Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Cooper.
Hi Nicole, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My upbringing helped shape my path into art, climate advocacy, and solar.
There was a dump in the woods next to my childhood home in rural Missouri. Probably just waste from the families who lived there before, but it seemed like artifacts from ancient civilization to my sister and my curious eyes. I guess without trash pickup, people used to throw things out of sight (we technically still do, it’s just more organized). We would adventure into the decaying ruins to dig up glass bottles, rusted cans, and old tires. This playground of sorts was dubbed the “smushy ground” for its most treasured attraction: An old decaying mattress whose springs still had some bounce. This unsteady ground made for wobbly play.
But that’s not all that resided in the old dump. We would find newts beneath an old boot, discover lichen on the rocks around a runoff ditch, or get grossed out by bacteria growing inside closed bottles. And all around us, the trees grew tall and thick, like pillars holding up the canopy which was the roof of our forest home. I felt very connected to it all, this space where history, nature, and life intersected. Until mom would ring the dinner bell and my sister and I would drop everything and hightail it to our real human home.
Years later, after a Bachelor in Fine Art’s Degree from the Kansas City Art Institute where I learned to do my exploration with a paintbrush, I returned to St. Louis. Various jobs in design and marketing distracted me for a time, but I grew hollow as I branched further away from artmaking. I count myself lucky to have worked with companies that supported my artistic pursuits, who gave me the flexibility I asked for to return to the studio.
When I dove back into the studio, what came out was exactly the things that made me feel connected to the woods as a kid: history, nature, and life. What came out was exactly the things that made me feel connected to the woods as a kid: history, nature, and life. To inspire my paintings, I studied evolutionary biology, anthropology, human anatomy. The paintings explored our human connection to life on micro and macro levels. What I read fed into my artwork, and what I painted inspired what I would study.
All this curiosity crashed into a stark realization. Humanity has pushed our planet to the brink of disaster. Earth is growing hotter, faster than it ever has in the history of life. Our industrial way of life has reorganized the natural world at the expense of balance—and the lives of the other species who share this planet. This is not really news, we’ve known about this for a long time, choosing inaction.
I suddenly felt back on “smushy ground,” only this time there’s no home to run to. We are all on unsteady ground. Climate change is no longer out of sight, it’s on our doorstep as raging forest fires, increasing hurricanes, massive flooding, extreme heat, severe drought. It threatens our homes, clean water, and food systems. Inaction is no longer a choice.
I believe there is hope. I want to be a part of the necessary change.
Inside the studio, my artwork shifted to reflect my growing concern for our warming planet, aimed at helping people (myself included) face the complex emotions brought on by the climate crisis. Art has the unique capacity to evoke emotion and allow the viewer to contemplate their feelings. Emotional inner change is a necessary step toward taking decisive action to meet the crisis head-on.
Outside the studio, I’ve found community trying out different environmental activism organizations. I joined StraightUp Solar, a local values-driven solar installation company helping our region move toward clean energy. I am proud to put my marketing experience to work alongside this hard-working team. In addition, I engage my network with activities like organizing a climate change book club or leading eco-challenge teams to help grow eco-conscious habits.
My challenge every day is to discover how I can further contribute my skills and talents toward building a cleaner, more sustainable future.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Balance is one of my biggest challenges. Working toward my goals takes a great amount of time, energy, and discipline. In an attempt to smooth the road, I’ve learned to tackle things in “modes.”
For instance, a lot more goes into a solo show than people realize. Organization is key to prioritizing it into my life flow. First, “planning mode” works backward from opening night and lays out which paintings to pursue, my painting schedule, and marketing time. “Painting mode” can be pretty intensive, but also has some of the best moments of feeling “in the zone” for hours. “Connection mode” includes advertising the exhibition, celebrating the opening, meeting people, speaking in an artist talk. A healthy “break-mode” after everything let’s me refresh my body and mind.
No matter how carefully I plan, surprise changes pop up along the way. Gotta be adaptable.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My aim is to create artwork that provides space for the viewer to process the complex emotions brought on by our climate crisis, to help find the strength and hope to change.
My life-sized figurative oil paintings use energetic brushwork, vivid colors, and the human form to explore humanity as a living, evolving force. I visually break down the body to reveal the spark of life—from the interweaving of body systems that sustain a single person’s life to the connections between individuals across generations. We are biologically woven into our time and place in the contemporary world. Similarly, the action or inaction we take today ripples forward affecting the future.
What started as exploratory paintings rooted in evolutionary biology have quickly evolved to express my growing concern for an uncertain future on this planet. As we are stricken with a climate emergency that challenges the human species, I am in pursuit of a creative vision for the inner change necessary to adapt. My vivid paintings reflect real feelings—worry, fear, but also connection, intuition, strength—that become vivid manifestations of the life force inside the flesh and blood body.
Most recently, my work was selected to be a part of Platforme Planet Earth’s short film “Art for Climate Change: Unequivocable, Fragile, Hopeful” produced by Academy-Award-winning filmmaker Juan Carlos Zaldivar, which premiered at Gallery 193 in Paris. In addition, 2021 saw two solo exhibitions: “Pivotal: Recent Paintings by Nicole Cooper” at Fontbonne University Fine Art Gallery and “Living Resonance: Paintings by Nicole Cooper” at Angad Arts Hotel in St. Louis.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My biggest piece of networking advice is to find where you fit by getting engaged with your desired community. You can be strategic about the places and people you’d like to meet depending on your interests. For instance, my life has shifted toward the intersection of art and the climate movement.
For art, I network through artist friends, gallery openings, open studio tours, drawing groups, or art workshops. I was surprised to find that going solo sometimes helps me to better engage with new people. For one, it improves my conversation skills and confidence. It also tends to make me more available to chat with some great people outside of my network. This had initially put me way out of my comfort zone, but with practice became less awkward.
For climate action, I’ve been on a journey to discover where my skills can best be of use. I started by attending meetings and/or joining some great environmental organizations like Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, Citizen’s Climate Lobby, Missouri Coalition for the Environment. I count myself lucky to have found the amazing community of like-minded individuals at StraightUp Solar, where we all work together to grow renewable energy and sustainability in our region. These are my people!
Contact Info:
- Email: herself@nicolecooperartist.com
- Website: www.nicolecooperartist.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolecooperartist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolecooperartist
