Pamela Viola
About Pamela:
Pamela Viola's love of photography began at a young age with a plastic Diana camera. Though she segued from still photography and into the world of motion pictures for a portion of her career, she was ultimately pulled back to her true artistic passion. Today she enjoys a successful career as award-winning artist, well known for her innovative images and unique technique.
Pamela spent her free moments throughout college photographing the landscape and architecture around her. While completing a pivotal internship at the prestigious Light Gallery in Manhattan, she was exposed to the work of great photography masters such as Strand, Adams, Cunningham, Steichen, and Winogrand, and her love of photography was cemented.
In 1988 Pamela earned a certificate in film making from New York University. She then stepped away from her own photography and spent 15 years in the film industry, working as a freelance Production Coordinator and Production Manager on feature films such as Black Hawk Down, Hannibal, Natural Born Killers, Nell and Six Degrees of Separation.
When she returned to still photography in 2001, she finally began to pursue the career she always dreamed of. Viola's interpretive style has emerged as an outgrowth of her cinematic background, as well as her extensive experimentation with various forms of photographic transfer printing. She now works completely digitally, and the image capture is just the starting point for her final artistic vision. Pamela specializes in work for residential, hospitality, health care, and corporate settings. Her work is regularly featured in galleries throughout metropolitan Washington, DC and New York, and is held in public, private, and corporate collections worldwide.
Grand Image: How did you get your start in art?
PV: Like many people I was an artistic child. Early on I got the message from my mom that this was okay. She hung a large bulletin board in my bedroom so I could curate my own gallery. In hindsight, she was probably trying to prevent my art projects from taking over the house. I was also fortunate to go to a high school that had a required class, Art 101. One half of the course was studio arts and the other was photography. We learned how to photograph, develop and print our own negatives made with a plastic Diana Camera. I fell in love with the darkroom and never looked back until the reality of earning a living as a fine art photographer hit me. And so, I went to work in film production spending 15 years working with directors such as Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone and Barry Sonnenfeld. Production work is not the creative side of filmmaking, but in between film projects I made jewelry and eventually found my way back to a creative life.
Grand Image: How did you develop your style?
PV: That’s a tough question for me. It certainly hasn’t come about consciously. Perhaps because I’ve explored so many different mediums - printmaking, book arts, textile art and metalwork in addition to photography I’m driven by exploration, always asking the question, “what if?” so there is a lot of experimentation that happens in my practice. Layering techniques of disparate mediums has led me to appreciate the beauty of transformation from nothingness to complexity of form. My work is heavily influenced by the Japanese theory of wabi-sabi which is an aesthetic philosophy that emphasizes the value of simplicity, imperfection, and transience. I try to stay in a state of "beginners mind".
Grand Image: Where are you from and how is that reflected in your work?
PV: I grew up in New York and New England. I consider myself a city girl and have always loved architecture. Warm colors and textures fascinate me.
Grand Image: How has your relationship with art changed the way you view the world?
PV: Ikigai, a Japanese concept that roughly translates to "a reason for being". Art-making is my ikigai. Being a creative maker gives me a clear sense of purpose and direction in life. I've had a life-long interest in eastern philosophy and the more I recognize the subconscious seeping of the wabi-sabi aesthetic into my work the more I incorporate it's elements of imperfect beauty, impermanence and acceptance in my life.
Grand Image: What was the inspiration behind your Circles series? Can you tell us a little bit about your process of creating them?
PV: I was painting a lot of paper for use in collage and the reds and blue varieties became overwhelming in number so I had to do something with them! I decided to create an artistic challenge for myself. Limit my palette to primary colors and one form. Simplifying the artistic process encouraged creative problem-solving in order to create depth and complexity within self-imposed limitations.
Grand Image: How many years have you been an artist? Can you tell us about a key moment in your journey that helped define your style or your identity?
PV: I've been a full-time artist for 15 years. When I first started using texture and gradient layers in my digital photography, I remember making a finished image that I was really happy with even though I had started with a photograph that I thought was pretty uninteresting. That really showed me the value of layering and texture which is still evident in my work.
Grand Image: What is your current source of inspiration?
PV: My curiosity and a deep desire to learn new things. I work things out by putting something down on my substrate and responding to it. It could be a piece of previously painted paper, an ink mark or paint from a brayer. Then I continue on by asking, "what if I do this" or "how can I do that?"
Grand Image: What artists inspire you?
PV: I find Rothko's paintings mesmerizing. The simplicity and depth of his compositions promote introspection and contemplation of existential questions while his use of color and form evoke a wide range of feelings, from tranquility to melancholy, from awe to introspection.
I’m also inspired by Rauschenberg’s Combines. I love the use of found objects and everyday materials. This blending of different mediums and techniques provides a rich ground for exploration of textures, colors, and forms.
Grand Image: If you could have your artwork hung anywhere in the world, where would you like that to be and why?
PV: That's an easy one, medical facilities. I've heard from doctors that some patients come early to look at my art because it puts them in a "happy place" before treatment. I can't imagine anything more gratifying!
Grand Image: What does your artwork say about you as a person?
PV: Ha! Certainly that I'm not a perfectionist. Hopefully that I have a sense of humor and enjoy simplicity.
Grand Image: Why did you transition from photography to painting? What does your newer medium offer that photography did not?
PV: I missed making things with my hands. When I worked in a wet darkroom it was tactile, but that isn't the case with digital photography. During covid, before I started painting, I was exploring textile art. I was using natural dyes on recycled fabric and doing hand stitching. Using castoff material along with the meditative rhythm of stitching was very satisfying, especially during the quarantine phase. Stitching ultimately became painful and that's when I started painting.
Grand Image: Do you choose to stay on top of current trends?
PV: When I was focused on photography I did, but not so much now. I'm concentrating on having my work spring more from a place of playfulness and authenticity and I don't think following trends will help me. This is also why I stopped posting on social media a couple of years ago, I didn’t want to be influenced by “likes”.
Grand Image: What is your favorite way to implement self care?
PV: Quiet time by myself. I’m a classic introvert who gains strength and energy from being alone. Having a great massage is also high on my list!
Grand Image: What advice would you give someone starting out as an artist?
PV: Make art everyday. Do it in the morning before anything else. If you have a day job to go to, get up a little earlier and spend even a few minutes practicing your art. I've had several young artists tell me years later that this was best advice they ever received.
