- Bianca Vinther
Pro Life, Pro Choice, Pro Boundless Creativity: ART TALK with Lindsay McCulloch, American Artist
In a small town in the US, about half an hour outside of Washington, DC, a young girl named Lindsay McCulloch watched her mother paint and teach art from home, and her father repurpose things creatively. She wanted to be creatively involved too. So she began to draw and to paint. In 2005, she received her Master of Fine Arts in painting from Boston University. Nine years later she became Associate Professor of Visual Arts at the Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland.
Having exhibited her works internationally and won numerous awards since 1999, including the Maryland State Arts Council's Individual Artist Award for Painting in 20019, Lindsay McCulloch is an accomplished artist who is continuously developing her art and her approach to abstraction with speed light.
However, Lindsay is far more than an artist and a professor of visual arts. She’s a wife and a mother of two who is deeply involved with social issues and concerned about the present and future of mankind. To me, she’s like an acrobat who jumps in rapid succession and manages to juggle tasks to perfection!
Lindsay is a profoundly feeling, understanding and compassionate person who can listen deeply not only to herself but also to others. She’s driven by a huge desire for change, for being a better human being, and for “finding a way to function in the world that seems meaningful” for her.
As she explained to me, she strives to make a positive difference in the world around her and to “leave it in a better place than how she found it”. She also has a heart that is remarkably open and that can see beyond appearances and the limits of physical vision. Like Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote in The Little Prince:
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
The conversation I had with Lindsay on 28 May 2022 gave me hope, light, and lots of inspiration. In this podcast episode, Lindsay discussed the meaning of change, the tension between being a mother and an artist, her artistic development, and the stages of her creative process. She also talked about the female artists who influenced her art, like Elizabeth Murray and Cecily Brown, her sources of inspiration and creativity, and how she deals with artist block.
Her art, as well as her work as a teacher and, more recently, as a protester for women's rights, is a powerful example to emulate – an example of empathy, patience, and strength, of resilience and faith in the power of good and togetherness.
I wholeheartedly invite you to read my introduction to Lindsay’s art below, and to listen to my ART TALK with her on The Pointless Artist Blog > ART TALK with Lindsay McCulloch, or on The Pointless Artist Podcast on Anchor.fm, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
