Practical Magic: Emmett Metier
Emmett Metier, documentation of recent video installation
Practical Magic is an online interview series with early and mid-career creatives. Through a selection of prompts we spotlight each person’s practice and (hopefully) prove art world creatives are the real influencers of today.
interview with: EMMETT METIER
artist
For the month of August, each twice-weekly PM interview will be with a selected artist from our 3rd Open Call Exhibition Celestial Opera, Human Cathedrals. The first interview this month is with interdisciplinary artist Emmett Metier. They recently graduated from the Pratt MFA program; having lost the opportunity to physically present any version of their thesis show, we were honored to include select videos from that body of work in the exhibition. About Emmett:
Emmett Metier is an NYC based artist. Originally from rural Iowa, they received their BFA in painting from the University of Iowa in 2015 and completed their MFA from the Pratt Institute this past May (2020). Still grounded in their painting foundation, they work in sculpture, video, installation and digital media. In their work, Metier reflects on embodiment as a transsexual, utilizing a cyborgian lens.
We learned that Emmett’s practice is fueled largely by histories on cyborgs, techno music, and good ole’ fashioned reality TV. Read further to learn more on their many influences.
PP: What is a typical day in the life for you as a creative? How do you structure your day/week to manage your practice?
EM: Prior to COVID-19, I was in my MFA program and in my studio almost daily. I would start my days by going to the gym; getting oxygen and blood circulating was so imperative in working productively and creatively with a focused mind. I would then go to class or my part-time job and spend the entire evening in my studio, oftentimes until around 3 in the morning. I struggle with ADHD, and find late evenings the most quiet and with the least distractions. My creative practice has really suffered from the drastic sudden changes as a result of quarantine, and so I’m still trying to figure out how to re-establish my practice, lacking the structure and discipline of having a workspace outside of my home currently.
Bacterial Consequences , 2019, video installation, detail shot
Bodily Collapse, 2019, video and sculpture installation, detail shot
PP: Who or what are major influences for you right now and why?
EM: My work portrays an embodied experience of otherness, something that exceeds boundaries and definition; a hybridization of the organic, mechanical and plastic world. Donna Harraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto, and Paul Preciado’s Countersexual Manifesto and Testo Junkie are anchors in my creative development. Since I was a teenager, I’ve been incredibly interested in psychedelic music, culture, and science-fiction and I believe that is visually present in my work. I’m also incredibly emotionally, personally and creatively influenced by David Wojnarowicz; his memoirs have served an absolute paradigm shift in how I relate to myself and my environment as a queer person with a complicated history.
PP: What are you listening to in your studio or when you work?
EM: The KRAUTROCK playlist on Spotify has been on constant repeat the past few months. Psychedelic and techno are perfect to tune out the external world, hyperfocus, and vibe.
PP: Current binge-worthy tv/film recommendation?
EM: I tell everyone to watch The Real Housewives of New York City. People who doubt it don't know what they're missing!
PP: Where do you live and how does it affect your practice/career? What's the creative community like there?
EM: I’ve lived in NYC for three years now and it’s hard for me to imagine life anywhere else. It’s difficult of course in terms of real estate and finances, but I really do consider it my true home. I was raised in a very rural and conservative community, which is the most alienating and isolating experience for someone who would grow up to be a queer transgender artist. Even into my early twenties, I always felt that I was an observer rather than a participant in the world. It’s so gratifying now - there are thousands of people who are similarly alienated that have existed and thrived here in the past and present and I am so fortunate to have them as my friends, peers, mentors and role models.
Cyborg Genesis (still frame), 2020, single channel digital video
PP: If you had to pick a film that you feel inspires your practice in some way, which would it be and why?
EM: 2001: A Space Odyssey. I’m mesmerized by the themes of existentialism, man vs. machine vs. god, evolution, dimensional and physical reality - not to mention the beautiful cinematography. I find that a lot of transgender people have a deep affinity for science fiction in how it offers different possibilities of existence outside the confines of hegemonic binaries and transfiguration, and outside our fleshy encasements.
PP: What is the next big milestone you've set for yourself? How close to achieving it are you?
EM: For my thesis I designed an immersive installation with soft sculptures, a 3 channel video and sound, but my show was postponed due to COVID-19. I haven’t been able to exactly finish that work and close that chapter, so it’s hard for me to set goals moving forward. Assuming there won’t be another outbreak, I’ll be able to install and exhibit my work in the fall and I’m looking forward to having my hard work materialize and make more precise considerations of what I want to do moving forward.
portrait of Metier within one of their installations
PP: What to you was the most successful moment that you’ve had as a creative, and why was it successful or meaningful to you? What was a moment of failure that you've had, and how did you overcome it?
EM: I don’t think I’ve reached a major “success” moment in a measurable or monumental way in terms of a career. But I suppose I can say it is developing my work to where it is now. I’ve really struggled with mental health and self-worth for most of my life, believing I would never be someone of or create anything of value, never imagining a possibility of a fruitful existence. I think finally finding value and worth in myself, building the life I have now and creating work that I am very proud of and excited to share with others is qualitative success.
Practical Magic interviews post weekly on Thursdays - check back to see who we’re chatting with next.