SALT is profiling the best emerging artists to keep your eye on for 2014. Cutting edge techniques, boundary-pushing subject matter, and innovative in their fields: this series explores the Top 5o Contemporary Artists.
We live in an excellent moment for art. Yes, I’m surprised too. Given the sheer quantity of junk to be seen through social media, such a declaration seems absurdly Pollyannaish. But after a friend asked me to tell him which artists to watch, I was shocked to find my list verging on 50 names.
At the top were a solid 10 artists—some already famous, some little known—who seemed not just good, but so good they might enter the history books. (I was counting only artists who belong to our moment. Other living geniuses, like Jasper Johns and Richard Serra, proved themselves in earlier eras.)
Think back to the great years and places in art: 1515 in Rome, or 1912 in Paris. How many of us can cite 50 Renaissance talents, or that many cubists, whose work still shines? Finding so many artists worth getting behind in 2014 must say something about the moment we’re in.
SALT has the privilege of interviewing world renowned artist and photographer, and first on our list, of our on-going segment: Teresa Flowers.
When did you start to fall in love with your craft?
I did a self-portrait that also included my mother. In the photo her mouth was duct-taped and she was sitting in a chair in a dark basement with the windows covered, but there was just a little bit of light coming through. It was a long exposure so you could see light really burning in and you could see movement in her figure with me very ghostly double exposed over her.
“In the photo her mouth was duct-taped and she was sitting in a chair in a dark basement with the windows covered.”
I was printing these photos in the dark room when an assistant asked me what my photo meant. I asked her, “What do you see?” She said, “I see someone who has a secret. She wants to say something, but she can’t. Somebody in darkness yet still spiritually guided by that light.” I felt so vulnerable at that moment because she knew exactly how I felt.
For the first time, I realized that taking pictures was a way for me to express what was going on and how I truly felt. During that time, my mom was fighting AIDS and we had to keep her illness a secret due to discrimination and harassment. Having someone see that in my photos was a release and I felt every emotion all at once – happiness, sadness, excitement, I felt like running, I felt scared, but for the first time in my life I felt like I was understood, and I felt empowered to say what I wanted to say without using words. That is when I knew I was in love and I have been hooked ever since.
“My mom was fighting AIDS and we had to keep her illness a secret due to discrimination and harassment.”
Have you ever gone through anything you would describe as soul-crushing?
I have been through a lot of different hard experiences throughout my life, but definitely the two hardest things have been watching my mom’s struggle living and dying with AIDS and being diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease that has left me with terrible Arthritis. I deal with pain on a daily-basis that severely affects me and I have to come to terms with it every single day.
Tell us more about yourself. How are you the same, or different than you were as a child?
I have to say, I’m still the same in so many ways. I am still dancing, making art, going on adventures, and meeting new people. I even dress the same. I’m honestly old enough that the styles are back in and I love it because I get to re-explore my childhood all over again.
Are you close with your family?
That’s an interesting question for me because I was very close with my mother before she passed on, I like to think I’m still close to her, just in a different way. I also have a few friends that I consider family, but for the most part when it comes to my family it feels like there is a void. I do have a little sister; we are not as close as I’d like us to be. I’m hoping in time that it will change.
Has anyone ever said anything to you that always resonates with you?
A dear friend of mine sent me a quote of Georgia O’Keefe’s that really resonates with me. “To create one’s own world in any of the arts, takes courage. Making your unknown- known is the important thing.” 
If you could tell everyone in the world something, what would it be?
Take the time to do little things that make life more enjoyable like riding your bike, singing and dancing. Watch the sunset, tell people you love them, live your life with an open heart and be a sweet romantic.
What is a gift you’ve been given recently?
I’ve had some donations to my Echoes exhibit. A gift to support your dreams is the best gift you can get. Following your dreams is not always easy and when people lend a hand it makes it feel more attainable.
“A gift to support your dreams is the best gift you can get.”
Teresa Flowers is an internationally recognized artist based in Los Angeles, CA. Teresa’s work has been published in Shots Fine Art Photography magazine, Graphis, American Photography, Photo District News, and Black and White Magazine.
She won the prestigious award of Fine Art Photographer of the Year at the International Photo Awards as well as the People’s Choice Award. Her paintings and photographs have been shown all over the world. She has received several grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and donates her work to the Focus On AIDS photography auction to help raise money to support AIDS research, care and education. In addition, Teresa has designed accessories and apparel for Ambiguous, Shots, and her own company, Sleepictures. Teresa was also featured in Women’s Business Magazine as one of thirty women to watch in business.
EXPLORE MORE OF HER WORK ONLINE:
Website: www.teresaflowers.com
Portfolio: www.sleepictures.com
Instagram: @teresaflowers
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZjMv9ZZA4htWAh2hI1p6aA
