INFLUENCES
(^42) | APRIL 2016
THE SPRING OF
SUSAN O’MALLEY
MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOU
COULD EVER IMAGINE
WITH THOUGHTFUL WORDS AND APPEALING COLORS,
Susan O’Malley’s work will grace walls and windows in San
Francisco and beyond this spring with three exhibits and a
new book, Advice From my 80-Year-Old Self. The poignant
aspect of this coordinated effort to share her work is that
she isn’t here to see it. She left the world suddenly and
tragically last year.
Susan radiated a warm glow that will continue to shine.
Her best friend, Christina Amini, lovingly carries the artist’s
legacy and helps spread the wise reflections Susan O’Malley
left for our own mindful consideration.
Kristin Farr: When did you and Susan meet?
Christina Amini: In college. We both lived in the hippie co-
ops at Stanford where you decide everything by consensus.
Our senior year, we lived in a house with ten people. We
were a bunch of humanities majors and didn’t know what we
wanted to do when we grew up, but we knew we wanted to
live together. So five of us moved to NYC without jobs and
landed on our feet alright. It was nice because the thing we
prioritized was living with each other.
As an editorial director at Chronicle Books, did you help
publish Susan’s book?
I wasn’t the editor for her book because I love Susan too
much, so it would have felt like nepotism. Of course, I wanted
her work to be a book, but she developed the proposal with
another editor. Susan saw the preliminary designs but not the
final layout. We needed an afterword to give more context
after she died, so I asked her husband, Tim, for advice. He
said I should write it, and I burst into tears. I was coming at it
as her friend and collaborator, rather than an editor.
With all these new projects, it’s the Spring of Susan.
It’s so true. Somebody else asked me what legacy Susan
leaves, and the thing that comes to mind is that she brings out
so much love. The Thing Quarterly jumped up to do a tote bag
because they love Susan’s work, and Chronicle has done a
beautiful social media campaign of people sharing the pages
of her book. Her work is framed all over our building, and Griff
Williams from Gallery 16 made vinyl prints that are hanging in
the windows along Brannan Street. It’s a beautiful thing.
Do you see signs of her, besides her actual signs, of
course? Little things that make you think of her?
This may sound crazy, but hot pink. We were working on a
project at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and there was an
audio component, and it became a funny joke the way Susan
said “hot pink.” It’s become a representation of Susan, with
her brightness and vibrancy. That’s why you’ll see hot pink
as the accent color of the book, as well as in the end sheets.
How would you describe her approach to making art?
She was thoughtful but not pretentious, which is an
important aspect of her work. At Stanford, she was in
urban studies, so the interaction of people with places, and
especially each other, was important. Connecting to people
was part of her work. She portrayed warmth and tried to
make things simple, not complicated. Her work was very
direct and accessible. It wasn’t always about a finished piece
of work, but a shared interaction or a meaningful exchange.
Her approach is really inviting and straightforward, which is
just how she was. Susan had a great sense of humor and a
big laugh. It’s one thing I miss most.
She was so positive, which is really refreshing in art.
One of her blog posts is about things to remember to do. It
was from when she was grieving over the loss of her mom,
and it’s a list of 50 different things to remember to do—like
lay on the floor and don’t do anything. Drink water. Call
your best friend.
right (clockwise)
Advice From My 80-Year-Old-Self
Susan O’Malley
Published by Chronicle Books
Emilia, age 12
Mecca, age 20
Richard, age 55