Meet alika cooper | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with alika cooper and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi alika, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?

I was struck by the otherworldliness of painting and drawing at a young age. Luckily I had supportive teachers and parents in a school environment that didn’t prioritize the arts. I didn’t think that art was something you could pursue as a career, but I couldn’t stop taking art history and studio classes in college, to the point that it only made sense to transfer to art school. Again, growing up in a town in San Diego, the arts were really not valued . At art school I was enthralled with the courses and teachers, and the making. It just kept snowballing I guess.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

My background as an artist is very rooted in painting and drawing. After grad school, I moved to Los Angeles, and set up a studio life here. I began to branch out in mediums. It has been challenging, to come up against resistance from those who don’t want to see change, you just have to follow your gut. I’m happy I followed that, (my gut), as I have, it has allowed me to broaden the world of my work.

This is some more formal language about what I do in my work :

I am invested in the transformation of materials referencing the female body as both an image and an object. My paintings relate to the body of a female subject through juxtaposition, deconstruction and reconstruction; my sculptures are cast of garments that reflect the female figures in its absence. They are processes of abstraction that recorded additive and subtractive gestures. Through these formal approaches, I am interested in subverting the stereotypes of the feminine body shaped by the collective imaginations of our culture, and in creating tension between the playful and the grotesque for the viewer to re-imagine the female body.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Hmmm.. let’s see.. I love a jaunt in chinatown, blossom cafe, general lees, melody lounge, it’s nice to just walk about. For a jaunt in nature, a mellow hike in debs park, montecito heights Audubon park, or the Huntington Library. Food.. maybe pick up snacks at Tropicana market & cookbook. A lil vintage/unique shopping ? Visit Operator LA & Either way LA.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

So many, the way I answered the first question, it seems natural to shout out to Ronald Graff, painting professor, at university of Oregon in 1997-1998

Website: https://www.situations.us/alika-cooper

Instagram: @alika__cooper

Image Credits
Eydie McConnel Brica Wilcox

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.