#senior studio

Hi All!

So with Junior Studio II completed, these are all of the finished watercolors and titles:

“Little Miss Lu & Vanity: The Most Interesting Girl in the World (or so she thinks)”

“Little Miss Lu & Lust: The Holy Marvel Trinity”

“Little Miss Lu & Greed: The PillowPet Hoarder”

“Little Miss Lu & Envy: The Conundrum of the College Kid”

Something that I’ve noticed in a lot of my artwork: I love repetition. I love the effect that it adds to a photograph. There is something dizzying about repetition- you’re seeing double. It’s intoxicating. 

One of my favorite photographers, Patrick McPheron, aka Interior State, uses repetition in his sci-fi photographs to create an otherworldly feel. 

Untitled, Interior State

In the past, I’ve used blending modes on photoshop to create similar imagery to the one above. The effect is dizzying but cohesive. I enjoy making photographs that look like they’ve been captured through a kaleidoscope. The end results are usually similar to what someone could expect to see if they were on hallucinogenics. 

Yellow, Makaela Noelle, 2019

I learned about photomontage when I was a second year student at Moore. We were discussing the surrealist and dada era of art when I came across the artwork of Hannah Hoch.

Cut With the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany, Hannah Hoch 1919-1920

Hannah Hoch, with the help of fellow Dada artist Raoul Haussmann, “invented” the concept of photomontage in Berlin. Hannah’s work is a mixture of found images and text to critique the sociopolitical state in Germany. 

ÜBER DEM WASSER (OVER THE WATER) , Hannah Hoch ca. 1943

My freshman year at Moore, without knowing it, I was mimicking the cut-and-paste style of photo montage In the darkroom

Time’s Up! , Makaela Noelle, 2018

To create these images, I used both digital and analog techniques. I created the collages by scanning different found images and cleaning them up on photoshop. Then, I used photoshop to arrange the images into a collage and exposed the collage onto light sensitive paper with my laptop screen. Then I continued to go through the darkroom photo developing process.

The clock is ticking,  Makaela Noelle , 2018.

Okay. Let’s Start: 

What’s your name? 

Makaela 

What is your name really? 

I’m not sure really. 

Why are you not sure? 

It changes so many times in my head? 

Why are you conducting this interview? 

Because it’s an assignment for school. 

Why are you conducting this interview? 

I’m supposed to let my consciousness be free. 

Why are you conducting this interview? 

I need to understand myself better. 

What is your name? 

Whatever you want it to be. 

Who are you? 

I am a college senior. 

Who are you really? 

Another pawn in a capitalist game of “Life”.

Why are you here? 

I’m here to make art. 

And what is art? 

Art is everything. 

What is art? 

Art is energy, it’s loud, it’s quiet, it’s survival. 

Where are you from? 

I was born in the united states. 

Is that where you’re from? 

I come from the earth: ashes and rock. 

Are you connected to nature? 

I am completely detached from reality.

Are you connected with nature? 

I am every grain of sand on the beach, and simultaneously nothing at all. 

Why are you here? 

To prove that I once existed. 

What are you? 

A human. 

What are you? 

An abstract thought. 

What are you? 

A small fragment lost in space. 

When were you born? 

My birthday is April 21.

When were you born? 

In the year 1999. 

How old are you? 

I am 21 years old. 

How old are you? 

I’ve existed before time itself. 

How tall are you? 

5’5” and 2’0” at the same time. 

What is your favorite color? 

Green like trees. 

So you like trees? 

My breath is synchronized to theirs. 

Can you breathe right now? 

Barely. 

Why is that? 

Because I’m really, really high. 

Are you a drug addict? 

No, I can stop anytime I want.

Can you stop now? 

I don’t want to. 

Do you feel alone? 

Always, but I never am. 

Who is there with you? 

My friends and family. 

Who leave you alone? 

My family and friends. 

Do you like to be alone? 

Comfort shares a space with sadness in solitude. 

Can I make you happy? 

I have pills for that. 

What kind of pills? 

The happy kinds. They’re blue. 

Isn’t that ironic? 

Yes. 

What time is it? 

It’s past midnight. 

Why are you awake? 

Because the crickets are singing to me. 

Do you like to stay up late? 

Enjoyment isn’t a factor. 

Are you a morning person? 

I’m an anything person if i’m happy enough. 

What’s your favorite time of day? 

4:00.

Why 4:00?

Nothing feels real at 4:00PM. 

Are you real? 

I sure hope not. 

Why not? 

Because then i’d have to pay rent. 

Do you live by yourself? 

I live with 4 other people. 

Do you live by yourself? 

I am locked inside my room but I have the key.

Are you in your house right now? 

Yes I am.

Where inside your house? 

My new bedroom. 

Do you like your new bedroom? 

Yes and no

What do you like about your new bedroom? 

Natural light and cool air. 

What don’t you like about your new bedroom? 

It cost $300 a month plus utilities. 

Do you like the indoors or outdoors better?

I like the indoors and the outdoors too.

Why do you like outdoors?

Because there is sun and trees and ladybug kisses.

Why do you like indoors?

I can hide. 

Tell me a secret.

I don’t think I am good enough to be an artist.

What is an artist?

They make the world beautiful.

Are you an artist?

I want the answer to be yes.

Tell me about your art.

I work with cameras.

Tell me about your art.

I freeze people in time and space.

Tell me about your art.

It’s dizzy. 

Do you feel dizzy right now?

I feel completely still.

When will you move?

When my body is not tired anymore.

Are you tired right now?

I will spend the rest of my life tired.

What time do you wake up?

Usually around 9AM.

Are you looking forward to waking up tomorrow?

I always look forward to surviving the night.

Are you ready to quit?

Not yet.

How often do you quit?

More often than I'd like to admit.

When was the last time you felt good?

This morning.

What happened this morning?

I finally let myself cry.

You let yourself cry?

I let myself feel everything that I've been tucking away for later.

And crying made you feel good?

It was like draining an overflowing bathtub.

Do you like to take baths?

I feel too exposed.

So how do you relax?

I sit in the dark.

Are you in the dark right now?

Yes I am.

Why?

Because I'm saving the planet.

Really, Why?

Because the lights are too harsh for my eyes.

Are you still high?

For legal reasons I never was. 

Is it smart to write that down?

It would be cheating If I didn’t.

Are you responsible?

Not always. 

Why not? 

Because it’s overwhelming. 

Are you always overwhelmed? 

It is my natural state. 

What makes you overwhelmed?

School. My family. My friends. Me. 

Can you fix it? 

I could stop being sad. 

Can you fix it? 

I could organize my life better. 

Can you fix it? 

I can stop blaming other people. 

Can you fix it?

Only with medicinal help.

Can you fix it?

I think I was born an artist. Although, to say “I think” feels like an understatement. I know for sure that I was born to make art. To create. To make. I didn’t know for sure when I was a young child, but the urge to create has always been there. As a child, fulfilling that urge to be spontaneous and create things seemed easier. There were no second thoughts. I didn’t have to plan out a project, I didn’t have to make a supply list, I didn’t have to consult with another artist to see if my idea was too insane or just insane enough. The need to make art was met within moments of having an idea. As I got older, being an artist became more about how to use art to make a living, not about fulfilling that growing urge inside me. I was fortunate enough to be raised in a house where following your own path was encouraged, my parents never made me feel like it wasn’t worth my time. In fact, my earliest memories of my family are times where my dad always had a camera in his hand, documenting his life and recording everything we did. That’s where it all started for me. I was fascinated by how much joy it brought him to film everything. I could rewatch my childhood in an hour & fifteen minutes and retrieve memories that I no longer had in my head, from a scratch disk in his basement.

While I enjoyed the real life examples of artists in my life, nothing could compare to the inspiration I got from watching my favorite stories on screen. See, as a kid, I was pretty much obsessed with The Twilight Zone. So much so, that for a 7th grade writing assignment, I created a script for my own episode of The Twilight Zone. The stories they told were absurd, fantastical, and eerie. Yet, no matter how insane the episode was, they always found a way to connect it to the real world, in this dimension. Those are the stories I want to tell through my work, but haven’t yet found the right way to do so.

As an artist, i’m in a constant struggle between what I want to be, and what I think I should be. I feel this invisible pressure to label who I am and what I want to do for the rest of my life. After I finish editing a photo from a commissioned shoot, I find myself labeling my profession as “a photographer.” On the other end, when I finish editing a photo that came from me, one that I planned for hours obsessing over every detail— I call myself a “fine artist.” I haven’t figured out why there’s a difference.

I’ve always believed that I was meant to share my art with the world. I wanted to make people LOOK at me because I was so reclusive as a child. Then, after coming out as queer, I began stifling myself by not expressing that queerness to the fullest extend in my art. Having a father that is not fully supportive of me being queer, I feel the need to leave room for his approval in my work. “You can subtly make it gay, but not too much or else you can’t show anyone in the family.” It’s a constant struggle I face, and it shows in my work.

This kind of thinking often leads me to the inevitable question: what’s the point? Why am I doing this? Why do I spend so much time (and money) on projects that don’t fully express what I believe in or who I am? I wish I had a definite answer. Is it better for me to make art that I enjoy, but isn’t 100% me, or make nothing at all?

I often think about what my purpose is as an artist.

I believe that artists were put on this earth to make it beautiful, to make it better. I believe artists have the power to enact real change in the world because we force people to question what they know and view their environments differently. I so desperately want to believe that my purpose as an artist is to create beautiful images that challenge the norm and makes people think critically about their surroundings. I am inspired by artists who tap into the hearts of their viewers and make big statements in so little words. I am also inspired by images that are just compositionally so beautiful that it makes you pause and remember how precious life can be, and because of quarantine, I have been forced to consume art at an even higher rate than normal. It’s all I do, from the moment I wake up to the moment I close my eyes. This overload can sometimes feel overwhelming, as I feel like I haven’t done enough to make art while surviving a pandemic. It sometimes makes me feel like I am not a real artist, but whenever I pick up my pencil and write down a new photo idea, or sketch out a a design on procreate, I remember that an artist who isn’t constantly creating, but is constantly imagining, is just as valid as the first.

Urban Design Studio -

6th Street Medical Mixed Use Plaza

Urban Design Studio -

6th Street Redevelopment Plan

Site- Milwaukee, WI

Renderings from this project was featured in The Milwaukee Business Journal