Questionnaire: Casey Jane Ellison

Q. What image keeps you company in the space where you work? A. An enormous, airbrushed, lenticular hologram of myself.

BY Casey Jane Ellison in Interviews , Questionnaires | 01 JUN 15

What was the first piece of art that really mattered to you?

I first saw Diane Arbus’s photographs when I was really young and they really scared me. It was the first time in my life I asked myself: ‘Why am I scared?’ I had a primal reaction and, perhaps, my first critical thought as a kid because of her work. Arbus’s photographs have helped me isolate a lot of my neuroses since then, too.

If you could live with only one piece of art, what would it be?

I’m not trying to be a bitch, but probably something of mine.

What is your favourite title of an artwork?

The Large Bathers (1900–06) by Paul Cézanne.

What film has most influenced you?

Dumb and Dumber (1994).

What are you reading?

A biography of George Washington, and it’s crazy.

What music are you listening to?

Erykah Badu.

What do you like the look of?

A vaguely tropical, private, outdoor seating area with good chairs, a body of water (artificial or natural) and a view. Also, horses.

What should change?

My cat keeps leaving paw prints on the sink. She should stop doing that.

What should stay the same?

Beauty departments should always carry my lipstick colour.

What could you imagine doing if you didn’t do what you do?

I’d be a cat wrangler.

What do you wish you knew?

How to skateboard, but it’s too scary.

What is art for?

Fun and ego.

CASEY JANE ELLISON

Born in Los Angeles, USA, Casey Jane Ellison is a bi-coastal, bi-sexual artist and comedian. The inventor of the comedian avatar, Ellison is the star, writer and producer of Ovation TV’s Touching the Art, an all-female, all-art talk show. She also hosts a monthly comedy show at Otherwild Goods and Services in Los Angeles. As an artist, she has exhibited at the New Museum, the Museum of Art and Design and MoMA PS1, New York, USA, as well as at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Her work was also included in the 2015 New Museum Triennial, ‘Surround Audience’.