Meet the 2018-19 AC+D Fellows: Nathan Paul Rice

Over the month of August we'll be introducing our 2018-2019 Applied Craft + Design Fellows! One of our Curatorial Fellows this year is Nathan Paul Rice (AC+D Alumni '18). Each year two recent AC+D Alumni are invited to continue their practice in the Bison with a specific curatorial focus while surrounded by the energy and resources provided by the MFA AC+D Program. The Curatorial Fellows contribute to the studio culture of the Applied Craft + Design Program by managing AC+D's gallery space, Furthermore, staging pop-up exhibitions every First Friday.

AC+D: What do you plan to focus on during your fellowship?

Nathan Paul Rice: As ½ of the Curatorial fellowship team, I am focusing on making the monthly Furthermore events really stand out.  Our goal is to make the space and the shows, about more than just the finished and polished work of an artist/designer or performer.  We are excited to bring forth the “dirty” side of things and showcase process as well as result. Developing this idea and creating a cohesive and original curatorial vision that highlights the space and the work we do is my first step.

In addition to monthly showcases, We are also working to bring in performers, screenings, readings and other events that build off this vision.

AC+D: How do you maintain your creative practice? What keeps you motivated and engaged?

NPR: I try to keep a pretty rigorous schedule.  I have set time that I work and try to stick to that as much as possible.  Once here in the building, if I don’t have a specific project to work on, I find myself tooling around the wood shop, drawing, or spraying something in the booth. I think it is best to be in the studio even if you don’t necessarily feel like it.

I am motivated by the fact that being able to be here is pretty amazing.

AC+D: Could you describe a moment or experience that profoundly changed the nature of your work?

NPR:

AC+D: What have you learned about yourself through your creative practice?

NPR: I have learned that I like to work on multiple things at once.  I have also learned that I work best when I focus on one thing at a time.  So that’s a problem for me sometimes : )

AC+D: What's got you excited or fascinated right now? What questions are you thinking about?

NPR: I am thinking about the labels we self prescribe about our work.  “good work” vs “bad work”. Is the masterpiece always the best goal? What about the shit and the garbage? The way in which we move around these labels and how they shape our thinking.

More specifically,  I love the spaces between meaning and the spaces between objects. I invite the viewer to bring themselves   Like taking a stroll through a familiar city in an unfamiliar part of town. Your surroundings are recognizable but you see them with new eyes. I want people to meander through the shapes and forms. Find the familiar and take the image with you as you go through your day. Move through the space between the objects, connecting and disrupting the inherent relationship between the pieces. This work is crudely refined. It is approachable and mysterious. It is funny and sad. Allow  the forms to shrink and grow around you.

AC+D: What advice would you offer to current students about to embark on a career in the arts?

NPR: Take advantage of your time here to meet and be inspired by as many different people as you can.