ATLANTA—On Friday, May 6, Danae Antoine, senior B.F.A. candidate in the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design, will officially be an alumna of Georgia State University and the first in her family to graduate with a secondary degree. But her newly-conferred diploma isn’t the only thing this driven artist has to celebrate over the next few months. With a residency at Anderson Ranch, a collaborative mural in downtown Atlanta, and shows at MINT and Swan Coach House galleries, Danae won’t be slowing down this summer. When asked about her goals and upcoming plans, she asked back, “Do you want to know my three-month, one year, five, or ten?” because she already has her eyes set on the horizon.
Danae has an impressive resume for an artist just entering the scene. She is a member of the Georgia State Honors College, which set her up for a position working in the administrative art office. During her time in the Welch program, she was nominated by faculty for the premier Edna McCandless Thornton Scholarship—the largest undergraduate scholarship in the school— and has received funding from it three years in a row as a reflection of her academic performance, portfolio, and work ethic.
She was as ambitious outside of the classroom as she was within it. She worked as an intern at MINT gallery, where she will execute a live mural painting in June. She has completed six public murals around the city of Atlanta at sites including The Beacon, Underground Atlanta, and the Atlanta Beltline. She currently has work on display at Dalton Gallery, Eyedrum, and will have work at Swan Coach House later this summer. She is the recent recipient of a Nexus grant from Atlanta Contemporary and the Larry Walker award from the Welch School Galleries.
Danae’s work utilizes drawing, painting, textiles, and sculpture. Through her practice, she seeks to dissect and understand femininity in patriarchal structures. We sat down with her to discuss the development and future trajectory of her work and how Georgia State aided in that journey.
Welch School of Art & Design (WSAD):
What drew you to art and brought you to Georgia State more specifically?
Danae Antoine:
As a child, I moved around a lot and have always been creative. I was really encouraged by my teachers to continue art, and in high school, I had a really wonderful art instructor who helped me to enter the national NAACP competition where I won bronze nationally. I would spend my whole day in the art studio eating lunch and hanging out with her. I’ve always felt like art was my mode of expression.
For Georgia State, I wanted to be in the city. I felt that like being in the city, being in Atlanta really, would help me to dig my heels into the scene. The faculty here are also great. And it’s really fast-paced.
WSAD:
Why drawing, painting, and printmaking?
DA:
I like the feeling of painting: the feeling of rendering and just doing things on a canvas just really does it for me. And I found that drawing allows me to get my ideas out much faster. But as you know, I'm not really tied to anything. I’ve done soundwork, photography and illustration.
WSAD:
I think there's something about painting—you really wrestle with the work. A photograph, you take it and then it's done; you may manipulate it in Photoshop, sure… but a painting, you can wrestle with a painting for years.
DA:
Exactly. It's a beautiful process and something that I'm really learning to embrace.
WSAD:
Tell us about your current project, the Trash Diva series.
DA:
It’s this wonderful little project that I'm doing about myself, which is really new for me. I’m honing in on my personal history and relationship with culture, femininity, and society. The paintings are really humorous and funny, but they can be drawn from moments of my life that were sometimes a little bit more painful, turned into something new. The concept fits nicely into my desire to create narratives.
WSAD:
I notice that you portray characters with an emphasis on their backstories in your work a lot—whether they are linked to a mythology you have created, recurring themes, or character traits—has that always been the case with your work?
DA:
I think I'm really into storytelling. It is a perfect conduit for discussing my own personal story. I don't know if you remember my Ladies of the Bath series, but I have used depictions of these women to tell my story about trauma, healing, spirituality. But symbolism aside, I just love worldbuilding in general.
WSAD:
In your work, you incorporate a lot of color. Can you talk about color?
DA:
Yes! 2020 was a year that I decided to dedicate to color specifically. At the beginning of the pandemic, I felt like my work was lacking it. I forced myself to use these bright, bold colors to really understand them and how they interact within the work. I love great eye candy, I have a visceral reaction to it, so I make work that's aesthetically pleasing to me. And yes, it comes through in pinks and purples, apparently.
WSAD:
Do you connect any symbolism to some of the colors?
DA:
Definitely. My work in the B.F.A. exhibition uses Baker-Miller pink, which is called “Drunk Tank Pink.” It is used to calm people down. I'm really interested in the pseudoscience, political, and social nature of color, because it's so interesting. Valentino’s most recent haute couture show was entirely pink. If he's doing it, and I'm doing it, that's something. But it's such a powerful color. It's so feminine and so disrespected. It’s whimsical and yet can be manipulative (as with Drunk Tank Pink).
WSAD:
How long did you work the front desk in the administrative office for our school as our student assistant and what did you learn from the experience?
DA:
I was hired in the fall of my sophomore year. I really learned a lot about the ins and outs of art administration and what it takes for the school to function. It was also really great to get to know everyone personally. It made approaching galleries and organizations much less intimidating because on the back end of it all, you all are just people too.
WSAD:
What’s one lasting impression or lesson learned from attending Georgia State?
DA:
I really loved studying under Pam Longobardi—she really embraced me. I’ve been able to reach out to her and talk to her during tough times. But she just sees and believes in me so much. I had a class with Craig Drennen that really pushed me and my work. And Jamaal Barber has become a big mentor of mine. He's given me the kick in the butt that I need [holding me accountable like he does himself]. I’ve been able to bring all of my art to him for feedback. I really admire his career path too.
I've been reading this essay called the "Theory and Play of the Duende," by Federico García Lorca. And it's just all about embracing your full potential; embracing what you can really do, and acting at full capacity to see what you're capable of. And that's the mentality that I've adopted here.
WSAD:
But one practical tip of advice you would give to an incoming student?
DA:
Take yourself seriously! Because you're choosing a path specifically as an artist, and self-discipline is crucial. You have to approach your art career like climbing a mountain: whatever you set your peak to be, that's where you're gonna go. If you have a high goal for yourself and take yourself seriously, you're gonna reach that. We are here and we're choosing to be art students. There's a stigma that comes with the challenge of choosing an art career, but our passion is dependent on the personal belief that you can make art that impacts others. You need to give yourself enough respect to continue to make the work with intention.
I think a lot of incoming students have a lot of potential, and the school can transform you in a beautiful way, if you let it. We have to put in the work.