6 minute read
Faye Orlove
Faye Orlove’s continuous resilience to give a platform for marginalized voices interweaves with her ambition to draw pop culture figures. Surrounded by pastel pinks and succulents, the non-profit Junior High, welcomes any individual as a communal space for comfort and as a display for their artistic endeavors. Los Angeles has reigned itself as a destination for the arts, yet Orlove’s Junior High, located in Hollywood, has become a self-transformative experience where the art you witness or display widens your mentality and creativity.
A compassion for animation was never spurred upon by an instance of scribbling a crayon on her parent’s walls, art had always instinctively captured her. Orlove states, “My favorite movie as a kid was called Little Nemo, and I was obsessed with the animation and specifically the way these pastries in the movie were drawn. I have a lot of weird memories like that, where most people can probably recall lines from movies, I can recall very specific animation choices like the way the Powerpuff Girls would hold things in their “hands” with no fingers.” While flashbacks of nostalgia recollect in her mind she says, “I was just a weird artistic kid, there wasn’t a moment or a specific movie that inspired me wholly. I have always seen the world in a very visual way, and me consuming art turned into creating my own artwork in a really natural way. That’s probably a boring answer. But there really was no pre and post art for me. Art has always been part of who I am.”
Throughout Junior High and Orlove’s own Instagram, one views an aesthetic composed of elements of minimalism and delicate color choices. Previously, her signature designs were featured on Teen Vogue, The Fader, and Brie Larson’s The Unicorn Store opening and closing credit sequences. The drawings in The Unicorn Store credits paint picturesque visions of a 90s childhood bedroom, with teddy bears and chunky necklaces placed along the frames. Orlove says, “Every object in the credits is from the movie! The set design and Brie’s direction were so whimsical and perfectly evocative of that 90s childhood bedroom set in contrast to sterile office universe.” Orlove has contributed various animations for music videos, including Mitski’s “Townie,” she recalls that her earliest form of artistic expression was found in music, “Music was my first foray into self-expression. Whether I was buying Paramore posters online, or choreographing Shania Twain dance routines in my friend’s basement, I always connected to certain songs and musicians. I’m a really visual person, so it made sense to pair visuals and personal aesthetics with sound.
Music videos are definitely my favorite form of artistic expression and my favorite vice in creating work that [hopefully] resonates.” While concentrating on how to align her artistic visions with the musician she is collaborating with, Orlove says, “Generally, my work centers around a certain artist or song, so I’ll listen to it on repeat while I draw. If the project isn’t music specific, I usually listen to the same albums I listened to as a kid, to be honest. Dixie Chicks, Spice Girls, New Found Glory. Writing this now, I’m realizing that I probably do that unconsciously as a way to reconnect to some sense of child-like imagination.”
Orlove opened the Junior High gallery space with the belief that it would become an area where displaying your art can be openly accessible. Orlove’s enlightened awareness to project the talents of individuals who constantly battle oppression led to the vitality of Junior High. Orlove currently funds Junior High through a Kickstarter, where people pledge money to help keep the narratives within the Junior High community continuously progressing. As for how the Junior High artists have personally impacted her, Orlove proudly states, “Being exposed to different narratives has made me a far more empathetic person. I find I relate to people more, I can talk to people more easily. I find that learning about different stories and different cultures and different views than my own has made me more loving and warm and open. Traits that I don’t normally attribute to myself. I think if more people were exposed to a wider array of human representation, we’d be a far more empathetic species. Art is the answer to war. I truly believe that.”
Los Angeles is teeming with creative individuals wanting to immerse themselves in the artistic community. Although Orlove would love to see more communities open up spaces like Junior High, she believes that Junior High will likely remain just a Los Angeles project. “I think more communities truly need a safe space like Junior High. Junior High has always been a Los Angeles adventure, but my transparency with the project is meant to act as a inspiration for other folks to open similar spaces. I try to be really open and accessible in terms of what my day to day is like, how much Junior High costs to facilitate, some of the mistakes I’ve made, etc. I’m hoping this helps other people create their own community spaces, so they can see that if I can do it they can too. That I have no special qualifications, that I’m not exceptional at anything, that really all it takes is a lot of dedication, vision, and support,” she states. Orlove finds herself inspired by the accomplished women amongst Los Angeles that impact her artistic imagination. She comments on the glimmers of talent within the LA community, “Oh my god, I mean. I’m just constantly motivated and pushed to try to mediums and new collaborations. I’ve always been drawn to ambitious people, and Los Angeles has no shortage of women getting shit done. It’s so inspiring and so exciting. Sometimes, it feels like I’m the worst at everything I do. Compared to a million other animators and illustrators and business owners, like why even try? But those are the times when I just sink into myself and cry for a minute and watch SVU and try to kind of, actively unlearn that in order for me to succeed everyone else has to fail. That’s bullshit. Capitalism is bullshit.”
The creativity productivity that pushes Orlove to design art pieces is also where she derives her nirvana. Orlove expresses, “Sitting with my cat at my computer, with an iced coffee and a playlist my boyfriend made me, working on whatever is in my inbox that day, is the most therapeutic vice I have. I’m lucky that I love work. That being productive comforts me. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise.” Orlove speaks on her recent collaboration with the striking musician Vagabon, stating “ I’m working on a music video right now for Vagabon that is very in line with my aesthetics and interests. I’m really lucky that I get to work with artists that are more interested in collaboration than full direction so a lot of my own vision is in the work I make! It’s about a girl alone in her bedroom. Feeling lonely but also feeling safe, feeling happy but also feeling cold. I relate a lot to the song, to our joint vision, I think given the time and money to animate my own film, it would be a lot like what Laetitia and I are working on, but probably with a bunch of different girls and their own bedroom narratives instead of just the one.”
Orlove has engraved a meaningful impact among the Los Angeles community, by spotlighting marginalized voices through a majestic art space. Meanwhile running Junior High, she creates engaging drawings that captivate our childlike naivete and remind us of Lisa Frank coloring books. Orlove aspires to keep her Junior High community thriving and aims to enlighten her audience with many more vivacious Bob Ross and Kim Kardashian drawings.
Written by Jasmine Rodriguez | Photography by Dustin Stafford
