Lynne Tillman, associate professor/writer-in-residence in the Department of English at the University at Albany, is the author of four novels, two collections of short stories, one collection of essays, and two nonfiction books. She has collaborated often with artists and writes regularly on culture.
Keeping the Faith: Lynne Tillman on Kiki Smith
In September 2004, author Lynne Tillman sought to discover how her friend, artist Kiki Smith, assesses her own place in the universe as they talked about her life inside and outside her art, her sense of humor (“that nobody gets,” says the artist laughingly), and her practice of interweaving strands of mythology, nature, and feminism into forms both beautiful and grotesque. Following is an excerpt of their conversation from the catalogue for the Walker exhibition Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980–2005.