Talia Chetrit: Hi Ruby! Your sculptures play with, examine and push around ideas tied to collage whether it be the collage of time, the collapsing of different historical time periods, or in the physical way you make your work.  Recently in your studio you have been collaging the context in which you might expect to see the pieces, mixing both recognizable art icons with more functional elements. Can you tell me about this new approach?

Ruby Sky Stiler: I find that question really offensive. Just kidding! I have been really into this potential of creating an alternative environment in which to experience the "artwork."  In a recent show I approached that idea by transforming the gallery into an interpretation of an "attic" by installing long, distressed wooden floorboards and raising the floor itself to limit the headspace of the room. I think this created a viscerally disorienting feeling for people experiencing the space, because it was a hot, cramped room with a creaky floor. While the gallery is oriented towards the creation of value in an object, the attic is a realm where objects go when they no longer have any use.  The more conventional artworks in the room were encouraged to shift between these two states. I'm furthering that vein of interest by imagining that the work I'm currently making in my studio is not intended for the gallery but rather an overtly commercial realm of utilitarian objects, like a store. I'm not proposing that these won't be viewed/discussed as artworks, but just curious how that changes the way I go about my production. It's a suspension of disbelief that I feel has the potential to make the work stranger and more specific. It could consist of using materials that are not usually associated with art or give the objects that I'm making an obvious purpose. I think that creating an object with the gallery clearly in mind can have a conservatizing effect on the work itself, I'm interested in perverting that. And it's pretty fun. 

TC: You challnge the value of art by changing the viewing spaces where your work is shown, an attic or a store, and also by using materials that are cheap and transforming them into what looks like ancient priceless sculptures. Where does this interest in value come from?

RSS: I don't know! Just shooting from the hip, though, I grew up in New Mexico, immersed in New Age culture: Astrology, homeopathy, various Native American traditions, Psychic readings, Buddhism, yoga... I always was curious about the way that the community of adults I grew up with would move their spiritual beliefs around and attach them to related talismans. Granting a deep, spiritual, "magical" value to physical things. It's my feeling that the value of a dream catcher or a prayer flag is pretty subjective, and relates to the expectations of the person who's looking. (That said I don't feel negative about the practice of piecing together ones own belief system at all–just interested). In the past I've made work directly related to this subject. Since then, the iconography has evolved and changed to include new and different ideas, but the theme of objects and subjectivity has remained a part of my work. Or maybe it's because I have no money.

TC: Thanks for taking the time to answer some of my questions! You’re amazing!

 

Born in 1979, Ruby Sky Stiler lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received her BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from Yale University in 2006. Stiler's solo debut in New York at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery was in May 2009. She has exhibited her work internationally, including Sandroni Rey, Los Angeles; Kantor/Feuer Window, New York; DUMBO Arts Center, Brooklyn; Annarumma, Naples, Italy; Guild & Greyshkul, New York; Sunday Gallery, New York; China Art Objects, Los Angeles; and Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston.  Ruby is represented by Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, nicellebeauchene.com