With a spotlight on the human form, Violet Treadwell Hull’s art is both sensitive and visceral.
After exploring several artistic avenues in high school, such as graphic design and commercial filmmaking, the third-year art student said she felt limited by the stereotypical nature of these environments. Instead, Treadwell Hull said they turned to painting, drawing and more experimental films supported by elements of animation, not limiting themselves to one medium but using whatever form would work best for them. each part. But the artistic practice that has most influenced Treadwell Hull’s work is writing, which they believe informs everything they do.
“A lot of times I paint based on stories I’ve written, so you’ll see characters that appear more than once in my paintings, and usually those are characters in my writing,” Treadwell Hull said. “And on my show ‘Working Dog’, I performed a monologue that I wrote. So that (brought back) my acting into my practice right now.
The intersection of several disciplines is visible in all of Treadwell Hull’s work, such as their most recent film, “Pools Above Ground”, which is based on a novel they are writing. Playing synthesizer music for the soundtrack, experimenting with font design and meticulously layering video footage to create a double exposure effect, Treadwell Hull said he was engaged in every aspect of the filmmaking process. of the movie. The project deals with power dynamics in interpersonal relationships, they said, particularly regarding those at play when people touch.
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Treadwell Hull said this particular focus on the human body has also translated into their more traditional visual artworks, such as their paintings. Hopefully these pieces will not only inspire curiosity in their audience, but also get people thinking about their own experiences in their bodies, Treadwell Hull noted. Their work grapples with uncomfortable narratives and memories, which they say are meant to show interactions between bodies and visualize the ever-changing nature of memories.
“The more you think about those memories, the more they change,” Treadwell Hull said. “I want to put these memories on paper or canvas so I know they’re there and they’re not going anywhere.”
As an interdisciplinary artist, Lucas Bjelos, a fourth-year art student, said Treadwell Hull’s artistry was also present in his photography. Unlike the magnetic humanoid figures who are reduced to barely recognizable forms in Treadwell Hull’s paintings, their photographs often feature their siblings, Bjelos said. The photographs exude warmth and peace, he says, a tenderness that recalls the richness of childhood memories.
“I remember in photo class when they were doing their (review) and talking about (about) taking photos of their siblings,” Bjelos said. “They insisted on wanting the energy of the photo shoot to be really fun and silly because their dad is also a photographer. and whenever he takes pictures, there’s always a pretty serious vibe.
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This attention to detail and artistic generosity is a major aspect of the life and practice of Treadwell Hull, said third-year art student Karina Remer. Treadwell Hull’s sensitivity and meticulousness are essential to her abilities as an artist, she said. Additionally, Bjelos said Treadwell Hull’s technique of creating colors and impressions through layers of paint and stain gives depth to each piece.
“The scale is what really appeals to me because you’re standing in front of the paintings and they have this watery texture (of) the way (the paint) seeps into the canvas, so you come up close to admire that grain “, Bjelos mentioned. “And then there are those sparkles of pure chroma that leave those impressions of the chalky nature of the paint trying to do more than seep into the canvas but sit on it.”
Although they are open to many careers, Treadwell Hull said art was something they needed to stay alive. Becoming a painter or filmmaker was never in their plans, but rather happened naturally from the way they dealt with the world, Treadwell Hull said. They want to keep doing new things for the world and for themselves as they move forward, they said. More recently, Treadwell Hull’s new experimental film titled “Steves Jobs Jr.” has been released throughout this week in segments with the script to be released later this week.
“I know if I want to be someone in this world, I’m going to do art because that’s exactly what I have to do,” Treadwell Hull said.