Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Hazan Daucourt.
Hi Monica, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Today, I am a French teacher, wife, and mother who is writing a new chapter of her life as a self-taught fine 2D artist and who has recently given into my passion and love of creating. I have worked hard to capture and intrigue the viewer. I gather much of my inspiration from personal experiences, passions, and my years in France and other places I have lived. In the current climate where many believe history has no relevance, I find myself continually returning to aspects of literary, philosophical, and artistic movements that are often hidden or misrepresented in the “official” recordings for posterity. I strive to have an impact on the work’s relationship to the viewer. My primary mediums are acrylic and oil paint, but I also work in pastel pencil primarily with the verdaccio technique of I. Cuang. My work ranges from figurative neoclassical to post-modernist and surreal styles. Often, I focus on the trappings of femininity and certain rituals tied to it, evoking a voice to those who are often unheard in literature and history by revealing the power of language through the art experience.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My story starts in France via Brooklyn, New York and Dallas, Texas and back again. Certainly, while living in France for so long, I was constantly pulled to the visual arts, galleries, and museums. I became aware about various art movements: the Nabis impressionists, cubists, surrealists, and even Tristan Tzara’s Dada’s movement. What impacted me mostly was understanding the degree to which art in all forms was reflection of life’s history, politics, and culture. For example, in the 20th century, music and the arts became unhinged with Debussy’s & Schoenberg’s atonal compositions, and the cubists & surrealists distorted all perspectives. Certainly, French literature with Sartre’s existentialism and Simone de Beauvoir’s Second Sex reversed thinking and reflected accountability for past political and cultural ” Bad faith”…
This would have lasting effects on me in my personal life’s hardest struggle resonating with the absurdity of near-fatal illness as a young woman whose 9-year-old daughter would be the driving force towards regaining my life. This combat led us back to Texas. I pursued my MA in French literature and language specializing in proto-feminist enlightenment arguments. Professionally I taught for 24 years in Secondary education in the private and public sectors and ran international exchange programs for students. I taught students to look outside of their microcosms and see unfamiliar cultures to open their thinking. Language is an art, as well!
Art like language remains a strong contender of how we share our thoughts and ideas. Throughout history, art has survived the tidal wave of information, and remains an unpredictable source of imagination. It has the possibilities of changing one’s thoughts and borrowing through received ideas. Just one new idea can change a person’s perception. Therefore, I am often looking for avenues to evolve, to grow and to find an ironic twist to images or things you might expect provoking a participant to new and unexplored territory. Today, I bring those experiences to my artwork. That means presenting a global view and the precarious absurdity of life… What do they say? “We make plans for ourselves, and God laughs!”
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an aspiring self-taught fine artist following her life-long passion. I specialize in a modern style of painting with a mixture of impressionism, realism, and even abstract and surreal techniques using primarily acrylic and pastel mediums using brushes, knives, and my fingers for an emphasis on story-telling behind the representation. I am proud of the evolution my work has taken in the past 5 years but mostly of eliciting emotion and controversy from the viewer. My goal is to provoke, touch, and speak to the viewer.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
You can learn a lot from the master, but defining yourself in art is a long process. The secret key for opening one’s hidden talent is that the door was never locked to begin with!
Contact Info:
- Email: monicadauc@yahoo.com
- Website: www.softartbymonica.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/softartofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monicah.daucourt
