Eva

Lake

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Eva Lake

The female figure takes center stage in the collages of Eva Lake, mysterious, historical, and rooted in pop culture all at once. An underground, multidisciplinary artist, Lake has long sidestepped the commercial art world, approaching her work instead with a fierce punk sensibility. A staple of the collage community for decades, her evolving body of work is a testament to her enduring vision. It’s a joy to witness the trajectory of her practice over time.

In the Words of the Artist
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Long ago, I believed that “art is life,” and that turned out to be true. I have painted, been in bands, written poetry, and danced off-Broadway. So, I don’t like to wander down the singular “this is my practice” lane.

But I will claim one activity which is truly a practice: the writing of a diary. I started as a child in 1969 and now am on my 189th notebook. Every piece of art, every dream, the drinks, the meals, the crushes, the failures and successes - are in these books. The adventures in art history, in Punk, in day jobs, in makeup and fashion, in London, New York, San Francisco, and Portland - it’s all there.

This is about engaging yourself and learning what you really like - who you are, and what you want to say. That voice changes over the years, so having the record is important, more so than any piece of art. I have learned things from my 21-year-old self.

I made my first collage in high school. It was with a 1930s photograph of Lucille Ball - I remember it well. But by that time, I had made all kinds of art, including oil painting, as my mother was an artist and had a gallery with 3 other women. I was exposed to everything, tried everything, even pottery and mosaic. My mom had a wonderful studio, and most of her friends were artists.

But it was during the Punk era that collage made a profound impact. I was in London, and in 1978, the Hayward Gallery had the show “Dada and Surrealism Reviewed.” All these punks were at that museum show. I still have the Hannah Höch postcard from that show, which has been on every studio (or bedroom) wall since that time, a guiding light. I saw how Punk and my voice had a real connection to art history, which is what I had studied in school but had felt, as an artist, intimidated by. When I came back to the States that year, I made my first collage-based fanzines, inspired by Dada and also the Russian avant-garde.

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I am just working and looking all the time. Notice I said looking, another word for thinking. I spend days sometimes just looking. Learning to trust myself, follow my nose, and follow my interests - that has been the lifelong lesson and pursuit. For many of us, this goes back to imagery and myths we knew as children, and this is true for me.

Often, I have started something very much on the fly. It’s not for a show. It is to amuse myself. Or it might be a gift for a friend. I go off in a certain direction with no big goal in mind but to explore. This was actually how the Judd Montages started, how the Targets started, and how the Anonymous Women started. None of that started as any kind of commercial interest or even something for the public. It was for myself. It still is.

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I learned about Mail Art in the 1970s, which is the only time I practiced it. Meeting the Bay Area Dadaists - in particular Bill Gaglione - was instrumental to that participation. The magical thing about Mail Art was receiving so much from people you never met, a kind of magic difficult to imagine now because of the Internet. The biggest thrill was receiving work from behind the Iron Curtain. Exotic! I have kept most of those postcards, and when I look at them, I still feel some of that awe of a young artist at the start of it all.

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When it comes to Punk, I have a book full of stories, and it’s hard to focus on one. But it all begs the question - without Punk, would I have zeroed in on collage? It’s hard to say. Both Dada and Punk were self-invented, outrageous, and often political, and both gloriously cut and paste. Whatever my circumstances, I could always collage. I was dirt poor, but luckily I was fascinated with the found and furious paper. When I started those fanzines, all I had was an Ouija board to work on.

Disco was something I was certainly aware of - but I only went to one, a gay disco, of course, in Eugene while at U of O. This was out of boredom more than anything else. Later on, I wrote a “Death to Disco” manifesto, and I was not the only one! Nonetheless, I see Disco in my work occasionally, and I do like the attitude of everyone being beautiful and sexy. That’s a Disco thing for sure.

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About the Artist

Eva Lake studied art history and archaeology at the University of Oregon and painting at the Art Students League of New York. She has exhibited internationally since 1980. As a singer in post-punk bands, she recorded with Trap Records in the Pacific Northwest. Her day job was in makeup, beauty, and fashion, and this, plus her studies in art history, has formed the foundation and subject matter for much of her work in photomontage.

Now on view at FROSCH&CO through June 29, Because She’s Worth It marks Eva Lake’s fifth solo show with the gallery. Featuring three recent collage series—Helmets, Some Girls, and The Museum—the exhibition is a sharp, stylish meditation on beauty, value, and power, delivered with Lake’s signature mix of art history and feminist wit. Don’t miss it.

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