An Interview With Savio Clemente
Have a plan going into every performance. Whether it’s choosing music, the time frame, or your models/dancers; build a template that keeps people invested throughout the performance.
As a part of our series about creating a successful career in live paint performance, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Emily Tan.
Emily Tan is an accomplished abstract painter and live performance artist with ten years of professional experience. Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of Tampa, she has also distinguished herself as an art curator, creative director, and social media expert. Tan’s artistic expertise spans various mediums, including acrylics, house paint, dye, found objects, and digital tools, often integrating music, dance, and yogic movement into her live performance work. Tan’s art, characterized by organic abstractions, employs patterns and repetition to evoke a sense of psychological ease and meditation in viewers. Tan’s passion for art stems from a personal journey of self-expression and identity formation, in response to feelings of otherness and inadequacy in her youth. Art has served as Tan’s refuge and a means to reclaim her story, and power. Tan has showcased her talents in over 50 live events across Florida, Georgia, and New York, and contributes to the art community by teaching at the Tampa Museum of Art, where she continues to inspire and shape emerging artists. Emily also DJs…Immersed in music’s influence, Emily’s work naturally vibrates with the frequencies of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Tan visualizes music in intricate patterns, her synesthesia transforming sound into a dance of shapes and colors. This profound connection led her to explore DJing in 2020, seeking a creative outlet during the shutdown. Tan’s unique perception fuels her innovative DJ sets and paint performances, where she seamlessly blends art and music, defying conventional boundaries.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how your experience as an artist has evolved over the years?
During my undergrad, I was most interested in installation artwork. That morphed into building sculptures that I live-painted at different markets and festivals in my early career. After working in the yoga industry, I was inspired by the shapes that can be built by the body. I connected with two instructors with a dance and aerialist background and created our first paint performance.
Can you share a story with us about what inspired your first paint performance?
I have always been inspired by movement in my work. After painting stationary sculptures for over five years, I wanted to elevate the experience. I became close with an instructor at the studio I worked for, Adriana Corso. She has a lifetime of experience in the dance world and together we developed the paint performance for my first art show after COVID. The timing was kismet, after months of social distancing we wanted the experience to bring a sense of connection to our community.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am grateful for Adriana Corso. She choreographed many paint performances and was the primary model throughout my career. Whenever I would doubt myself about a show or festival, she would always encourage me to go for it. She has been my constant cheerleader to continue on.
You probably have a lot of fascinating experiences. Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I was planning to visit a close friend for her birthday last summer and my flight was on the same day as the global IT outage. I spent hours at the airport after they finally canceled my flight while it was en route to Tampa. I was so upset I couldn’t make it because we planned to see another close friend, Will Buck, DJ at Hot Honey Sundays in Brooklyn. I woke up the next morning just to check if anything was available and there was one more seat on an American flight that left in under an hour. I grabbed everything and got to the airport as fast as I could. I made it to NY and Will gave us the full VIP experience on stage. It was on that stage I met Darren, a Brooklyn gallery owner who is also friends with Will. We chatted about hosting a paint performance at his space and eight months later we made it happen!
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
During a fashion show performance, I had six models I needed to paint behind the curtain before they walked the runway. Last minute I realized the experience was not going to be as impactful without seeing them being painted. I ran out to the end of the runway with all my paint mid-performance and confused all the dancers, who were total rockstars and went with the switch seamlessly. It ended up being a beautiful performance, but definitely one of the most complicated and chaotic.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
The most recent project with Botanica Grove. We created a group exhibition of women-only artists, Women in Color. The exhibition showcased women artists whose work confronted, reflected, and reimagined the world we live in. Through our use of color, we challenged injustice, reclaimed narratives, and created spaces for healing and dialogue. The response to the performance was beyond anything I have done to this day. My dancers Rachel and Elana, who I had only texted back and forth with prior to the performance absolutely crushed it. They went with the flow and had the most intricate improv that inspired me to push the boundaries with my performance work. The night was remarkable.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of rejection, lack of support, or failure?
Limit the amount of opinions you take. Performance art is something that comes from a subconscious place. Collaboration is the key to an impactful performance.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in the live performance industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Be very selective about your bookings, and don’t let people take advantage of you.
Thank you for all that. This is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career in Live Performances” and why? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
- Have a plan going into every performance. Whether it’s choosing music, the time frame, or your models/dancers; build a template that keeps people invested throughout the performance.
- Write all of your ideas down with descriptions and choose the most important ones to perform. Sometimes performance art can confuse the audience, be sure every show tells a story.
- Practice and rehearse; timing is everything!
- Be sure you have a contract or terms and agreements in writing.
- Push boundaries and have fun! You are creating something in real time that has never been done before. Evolve your fear or nervousness into excitement.
For the benefit of our readers, could you describe how the skill-sets you need in a paint performance are different from the skill-sets you need for other types of performance art?
The main skill set I use for performances is to be flexible. Things aren’t always going to pan out according to plan. You need to be ready to think on the fly and trust your process.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Using art as a platform to impact change for women and the LGBTQ community.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” — Albert Einstein
My friend from middle school who suddenly passed our senior year of High School from a critical car accident used this for her yearbook quote. It has stuck with me after all these years. She will always be one of my guardian angels.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Lady Gaga, let’s paint!
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
My instagram is the most up-to-date place to follow me @emilytan_art, and my website emilytan.art!
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About The Interviewer: Savio P. Clemente, TEDx speaker and Stage 3 cancer survivor, infuses transformative insights into every article. His journey battling cancer fuels a mission to empower survivors and industry leaders towards living a truly healthy, wealthy, and wise lifestyle. As a Board-Certified Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC, ACC), Savio guides readers to embrace self-discovery and rewrite narratives by loving their inner stranger, as outlined in his acclaimed TEDx talk: “7 Minutes to Wellness: How to Love Your Inner Stranger.” From his best-selling book to his impactful work as a media journalist covering resilience and wellness trends with notable celebrities and TV personalities, Savio’s words touch countless lives. His philosophy, “to know thyself is to heal thyself,” resonates in every piece.
Live Arts: Emily Tan On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Live Performance Art was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.