Exhibitionists·animation

What Carolyn Tripp drew when we sent her 5 questions about art

We sent her questions about art, and she drew us the answers. From her newest sketch, to a portrait of her hero, pineapple Bowie, see how Toronto artist Carolyn Tripp responded to the CBC Arts illustrated Q&A.

Meet this week's Exhibitionist in Residence... and pineapple Bowie

Leah Collins · CBC Arts · Posted: Jan 15, 2016 10:00 AM EST | Last Updated: January 15, 2016

This week's Exhibitionist in Residence is Carolyn Tripp. We asked the Toronto artist questions. See what she drew in response. (Carolyn Tripp)

Her cryptic and occasionally comic animations are coming to CBC Arts' Exhibitionists this Sunday, as well as — watch this space! — an upcoming Exhibitionists segment about acclaimed Toronto poet Christian Bok. But when you catch Carolyn Tripp's Triangle on this week's program, try to imagine her artwork flickering and larger than life, beamed onto walls and ceilings and people — while bouncing off a performance artist draped in mirrored fabric.

Yeah. You might not get all that from the clip.

But then, that's the beauty of animation. Whether you're viewing it on tumblr or TV — or in a Nuit Blanche installation (where that aforementioned piece, a collaboration with Lisa Anita Wegner, first appeared in 2014) — it's one helluva versatile art form.

"It's a format that can be displayed anywhere, web or otherwise. I find it a more democratic medium in some ways," the Toronto-based Tripp tells CBC Arts. "It's available to many different kinds of people," says Tripp, who loves creating animation for that reason, but also because of the "creative possibility" it offers.

A multi-disciplinary artist, as well as a journalist, designer and creative consultant, Tripp has become increasingly focused on animation. "I think it's the best medium to express a lot of different ideas at once," she explains.

What you'll see on Sunday's episode incorporates a mix of mysterious, but familiar, images: hobo cyphers, galactic landscapes and every Mac user's most dreaded symbol — the spinning wheel of death.

"The last couple years have seen me kind of blow things open — to take a few more risks and maybe not be so literal with my practice," Tripp says. "That's where a lot of this work comes from, mainly experimentation."

So, CBC Arts asked Tripp to take part in a little experiment of our own: our series of illustrated Q&As. We sent Tripp five questions. Here's what she drew in response. (Pineapple Bowie forever.)