Curiouser and Curiouser
Interview and photoshoot by Bianca Ustrell
Rebecca Ustrell is a 27 year old artist based out of Southern California. She is most well known for her involvement with the Claremont art scene, but to be honest, trying to credit her work to just what she is known for would be an injustice to all that she truly does. Her illustrations often push the boundaries of sexual expression while maintaining a lush and delicate theme. Her depictions of beautiful gardens and nature juxtaposed against graphic sexuality leaves her audience with an array of emotions to process. One is often left feeling like much Alice in Wonderland, getting lost in the vivid details in of world she creates with her pieces, curiouser and curiouser.
I arrived at Rebecca’s home last Thursday afternoon after a couple scheduling conflicts. Either she or I had something else that would get in the way of this meeting. I didn’t mind this one bit. In fact, there is something very relatable about being unable to keep up with one’s own social and professional obligations. This feeling immediately made me wonder if it had something to do with us both being millennial young adults, but I also hate lumping people into categories. My 2006 inner punk persona wont stand for it. Anyway, I begin to wonder about my excuses vs. hers. Rebecca seems to fill every second of her day with the things that she loves, including but not limited to her artwork. Her extracurriculars include community outreach, occasional event space coordination, the curation of art spaces throughout the Claremont and Pomona area, personal art lessons, and whatever else she can sink her teeth into, really. Me? I lean towards procrastination and self indulgence on most days.
She invites me into her room to get started. At first it’s a lot to look at, each wall and space covered with photographs, literature, sculptures, and other miscellaneous pieces of artwork. Once settled in, I started to really look at each of the items. They were all so different and so well taken care of. Seemingly chaotic, but actually deliberate in placement. She walked me through some the pictures and even let me pick up and look at the small sculptures etc. to admire them. Everything she owned held a specific place in her memory, and seemingly her soul. There was something very private about the way her space was arranged. But at the same time, I felt incredibly welcomed. This isn’t that strange, she is my sister after all. But even though I had come to visit her many times before, and even though we shared a small bedroom for almost the entirety of our youth, she had always had the tendency to keep herself as a mysterious entity in the home.
I began to set up for our photoshoot, and she then expressed a little hesitation and nervousness. I assured her “this photoshoot is really just a more current version of the myspace profile pic photoshoots I shot for you when we were teens.”
What other jobs in the art industry have you participated in, or are participating in now?
I’ve always incorporated art into what I do in life. Whether writing poems on receipt paper while working in the Baker’s Burger’s drive thru, or tagging on abandoned planks of wood in the middle of the Mojave Desert; Hesperia was a hell of a place to grow up. I tend to find ways to express myself in some sense in every aspect of life. However, I digress… I guess you can say I began my involvement in the arts in the professional sense as the coincidence of all my connections somehow leading me to the crux of becoming a curator. I was showing a new hire around the office that I worked at a couple of years ago, 2015? While going through a demonstration of different advertisements and social media posts I’d done for the company, a non-profit organization supporting foster children, she mentioned she herself was a graphic designer, and former gallery owner who was also involved in organizing Claremont Art Walk. After some discussion I volunteered myself to oversee a pop-up style gallery space in the Packing House in downtown Claremont for the monthly First Saturday’s show. I grew a space that was pretty much non-existent into a space artists regularly attended to showcase their works. For some, it was their first opportunity to show their work and it served as a major stepping stone for their future careers. It was an incredibly rewarding experience. Since then I have been invited to curate for The Claremont Community Foundation gallery, as well as show my own artwork in the dA Center for the Arts, The Claremont Heritage Ginger Elliot Exhibition Center, Space Gallery, and in two solo shows at small businesses owned by women I had met through my involvement with the Claremont Chamber of Commerce. I tend to associate myself with people just as ambitious and crazy as I am. It’s like, “Hey, what if we turned the spa into a gallery for the night?” and just like that a month later I had my first solo show. I’ve also had the opportunity to serve as a collaborator with California Focus Magazine ( A local arts, entertainment and culture magazine out of Upland, CA) as well as be a guest reporter for NPR on local arts and politics, and a collaborator for Erns Lab projects which is a local foodie and event planning group. Getting experience in event planning through my day job, and curating for the Claremont Art walk has since opened the doors to many fruitful and exciting opportunities. I’m now organizing a pop up gallery space for The Arts Area in Ontario, as well as hosting drawing workshops, giving private art lessons to young adults, fundraising for arts nonprofits, and now, Curious Magazine.
Why the name “Curious?
I chose the name “Curious” because I felt it was the embodiment of the plethora of emotions which art evoke for me. Also what the word curious implies I feel is appropriate….it’s interesting, and you have this urge to learn more. In this case we apply the word to all forms of art whether it written, performance, or visual.
What made you decide to put this project together, and what makes this particular project special?
What made me put this project together was the blaringly obvious need for more diversity in the representation of artists in the Inland Empire. I didn’t like that people saw getting into a gallery as unapproachable, or that my peers were so judgmental against their own art not fitting into the “Fine Art” category. Having power to give these people the opportunity to show art in any capacity seemed like my duty. I could try and chip away at the glass boxes that were “Fine Art Galleries”. So I did just that, I started making small zines filled with artist interviews, and reviews of local art shows. The Claremont Art Walk committee liked the idea and asked me to start creating the monthly map for the Claremont Art Walk and to include artist interviews and or mini showcases of the artistic goings on in Claremont. However, of course this had many limitations, I craved flexibility. So I joined the zine circuit. I made small publications full of my artwork, trading with others who are doing the same, trying to make a connection with others through art.
Most of your friends and colleges are artists, would you say that these people influence the kind of art your produce today?
I’d be nowhere without my mentors and peers in the art world. What got me through to producing my first art show I owe to my studio mate and former professor Chet Glaze who invited me to share a creative space with him and his longtime friend Mark. At the time I was going through a seriously rough patch and suffering from mental illness. The studio was a refuge, and I owe my life and creative energy to it. Sharing a space with Mark and Chet was a great experience in not being afraid to use a plethora of texture and color in my works. As for the art I produce and it’s imagery, it’s a mash up of my musical and visual art influences from Bjork music videos to the illustrations of Christopher Reiger, and the art I was surrounded by throughout my stay in the studio this past year. Chet, if you’re reading this, thank you.
The first issue of Curious’s theme is Millennial Pink, what is the inspiration behind this color choice?
The idea behind Millennial Pink came out of annoyance. I personally love shades of pink in any form, and I started to notice it was everywhere. In Glossier make up ads, in galleries all over LA, in the clothing in trendy skate shops, constantly on my Instagram feed. I started to investigate a little into the color and its historical significance on. It lead down the Wikipedia rabbit hole we all find ourselves in if you’re curious minded like I am. I found an article on Baker-Miller Pink, a color created by a scientist which was tested and partially suggested to have a positive influence on inmates and even claimed that if facilities were painted this color it reduced the instance of violence in these facilities. My mind likes to make connections, suddenly it all came together….is there something about this particular shade of pink which is a warm and safe feeling to millennials everywhere? It provoked something. I still am not sure exactly what it has provoked in me, but it hit somewhere deep and I needed to investigate it. Through other people’s art I believe we often find parts of ourselves. That’s what the purpose of this is in a deeper sense.
Where do you draw your earliest artistic influences from?
My earliest influences come from watching nature documentaries and exploring encyclopedias. Everything from finding old anatomy charts in an old dumpster outside of my house to using Microsoft Paint to explore color I was fascinated by the textures, smells, and colors. This turned into a long love for avante garde films by Lars Von Trier, and I noticed that there was this visceral relationship between man and nature which was both alluring and frightening all at once. I needed to explore that.
What types of magazines did you read growing up that inspired your current project (Curious Magazine)?
There’s something about high fashion magazines that were like carrying around a portable museum. I got my first issue of Vogue in junior high. It was the Kirsten Dunst cover after she starred in Marie Antoinette. There she was adorned with layers and layers of fancy French clothing, surrounded by a plethora of flowers, pastries it was indulgence in color and texture. Since then I have been collecting publications from around the world in fashion, writing, history and art. Having the chance to curate a collection of art that one can hold in the hand is a huge opportunity to share this experience I had with my peers, and hopefully new patrons of the art. It’s an accessible way to interact with art and it’s many facets. Some of my top pics in magazines now are Another Man Magazine, Solar Magazine, Oddity Magazine, and Lapham’s Quarterly.
Your room is adorned with miscellaneous artwork, literature, and photographs, seemingly filling every space. You’ve managed to keep these items in beautiful condition after all these years. What makes these items important to you?
Every single significant time in my life has a scrap of paper to go along with it. Whether it a receipt from a particularly amazing dinner, a ticket stub from “Call Me By Your Name”, a box from a fancy chocolate I ate that one time at my first gallery show….it’s something that ignites the senses which I think are so very important to keeping the memories alive. I want to be surrounded by my experiences, and I like to add to them like some sort of hermit crab. They become my home and keep me safe.
You can view Rebecca’s artwork by following her on Instagram: @ustrellrebecca, or see when her next upcoming show will be, buy & commission artwork, or view past collections at www.rebeccaustrell.com.
Full Interview and extended photo-shoot available in Curious Magazine Issue No.1 “Millennial Pink”
Purchase here.