We’ve all had that moment in our lives where we look at a piece of art and think, “I could do that.” When in reality most of us can’t. Especially when gazing upon a piece by Alex Garant. What she does with Glitch Art is beyond what I can comprehend. Same for you? I feel you! Now let’s not waste any more time and get to know more about Alex and the wonderful glitch.
Kendra: What initially fueled your love of art and creating? Was it a cartoon from your childhood? An album cover from your teen years? A painting a relative had in their home?
Alex Garant: Actually, my mother is the person who inspired me to create as a child. She always had art supplies at home, colouring books, watercolorS, arts, and crafts. So I picked up creative activities as a hobby as soon as I was able to hold a crayon.
Kendra: When you headed off to Notre-Dame–De-Foy College, what kind of future career did you have in mind for yourself at the time?
Alex Garant: I wasn’t too sure. I knew I had an affinity for creative initiatives so I followed what I knew. But I always had multiple academic interests, I loved science and history as well. After art school, I actually had multiple careers before I finally settled as a full-time artist. I worked as a clown, a makeup artist, a nanny, a flight attendant, retail communication and advertising sales.
Alex Garant: Seven years ago you faced the end and came back strong after your heart attack. Do you feel as if you would’ve eventually found your way to doing art full time had you not gone through that?
Alex Garant: I hope so, but who knows. This certainly brought back my focus in life. But mostly it made me realize all the things I hadn’t experienced yet or the things I kept pushing back because of time or fear.
Kendra: When it comes to the type of art you do, Glitch Art, someone like me cannot even begin to comprehend how you do it. How did your relationship with this style come to be and where do you see it going as art continues to evolve with each passing year?
Alex Garant: I think from my early years, I was always attracted to stiff compositions, symmetry, and patterns. Most people consider glitch a random uneven visual element, I try to use it to bring structure and calculated repeated images. To me, it is a way to bring questions and a visual quest to a more traditional portrait.
Kendra: You’ve said your work is about the battle we have with ourselves. Our inner and outer selves fighting one another. It’s similar to the idea that we all wear various masks throughout the day. One at work, one with our family, one with friends, and so on but this also made me think of how we’ve also developed two sides of ourselves thanks to the internet. We have our online personas and then who we are in reality. Do you feel as if for some, they’re getting lost in their online persona and forgetting who they really are?
Alex Garant: Sure, I feel like the importance of an outside persona has grown a lot in the past 10 years with the appearance of social media. Trying to catch a true glimpse of someone’s true feelings is almost impossible via staged photos and cleverly edited video content. Hence why we need to truly take the time to embrace real human interactions, take the time to listen to others, and embrace what makes us human.
Kendra: As we head deeper into 2019 and soon into 2020, are there any new galleries we can catch you in? Any new pieces or collections you’re working on you can share?
Alex Garant: I always keep a fairly detailed schedule on my website. I do have great exhibits coming up in 2020, including my first museum exhibit (more details to come soon!!!)
