Meet Mary Brogger
Thanks for sharing your story with us Mary. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was influenced at an early age by my mother who was a costume designer for civic theater and by my father who loved to tinker with anything that fell in his path. I studied Sculpture, Installation and Performance at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1980’s and taught in the Sculpture and the Fiber and Materials Studies Departments there in the 1990’s. And then, I continued working in Chicago doing public and private art commissions and exhibiting nationally and internationally.
I was influenced at an early age by my mother who was a costume designer for civic theater and by my father who loved to tinker with anything that fell in his path. I studied Sculpture, Installation and Performance at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1980’s and taught in the Sculpture and the Fiber and Materials Studies Departments there in the 1990’s. And then, I continued working in Chicago doing public and private art commissions and exhibiting nationally and internationally.
I moved my studio to Los Angeles in 2009. Having diverse interests and skills has allowed me to work across disciplines, from design for the home, sculpture and fashion, to prop making for film and television.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I doubt any artist can boast a smooth road. The nature of being an artist includes a constant desire to invent and re-invent. This alone is a struggle. Taking risks is our stock and trade. And it takes a confluence of circumstances for ideas to succeed and open the door for flow. Personally, I have been fortunate to have an idiosyncratic imagination that resides somewhere on the edge of conventional thought; a place rich with potentially fresh ideas. But having a predisposition for self-doubt puts a big bump in the road right out of the gate…And yet the creative impulse persists.
I doubt any artist can boast a smooth road. The nature of being an artist includes a constant desire to invent and re-invent. This alone is a struggle. Taking risks is our stock and trade. And it takes a confluence of circumstances for ideas to succeed and open the door for flow. Personally, I have been fortunate to have an idiosyncratic imagination that resides somewhere on the edge of conventional thought; a place rich with potentially fresh ideas. But having a predisposition for self-doubt puts a big bump in the road right out of the gate…And yet the creative impulse persists.
Tell us about your business/company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
I’ve worked freelance and by commission for decades; sometimes through a showroom such as Dana John Inc. and JF Chen and currently Garde, but often on my own by word of mouth. By nature of my broad abilities and interests it would be hard for me to name any one thing I am known for. I am known for different things in different worlds. I am for instance known in the Chicago art world, I suppose, for my teaching at SAIC, and for my sculpture in the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. But another sector knows me for a very prominent public sculpture in Chicago that marks a site where history took a turn towards the formation of labor unions; The Haymarket Monument is recognized by people concerned with workers rights who journey there from all parts of the planet. And I incorporated an ongoing element to that work that keeps the monument growing and vital. I would say that that is my most important accomplishment. Here, in Los Angeles, I have for the most part focused on Design for the home- which I love. My twisted wire sculptures come to mind first. But I have also made large bronze gates and some bronze “lean-to” candlesticks which have been successful, as well as large burnt black fiber sculptures that people are just getting to know. What sets me apart in this world might be the fact that i am not of it. I am not trained as a designer, I’m trained as a sculptor and form is almost everything to me. I say “almost” because Design whose function suffers for its form drives me crazy!
I’ve worked freelance and by commission for decades; sometimes through a showroom such as Dana John Inc. and JF Chen and currently Garde, but often on my own by word of mouth. By nature of my broad abilities and interests it would be hard for me to name any one thing I am known for. I am known for different things in different worlds. I am for instance known in the Chicago art world, I suppose, for my teaching at SAIC, and for my sculpture in the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. But another sector knows me for a very prominent public sculpture in Chicago that marks a site where history took a turn towards the formation of labor unions; The Haymarket Monument is recognized by people concerned with workers rights who journey there from all parts of the planet. And I incorporated an ongoing element to that work that keeps the monument growing and vital. I would say that that is my most important accomplishment. Here, in Los Angeles, I have for the most part focused on Design for the home- which I love. My twisted wire sculptures come to mind first. But I have also made large bronze gates and some bronze “lean-to” candlesticks which have been successful, as well as large burnt black fiber sculptures that people are just getting to know. What sets me apart in this world might be the fact that i am not of it. I am not trained as a designer, I’m trained as a sculptor and form is almost everything to me. I say “almost” because Design whose function suffers for its form drives me crazy!
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Ha! Well, that’s a difficult question that perhaps loops back to your question about struggles. I am of a culture, American Midwest born, whose mindset thinks success is having just a little bit more than what you have right now. And for an artist; I know for myself that misguided psychology can get mixed up in the generally positive creative impulse to always be striving for something new to explore and make. Success as a grand unified theory so to speak is an overwhelming idea to me and has to be measured in increments: i.e., did a sculpture turn out beautifully; did others connect with it; did I get through the day without yelling at the computer! Hahaha. Generally, I keep my head down with regard to that idea which is not always useful and why representation has been so important to me.
Ha! Well, that’s a difficult question that perhaps loops back to your question about struggles. I am of a culture, American Midwest born, whose mindset thinks success is having just a little bit more than what you have right now. And for an artist; I know for myself that misguided psychology can get mixed up in the generally positive creative impulse to always be striving for something new to explore and make. Success as a grand unified theory so to speak is an overwhelming idea to me and has to be measured in increments: i.e., did a sculpture turn out beautifully; did others connect with it; did I get through the day without yelling at the computer! Hahaha. Generally, I keep my head down with regard to that idea which is not always useful and why representation has been so important to me.
