Hugh Condrey Bryant

Samrawit Mihtsun: What is the medium you work with the most?

Hugh Condrey Bryant: I merely like to work with steel and any material like wood, clay, plaster, concrete. Anything that would apply to the sculpture I’m building.

Mihtsun: When did you decide that you wanted to concentrate on sculpture as an artist? Is that something you knew early on during your undergrad?

Bryant: I didn’t really know at first. I first went to school for art and I was in drawing classes, just doing the entry level classes. And I decided that I wasn’t going to make any money as an artist. I got freaked out by that. Then I decided to look into theatre because I knew set designers make a little more money. So I went over there and they saw my portfolio.

So they tell me, please come study with the theatre department, but I was still taking art classes including sculpture class. Then I was like, this is what I want to do, which is also what I was going to do at the theatre building: set designs. I became disenchanted with the theatre … it was a lot of hard work and they made it seem too serious where it became not so fun anymore. So I went back to the art department and started studying more sculpture and it went from there.

Mihtsun: What is your most preferred medium in sculpture?

Bryant: I like steel just for structural properties because it is the most structurally productive material. You can build large things and they will be strong with less weight than if you were to build it out of wood or something like that. It allows you to build a good base with other materials on.

I used to work with ceramics too. I made some interesting stuff doing that, hand building. I was doing that a lot then I realized I can treat steel the same way. I just needed the right tools. You can curve steel with a torch or forge it and put it into different shapes easily. It’s all about learning the material and how it behaves.

Mihtsun: What are your strengths and weaknesses as an artist?

Bryant: One of my strengths is my ability to build rationally and naturally figure out structure. I know it would work. My weakness is that sometimes I get unmotivated with a piece and hold back because I’m afraid it’s not going to work or it will fail. But as of late I have been much better at not being able to be afraid of failure. I have a tendency to complicate things. A lot of time just working with the initial idea is good and not adding a lot of ideas that can complicate it. Sometimes less is better and it works more. It has elegance and simplicity. I am getting better.

Mihtsun: Do you do art for money?

Bryant: At this point in my life, it would be nice to make money from my art but I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. I wouldn’t turn money down but I still will do my art. It is something that I love doing. Outside of that I think it goes hand in hand with the reason I am getting an MFA so that I can teach because I do think that I have something I can offer for future generations. I want to become a teacher for posterity sake. I believe that I can pass on what I know and maybe give others some advice and guidance to help them become better than I am. But I have to make a living so teaching is the best opportunity to be able to make a living and do my art. I feel like it is a good means to an end.

Mihtsun: I have noticed that some artists stop doing art once they start teaching. Do you think that might happen during your teaching?

Bryant: It happens sometimes that people get complacent and that’s unfortunate. I would very much hope that I don’t end up that way. It gets busy sometimes and you get distracted. I try to make at least something every day whether it is a drawing, a sketch or just experiment with a material. It doesn’t even have to be a finished product as long as it is something that is keeping my ideas flowing and keeping my brain stimulated, then I am happy with it. I hope I don’t get that way.

Mihtsun: Do you think you would be able to teach in a way where you distinguish your art from other art?

Bryant: So, teaching so far, being a TA for classes and having been working in Franconia at the sculpture park teaching art there, just little bits and odds, where someone is “I don’t know how to do this can you show me?” of course I can. Learning about what they want and trying to help them to that point but also I like to suggest things.

It will be me finding a way in what they want to practice and what they want to make. But being a teacher is knowing when to step back and let them figure out themselves and when to step in like, can I help you with something or suggestions to get their mind moving, have you thought about that?. Just asking that simple question in whatever context usually is the most helpful thing to do. I really think that the best teachers don’t just show you, they challenge you.

Mihtsun: What motivates and inspires you as an artist?

Bryant: Well, my motivation is solely based around this need to make. I feel most satisfied with myself and as a person even when I feel like when I’m active and creating, I feel like it’s a form of catharsis in a way where I can let go of the daily trivialities and not dwell too much in petty little things and get lost in this little place I’m around. So that feeling is often a great motivator because it stimulates my brain to such a degree. It makes me happy.

As far as inspiration goes though, I get stuff from everywhere. I see things all the time whether it’s architecture or machinery or other people’s work, also a lot of ideas that I have, once I see something, gets run through this filter that I have from all the imagery I get from reading science-fiction as a kid. So I just have all these pictures that I imagine in my head from what I read.

I feel like that helps in the end because it’s not about making something that looks like that thing in the book, it’s about taking that thing and changing it into something else. I think my inspiration comes from a lot of things but I am most inspired by the world around us, anything that has a good, solid interesting form. I’m fascinated by geometry sometimes, even though it can be such a little thing.

Mihtsun: When I looked at your website, I noticed a lot of geometric and organic forms in most of your art pieces.

Bryant: Breaking things down into their simplest form and geometric form is one way to understand and interpret them. There is a mix of geometry and organic forms in my work because for a long time I was trying to see how far I could push that to find a balance and radically make something organic and something super geometric into one thing and integrate them into one thing instead of two things glued together, you know, so integration in a material is interesting.

Mihtsun: Wow, I would have never guessed there was a ceramics part in it. How long did it take to complete this piece? And where is it now?

Bryant: The ceramic part was the longest. It took me like a little under a month. The still stuff, there was some time to think about where I was going to fit into it so that took about a week. My father actually has that. It is a heavy piece to move around so I let him keep that.

M: What kind of workplace or environment do you prefer to work?

B: Private place. I don’t like it when people intrude. I like my personal space because that’s the place I reflect, think a lot, and spend a lot of time to relax, be in solitude. It needs to be comfortable and have what I need in order to be productive. As far as the metal shop, I need to be organized without interference, and I also like the energy in there working with others and just focusing.

M: What is the best advice that you can give to someone on creativity?

B: Well I think you should never let yourself fall into habits so to speak. There is a movie that I recently saw; It’s a short animation by an animator and artist by the name of Don Hertzfeltdt. He’s been putting videos on the internet for a while now of cartoons and stuff. They are very simple but a lot of them have a very deep meaning about our existence as human beings and It’s called The World of Tomorrow and there is a quote in it that one of the characters is giving advice to her younger self. She is her older version of her from the future but she is also a clone, so she comes from a time way far away from the original girl. And she gives her advice about living life and she tells her,

“Do not lose time on daily trivialities.

Do not dwell on petty detail.

For all of these things melt away and

drift apart within the obscure traffic of time.

Live well and live broadly. You are alive and living now.

Now is the envy of all of the dead”

….So when I get stuck, I always think about that. I try to not get wrapped up in the daily trivialities of life, this person doesn’t like this, this person doesn’t like that, these people are scrambling or driving because none of that really matters.

So I would say don’t waste time on daily trivialities and do not dwell on petty details because before you know it, you won’t have time to enjoy the world around you. Routines are good to an extent but don’t corner yourself with that stuff. I think that is one of the most important aspects of trying to be creative. I think part of creativity is allowing yourself to be exposed to new things even if you do not necessarily like them, to not be afraid to feel uncomfortable, to not be afraid to be offended and to not dismiss things, to have tolerance and understanding for knowledge.

I think that all those things are important, to anybody who’s having trouble being creative, I would ask them to be more mindful and examine their life and see what they are missing and change because, ultimately, it’s up to you.