A Conversation with Olivia Falk: Poet & Artist

“Age 1 Olivia Adored by Caregivers”

EMMA: Olivia, thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed for

re:imagine. Did you always know that art was your calling, or was it more of

a pivot for you? And what mediums did you gravitate towards?

OLIVIA: Art was always the thing I gravitated towards if I had the option. If

someone asked me what I liked to do, I would reply “art.” In eighth-grade, I did a painting summer program at the California College of the Arts, and

that’s when I started to get into acrylics. I also really like colored pencil, so

I just move around a lot and try to experiment.

EMMA: Speaking of color—your art bursts with it. I’m especially drawn

toward that balance of warm and cool present in many of your paintings.

Why are you drawn towards that vibrance?

OLIVIA: I think it’s a mix of both teachers I’ve had, who really emphasize

contrast and darks & lights, and my personal viewpoint on color. It’s so

expressive, and when there’s a specific vibe in the piece that I want, certain

mixes of colors have that vibe.

EMMA: A lot of your artwork is of people—sketches, self-portraits… What’s

your typical subject matter, and what aspects of yourself do you like to

represent in your art? Do you have a particular favorite piece?

OLIVIA: Definitely. I feel that the majority of my art is surrounded by

people, and it circles around identity. Oftentimes, I end up being in my

own projects because I’m portraying myself: what’s going on in my life or

things I want to express. Right now, I’m working on a project where I’m

portraying the “ancestors” on both sides of my family. That speaks to

identity and the family history that I hope to be delving into more.

My favorite piece is actually right here in my room: a 3D cube where each

of its six faces is a certain “face” of myself. I really liked that concept because

you could just flip the cube, and get something different each time. It was

fun to make because I used different mediums for each side of the cube.

EMMA: What message do you hope to spread with your art?

OLIVIA: I always try to give the audience a new perspective. There was one

painting this summer where the prompt was to reimagine one of the

existing pieces in the Rhode Island School of Design Museum.

I took a piece titled “Christ Surrounded by Angels” and reimagined it into

the Korean tradition of a one-year-old’s birthday celebration. Instead of

Christ, it’s baby me in a hanbok surrounded by my parents and my nanny

at the time. That shows a perspective that might be different from what

you’d expect to see in a historical art piece.

EMMA: You made an animated piece with a background audio of yourself

reading a poem you wrote. Could you tell me a little bit about that, about

what it meant? How do the visual and poetic arts intersect in your life?

OLIVIA: That piece was called “An Abecedarian of my Thoughts on Lunar

New Year.

” It was about my multiracial identity and my first abecedarian. I’m often

picturing things in my head that I try to get into words. I have such a vivid

image of what I want to say, and art often helps it come through. In that piece,

there was very specific imagery—like the line that I wrote:

“An X-Ray will tell you I am broken bones / Yesterday’s jjigae, two

stories stitched and / Zipped together.” And because of that, I thought that

animation could be fun.

EMMA: What advice do you have to give a young poet or artist who might

be struggling to express themselves through their work?

OLIVIA: Try not to take yourself so seriously. Sometimes, it’s good to just

take a break, or take your sketchbook and go outside and draw what you

see. Draw the people around you, or a random building—just try to get out

of your head.

Sometimes, the joy of art is getting to capture something in front of you by

just using your eyes. Get into the rhythm of it; maybe play some music. For

poetry, I would just suggest getting inspired by what you already have

access to—like art, take inspiration from the people around you or the

environment. Try to get some words down.

EMMA: Finally, what form do you see art and poetry taking in your future?

OLIVIA: I really do need art to be my full self and be my happiest. The

balance in my life has shifted to where I’m trying to include more art in my

life rather than having it be this extra thing I was trying to add on as a

student. Art is definitely going to be a part of who I am, no matter where I

am in life—I hope that whatever I’m doing in the future reflects that.

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about the artist

Olivia Falk is an 18- year- old artist and poet who is currently a senior at

The College Preparatory School. She utilizes storytelling to portray inward

reflections and investigations into her identity and mixed familial history.

When she isn’t creating, you can find Olivia running while listening to

Beyoncé or testing out a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. Keep up with

her on instagram @__oliviafalk__!