Staff Creatives: Sonya Berg
Creativity runs high among College of Fine Arts staff members, both in their day jobs in the college supporting our research and educational mission and in their personal lives. The college has an unusually high number of practicing artists, musicians and performers — many of them alumni — on our teams.
Sonya Berg (M.F.A., Studio Art, 2010) is the assistant to the director in Landmarks, the public art program at The University of Texas at Austin.
How many years have you worked in the College of Fine Arts?
I am thrilled to be in my first year back working in the college. I previously worked for three years as a TA/AI before graduating with my M.F.A. in 2010.
Describe your creative practice.
My work explores the tension between abstract and representation, and between arbitrariness and specificity, mediated through process of painting and photography. By playing with the balance between what can be controlled and what is left to chance, I shape both what the viewer is allowed to see and what is left for the imagination to complete. Using original photographs of plants, I cut out elements, fill the void with additional imagery and paint the resulting collage. Through this process, I explore the ways in which layers of meaning are built, deconstructed and reassembled, mirroring the way we engage with our own memory, histories and our relational understanding of the world.
How did you get started in your creative practice?
My practice emerged with my first dedicated studio space many years ago. I began my current series about 12 years ago, but I am only recently presenting the work publicly.
What does a typical day look like when you’re balancing both your work and creative passions?
There is rarely a typical day for an artist/parent/administrator. The balance occurs over weeks rather than a single day. I typically block out time for focused administrative work during regular business hours and work in the studio on weekends or when I have extra child care.
Any advice for students as they think about their professional pathways?
Consider the value of rest and the futility of multitasking.
How do you define success as an artist? How has that definition evolved over time?
My goal is to cultivate a sustainable practice grounded in meaningful work and engaging conversation. The community I am in dialogue with is expanding, and I hope it will continue to grow.