“I know so many people who feel disconnected and exploring connections between us often motivates me. I lost many friends, including one of my closest, to loneliness and mental health issues, and this has definitely inspired me to use my artistic practice to reach individuals, to instigate thought, discussion, wonder, or consider what belonging means.” Katarina Hoeger
Katarina Hoeger, 2019, Installation
Katarina Hoeger considers her background to be pretty eclectic. Originally from the suburbs of NY, she is a first-generation German American as well as African American. Hoeger is a Buddhist born and raised in a predominantly Christian populated country. She has immense respect for the environment as well as an interest in technology and many things that are not considered sustainable. Before working in this program, she did a lot with both STEM subjects (BS Mathematics & MS Computational Operations Research) and the arts, particularly music, sound, and dance. Through her various activities and some teaching experiences, Hoeger realized that she gets the most joy out of life while working on creative projects. She is always in awe of the interactive experiences she has seen that use sound and incorporate the rest of your senses. Through this discovery, she ended up in the Intermedia program to explore said interests. Also to help herself fashion a career where she can sustainably create experiences for others to explore the world through various creative means and teach others to do the same. With this degree, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of art. And to create a viable life path where she creates installations and can experiment with sound, interactions, dance, and other creative things. She would love to create her projects and teach relevant techniques and processes to interested parties.
Katarina Hoeger, 2019, Installation
Currently, Hoeger’s practice explores communities and the connections within communities. Her sense of tenuously belonging to multiple groups is a part of the inspiration behind the work that she creates. As well as the dichotomy she feels between the values expressed by various aspects of her upbringing and personal experiences concerning her religion and race compared to standard American experiences. She notes, “I know so many people who feel disconnected and exploring connections between us often; motivates me. I lost many friends, including one of my closest, to loneliness and mental health issues. This has inspired me to use my artistic practice to reach individuals, to instigate thought, discussion, wonder, or consider what belonging means. Current events have exacerbated everything.” These events have slightly shaped her work. The most important way they have done so is through guiding her thoughts along certain paths, which has changed her workflow, and the formats through which she can deliver her work. These events have changed the lens through which she views the world. Her art reflects deals with topics she finds intriguing or important at a particular point in time. Hear more from Hoeger below.
How have you had to adapt to creating art during the pandemic?
“Before the pandemic, I did not have a home studio, just the school studio. I am from out of Maine and had very little furniture. Therefore, when the pandemic hit and the school limited access to campus, I no longer had a desk, specialized equipment, or a space to build larger or messier projects. I had been working on an installation with speakers at the time and had to put the idea on hold. There was no place for an installation, I couldn’t solder, and even if I could complete the project, why have an installation without visitors? I ended up creating a lot of small projects with materials I had on hand, as well as more computer-based and coding heavy final projects than I had originally anticipated creating.”
Katarina Hoeger, 2020, Elsewhere, Video
*Trigger Warning* – Flashing Lights and Scattered Beeps. Flashing or patterned effects can make people feel disorientated, uncomfortable or unwell.
