Audio By Carbonatix
Phoenix is brimming with creativity. And every other year, we put the spotlight on 100 of the city’s creative forces. Leading up to the release of this year’s Best of Phoenix issue, we’re profiling 100 more. Welcome to the 2014 edition of 100 Creatives. Up today: 9. Nic Wiesinger.
Nic Wiesinger‘s all over the map.
Sometimes they’re maps the artist creates, and sometimes they’re maps he traverses. “I live in Phoenix but teach at Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale,” Wiesinger says. “I also help install the exhibitions at SMoCA every three months or so, so I spend lots of time moving back and forth between the West Valley and Scottsdale.”
See also: Phoenix Photographer Rosalind Shipley: 100 Creatives
Wiesinger’s inspired by maps, and they impact how he portrays his environmental interests and concerns in his work.
“A lot of my work is water based, and place based, it talks about how we relate to the water around us, and how that water dictates how we live where we do,” he says. “Right now I’m fascinated with the Colorado River, it has reached the sea for the first time in decades, mostly due to governmental efforts to try to revitalize the ecosystem that has been living without its natural water supply because it has been diverted to canals north of the Baja of California.”
The former Eye Lounge member and Contermporary Forum grant recipient has explored some of these ideas in shows at ASU Art Museum, The Ohio State University, and at the International Digital Media and Arts Association Conference. Wiesinger earned his master’s of fine art in intermedia art from ASU and studied education and social history at Ball State University.
And his upcoming projects will continue to look at how history, water, and place interact.
“I’m working on a proposal for interpretative signs at the Tres Rios Project, the wastewater treatment plant in southwestern Phoenix that creates wetlands from urban waste,” the artist says. “I’m also fascinated by the large amounts of water that have been found in the earth’s core. All water problems are local, either there is too much or not enough, but if we were able to tap into the water inside the earth, then maybe we can find ways to manage it easier.”
I came to Phoenix with my one-ton cargo van which was an interactive public art performance piece. Oh, and all my possessions stuffed in that van.
I make art because it’s my way of expression. I think artists are often like the sponges and the mirrors of society, they take in all the influences, all the visions and atmosphere and attitudes and ether of a place, and then reflect all of those influences back into the work that they create. I make art because it allows me an outlet to express, inform, and make tangible all the data and inexpressionables of this valley.
I’m most productive when I’m listening to a book on tape about water or environmental issues, or historical events. Or listening to NPR. I’ve found that listening to informative and intelligent programs help me to balance my creativity. It’s my weight connecting me to the earth.
My inspiration wall is full of maps. And more maps. And maps of maps. I get lost in their representation of space, the way that a map is supposed to represent reality. There’s a beautiful dichotomy in their usefulness and their uselessness, their subjective objectivity. And the colors are mesmerizing.
I’ve learned most from talking with others, learning from others. We are all a treasure trove of stories and information, if we are brave enough to listen and learn from one another.
Good work should always feel right. And come without being forced. The work that feels the most like what I want to create has seemed like it was just always there with me in the room, and I made it when I noticed it. If I have to continue to ask over and over again about how something is going to be or how something is going to work, I know I am forcing the piece more than it needs to be.
The Phoenix creative scene could use more incentives for keeping creatives in the Valley. I’ve seen too many amazingly creative people leave because there are better incentives and opportunities elsewhere.
See the 2014 edition of 100 Creatives:
100. Bill Dambrova
99. Niki Blaker
98. Jeff Slim
97. Beth May
96. Doug Bell
95. Daniel Langhans
94. Nanibaa Beck
93. Nicole Royse
92. Ib Andersen
91. Casandra Hernandez
90. Chris Reed
89. Shelby Maticic
88. Olivia Timmons
87. Courtney Price
86. Travis Mills
85. Catrina Kahler
84. Angel Castro
83. Cole Reed
82. Lisa Albinger
81. Larry Madrigal
80. Julieta Felix
79. Lauren Strohacker
78. Levi Christiansen
77. Thomas Porter
76. Carrie Leigh Hobson
75. Cody Carpenter
74. Jon Jenkins
73. Aurelie Flores
72. Michelle Ponce
71. Devin Fleenor
70. Noelle Martinez
69. Bucky Miller
68. Liliana Gomez
67. Jake Friedman
66. Clarita Lulić
65. Randy Murray
64. Mo Neuharth
63. Jeremy Hamman
62. La Muñeca
61. Kevin Goldman
60. Emily Costello
59. Kerstin Dale
58. Vara Ayanna
57. Nathaniel Lewis
56. Ruben Gonzales
55. Lisa Poje
54. Bobby Zokaites
53. Frances Smith Cohen
52. Julie Rada
51. David Miller
50. Xanthia Walker
49. Kyllan Maney
48. Cary Truelick
47. Constance McBride
46. James D. Porter
45. Allyson Boggess
44. Abigail Lynch
43. Ashley Cooper
42. Jaclyn Roessel
41. Brandon Boetto
40. Melissa Dunmore
39. Gavin Sisson
38. Rossitza Todorova
37. Monica Robles
36. Josh Kirby
35. Jesse Perry
34. Yai Cecream
33. Nathan Blackwell
32. Carley Conder
31. Ben Willis
30. Nicole Michieli
29. Brian Cresson
28. Tyson Krank
27. Mikey Estes
26. Anwar Newton
25. Sarah “Saza” Dimmick
24. Tato Caraveo
23. Jorge Torres
22. Laura Spalding Best
21. Shawnte Orion
20. Mike Olbinski
19. Christina You-Sun Park
18. Jon Arvizu
17. Anya Melkozernova
16. J.B. Snyder
15. Damon Dering
14. Rebekah Cancino
13. Liz Warren
12. Timothy Brennan
11. Mimi Jardine
