Today we’d like to introduce you to Nimay Ndolo.
Nimay, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I started off wanting to be a senator in 4th grade, then I became insanely jealous of a classmate who had to go off to LA to do some auditions and that’s when my parent’s hope of me being a senator was crushed!
I started writing at 13 years old when I transferred to a new school with no friends. In order to make friends, I began writing a musical (Inspired by High School Musical) and cast everyone I wanted to be friends within the play. It never got filmed and the play was seized by mom halfway through the semester, but I’ve never stopped writing ever since.
I filmed my first movie (a short) a year later at 14 years old, entered a countywide film festival and lost to a group of Kindergartners who submitted a powerpoint and ACTUALLY won. From 14 to 18, I wrote about nine more feature-length scripts until it occurred to me to start writing for my budget!
From 18 till now at 24, I wrote modest scripts with limited locations and last December, I finally filmed one. I ended up showing it at my art show in June 2018 at Murmur Gallery and the film went on to be screened by Sad Girl’s Club in LA in August and by NoBudge at Nitehawk Cinema in New York in December of this year.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My main medium of art is film, but I also enjoy drawing.
Have you ever seen a piece of art that looks like it was drawn by a third grader, but’s selling for millions of dollars or film that looks like bullshit, but is passed off as a high brow commentary of some issue that seems like it had nothing to do with what you’d just watched?
Currently, in my films and scripts, I poke fun at such things. My most recent film deals with the idea of what is allowed to pass as art. My other scripts have dealt with academia and the tendency of those in it to overanalyze seemingly ridiculous works that have passed as art and what qualifies art to be considered high brow vs low brow.
One of my friends described my art as, “Utterly absurd,” and I thought it fit, so I went with it. I think that description as extremely spot on when it comes to my drawings. They’re so weird that my mom and sister refuse to look at them. For instance, one of my drawings features a pink character with spiral legs whose dick ends in a hand holding a clock and she’s warning people about safe sex!
Honestly, when I make fun of what is allowed to pass as art, I’m also making fun of my work as well. I think all my work is ridiculous, but it’s fun to do, and its fun to look at, watch, and appreciate– at least for me. I guess in the end, the inspiration behind my work is to make fun of things while having fun!
In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
One challenge that’s near and dear to me is the lack of information surrounding the necessity of college for artists.
A lot of people who want to be artists are told that college is necessary for them to achieve their dreams. Because of this, artists enter college and end up spending time writing papers about the theory of their chosen field or having to do projects that are assigned by professors. Art relies on spontaneous inspiration and sometimes, that is not found inside the classroom. On that same note, these artists could be busy creating their own bodies of work but are instead tied down by assignments and papers as opposed to getting real-life experience.
I’m not saying that college is all bad. It’s just not something that you must have in order to succeed in the arts. For other professions like medicine, law, and jobs in academia, its very necessary, but not for the arts. I wish I knew this before I chose to go into college, but being in college allowed me to get angry enough to rebel against my professors in order to begin making the work I wanted to create an exhibit.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My film, “Jane, Jean, John, & Jesus Make an Experimental Song,” is streaming on NoBudge.com. My art can be found on my personal Instagram, @nimayndolo or my art Instagram page, @uglyart.wav. I am currently in the final stage of editing the show my friends and I have worked on, called, “Spaceship,” and once it’s done and pitched, the information for which network to find it on will be on the show’s Instagram page, @spaceshipofficial or my personal Instagram page!
Contact Info:
- Email: nemendolo@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/nimayndolo
Image Credit:
Maria Sharif, Jane, Jean, John, & Jesus Make an Experimental Song Screencap, Nimay Ndolo: Cinematographer
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