JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say?
KAREN VILLANUEVA: Brought intangibles together leading to tangible results.
JS: What important beliefs do you express in or through your work?
KV: I believe that people are always searching for enlightenment, enriching experiences through that indefinable mix of mind, body heart, soul, and spirit.
JS: Name two people, living or dead, whom you admire a great deal and tell us why for each one.
KV: Patti Smith (because the night/people have the power …. because she is an influential artist who came from the fabric that makes up rural American life but was driven by a quest to know more about the world she inhabits. To that end, she rebirthed herself and allowed her creativity its wildness which gave us Patti Smith the poet/singer artist.
She is a person intrigued, informed and heavily influenced by others as diverse as Rimbaud, Edith Piaf, and her beloved Robert Mapplethorpe.
JS: How have you changed since you began to do creative work?
KV: I was always a mix of the practical and the outrageous. I loved a dare and I struggled terribly to find a balance between these seemingly conflicted worlds. I would topple over a waterfalls (literally) in my need to prove myself and I would sit and take in a specific musical sound that would feed my ravenous appetite for something sublime and passionate. From the Count Basie Band to the Ramones, The Beatles to Leonard Cohen, Albert King to John Hiatt…
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
KV: Again, finding a way to live in the maelstrom of my conflicted senses, neither satisfied with “it is what it is” and “it must be God’s will” bullshit – I do so hate platitudes and throw away lines people use instead of putting in the effort to really ponder a situation or dilemma – nor am I content with just sheer reckless abandon, though at times it is my stronger pull.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life.
KV: The sudden tragic death of my mother, baby sister and Aunt (she was actually my mother’s best friend) at the age of seven.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about what you do?
KV: That I’m more an artist with practical enhancements than I am a mathematical sort with wild streaks. Two and two do not make four for me. I am always half out of this world and living in that reality is difficult for some people to understand. I’m not crazy and I’m decidedly not normal. Simply put, I’m terrified of how deeply affected I am by all I experience and see. And sometimes I catch myself feeling all right with everything. Now that’s the bizarre part. But it is this brew that allows me to understand the individuality of authors and musicians and people off the grid and glimpse their soul so I can take that unique creativity and work with it.
JS: How and why did you begin to do creative work in the first place?
KV: I grew up in those first six years before my mom’s death in an atmosphere of music and musician friends dropping by our house. My mom and dad were often in the studio and my mother was the singing voice for an actress/dancer Vera Ellen. It was wonderful having David Niven twirl me around and to go to the club where my mother sang and be in the arms of a black jazz performer who would also put me on his toes and waltz around with me at the tender age of three.
When we moved to Canada, my parents never again found steady work in music and then they took mundane jobs to see things through. I always thought, if only I could have been their publicist…. what might have been. But those thoughts came long after my mom was gone and my father had become quite mad… but able to function part of the time as a “normal” person.
JS: What haven’t you attempted as yet that you would like to do and please tell us why?
KV: I haven’t attempted to be just myself without apology. That is becoming easier to accomplish as I age. I am seeking acceptance on my own terms and merits as I notice there are a lot of jerks in this world, some truly unkind people. I’m so happy when I see a truly worthwhile human, that fills up my heart.
JS: What are your most meaningful achievements?
KV: Surviving kidnapping and rape. I never thought I could live or ever love or be loved again. But I eventually put that on a back shelf and concentrated on the path right in front of me.
And being a big sister to my “son” Matt MacPhee. To know someone is flourishing and that you had something to do with that…. nothing beats that feeling.
JS: What advice would you give a young person who would like to do what you do?
KV: Learn. The knowledge is out there about this line of work. Then add to the mix your own insights and creativity to make yourself an individual practicing your craft…. not a critical by-the-book person. Only you can do exactly what you do. It’s fine to have people you can look up to in your area of creative work, but you bring your own magic to your work.
JS: Of what value are critics?
KV: In the case of critics in the arts, learn from what is a valid point, but don’t change on the basis of a few criticisms. Learn from them (they’re not always right) and be open to criticism as you are to praise. Then, if there is nothing to be learned from a particular criticism, toss it. But don’t let ego stop you from learning something that will make you wiser, better, and stronger in what you do.
JS: What do you ask of your audience?
KV: I don’t have an audience but I ask that the media measure the content of my press releases and ponder the artist/author’s information with fresh eyes…too many are overburdened by their past and have difficulty seeing the beauty of a new artist and their unique approach.
JS: What specifically would you change about what goes on in the world and the arts?
KV: I would like to see arts pages come back to newspapers and magazines; that radio shows take a closer look at the arts for interview subjects; that local authors obtain more coverage than they are currently receiving. However, I’m aware of the diminishing opportunities in mainstream media. And it is still relatively early in the history of the web to know all of the opportunities available for those in the arts.
Artists are taking on their own promotion as they learn about the various public groups online that are geared towards their medium. But, it’s still a lot of relying on friends and building your PR lists. I despise the word “platform” but it is something artists should be creating apart from their art… a platform for their specific work coming at the media with their specialty. For instance, instead of an author pitching fiction, nonfiction and How To-books at the same time, decide what your specialty is and go for it in a consistent way. Once you gain a measure of success, that’s the time to introduce other genres of books. In the early stages of one’s career you don’t want to throw it all out there and wait for responses.
For those who are not clear about most of this, that is why I am here. It is my raison d’etre – helping artists and authors from beginning processes to the ongoing march to gain public awareness. Unless you can afford advertising in a big and extended way, the onus is on preparing various promotional releases, connecting with your would-be fans/followers, and being steady and politely persistent in getting the word out there in every way conceivable.
JS: If you could relive one experience from your creative life, what would it be and why would you do so?
KV: As a producer of world music band Manteca’s live album, I found the excitement of being involved on a creative and practical level akin to doing a slow but powerful dance. To see the music, production standards and energy of the production (and PR) build was so rewarding. Being in on the groundwork of such a creative endeavour and to see it all come to fruition as a successful venture on so many levels was sublime satisfaction. Of course, it was also the band itself that made this such a joy.
JS: Tell us what it feels like to be a figure who is presented somehow in the media. What effect does this presence have on you?
KV: I don’t really have a media presence as such. I watch my clients move along gaining media recognition and my heart swells. The attention is crucial to their careers. Some accept the attention humbly and gratefully…others, unfortunately, take it for granted and can become idiots. That’s one of the least rewarding things about being a publicist and a creative person.
JS: Name two places you would like to visit, one you haven’t been to and one to experience again and briefly tell us why.
KV: East India– because the culture is so rich and diverse –the sheer volume of people inhabiting that land is staggering. I’ve always been drawn to their religious customs, and the vibrant colors of the textiles and foods. It is a country of such dazzling history.
The second place would have to be England. I’ve never been back and it is my motherland. I know there is great turmoil there due to recent violent events and Britex but every place has changed…it is the sign of the times we live in. Peace is promised to no one. However, I would visit the streets I grew up on and just walking on cobblestones in a market area would be a wonderful reconnection.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
KV: This mixture of millennials, gen x, baby boomers, and soon to be obsolete WWIIers cuts such a large swath through “culture”. From WWII survivors on up to the overwhelmingly technology-ruled millennials, the times we live in is akin to making a stew of Rembrandt mixed with Jackson Pollock, microchips, suicide bombers and unconscionable ravaging of basic human rights thrown in… with a pinch of hope. How do you dine on that…you can’t even digest it? However, I see art as always changing. Evolution is inevitable and it can be exciting to see what new art forms develop…just keep the Van Goghs in the mix.
There has been a great surge in the developing arts and the sheer variety of artists is encouraging.
JS: Finally, what do you yourself find to be the most intriguing and/or surprising thing about you?
KV: I don’t know that I could answer that. I am not intrigued by me nor surprised by what I am capable of. I am somewhat impressed that I have made it through some deeply traumatic experiences and that I still retain hope, faith, charity and joy.
That’s what I want more than anything…the ability to get back in the ring no matter how many times I’m knocked down…and to keep creating.