Meet Angela Golota | Artist/Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Angela Golota and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela, how do you think about risk?
Anytime someone decides they want to enter the art world, there is risk involved. Within art, risk is where the interest lives. Safe art is merely comfortable because you know where it will take you. Risk is what drives the passion for art making, it’s what makes your art develop. Letting yourself play and discover through taking risks is what helps your art practice grow. Going into an art career can feel like taking a risk, and I knew this when I entered art school. Ultimately, you have to decide, do what you love and work hard for it, or take the risk free safe route. If you work hard at your passion and understand it won’t be amazing right off the bat, and you’re willing to go through a period of working other jobs with your art practice on the side, eventually, your risk pays off. For me, taking the risk of going to art school paid off as soon as I realized I was following a dream that many other artists at heart have suppressed.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
With my photography I aim to represent concepts by formulating a response to my experience. I re-live, but in a more staged manner. I reconsider my surroundings within the framework of what they’ve become to me. Even when an experience or memory is not shared by the viewer, through images, you are empathetically taken into the mindset of the artist. And when the imagery is strong, it elicits an emotional response, sometimes even physical. I would like the viewer to approach my work by reliving it with me, or experiencing the world I’ve created, to experience a feeling that doesn’t have to be the same as mine, and not necessarily the one that I intended. As a current student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the risk for me was believing that this is something that I could do in the first place. I employ risk within my projects and I employ risk within my practice in general. Getting out of my comfort zone conceptually or aesthetically is a risk that determines the outcome of something I am often unable to re-do, but allowing yourself to take risk and play is what makes works successful. Risk is also about understanding that not everything you take a risk on will turn out well.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely grab drinks at the athletic association game room. The atmosphere is dark and lovely with dark wood and warm dark lighting. A nice spot for evening drinks by a fireplace. I’m not a huge foodie so I can’t really recommend spots, but I personally like the restaurant etta, Lux Bar, The Gage, and friends Ramen. There are plenty of other places that I just don’t remember. Wicker park has a great restaurant scene with various price ranges. I also love getting drinks at Gretel. Myopic bookstore is a lovely place as well for fairly priced books and a spot to read.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I try to remain true to myself and my desires. I want. to be in good faith to myself, and I don’t want to merely play a role just because I know it is the safe option. Everyone tries to discover what it means to exist, and I have decided I will make my life meaningful by doing what I love to do, to the magic in everyday life and childlike wonder. This is why I’m an artist. There is magic in the very mundane reality, you just have to pay a little more attention. You can deem anything poetic by noticing details of realities inherent poeticism. I could dedicate this to a few philosophers and surrealist artists who share this point of view, but this is something I have discovered for myself as a 16 year old. I started connecting the dots in art school, and I realized my personal life philosophy that I have developed has already been described by surrealists and existentialists.

Website: https://www.agolotaphotography.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gelatophotography/?hl=en