“…Stoned in the woods, making art for gold…”
Name
Miriam Sophie Beichert
Profession
Painter
Website
Who are you? What do you do?
I guess I’m just a human being, making art to cope with existing.
Where are you from?
I grew up in a town called Mosbach in the middle of nowhere. After graduating I moved straight to Freiburg to study Fine Arts and have been living here ever since.
Your style in 3 words?
Sad, rough, emotional
Your weakness? Your strength?
I guess my weakness is my hypersensitivity which, paradoxically, is also my strength, because it drives me to make art and be productive creatively.
What makes you different?
Tough question.. I think nothing really makes me different. I’m just a human, I exist, I feel (probably more than others?), I reflect, I cope, … Perhaps not everyone is able to use creativity as a medium for inner processes, so I guess this ability could make me different.
When did you decide to become an artist?
When I was 5, I started making music. I’ve always been fascinated by the arts, including music, writing, photography, painting, sculpturing etc. – any form of expression. I bought my first camera when I was about 12. The photos that I took turned out very different to my friends’ results, which probably encouraged me to value my inherent ability to see things differently. I think being an artist isn’t really a decision, it’s more like an unconscious process. What makes an artist is probably their drive to create. And as soon as you realize you have that drive, you realize you have the capacity to be an artist (?).
What do you find most fascinating about your work?
Normally, I suck at staying focussed. Whenever I get creative in my studio, however, I get into this crazy state of mind, where I am super focussed and my body feels like it runs on electricity. It’s like being on a drug that allows your body to create intuitively while switching off your conscious part of the mind. After finishing an artwork I look at it and realize: ‘Oh, so that’s what my subconsciousness wants to tell me here’. To me, the creative process works like therapy.
A few words about your favourite creation?
I think my favourite creation doesn’t exist (yet). There are some creations I feel very connected to, though, artworks that left me in a certain feeling after creating them.
Someone else’s work that inspired or inspires you…
As I draw most inspiration from my personal feelings and emotions, it’s hard to name an artist or an artwork that inspired me. But of course, there are some. To me, inspiration is also something that happens without me being conscious of it.
Who would you like to work with someday and why?
… Well, I’d like to work with my mom’s dog one day. I don’t know how this could look like but.. yeah. I just love dogs.
A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on?
There are a few projects coming up. At the moment I’m critically looking at the ‘Zeitgeist’ and how it influences our lives, including issues like loneliness in youth, depression, anxiety, social isolation etc. These topics are really important to me, also I think they’re relevant to many people living in 2020.
Finish the sentence „More important than my career is…“
My family – family is always there and it’s a connection that never goes away.
2021: Where are we going?
Well, a lot of people will need therapy. Anxiety and depression cases will keep increasing.
When the going gets tough…
cry once or twice. You’ll feel better.
Put on your future vision glasses: What direction is our generation moving in, what will our world look like in 50 years?
Well, my predictions for the future of our generation might be a bit pessimistic. Sadly, I think people will drift apart from each other more and more. Our social skills will probably continue to decrease and our connection to our environment and nature as well. People always have to experience the worst case until they realize something has to change. A more optimistic vision of our future would be, that the issue of mental health will probably (or will have to) be a bigger priority.
What would you do if you could change the World?
I’d erase racism, sexism, homophobia and any kind of intolerance and discrimination from people’s minds.
If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?
I think about this a lot. My thoughts about it never get me anywhere. It’s frustrating, but I think it’s for people’s own good not having to know everything.
Tell us about your future plans…
Actually I never think too much about my future. It can be overwhelming sometimes. At the moment I’m just trying to go with the flow. Making plans for the future can be restrictive. Also, nobody is living in the future, everybody is living now.
Your city’s favourite spots?
As an introvert with social anxiety I’m not able to explore a lot of new places at the moment. But I still have some spots that I enjoy going to. I love being at my studio, working on things (of course) or having a long walk through the Hauptfriedhof, a cemetery in Freiburg. There is also the roof terrace at our university, where I love to sit and have some beer with my artist friends after a productive day in the studio.
Last but not least: what is your favourite Song?
One of my all time favourites is ‘Australia’ by Attic Abasement. It gets me in that certain, melancholic mood, i love it.
One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“
Stoned in the woods, making art for gold. (?)
Your #…?
I don’t have one yet. Well, how about #miriamsophiebeichert?
