5 Questions with Art on the Walls artist Polly Whitehorn
Polly Whitehorn is one of the three featured artists in Eleven Stanwix’s new Art on the Walls exhibition program, which brings the work of Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council members to unconventional spaces throughout the region. Her artwork, which you can see now in the lobby of the Eleven Stanwix building in Downtown Pittsburgh, includes a variety of dreamlike photographs. With a background as a fashion designer and textile artist, she identifies and finds inspiration from the early work of the Pictorialists, and says she aims to capture spring’s rebirth and summer’s bounty in her work.
Our communications intern recently spoke with Polly to learn more about her art and why she started. (This interview has been condensed for space and clarity.)
What made you want to start creating art?
Oh, I've been doing art all my life. I've always been creative since I was a kid, and it all started with Barbie because Barbie clothes were expensive. I had taken a sewing class in school and discovered that there was a five-and-ten or a Woolworth store a block away from my house, and I would go with my allowance and buy yards of fabric to start making clothes for Barbie.
I then went into a career in fashion, and that just triggers all kinds of interest in art because it’s not only you looking at what people wear around you, but looking at the history of fashion. And when you’re looking at the history of fashion, you’re looking at art.
How long do your pieces take to create?
You know, people have this perception that you just snap a picture, and voila. But there is a lot to photography and certainly what intrigued me most about digital photography is that you can alter what your eye sees. So when I take a picture and start working on it, I have this vision of doing something very soft and painterly and sometimes it can take me up to eight hours of fiddling around with it and trying different things.
That's what's so wonderful about this digital platform is that it is very forgiving. It doesn’t give you the time back that you spent on something but that’s art, you know. Picasso didn’t make a winner every time, but he experimented and that’s what I love about the digital format.
What does being chosen for Art on the Walls mean to you?
I just feel like it's such an honor, first of all, to have been selected and to be selected with two other really very accomplished artists. I think between the three of us, it's a really nice balanced grouping. I'm thrilled to be in the presence of other very accomplished artists and to be in a beautiful space like Eleven Stanwix: filled with light, really interesting ways that the work is displayed, plus the furnishings there. The mid-century modern seating area and the building itself, it's a beautiful building. So it's a win, win all around, and it's a great way to showcase our work to the public and to the rest of the tenants of that building.
Could you describe the inspiration behind your work being showcased at the Eleven Stanwix lobby?
Certainly, I refer back to the pictorial artists. Alfred Stieglitz was certainly a huge influence on my work, but then also artists like John Singer Sargent. He also had a very soft vision. And I internalized that with a lot of my work.
Is there anything else Pittsburghers should know about you and your artwork?
That I'm always creating, and it’s interesting. Every day is a new beginning because you have fresh ideas and you see things differently, and that's what I love about art. There's always a new way to represent something, to interpret something, and it's what makes life interesting. It's wonderful that we can then share it with viewers and with art appreciators and collectors to share our vision.
Polly Whitehorn’s work can be seen in the lobby of Eleven Stanwix, which is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment only on Saturdays and Sundays. All artwork is for sale, and artists receive 80% with each purchase. Learn more at pittsburghartscouncil.org/art-on-the-walls/eleven-stanwix.