Interview by Lilian Barrera

 

LB: Where do you generally find ideas for your work?

 

KT: Boundaries. Interactions with people. This work came from a creative block and when I was stuck in my personal life. Could I solve my problems online?

 

LB: How do you identify yourself as an artist? When did you begin to identify yourself as a performance/ media artist? Or when do you think you will?

 

KT: From age 7 I took practical hands-on courses. It’s an unusual form of art and I wanted to show people what art can actually be.

 

LB: What do you generally do in your spare time? Does it usually revolve around your practice?

 

KT: I’m very physically active/outdoorsy. I’m a long distance runner. When I do that, I meditate and I feel how separate mind and body are.

 

LB: What do you enjoy most about your medium and your works?

 

KT: I love working with natural materials. It allows me to return to nature, so to speak. The key to happiness is turning to nature.

 

LB: Who is your ideal audience? KT: “All and nothing to do with you.” Introverts, people dealing with social anxiety. People who internalize their frustration.

 

KT: “All and nothing to do with you.” Introverts, people dealing with social anxiety. People who internalize their frustration.

 

LB: What work has been your greatest success?

 

KT: The title of the performance art was “Dorothy”. It was a success because it tested social boundaries¬–even if it was done unethically. I crashed a wake of a 95-year-old woman with not many friends, active in the community. Came to know her after her death, I didn’t know her in her life. I made up a story about how I met her at her wake. It tested the boundary of invading in someone’s life, and I wasn’t invited to do it. No one complained. She became my personal celebrity.

 

LB: What is the greatest stress of being a performance/media artist?

 

KT: How it’s so unpredictable. Media especially since digital files are fickle and they can disappear one second to the next, performance is easier. I like working with natural materials.

 

LB: Do you make a distinction between performance art and other types of performances?

 

KT: Audiences are different; in a way, it’s like an installation. It has a different intention. Performance art doesn’t have a history.