Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Kinsey.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in rural Michigan just outside of Ann Arbor. Our house was this small cabin in the woods with a couple neighbors sharing one plat of land… I was left alone most of the time and not really looked after. My siblings are a few years older than me and were unruly growing up. My parent’s energy was used on keeping tabs on them and I was kind of able to fly under the radar. Which was nice given that my family was very dysfunctional. The only comparison I have for my younger self is to a feral animal – Refusing any sort of structure and order in my life. Whether it was from my parents, my teachers…. really anyone. I only ever wanted to be outside in the woods near my house. One time in first grade I even tried to run away from school! I only made it a block before a teacher saw me and chased me down after she called for me. It just gave me anxiety. I felt like the world stopped and nothing could affect me when I was in the woods. Using what little resources I had to be creative… making forts out of fallen trees and just left to explore.
Looking back I cannot picture many parents letting their six year old just run around the woods and play in the river, but my parents were not conventional. It wasn’t until high school where I was encouraged to harness this creative energy towards pottery making. My mentor who I referred to as my art mother helped guide me both in life and in the arts. She introduced me to pottery and I was immediately hooked. I worked hard to develop a body of work that would be strong enough to get me into a private art school… It felt like a mini art boot camp that was preparing me for the coming years at school. I used that body of work to apply and was admitted to study fine art at the College for Creative Studies in downtown Detroit. It was an amazing experience. I was given the freedom to explore and study in an environment surrounded by constant creativity. But that dream didn’t last forever… As amazing as it was it was still a private art school. That dream came with a price and I didn’t have the resources to keep paying to study there. So, I took a year off and just focused on my art practices. Eventually I finished my degree in Visual Art Education from Eastern Michigan University back in 2015. After graduating I knew I needed out of my hometown. So a good friend suggested Austin, Texas… I didn’t much about the city but it was somewhere different and sounded like an adventure. There was no plan, no job, just some money in my savings and an idea of what I wanted for myself and my future. I’ve been here for over five years and every year feels better than the last. Don’t get me wrong it was difficult and I made a lot of sacrifices to get to here, but I think they were all worth it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I feel like I have lived multiple lives… multiple, difficult lives that required tough decisions and so many sacrifices. Like I mentioned before, I grew up without much structure from my family so when it came to my education I was behind my peer’s levels. I didn’t know how to read, write, or really even do basic math. I just pretended that it made sense when it was probably so damn obvious to everyone around. But I really didn’t care that much… school wasn’t important to me at that time. It was hard for me to focus because my family was slowly becoming this sinking ship. I think my first biggest obstacle was at fourteen when my mother went to jail. I lived with her and my stepfather so when she went away I had this feeling of having to fend for myself. Those days of daydreaming and trying to escape came back and all I really wanted was to be left alone. It was awful… when you’re already going through puberty, you’re a freshman in high school, and then you throw in the incarceration of your mother. But I realized from that moment forward that I needed to rely on myself more. So, I started working a part-time job washing dishes in a local café in my hometown. I worked a few days a week after school and on the weekends. All my money was put in to a savings account. My anxiety built walls around me and I felt so stagnate for a couple years.
My mother was eventually released from jail, but the dynamic in the household had dramatically shifted. My siblings were no longer around… a couple of them suffered from drug addiction so when they were around it wasn’t enjoyable. It just felt like constant screaming and crying around me and I just couldn’t escape it. During all of this I came out to my family as homosexual. People have asked me in the past what my coming out was like and I always just say, “Imagine the worst”. I was outed by my aunt… she didn’t realize the story she was telling at the dinner table would lead to my mother asking, “Are you gay?”. And she definitely didn’t realize it would lead to my mother crying hysterically over her plate. A week passed and that was when my mother made the decision that if she knew then everyone in our family should know. So, she made me call each of my siblings and my father to tell them… They all were accepting but that wasn’t the response my mother was looking for. She wanted them to disapprove like she did. This resulted in my mother calling me every horrible name you could call a gay man – I just stood there emotionless and in shock. Seeing the worst in someone come out before my very eyes.
After that night we didn’t talk about it anymore. The dynamic in our household had shifted again, but this time I realized that my family could be built if needed. Throughout high school I was able to explore the arts and found some really great friends and mentors who helped guide my focus. My mother didn’t support my dream of attending art school so I applied to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit without her knowing. I was accepted into the fine arts program – She found my acceptance letter and questioned how I was going to do it. How I was going to survive on my own. I just kept quiet when she would ask those questions, because I knew it wasn’t her future it was mine! So, I took it upon myself to find my own ways to finance my education without the need of a co-borrower. It was so empowering…
Difficult but I was doing it on my own. I made it to art school, but had no clue what to budget for. Not realizing how expensive materials would cost. I skipped meals in order to stretch my money as far as I could. There was this one employee at the college who helped provide food to students. I wish I could remember her name! It was so embarrassing though… going into some random administrative office where all the other employees know why you’re there, but I had no other choice. I remember calling my mother one day just crying over the phone saying how I had only $45 dollars in my bank account and all she could say was, “I’m sorry but you chose this”. I was taking 18 credit hours and was pushed by my educators to work even harder. I didn’t have time for a job so I just had to overdraft my bank account until the end of the summer. I eventually made it through my undergraduate years with a better understanding of how to budget. Walking away from all of that more independent and determined to succeed. When I look back at all these memories I of course get sad, but I also am so proud of what I achieved. When you go through difficult times like that you realize how much you can tolerate and withstand. My struggles now do not even compare and that’s what I remind myself of… If I can persevere through those horrible experiences then everything else I encounter seems less then.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work is intended to be flirtatious romantic, even. I use my life experiences to guide my process and aim to convey emotion is conveyed to viewers leaving them curious, passionate, and uneasy after their time spent with my work. My two-‐dimensional landscape pieces are meant for the viewers to transport themselves into the artwork and begin to establish a sense of ownership, giving the impression that they are alone in a space to be desired, but never physically present. The images are adventurous in composition and act as a portal to fantasy worlds. I encourage the viewer to be drawn in by the visual flirtation and playful quality of the artwork. I prefer using non-‐traditional materials to build the surfaces of the pieces. The origin of the materials may not be immediately evident, for example: when I use precision cut vintage publications for imagery within my collage work. Leaning towards landscape, floral, and textile surfaces, I also enjoy layering other materials such as electrical tape, gold leaf, and rhinestones. Like a new relationship, the pieces are full of surprises for the one who contemplates the work.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I would suggest writing down your goals as much as possible. They need to be on paper and taped to the wall in a place where you will see them every day. Your goals are going to change… they should or you’ll just plateau. Once you have an idea of what you want then you can start to work towards obtaining it. I knew I wanted to be in the arts and have my work in galleries so I sought out strong visual artists in my community to strategize with. If I was at an art reception I would ask if the artist who was displaying their work was present, and then I would talk with them. You really have to be comfortable communicating, and sometimes it’s going to take building yourself up. If you know what your goals are then you can start to bring them into conversations. I’ve found that when I was honest and told people what I wanted or was working towards they truly wanted to help me. You need to surround yourself with people who have what you want because they can share their paths and mistakes along the way. It will only benefit your journey and hopefully expedite it.
Contact Info:
- Email: robertokinsey@gmail.com
- Instagram: @viperclubcollages
