文 Text｜謝蕎安 Joanne Hsieh
圖 Image courtesy｜Caroline Jacobson
翻譯 Translated by｜謝蕎安 Joanne Hsieh
(Q&A 摘自 LVL3）
畫家、雕塑家，現居芝加哥的 Caroline Jacobson 用擬人化的狗，諷刺並陳述現代人的物質文化。她的創作充滿幽默元素：似曾相識的服裝造型（知名動畫的公主造型）、受到普羅大眾歡迎的犬種和名字（Bella），都是藝術家幽默的巧思，將流行文化對人們潛意識造成的影響用雙手打造出來。這些穿著華服和高跟鞋的狗兒帶給讓觀者無法忽視的存在感。
Jacobson 的創作風格大膽、突兀，挑戰觀者的視覺感官。然而仔細一想，現實生活中的媒體、網紅、明星，也正是如此這般地被報導、放大；尤其在開放社會中，星光紅毯、名人實境秀，無奇不有，各種光怪陸離的現象在網路上無遠弗屆的充斥在生活中。
在紅毯上搔首弄姿的人狗 hybrid (混種）讓人的視覺受到挑戰，但又忍不住盯著他們瞧。在女人被物化、坦蕩做自己卻又會被用父權主義的語言漫罵批評的時代，這是一個幽默、誠實到讓人不舒服的寫照。
我讓狗兒穿戴假髮、高跟鞋，諷刺和陳述人類喜歡用狗（寵物），或是假髮、高根鞋（物質文化）來彰顯身分或迎合社會對女人的幻想、期望。
Ｑ：能否請你和讀者自我介紹一下？
Caroline：「我叫作 Caroline Jacobson。我是一個藝術家、設計師和創業家。我做雕塑、畫畫、攝影。我的創作從 Millennial（Y世代）「殘破」的觀點出發，搭起數位和類比、新與舊的橋樑。
我喜歡把實境秀和藝術理論相提並論。Mina Abramovich（具代表性的行為藝術家）和芭莉絲．希爾頓（Paris Hilton），或是米開朗基羅之於麥當勞的人偶。你可以說我的創作是現代社會的階級性、帝國主義以及過於煽動的文化下的產物。」
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
My name is Caroline Jacobson. I’m an artist, designer, and entrepreneur working in sculpture, painting, photography, and overall world building. My work operates from the viewpoint of the fractured Millennial mind, the bridge between digital and analogue, past and future. It is a car crash that equates reality tv with art theory, Mina Abramovich with Paris Hilton, and Michelangelo with the McDonalds clown sculptures. One could argue that it is a byproduct of/exploration of the overall disfunction of our hierarchical, imperialist, and overheating society. It’s my own short circuit.
在展示多件雕塑時 Jacobson 花很多時間在調整他們的相關位置，因為角色的配置會帶給觀者不同的敘事。「女祭司」(High Priestess）和「Bella」的呈現手法雖不相同，Bella穿戴珠寶與華服，趨近遊樂園或偶劇場的人物造型（當代）女祭司則是古希臘大理石雕像的姿態與手勢（古典），但兩人放在一起製造出一種微妙的心理空間。
Ｑ：高跟鞋、小狗、芭比娃娃，經常貫穿於你的創作，這些審美上的選擇是受到什麼影響？
Caroline：「這一切源自於自我形象，以及找到能夠代表自我形象的慾望。我特別喜歡狗和洋娃娃，因為他們就是人類對自我的投射；是人類想要主宰控制一切，來彌補自身空虛及對溫柔的渴望。我的興趣是讓觀者從動物的角度來看，當你把自己投射成為那個動物，同時成為「主宰」以及「被主宰」的角色。這時候我的創作便是在探討「主導權」，誰擁有這個權力，以及如何取回這個權力。高跟鞋就是一個象徵「主權」的物品：他們象徵自發性把自己「物化」的同時，也享受著這個樂趣。
至於芭比的部分，她可不是隨便的一個芭比，我用芭比來諷刺權貴的生活型態以及他們如何被媒體放大、被大眾消化。她有一個名字叫 Metrosexual Icon Ferrari Bruth，她是一個環遊世界的畫家，是 Bruth Billion Worldwide 的股東。她和伴侶 Chadward 喜歡四處旅行；Charward 最近才剛在羅馬的特雷維噴泉前面（Trevi Fountain）和她求婚，並且在加勒比海岸舉行盛大婚禮。Chadward 是她女兒 Rich Babie Crown Jewel 的生父嗎？她真的沒有劈腿嗎？說不定伴郎 Christal Courtesan 才是生父...」。
Images of high heels, little dogs, and Barbie repeat throughout your work, what inspires your aesthetic choices?
It all started with self-portraiture and a desire to find placeholders for self. I was attracted to dogs and dolls because, to me, they are an example of human projection, of humanity’s sadistic desire for mastery and control that runs concurrently with our need for tenderness and empathy. My interest lies in what happens when you empathize with the animal, when you see yourself occupying the space of that animal, as being both the one in control (subject) and as the entity being controlled (object). It becomes about power, who has it, and how one reclaims it. High heels are a perfect symbol of that potential reclamation: they embody the tropes of being an object on one’s own terms while having fun with it. It’s about pushing up against and/or existing as an embodiment of “the problem”.
The Barbie isn’t just any Barbie though. I use her as an avatar to explore the performance of privilege and how it is consumed and created in the media. Her name is Metrosexual Icon Ferrari Bruth, she’s a globe trotting painter, and the owner of Bruth Billions Worldwide. She and her man, Chadward love to travel the world. He recently proposed to her at the Trevi Fountain and had a destination wedding in the Caribbean. Is Chadward really the father of her baby, Rich Babie Crown Jewel? Is she as faithful as she says she’s been? Could the best man, Cristal Courtesan have something to do with it? Are Candy and Shannon really just friends? We’ll find out once the paparazzi can track her.
我的藝術創作用服飾\造型\態度來探討「主權與解放」，而我的首飾服裝設計，則讓穿戴上它們的人得到主權及解放。
Ｑ：能否形容你的創作過程？在做服飾跟在繪畫的時候有什麼不同？
Caroline：「我的創作有很多面向，每個過程都不太一樣。但是我為自己創建的「視覺圖庫」是把所有創作串連起來的關鍵。我花很多時間在整理 mood board（情緒板子）；我喜歡上網滑圖片、翻家裡的首飾盒，翻我阿姨家的地下室，去古著店等等，你不知道下一秒會出現什麼驚喜。我也會從跟藝術無關的來源找題材，比方 Robert Venturi 的著作 Leaning From Las Vegas，The Bachelorette （單身黃金女實境秀）或是 魔戒。雖然我的藝術創作和首飾創作看似大不相同，他們骨子裡是一樣的，我的藝術用服飾\造型\態度來探討 “主權與解放”，而我的首飾服裝設計，則讓穿戴上它們的人得到主權及解放。」
What does your process typically look like? Does this change depend on if you’re making accessories vs. a painting?
There are many different facets to my practice and many different ways of working, however, the thing that unites my entire practice is the visual databank I have developed/created for myself. I spend a lot of time assembling mood boards for pieces I want to make or just for things I find interesting. I have been creating my own library of images and sources. There is nothing I like more than digging through things such as the internet (image sourcing), my aunt’s basement, thrift stores, jewelry boxes, the library. You never know what you’ll find that makes the next step click. Furthermore, I pull from many disparate sources such as “Learning from Las Vegas” by Robert Venturi, “The Bachelorette,” and Lord of the Rings, as my interests are very widespread and not always ‘art’ related.
Although the process for my accessory practice and painting/sculpting practice look different, I believe at their core they are congruent. In my fine art practice, I get to talk about the dress/style/attitude as an act of resistance/source of empowerment, while in my design practice, I get to make garments that make living humans feel empowered.
不要想太多，做就對了！不要死讀書，做就對了！不要為自己的每個決定下註解，要相信自己。
Ｑ：你希望觀者從你的創作得到什麼？
Caroline：「比起強烈的宣示什麼，我的作品不在乎給予答案，而是提出問題，這樣對我和觀者來說都更有滿足感。我相信我的創作能夠讓平時大家覺得膚淺、不足為奇、或不值得探討的事物有更深一層的意義。我希望觀者能夠在觀看我的作品時可以反思自己的思考模式。我想讓觀者感到不舒服，並非刻意的 ，而是希望能夠觸動他們平時不輕易給予的同理心。」
What do you want a viewer to walk away with after experiencing your work?
With my work I don’t aim to give answers, only to pose questions as it tends to be more generative for myself and for viewers rather than declarative gestures.
I believe my work forces a deeper reading on things we are conditioned to see as being superficial, trivial, and/or not worthy of serious academic inquiry. That being said, I want my work to make the viewer have to confront their own systems of value like holding up a mirror to their thought patterns. I seek to generate discomfort in the viewer, not for the sake of discomfort, but to trigger empathy from viewers who normally guard themselves from it.
Ｑ：你得到過最好的建議是什麼？
Caroline：「不要想太多，做就對了！不要死讀書，做就對了！不要為自己的每個決定下註解，要相信自己。」
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Stop thinking and just do! Stop reading and just make! And to stop trying to justify every decision I make. To trust myself.
Ｑ：你下一步的創作是什麼？工作室中有什麼大進展或改變嗎？
Caroline：「在畫畫多年之後，開始製做雕塑對我來說是一大轉變。我完全深陷了。能夠深入的用手腦結合去創作對我來說很有成就感。我從小是籃球校隊，所以能夠用身體去創造藝術就像是開啟了新的能量來源，去思考跟創新。我目前正為 Z1 Gallery 準備兩個大型雕塑。我的靈感來源是古裝劇、犬冠軍秀、犬美容，還有他們象徵的社會意義。」
Where do you see your practice going next? Any major changes happening in the studio?
Having worked predominantly as a painter for years, the introduction of sculpture has been a major change in my practice. I have become completely obsessed with it. Being able to engage with my brain and body in completely new and very involved ways has been very rewarding for me as an artist. I grew up playing basketball competitively, so being able to involve my body in my practice activates a special kind of power and new ways of thinking/creating. Currently, I am in the process of making two large sculptures for the upcoming show at Z1 gallery. I’m very much in a high production mode and am surrendering myself to the process. My developing interests are related to period pieces, dog shows/extreme dog grooming, and how they function socially.
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想追蹤更多輕鬆的藝術家資訊，追蹤 IG： ChiaoxArt
想看更多 Caroline Jacobson 的精彩創作，追蹤 IG：@champagnecari
Original Q&A from LVL3
Caroline Jacobson is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Chicago. She received her BA from Loyola University Chicago in 2014 and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in May of 2019. She had a recent solo exhibition at Woman Made Gallery and has participated in group exhibitions at Club Nutz, Chicago Artist Coalition, the Elmhurst Art Museum, and Western exhibitions.
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