Alumni Feature / Molly Roth Scranton '07

Which year did you graduate and what brought you to MCAD for your MFA? Could you speak a little bit about your background?

I graduated from MCAD in 2007. I was drawn there because of the small number of students in the MFA program, the interdisciplinary structure, and the deep focus on studio time and experimentation. And nature and the snow. After living in Portland Oregon for years and years I wanted to give up the rain for the snow for a while.

How did your art change while you were at MCAD?

My practice completely exploded while I was at MCAD. My fixation on text and calligraphy in painting and print media shifted to more poetic, conceptual ways of thinking about material and guided me to use found objects, fiber, ribbon, language, and labor as tools to connect and communicate.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?

My favorite memory was being in the MFA studios with all of the beautiful, wonderful people I met there. My practice moved in all sorts of wild directions because of the deep connections and conversations we had while making stuff. I realized that one of the most important aspects of sustaining a creative practice is spending time with other people who are also sustaining a creative practice, and talking about that practice, and finding people who will love you and challenge you and expose you to new ways of thinking and being in the world. I also loved roller skating in the studios. And Roller Garden, I heard that's gone now? And making Art Shanties!!!

What is next? Any new projects or life events that are in the pipeline?

I'm a mother and I work in the Dean's Office at another art school. Being a parent with a full-time arts administration job makes a regular studio practice a challenge. I deeply wish for and will fight for other models of support for artists (universal basic income would be a good start). I'm so grateful to all of my collaborators who keep me going. I'm currently working on a number of projects. One is Boundarymind with composers Katherine Young based in Atlanta, and Linda Jankowska based in London, and video artist Kera MacKenzie based here in Chicago, which will coalesce into a performance/installation at 6018 North in Chicago in June of 2022. BOUNDARYMIND is an evening-length electroacoustic sound piece and aggregating installation that explores and transgresses the geographical, cultural, psychological, and musical boundaries that impact how we share our past, present, and future selves with others. The performance of this project has been postponed from 2020 because of the pandemic, but we were able to do a prelude to it at Roman Susan (also in Chicago) last spring.Another is a collaboration with artist/designer Nia Easley. We're collecting stories and objects from the residents of the Lathrop Homes here in Chicago to create recordings and weavings of their lives to share with them via an installation at the Lathrop Homes. This has been a deeply moving project to work on through the pandemic as a way of connecting with people.I try to maintain a mindset that everything is a part of my practice, and that my practice is a part of my life, so that these things never feel separate or incongruous or neglected. I would love more time.