A Brief Interview with Nancy Daly
Nancy Daly is a Washington, D.C. based interdisciplinary artist. Her work aims to examine how the development of the online social world is affecting identity and social behavior. Daly earned her MFA in Photographic and Electronic Media at the Maryland Institute College of Art and holds a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Graphic Design from James Madison University. Her work has been exhibited throughout the country with 15 solo and two-person exhibitions. I was able to speak with Daly about many different aspects of her art as well as the overall artistic process.
All artists have some sort of inspiration behind their work. There are thoughts about a certain situation, experience, or idea that fuels an artist’s creative spark. Daly had a particular inspiration in mind while creating the art that is shown specifically during this exhibition. Daly says, “One of the things is what is going on in my life; it plays a big role. For this whole show, I have had a lot of bad work experiences in the past few years. I had been working a lot and not getting paid very much. I worked in a gallery that was pretty toxic. It happens a lot in the arts and not getting compensated appropriately for my artwork. All of this work in the exhibition sort of came out of this thought that I was wasting my time and just working for work’s sake.”
Daly also spoke with me about her favorite aspect of creating art. Having an inspiration behind a piece of art can also bring a sense of enjoyment while creating it. “To me, it is important that my work communicates an idea. My favorite part about the work is doing it and then talking to people about the ideas surrounding the work. I also enjoy the problem-solving that comes with creating,” says Daly.
There are many interesting pieces throughout the exhibition, but I had to ask Daly if she had a particular piece that she enjoyed working on the most. If you have come in to see the exhibition, the answer may not surprise you. Daly says, “My favorite piece from this exhibition is Job Switching because I learned a lot of problem solving. I learned how to program a Raspberry Pi and modify a candy machine.”
Finally, I talked with Daly about if she believes art has any impact on society. After all, her work is aiming to bring light to a subject that is relevant in today’s society. “I think it depends on the art. I think that it has the power to spark conversation and to help people see different points of view in a different way than reading about something or watching something. When people are talking about things, then things can start to change,” says Daly.
Daly’s work is truly intriguing and could be viewed for hours. This exhibition is unlike any others that have been at the gallery this year! Come see Daly’s work on display in the Julio Fine Arts Gallery through April 7th, 2022.
