How to be an "Old" Beauty - an interview with the *Sarachmet


Welcome dear deviants!
I can proudly introduce the wonderful artist who certainly will be the one of the future giants on dA. You are not have to ask me why I feel it. Just go and take a look at her gallery. I'm sure you will agree with me.
I met Sarachmet a few months ago by accident watching the someone's favourites. Małgorzata is an artist coming from Poland, so I was very lucky I could talk with her in our native language.
I decided to ask about few questions, since certainly every enthusiast of her works, independently from country of originating, would like to know something more about her.
Sarachmet loves Pre-Raphaelites style, so just few words about it on start...

<sup>The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (also known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets and critics, founded in 1848 by John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt.

The group's intention was to reform art by rejecting what they considered to be the mechanistic approach adopted by the Renaissance and Mannerist artists who followed Raphael and Michelangelo. They believed that the Classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on academic teaching of art. Hence the name "Pre-Raphaelite". In particular they objected to the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the founder of the English Royal Academy of Arts. They called him "Sir Sloshua", believing that his broad technique was a sloppy and formulaic form of academic Mannerism. In contrast they wanted to return to the abundant detail, intense colours, and complex compositions of Quattrocento Italian and Flemish art.

The Pre-Raphaelites have been considered the first avant-garde movement in art, though they have also been denied that status, because they continued to accept both the concepts of history painting and of mimesis, or imitation of nature, as central to the purpose of art. However, the Pre-Raphaelites undoubtedly defined themselves as a reform movement, created a distinct name for their form of art, and published a periodical, The Germ, to promote their ideas.
The source and more details: Wikipedia.org</sup>





1. Could you tell me, from where does your nickname, "Sarachmet," come? It sounds like an Egyptian name...

Actually my nickname refers to two fields of my interests: etnography (and, what follows this, ancient mythology) and my love for art, particularly that of the Victorian Era, the society which in itself interests me greatly... „Sarachmet” is a combination of the names; „ Sachmet „ ( or Sakhmet/ Sekhmet ), the name of an Egyptian goddess-lioness, and Sara, the main character of John Fowles’ book, „ The French Lieutenant’s Woman”, one of my favourite literary works of all time... I hadn’t invented the name as much as it just came to me, by chance, and I liked it at first sight, I daresay... I think it’s become quite dear to me in time, as it represents all that I love in art, and history lastly...


2. You arrived at dA from another art community. Despite having registered earlier, it was only recently that you added work, so we can perhaps say that you’re „new” here. How are you feeling now as a deviant?

Actually I was a bit afraid of entering dA at first because I was told the community is so huge and thousands of daily uploads make it nearly impossible to get quite, well, on ‘the surface „ and not get stuck among other galleries and works (which is for an artist something the equivalent of being featured in a museum gallery not open to the public J). But it soon turned out quite differently, not to mention that I met many fascinating artists, artworks, and appreciators. Now I find dA to be not only a kind of online gallery, but a community giving me an opportunity to meet interesting interlocutors, all which have truly impressed me to the point in which I can truly say I’m on the edge of a dA addiction.





3. We all know for certain that you love the Pre-Raphaelites. Why? Where and when would you say this „love” originated?

Oh, I’ve been interested in this style of art (XIXth century, mostly English and its greatest representatives D. G. Rossetti, J. E. Millais, as well as many others) for so long that it’s hardly possible for me to pinpoint when it started... My parents collected albums on art, which included some books on Pre-Raphaelite paintings, so I became familiar with them as a child. After several years, when I was thinking of the theme for my MA dissertation, there was no other option for me but to write about the Pre-Raphaelites. Moreover, the studies developed my interest in the style, and though all I can say is that I’m a perpetual student of their lives and works, my knowledge in that matter is stronger; all of my inspirations and the particular aspects of the style I can refer to are better annunciated.


4. And your other inspirations? We know about a few artists like Julie M. Cameron, Waterhouse or Rossetti, but what about in others fields: music, poetry, prose... maybe something else?

As I mentioned before, my interest in Rossetti’s works is connected to my Pre-Raphaelite „ love”, as is the same for Waterhouse. Julia Margaret Cameron is also said to be a Pre-Raphaelite artist, only dealing with a different medium: photography. I think the thing that makes their works and the whole style so „tasty” for me is the matching of sensuality and purity, or sanity. Moreover J. M. Cameron’s portraits seem to show beings that are half way to the other side or may just come back from parallel worlds. It almost fulfils some need of mine for exploring the ‘unknown” or even touching it, which, as some spiritists may know, is not that simple J. It’s really hard for me to describe the essence of my admiration for the way it works, especially in English... J There are other spheres of my inspiration to be found in both music and literature (they are both very strong accelerators of my ideas, not only means to a proper mood for working). I’ve always been strongly interested in certain genres of music and have come to take them as important creators of my projects. The same applies also to literature, both prose and poetry. I’ve already taken inspirations from the works of Edgar Alan Poe and many other XIXth writers, as well as some earlier ones...and I also love the poetry of Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Tennyson, Keats, Dante...and well, that would make quite a long list I’m afraid.





5. You are an illustrator so I guess you are also dealing with art in your profession. But what do you do apart from that? If you are, of course...

Illustrating/artistic design is my main job at the moment, though ironically, a year ago my job was completely different and wasn’t generally art oriented (if at all). If you’re asking for any other of my interests, there are some, but I actually make a living being an illustrator.


6. Are you a self-taught or you did you study at an art school?

As I may have mentioned before, I graduated from art studies with a title of Master of Fine Arts, but I was taught some techniques generally and specialized in painting on silk, so the discipline is, again, only partially connected with what I do now. After having graduated from my university I went to normal, fulltime work. It wasn’t a very fulfilling experience, probably why I then started doing something ‘ on the contrary „ in my free time. I didn’t have my own computer but used to visit my brother and use his. That was about two years ago and since then, I’ve spent many hours fighting against technology, haha...Honestly speaking, all of my knowledge in that matter (photography and graphics) was gained by trial and error, without any help of tutorials etc. Now I am beginning to think that this is the best way to find your own style and technique; to invent, to fail sometimes, but at others to „win” and jump to a higher level in one’s abilities.





7. Do you remember your first photomanipulation or other kind of artwork? What was it?

Well, haha... that’s a good question. My first piece of art, ever... that would be a long time ago, though it’s hard to remember. It is so difficult to say when I created my first photomanipulation, as the border between photography and photomanipulation can be rather blurry, even for me sometimes. I suppose it was when I finally bought my first digital camera (early on I had an analog one, Zenith, and used to take some shots from time to time but didn’t use a computer for post production). The first work of this kind would be the one called „Green Seti,” a very simple work based on a photograph of a drawing of some Egyptian statue with a flowery texture added to it... you may laugh but I still like it, possibly because it’s one of those works that seems to look better than some of my later works.


8. You always use your own resources. Is there any chance that one day you won't find any needful?

Oh no, I don’t think so...At a time where you mainly base your work on adding details by painting, or simply transforming base photographs to a level where they don’t resemble their original selves anymore, their role is not that crucial. Just like in the process of a painting, the main ideas appear during my work; I will even use photos of poor quality... I’d be more afraid, rather, of the periods that happen to an artist in every discipline, those where there is a lack of a muse, ideas, etc... but not the lack of resources. They are like the first word in a sentence; quite important in order to start a thought but not necessarily dictating the feeling of what is inevitably said.





9. How much time do you devote to an artwork?

There’s no strict rule. If I happen to take a really suitable shot, the matter of post production can be a matter of changing a colour or two, but of course in photomanipulations, where all is based on adding details, matching elements, it might take me much longer... generally I don’t work constantly for hours, but rather in periods after which I like to give up working for a moment, just to have a look at what I’ve already done. I also think of the original idea, as well as remake some details. In some cases, on the other hand, there are photographs that incubate for quite a long time before I find a suitable moment for them to be used... it all depends on the nature of the inspiration, I suppose.


10. Your face is present in many of your works. Do you ever feel tired or bored of it?

Oh yes, sometimes I get really angry when I think of some idea and find myself not very fitting of it J. But generally my point of view is that a model is a kind of actor. My works have never been an illustration of reality, they are kind of a stage, theatrical maybe, in which there’s always a story told, a plot unfolding, a character or two; it is symbolical rather than literal. This is why it is not really a matter of some face being repeated, but more of the realization of a persona, just like an actor playing different roles. In all, I’ve always believed that a human protagonist makes only a part of a work of art, sharing importance with the formal side, colours, composition, etc... I would love to see some other faces on my works, and I used to ask some friends of mine to pose in the past and certainly they will be doing so again, so they also appear encased in a frame... but undoubtedly, as we assume a strong personality appearing in a work, it may change the mood or style of some pieces completely.





11. What advice would you give to people who are just starting out, working with photography and photomanipulation, or those who just want to develop their respective crafts?

First thing, don’t close your eyes to the past and all of the inheritance you’re given by the history of art. A repeated lecture of great pieces of art made by the masters really gives pointers as well as ideas; rules governing a composition, an integral side of your works, can be obtained unconsciously... Be prepared for a long, bumpy journey of crests and troughs, but never exchange the will to create into mere determination of gaining a skill. Art at times may require discipline, but it is not a sport. And work to please your own eye, don’t only follow trends, for they come and go, and the need to express always comes from inside you and you alone.


12. For how long have you been working with photography?

My first experience with analog would be some eight years ago...





13. Would you call yourself an artist? Why or why not?

Haha, oh how I dislike the term ‘artist”... but anyway, if we define art as a combination of one’s will to express, with a required level of skills, then I think I can give myself that title. Though the word, „creation„ would be more suitable in referring to how I would love to call my work, where I would be a creator to some extent. Oh, haha...I just realized how profane the word sounds... I like it anyway...


14. You’ve been growing in popularity. Are you not afraid of that?

Well, I’m not an actor or musician, so this kind of popularity to be obtained isn’t dangerous or troubling, I suppose. I’d love to convince some people of the style, or of art itself. I’m in love with its history and a certain way of playing with reality that it allows. Why should I be afraid of it? The things I do are not only done for myself at the very least...





15. What would you do, if suddenly you became a forerunner of the future fashion of dA? Would you be angry?

Haha, a good question, but I think there isn’t a danger of such a situation at all. Angry? No. I’d feel like a forerunner of some style at least, and isn’t it a noble position?


16. Please, tell me the five words (and only five), which define your personality and character.

The mask and the mirror...





17. If you weren't yourself, whom would you be?

I have always dreamed of studying the history of art and I would love to be a qualified art historian. I happened to follow my interests in a different way (which is truly enjoyable too) but I would really like to be a kind of ‘medium„, just like those of spiritists, but in the sphere of art history I’d love to explore some facts in art, as if I were talking to the masters themselves. I also sometimes regret perceiving pieces of art unconsciously rather than with some extended knowledge...Or I would be a musician, and try to learn how to play some unique instrument (I used to play piano), maybe the zither or mandolin, haha... or a harp. I’m a complete eccentric according to this fondness... a harp.


18. Your one dream already fulfilled is...?
Oh, really my greatest dreams are still to be fulfilled...




Thank you very, very much for the answers.

^{Also, the special thanks to *LesSabots who was so nice and helped us to translate on english.}