J. Fiber is a collaborative drawing project of the painters Jane Fine and James Esber. Although they occasionally made drawings together for over 20 years, J. Fiber was not hatched as a serious project until 2007.

Question:

You describe your collaboration  as a “struggle between two sides of the self.”  How does that particular struggle differ in a collaboration as opposed to solitary work?

Answer:

This phrase was written by us as part of a tongue-in-cheek press release for our first collaborative show. Not surprisingly, (after 29 years together we manage to argue about almost everything), it turns out we had two different ideas of what that phrase meant. What follows are two halves of one good answer to your question.

JANE – In our solitary work, “the struggle between the two sides of the self” refers to the battle between the self-confident and the self-doubting aspects. Although self-confidence has been crucial to our perseverance as artists, it is persistent self-doubt that keeps the work evolving. When we collaborate our self-criticism drastically diminishes.  We stop scowling at ourselves and instead look rather fondly at our “better half.”  Although we doubt ourselves, we love each other, and are full of praise for the other’s work. Collaborating, our work is pushed forward NOT by the toxic cloud of self-doubt but by pointed and well-directed challenges from the other.  Underneath the collaborative work there is always the subtext of our marriage.  Two selves struggling to stay joined as one unit, one team of collaborators.  We are each other’s judge and jury, critic and cheerleader.

JAMES – In my own work I struggle with the issue of control. How much to simply let my hand move and how much to think. It’s the classic struggle between willed and unwilled action, the conscious and non-conscious mind. In collaboration, the issue largely dissolves. Though there are distinct moments of willful choice, a huge chunk of the drawing is out of my control, my partner having assumed the role of my subconscious. Oddly enough and thankfully I think, my own contributions also tend to be less controlled than in my solo work. I am relieved of the huge burden of ego and it becomes easier to think with my hand. The question that arises in the end is what I find to be the most rewarding and wonderful progeny of collaboration (and of my solitary art when at its best)– How did that thing just happen and what the hell is it?

janefine.net

jamesesber.com

Rear Offensive, acrylic, ink and colored pencil on paper, 23″ x 29″

Splice of LIfe, 2012, acrylic, ink and colored pencil on paper, 22″ x 30″

St. Sebastian, 2012, acrylic, ink and colored pencil on paper, 23″ x 29″

One Question/One Answer is a series of very, very brief conversations about art and life between Romanov Grave and a variety of extraordinarily interesting artists.