artist and vintage
clothing shop owner gabriella cetrulo is the epitome of an anachronism. good ol' webster describes an
anachronism as 'one that is out of its proper or chronological order,
especially a person or practice that belongs to an earlier time.' cetrulo's an ethereal being;
existing in this digital world but is so reminiscent of decades past. whether
it exists solely in her illustrations of tippi hedren as her 'pecked' character
in hitchcock's the birds or whether it exists solely in her distance
glances as she dons frocks from different eras, {out of her etsy shop: tomorrow is forever}
you be the judge.
we had the opportunity
to speak with cetrulo and find out what makes her tick...
wanderlustings:: so
gaby, do you remember what
kinds of things you liked to create as a child?
gabriella
cetrulo:: i'm kind of embarrassed to admit this but i mostly drew mythical
creatures and disney princesses when i was a kid. but i guess it was just the
kid version of what i like to draw now.
w:: that's
cute. do you recall the first piece of art you were truly taken with? what was
it?
gc::
i remember visiting the met for the
first time and seeing jules bastien-lepage's
giant painting of joan of arc. that has
always been one of my favorites. i've also always loved john william waterhouse's
paintings of ophelia and the lady of shalott. but i think i love these
paintings because there's something really cinematic about them. the women in
those paintings look like great dramatic actresses to me.
w:: they really do look like actresses. so where do you draw most of your inspiration from
now?
gc:: old movies and golden age hollywood starlets like hedy lamarr and vivien leigh are the biggest inspiration for
everything i do. i would love to be able to emulate them in my own life. but
i'm pretty introverted so i'd rather draw them.
w:: school or
self-taught?
w:: and right now are
you a full time artist?
gc:: i'm not
a full-time artist but i'm not sure i'd ever want to be. i get burnt out on
ideas and bored with drawing a lot of the time. i need to do other things to
stay interested. lately, i've been focusing on my vintage shop and freelance
writing for etsy's blog. but i'm planning on selling prints of my
art in my shop soon!
 |
| gabriella cetrulo's home & workspace in brooklyn, ny |
w:: that's wonderful! i
can't wait to purchase a few i've had my eye on! so, can you walk us through
your process from inception to execution?
gc:: i think
of myself as more of a curator than an artist because i spend a lot more time
collecting reference photos than i do drawing from them. i also spend a lot of
time watching old movies for inspiration. first, i find an image that inspires
me and then i try to make it my own in some way.
w:: and what exactly would we find in your toolbox?
gc:: i love
to use mechanical pencils. i get really frustrated by having to sharpen regular
pencils.
w:: are there underlying themes
that seem to be present in your work? why do you think that is?
gc::
i like to represent images that feel like
strange moments in time. i feel like the past tends to be really idealized to
people like me, who weren't really around. it always seems like people from
the past were totally devoid of human quirks so i like to reintroduce images
i find that remind me that people from the past were as human as i am.
w:: what would you say most influences your work?
gc:: i'm more inspired by film imagery and photography than i
am by other visual artists. i would rather see a movie at film forum than
visit a gallery or museum. galleries and museums always seem dead to
me.
w:: wow, that's interesting. do you have any go-to motivators
you use to get the creative juices flowing?
gc:: i always like to watch an old movie on my
projector while i'm drawing. (but honestly, sometimes i just watch the real housewives of beverly hills.)
|
w:: haha! when you
aren't creating, what can you be found doing?
gc:: i spend
a lot more time watching bad reality tv and TCM {turner classic movies} than i do creating anything.
w:: would you mind
sharing a goal you have set for this year?
gc:: honestly,
my only real goal is to start eating healthier. i have a really weird diet and
eat a lot of junk. i'm not super ambitious career-wise. i really value my
laying around time and i just want to be happy. a lot
of ambition isn't a quality i really admire. there are more important things in
life than people knowing who you are and having a lot of money. i guess that's kind of a given but people seem to forget that a
lot.
w:: do you yourself
purchase original artwork?
gc:: i love
to find new artists online. i've purchased a few really nice prints on etsy. i
recently bought a print from my new favorite artist, paul x johnson. i'm really in love with his work
and if you look at his paintings you'll understand why.
w:: love his work. and i actually see a few of those prints in
your workspace photos. so how about you give us the top five songs you like to
listen to while you create...
gc:: my
top five songs are:
w:: top three movies
that inspire you?
gc:: my top
three movies would have to be:
- carefree (i'm obsessed with a scene where fred astaire does a
'hypnotic dance' with ginger rogers)
w:: wow. i'm ashamed i
haven't seen those first two - they look fantastic. will you leave us with
three quirky things we should know about you?
gc::
well, three quirky things about me:
- i'm
obsessed with reality tv.
- i'm
totally reclusive. i could go days without leaving my apartment or seeing
another person.
- i haven't
eaten a fruit since i was 5.
thank you so much,
gabriella, for taking the time to share this with us!
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