Silvia Beatriz Abisaab Uses Portraits and Conversation toUncover Personal Stories
Sam Stevens speaks with Silvia Beatriz Abisaab about intimately connecting and
collaborating with her subjects through photography and conversation, and more recently,
sharing the untold stories of of individuals existing and surviving on the fringe.
Silvia Beatriz Abisaab explores the appearance and experience of race through interviews,
photography, video, and performance. One of Abisaab’s recent bodies of work is loosely
organized under the title of Cultural Exchange but is part of an ongoing practice of
documentary-based works. Two years ago, the artist began to document the spaces of
contemporary artists and art students around Kansas City, Missouri, where she received her
BFA at the Kansas City Art Institute in 2016. She takes full portraits of each artist framed by
their studios, depicting the beauty and the toil of art making as well as one’s relationship to
personal space. Abisaab shoots frank photographs of her subjects and in a way participates
in a personal exploration of a community to which she belongs.
Likewise, the Cultural Exchange series presents images, as well as voices, of friends,
acquaintances, and strangers who have some connection to the artist—each voice describes
experiences of racial discrimination and feelings of alienation. With her camera, Abisaab
captures vivid encounters, street scenes, and lively shops along with dignified images of the
people she is interviewing. This project serves as a platform to represent the voices of
marginalized individuals and challenge the viewer’s perception of race and ethnicity,
grappling with the paradoxes around physical appearance and representation. Her
photographic process is a tool for confronting stereotypes, playing with the perceptions of
and definitions around identity, and expanding the relationships between people across
cultures.
Julio C. Mortera Rodriguez by Silvia Beatriz Abisaab. Image courtesy of the artists
SAM STEVENS: Silvia, in your past work you interview people directly and document
their spaces, using photography and audio recording. In these multi-disciplinary
pieces, you orchestrate an experience rather than crafting a specific image. How did
you move from the process of photographing to the process of interviewing? And who
do you consider your audience to be?
SILVIA BEATRIZ ABISAAB: I find it interesting when you state that I orchestrate an
experience rather than craft a specific image. From my standpoint, I feel that I am doing both
simultaneously. I personally feel that the experience that I am having with the individual
allows an idea to be crafted that will then be captured. That is ultimately what my practice is
doing at the moment.
My practice consists of engaging in conversations with individuals to learn about them and
encompass that moment and/or experience using photography, video, and sound.
Specifically speaking about the artist’s studio portraits, it is very important to do more than
capture. I interact with each participant in a deeper way because I find that the more I learn
about their studio practice, thoughts on life, and/or political to cultural perspectives, then the
more attentive I was in making sure I can represent them respectfully. However, I definitely
feel that by speaking with them, it allows for our time spent together to be great and valuable.
That mindset allows me to create an interesting transition from photographing to dialogue.
Now as for my audience, I would love for the whole world to be my audience, however that
usually doesn’t happen. Yet, I am starting to see that those who are interested in simply
gaining more perspective and insight in the arts while learning more about someone else is
my kind of audience.
Collaboration with Brandon Kintzer by Silvia Beatriz Abisaab. Image courtesy of the artists
SS: Last year you worked with a fellow KCAI alum, sculptor and architect Brandon
Kintzer to create a series of abstract images. These works showed arrangements of
bodies, shapes, color and line in an indefinite space. What is the connection between
the work you were doing with Brandon and your documentary work? In a different way
the documentary work is also an exploration of appearances and bodies.
SBA: The work that Brandon and I collaborated on came from an interest in bodies engaging
with sculpture and space, and utilizing aesthetically minimal elements to see how the body
and those elements can infuse with one another to create another sculptural form and
perspective. Though it was a great experience, I can’t seem to find a current connection to
the work that I am doing now. However, I could say that I am more thoughtful on how I
connect with and capture the individual. Not to say, that the people I worked with on this
project with Brandon weren’t thoughtfully captured, because they definitely were. However, I
must be more thoughtful with the subjects I work with now because I am in their space, an
intimate space that has depth and meaning to them, from personal to creative experiences.
SS: Your photographs toe the line between conceptual and direct. Could you speak
about this relationship in your work? How do you choose your subjects?
SBA: My work is more direct because I aim towards a personal and informative narrative.
Being direct allows the participant to understand my motives. I want to learn and hear about
their creative explorations, thoughts, and opinions—any information and experience that I
can utilize and translate through digital media applications and/or through conversations with
others. I connect with either close friends, classmates, or anyone in the art community who I
find interesting based on the current studio work or simply because I am interested in
connecting with them. Facebook and Instagram are great tools in following what my peers
are doing and it helps me seek and ask if they are interested in getting their portrait taken
and potentially having a conversation. The reason for this direct act is that the chosen
subjects, whoever they may be, are people that should be celebrated because of how
amazing they are at what they do. My fascination with my subjects can lead to new
opportunities for them, from being showcased on a different platform to being contacted by
another person to find commonality with them.
Beky by Silvia Beatriz Abisaab. Image courtesy of the artists
SS: When building a body of work that deals with the tension and
reciprocity(exchange) between individuals and communities, where do you fit as an
artist and what is your relationship with your subjects? Does a distance exists and
remain, or does closeness with a community develop throughout your process? What
is the importance of collaboration for you?
SBA: I think of my role as a “socially engaged artist”, interacting and engaging with a lot of
different individuals and communities through listening and sharing respectfully. When you show
the individual participating in the artist’s work as not just a subject, but a person with value, that
makes the work and relationship stronger. Even without the “artist” title, it is important to
understand that if a person who is seeking to build, grow, or gain a relationship with any
individual they must be considerate. I’m not seeking to gain profit out of anyone that I work
with since it is not my focus. Instead what I try to convey is that there exists many people that
are extremely talented and worthwhile. If you encounter someone with unique viewpoints,
reach out and connect with them. Furthermore, you should be really thoughtful since you
won’t only have a great experience, but also gain new knowledge from someone who you
may not share a common background with and yet, channel the same interest or learn
something you never knew about. It is that moment where I gather a sense of who they are
and more perspective from them that allows us both to work simultaneously to capture their
image. While there are times that can be distant, is not something I intend to happen and we
just continue our daily doings. However, I continue to brainstorming potential ideas that could
lead into another collaboration.
This interview was edited and commissioned by the 2016-2017 Charlotte Street Curator in
Residence, Lynnette Miranda, in collaboration with Informality‘s for Issue 2: Digital Studio
Visits and the exhibition ¿Qué Pasa USA? at la Esquina Gallery (1000 West 25 Street
KCMO) open from November 18, 2016 through January 7, 2017. This interview was
originally published on http://collectivegap.info/