MacTribe Interviews Digital Designer, Illustrator, Collage Artist Bina Altera

MacTribe: You've been described as an Artist, Illustrator, Designer, Photographer, which of these is closest to what you actually do?

Altera: I’m an artist. Each of these disciplines is considered visual art, which requires a trained eye. An artist is one who creates. How the artist creates is their choice.

MacTribe: Mixed digital media is a term that comes to mind when looking at your work. What would you call your process?

Altera: I call my process collage. Much like when musicians sample other artist’s songs and incorporate it into their own, I do the same with images. Someone once described my work as paintings with photos. I spent many years exclusively working digitally but I always relied on my drawing, composition and narrative ability to drive the image. I always want my hand to show in the work I create.

MacTribe: Where do you draw your inspirations from?

Altera: Birds flying in the sky, bridges spanning bodies of water, fish swimming, vast bodies of water, death and rebirth, memories, migrations of animals, inner struggle and conflict, interconnection of all things.

MacTribe: Are there any comparisons or key influences that you feel strongly about?

Altera: The artists which have inspired me are; Robert Rauschenberg, Romare Bearden, Frida Kahlo, Joseph Cornell, Andrew Wyeth, Diane Arbus, Lisa Bufano, and Hiroshige. These are the first that enter my mind. Also, photographers Minor White, John Daido Loori. I’m influenced by the place these artists work from. When I say “place” I mean inner spirit. This inner spirit is intuitive, in the moment, a place where you confront fear alone and turn it into courage. The rawness is palpable. I strive for that in my work.

MacTribe: Your artwork has appeared in a variety of arenas, including music CD's, magazine covers, art installations, I even heard about a series of cards you created for horror/fantasy writer Clive Barker. Is there a place in this eclectic mix you feel most comfortable with?

Altera: After years of creating work for other people I realized that I no longer made work for myself. This realization actually frightened me. I had become removed from my original desire to just make the work. So, I guess I can say that nowadays I feel most comfortable making art for art’s sake but I feel comfortable and enjoy the challenge of creating commissioned artwork.

MacTribe: How do you feel about the art marketplace in general these days?

Altera: I try not to think about the art market. It hinders my creativity.

MacTribe: What tools, organic and technological do you employ in your creation process?

Altera: I use technological tools, which distort and make an image look organic. For example, I use specialty lenses on my digital SLR camera. One, which I use often allows for selective focusing. I keep a digital archive of all the images I take using Lightroom. I also use Photoshop to work through sketches and ideas and print out images on specialty inkjet transfer paper. The main ingredient to my work is gloss medium varnish. I use this to create the acrylic lifts.

MacTribe: Can you tell us how you start making a new image?

Altera: There are several parts to starting a new image for me. My work is very process heavy. The very first thing I do is venture out with my camera and walk around aimlessly. It’s sort of a drift more then a walk. I wait for something to catch my attention as if it’s calling me or it’s something that inspires me and makes me stop. I capture the essence of the element either living or none living. I’ll then go back to my studio, import the images into my computer and look at them. Now I’m working from the memory of that moment in time. The images that I feel have captured the essence of that moment are the ones I work with. Then I’m back to being in the moment and I work with images and transparent acrylic lifts.

MacTribe: What role do the digital tools of 2008 play in your artwork creation?

Altera: Digital tools play a big part in my image creation but in a very specific way. I use those tools to capture, archive, view, manipulate, print, and publish to the web. It has replaced my need to have boxes of photographs, slides, fax machine and a fedex account. Good thing too because New York City apartments aren’t big.

MacTribe: Do you feel a digital designer or artist is limited compared to a purist?

Altera: I think an artist who considers him/herself a purist is limited.

MacTribe: How has the emergence of so much technology recently influenced the creation of art and design in your opinion?

Altera: It becomes easier to edit and version. It also can be a distraction. Technology has the potential to become a crutch for some artists. People can be more concerned with the technological part of the project and let the idea and concept fall by the way side. This can only produce one thing … boring art.

MacTribe: As a self described fan of Apple and the Mac, how has the process of seeing Apple move more into the mainstream over the last 10 years affected your opinion of the company overall?

Altera: I think it’s great that Apple has recieved much more visibility. They make great products. Someone had to show these other companies how to do it right. Apple has raised the bar in product design, service and interface design and I’m confident they will continue to do so.

MacTribe: Can you discuss your most recent work?

Altera: My most recent work developed out of a week-long residency in North Adams, MA a couple of years ago. Twenty collage artists were invited to participate in a 100-hour period of making collage art. It was an incredible experience. I created work I had been thinking of making for three years. With my latest work I combine my experience of working digitally with my formative creative years of working by hand. With this new body of art I’m working from digital to analog where in the past I worked analog to digital. I thrive working this way. It satisfies both my desire to work tactilely and technologically. Most importantly I’m creating work I feel very connected to. I bring more to the table working with this new work. I’m more aware of what I’m feeling and I listen to that more. I’m guided by an intuitive inner strength that I didn’t have ten years ago. With my new work I take more risks, I don’t let my fear guide my work, I guide my work.

MacTribe: Do you feel immersed in your work or are you able to withdraw and come back to it?

Altera: I am 100% immersed when creating my work. I find it difficult to stop and start. Most of the time, once I start I don’t stop until it’s finished. Or it’s the complete opposite when I feel a piece is not working I’ll put it down for a few months so I can revisit it with less attachment. When I’m done with a piece I have to put it down and not look at it for a while. I’m too critical of it. It can be a painful experience. To be honest, I am completely baffled by the creative process. The force that drives people to create is incredible. I don’t take it for granted at all but I do feel it is our birthright to create. We all have it in us it just manifests in different ways.

MacTribe: You are a longtime New York City resident does the city appeal to you as an artist?

Altera: I grew up in Jersey City and went to college in Boston. New York was the place I new I would eventually end up in. I missed that period in New York when the city was raw and art was everywhere. Now luxury condos are everywhere and neighbors are transient. Don’t get me wrong. I love NY and living here but there are element of the old New York I miss. Some of old New York is still here and that’s what I fully enjoy and feed off of. I can see a Kahlo painting or a Cornell shadow box at the MOMA when ever.

Photo of Bina by Matt Wilson