working class people of the town and help change their conditions in the workplace, morphed into a cult-like group that estranged a number of us from our friends and family, practically stripped us of our identity, and consumed our day to day life.
Alongside me, there were many incredible people, and when the group met its eventual demise, a number of us remained each other’s support, because who else could understand what we went through? That brings me back to my painting, “Clown Cult Picnic”, and why it’s so meaningful. I decided I wanted to depict some of my friends from the group picnicking at the park, dressed like clowns. Being a clown can mean so many different things, good or bad, and I wanted to capture both of those associations because I can relate to either so well. Upon initial reflection of what we did it’s easy to feel like that is what we were; foolish in our belief system but putting on an act to appear like “revolutionaries”. But also, when I am with them, we’re like a little circus act, constantly joking and making one another laugh. Even the setting being at the park is significant because we had so many meetings and events at various parks in Oxnard, there are so many I can drive by now and recall a variety of memories and emotions. This painting was a cathartic experience for me, and an introduction to how I can creatively delve into expressing this bizarre chapter of my life in a way a wider audience can enjoy, without needing to know the deeper context.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Tara O’Gorman, I’m an acrylic painter and I also make and sell quirky clay jewelry and other objects. I’m from Newbury Park, California and I began painting at Moorpark College, then earned my BFA in Drawing and Painting at CSU Long Beach in 2020. Acrylic has been my preferred medium over the years, and the work I create often features people in colorful, humorous, and overly detailed settings. Upon graduating right when COVID-19 hit and the uprisings following the death of George Floyd and other victims to police brutality, I felt I was at standstill. Limited by space, lacking discipline to complete a project, and ultimately feeling like making art was a useless endeavor and wanting to gear my energy toward activism, I took a hiatus from painting personal projects.
It took me a while to get back to painting, but before I found my way back I began creating clay earrings that were silly and unique, like wearable art and it was a fun experience that eased me back in to art making. I got into selling my creations at events in the Ventura County, under the name Ogre Woman Art, and began entering into creative spheres. Finally, I took up my brush again, as I had been going through a lot and felt the only way to cope and express myself was through painting. It was a self portrait entitled “Well Adjusted”, in which I am dressed like a clown looking at myself in the mirror while flames burst behind me. This piece was like a visual diary, and it felt so good to paint again after over a year and a half of not doing so. It’s been a slow build in my portfolio since then, but with my most recent painting “Clown Cult Picnic”, featuring a group of clowns picnicking together, I feel rejuvenated and am proud of what I accomplished with that piece which was completed in the span of two months. I believe that what sets me apart from others is the level of detail I put into my work, I love hyper focusing on the items featured in the painting and how they elevate the narrative unfolding in the piece. I usually paint realistically, but play around with stylization where needed as I think it’s more interesting to mix it up and play around. I want to convey the stories in my work in a complex and layered way, so that if the viewer is looking at it multiple times they can find new things and continue to develop their interpretation of the painting. Ultimately, when I am creating I seek to have fun, and want those interacting with my work to have fun as well.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I believe that a thriving creative ecosystem can be fostered through DIY set ups like open mics, small shows in spaces that aren’t traditional galleries, and workshops or meet ups that are low cost and accessible to a wide range of experience levels. Of course, if there were more grant opportunities, public art calls, and well funded arts education programs, among other initiatives to get art into the community, I think everyone would be much better off. We need to support artists more, artists from a wider spectrum of backgrounds and not limit things to higher educated, wealthy, often white artists. There is so much that “society” has failed, we can’t expect it to change for us in an instant. What I have learned is that if the opportunities aren’t there, or aren’t what you want them to be, then we have to make them. I have been so inspired these past couple years by seeing friends and fellow local artists create collaborative events and opportunities, people are beginning to fill a need that hasn’t been met in Ventura County, and it’s so beautiful!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
If I wasn’t creative my life would be so dull and grey. Being an artist has added a tremendous amount of color and joy to my life. The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is getting the opportunity to share my art and meet so many other creative folks who inspire, uplift, and engage the community. It’s so comforting to be surrounded by other artists that believe in collaboration, supporting one another, and making art accessible. Art is meant to be for everyone, and I love witnessing and participating in movement going on around me to make that real.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @taraogo.art
