AC Interview | John Cohorst and Holly Kranker
We recently sat down with John Cohorst and Holly Kranker, Amplify's 2019 Public Impact Grant recipients, to talk more about their project CAR>GO (Community Activated Resource on the GO), a shipping container they modified to accommodate anything from group meetings to creative studio and/or project space.
Originally conceived as a gathering space to exchange ideas, have conversations, and collaborate on neighborhood based initiatives, John and Holly talk about the pandemic's impact on the project, adapting to the unexpected, and welcoming people into the space in 2022 with an open call for collaborators.
Listen on our website by clicking below or, if you’re on the go, visit Amplify’s Anchor page to listen on your favorite podcasting service.
Transcription
Interviewer: Peter Fankhauser
Interviewees: John Cohorst and Holly Kranker
Date of Interview: February 23, 2022
List of Acronyms: JC = John Cohorst; HK = Holly Kranker; PF = Peter Fankhauser
[JC] My name is John Cohorst. I live here in Omaha, Nebraska. I'm originally from Topeka, Kansas. And my background is as a ceramic artist. I've assisted artists and have worked in the ceramics field for roughly 15 years. So that's my background. I also have a background in museum art handling.
[HK] My name is Holly Kranker. I've been in Omaha about 13 years, or so, and in that time, I've mostly worked as an arts administrator and artist assistant running an artist’s studio and fabricating work. I'm a practicing artist myself, but most of my time is spent on the admin side of things. I'm also from Kansas. My education is really seated in illustration, graphic design, and interior design. But I think of myself now as a sculptor and working three dimensionally in my own personal practice.
[PF] You two have developed a robust collaborative working practice as well. Can you talk about that and how your practices complement one another or how you approach collaboration when making large scale, public-facing work?
[HK] We've known each other for 20 years and have worked on and off together on different projects. Our practices have overlapped in different ways. I would say CAR>GO is by far the biggest collaborative, public-facing project we've ever done. Definitely the biggest in terms of scale, but also in scope. It's really a living, breathing thing that we've learned a lot from, and we'll continue to learn from, as the second wave of its life starts to unfold now that we've completed the build out and the fabrication of it.
[PF] CAR>GO was Amplify’s 2019 Public Impact Grant recipient. Can you give people, in broad strokes, an idea of what cargo is? What were some of the challenges you encountered while working on the project? And where is the project now?
[JC] Sure. CAR>GO was an idea I had for a while, thinking about shipping containers and wanting to figure out a way to repurpose a shipping container. The original idea that we were playing with was to make a mobile studio space, or a mobile gallery space that people could bring to their neighborhood, bring to their local park, a way to bring the arts to the greater community. That was the original idea. But then COVID happened and the idea of having multiple people in an 8’ x 20’ shipping container didn't make sense anymore. So, the idea has transformed and now we're trying to figure out how to present CAR>GO so that it's still usable by many people, but maybe doesn't necessarily involve having everyone inside of it. We’re thinking people could potentially use it as a home base for an outdoor workshop, or a private, small-scale studio. The idea of a gallery seems hard at this point with the space’s restrictions. I guess that’s the challenge we're facing--how do we repurpose the original idea and figure out new ways to present it?
[HK] Yeah, it really started with the idea of taking the shipping container and rehabbing it. Giving it a second life is not a new idea, but it's not something that we haven’t seen take hold in the city of Omaha. It's starting to settle in, I think over the last few years. For us, we wanted to create a model for other artists and say, “You can take this on yourself and really make it a DIY project and we're going to be the guinea pigs to kind of share that experience.” I think that is really how it shifted in terms of COVID and the pandemic’s impact on the project. We hoped it would be really public-facing, engaged, and active. We had to take a step back and think about how we could share the process in a way that revealed not only the successes, but also the struggles.
Now, as things are lifting and shifting, we're thinking about how can bring in collaborators. How do we bring in folks now? How have the last two years impacted people? How are they thinking about their practices a differently? And how can CAR>GO supplement, or be part of that? Bridging those two ideas is has brought us to the new iteration of where we are.
[PF] It seems like kind of the central tenants of the project haven't changed that much. You still want to welcome people into CAR>GO and help others find useful ways to interact with the space. Can you talk about that process and what it means, after having worked on this huge build out, to invite other people in and give up a degree of control or authorship in the project?
[HK] It’s been a long wait! We're excited and ready to see what other ideas and voices and collaboration bring. I think you get stuck in your own head a lot thinking about what you expect it to be. That invitation for someone else to come with a new idea or a new project, perhaps something we've not even considered, is exciting. We're ready to see that happen and ready for that to start. Really, that was at the root of the idea of wanting to create a vessel that can could have different lives and a different kind of presence. It can evolve and change with each person who engages it, or occupies it, or activates it, whatever that looks like.
[JC] Yeah, for myself, part of the enjoyment of making the work is the process. For me, I enjoy the build out and the problem solving of making it. When that part is complete, I feel excited to let someone else then use it for their vision. That's been the idea all along. It's something other people are going to use. So, my part is done. I'm ready for other people to use it. I feel good about it. I've set it up as best I can. I think we have set it up as best we can to make it user friendly and easy for other people to operate and occupy.
[HK] And I think with that engagement will come feedback and adaptation and asking how we can make it better for the next person and more accessible.
[PF] Right. Turn it loose in the world. Why do you think now is the right time and why is Omaha the right place for a project like CAR>GO?
[HK] Well, I think it's interesting reflecting on the last two and a half years and thinking about shipping containers. All our stuff is sitting in shipping containers on boats out in the ocean. That is big a part of the impetus to make something out of something else and find new life in old things. That's always going to be important, at least for my practice, to use recycled materials or recycled elements and parts. I think sustainably about my practice in that way. And I'd hope that Omaha is on a trajectory to think about that as well.
In Omaha specifically, space is really important. Being in the Midwest, I think we have a skewed perspective of space, and having access to space as an artist, and who needs space to make work. It's getting hard to find affordable spaces to invest in, for yourself and for your practice. So, I think it's important have a working example of what a space like CAR>GO costs, what is involved, how much sweat equity and labor is involved, and to make those things transparent. Having the support and resources from Amplify helped make this possible, but the possibility of someone walking into CAR>GO and being inspired to make their own space is exciting for us. That's one of my hopes, encouraging others to ask how they can do something similar. Maybe it's not the exact same project, but what if it plants a seed for others to create their space? I've seen over the last decade and a half that the real estate landscape is getting quite competitive and challenging. As an artist who requires space to make the work I make, it's critical. Space is necessary to do what I do.
[JC] I also think Omaha is an appropriate place because, being a Midwesterner, I think there's a history here of adaptation and reuse. My grandparents lived in Kansas and we're Depression era people and that history of reuse is there in that generation of people. I feel like it went by the wayside at some point but is now coming back around. Projects like this make me feel connected to my background as a Midwesterner. I feel like there's a connection in that way as well.
[PF] That's a that's a good segue into asking about another central tenant of the project—its ecological footprint and how you've worked to mitigate that footprint. Can you talk about how CAR>GO reevaluates the idea that bigger is always better?
[JC] Yeah. Sure. In in regard to the sustainability of CAR<GO, it it's not a zero-waste product by any means. We had to buy things for it. In an ideal world, we would have been able to recycle as much as possible, and we were able to recycle a significant amount of materials for the build out, but for insulation purposes and other factors, we had to purchase things and pay for things and buy new things. Hopefully, we're paying it back by creating a self-sustained unit that now can be somewhat sustainable moving forward. It's going to be usable for a long period of time. It's not pulling from the grid. It does need to be transported around. So, it isn’t net zero, but we're trying to think about ways to keep those totals low.
[HK] I think it's also about taking something that’s used to store and ship all of our goods and products and things that we buy from all over the world and giving it another life. When we purchased the shipping container, there was nothing wrong with it. It could have still been used and functioned. To think that this is one of millions and millions and millions of these things that have been fabricated and shipped across the planet, it’s such a tiny part of a bigger conversation, but to know this rectangle box can be used to create something else, is just the tip of the iceberg. It's just the start of thinking more deeply about ecological impact.
John mentioned that CAR>GO was off the grid. We have installed solar panels to provide power, but it also challenges whoever is in the space to think about their own practice in terms of how much power they need, how much technology they need to make their work. There’s a push and pull in that conversation about sustainability or renewable resources. I think it's a very on point exercise. We all have access to recycled materials. How do you use the tools you have to research and put them into use?
[JC] And the fact that it's powered by solar, your battery bank in the container is only so big, so it does make you conscious of how you're using energy in a very real way. If you're wasting, then you don't have it for later. It puts the concept of constraints of use into a very realistic environment. I think that's a useful tool to help you realize what your power consumption is and what your footprint actually is, for whomever is using it. And the idea that bigger is better, CAR>GO challenges that by asking how much do you actually need? Can you make what you need to make in this 8’ x 20’ shipping container? Does placement of the container play a role? How does that connection with nature important to how you use the space? Are you opening it up so nature and outside are your actual working spaces? How are you positioning it to get the most sunlight possible to maximize your electricity for later on? You're forced to interact with nature in a different way. Even though this is a totally metal box, it does force you to look at nature in a different way.
[PF] If we kind of pull it that thread a little more, what do you think it means to make art in a time of climate change? And I guess the second part of that question is, do you think creative practice holds real potential to respond to systemic challenges like climate change, for example?
[JC] For me, I systemic change is a hard concept to wrap my mind around. I don't even know where that begins. The place where it begins for me, just with myself, is looking at how I interact with the world around me. Like I said, CAR>GO has made me to look at how I'm interacting with nature and how I'm using energy and my consumption and, as an American, what that looks like. I think art practice does help because it can force you to look at yourself. Speaking just for myself here, I think it's hard as an artist to influence systemic change. You have to start with yourself and hopefully, these small little incremental steps of discovery will, in the long run, influence the bigger picture. I think it is important to have creative examples out there of what that looks like, but I don't know what it means for systemic change.
[HK] Yeah, I would say this is a step. Many people with many hands can make a movement. I go back to the goods on the shipping containers. How much is really necessary? How much of that stuff do we actually need? Climate change has been a conversation my entire life. I think for everyone in our generation, it has always been present. It’s something that's going to require change at so many levels. Even in art practices. Creative work in general is about consumption. It's about how that how that work is shared, how it's sold. There are so many layers to how you unpack a creative practice and creative industry. But I think to John's point, it starts with evaluating your own footprint, your own needs, and how your positive actions give back and nurture. CAR>GO is just a small project, but we hope that from it, things that we can't foresee yet start to happen.
[PF] What can arts organizations in Omaha do more effectively to shore up artists who are making work in response to big systemic challenges?
[HK] I think, to really speak highly of Amplify, projects that require resources in a city and a state art is not a huge priority and our funding opportunities are limited, when you have organizations like Amplify that trust artists enough to say, “Here's an opportunity with some parameters; here's some funding; here's our network of resources and our staff support; what can you do?” that’s invaluable. Otherwise, what we're doing would not have happened and the conversations that we've had over the last two years in developing the project and the partnerships with other organizations and other artists wouldn’t have happened. That’s how collaboration becomes meaningful. Those are support systems that artists really need. We don't have all the answers and we don't know exactly how it's going to work, but we know that collaborating with those who want to engage in this project and dive in with us, will create meaningful opportunities. Hopefully, change comes from that.
[PF] I agree. So, CAR>GO is going to be out and about pretty soon. Can you talk about what's next and where people can find you?
[HK] Well, we're excited to officially launch our public engagement later, this spring/summer 2022. We have an open call for collaborators on Amplify’s website. You can go there and check under the Public Impact Grant tab for CAR>GO’s page. We've also been sharing videos that we've put together about the process. If people have questions about the process, it's a great way to see some of that and then to connect with us. We're on Instagram and have shared some more nuts and bolts info on the fabrication side of things there.
But we will be launching calls for collaborators and hopefully put together a calendar soon. If you have ideas, you can you reach us through social media like Instagram or you can connect with us through Amplify. Peter can definitely share our contact info.
[PF] That's super exciting. Thanks so much for sitting down taking the time to talk we appreciate it. You're both wonderful.
Thank you, Peter. You've been on this journey with us almost three years and we've learned so many things. This has been an evolution of a project that has been really layered and really telling and really informing. And that's just been the fabrication side. Now the real fun will be having some new friends join us and seeing new ideas activate CAR>GO.
[PF] Yeah, that's awesome. Thanks, everybody for listening. Thank you, John. Thank you, Holly! We’re going to sign off.
*This transcript has been edited for clarity.
John Cohorst is a Midwest-based artist, creating both functional and sculptural art objects. He holds a B.F.A. and M.A. with a concentration in functional ceramics from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. Cohorst has held positions as an artist assistant to Jun Kaneko in his Omaha, Nebraska studio, and studied wood-firing techniques with the IWCAT (International Workshop of Ceramic Artists at Tokoname) program in Tokoname, Japan. In 2010, he was selected as an artist-in-residence at the Carbondale Clay Center in Carbondale, Colorado and was part of the studio collective, Studio for Arts + Works (SAW) in Carbondale. He was invited to be a visiting artist at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana in 2017. As a tour manager of the Artstream Nomadic Gallery, Cohorst has traveled, exhibited, and taught workshops across the United States. John currently lives and works in Omaha, Nebraska.
Holly Kranker is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice uses a variety of mediums to examine our sense of place, personal memory, and efforts to suspend moments in time. In addition to her art practice, she is the Residency Program Manager at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts located in Omaha, Nebraska. She is responsible for all activities related to the organization’s international Artist-in-Residence program. Prior to joining Bemis, she was the studio manager and lead assistant to renowned glass sculptor, Therman Statom. Kranker has most recently exhibited at the Joslyn Art Museum and has received awards from the Birger Sandzèn Memorial Gallery in contemporary metal craft, George A. Spiva Center for the Arts in photography, and has work included in the National Park Foundation-Lewis and Clark Historic Trail permanent collection. She was an artist-in-residence at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in 2018.