Katherine Araniello (the interviewee) played by herself
Lucy Fresh (the interviewer) played by Julie Monin

Script:

Lucy:(Lucy giggles). Hi good morning Katherine
Katherine: Hi
Lucy: I’m Lucy Fresh
Katherine: Oh I thought Sarah Kent from the Time Out was coming to interview me.
Lucy: Yeah I’m afraid Lucy…eh… Sarah couldn’t come, she was very busy and she just couldn’t make it…sorry… I’m an intern in the Time Out and well you know it’s not really my dream career I must say… I would rather work for Heat magazine or you know… this kind of things…but my father knew someone at Time Out so he just pushed me… you know how it works.
Lucy: But umm, so umm, since when did you become an artist?
Katherine: Umm, well I’ve always been interested in art. Prior to me getting my BA at London Guildhall University 1999 I graduated and then I received my MA last year 2004 at Goldsmiths College and prior to that I‘ve always been involved in art, and one of the things I was known for was both a friend of mine Sean Donaghey, umm, we set up an art duo called Plastic Anorexic and…
Lucy: (laughs) That’s funny
Katherine: and we used to sing all over England umm, and sung about the Queen and we also performed at the ICA.
Lucy: Alright…great. Umm Do you think your art helps you overcome your disability?
Katherine: Umm… what do you mean by that?
Lucy: Umm…I mean umm…Do you use your art as a kind of therapy maybe?
Katherine: Umm, No no.
Lucy: No?
Katherine: Did you write these questions?
Lucy: Uh, yes I did, I must say I didn’t really have time I just wrote it on the train
Katherine: Maybe we can move on to the next…
Lucy: Allright yeah, so umm, do you receive money from special disabled charities to help you with your work?
Katherine: Umm, no, I do what every other artist has to do, I have to fill in application forms, write a proposal, fill in statements etc. and sometimes I’m successful and other times I’m not. A few years ago, I was awarded some funding from the Arts Council of England and with that money I made a film called ‘Amplify’, which was set in an Italian restaurant and that piece of work was all about, umm you know, presenting an ordinary everyday scenario of some people...
Lucy: oh, that’s interesting (laughing), I’m afraid we don’t have a lot of time so we’re gonna watch an extract from one of your video, It’s a pop video, and it’s called ‘I like that’, let’s watch it…

(Soundtrack from pop video: electronic music) ‘That get’s my heart pumping, that get’s my heart pumping’…

Lucy: What a cute little dog in your video, is it your dog?
Katherine: Yes it is… often artists..
Lucy: Oh, nice
Katherine:..use things that are accessible to them…
Lucy: uh, hugh
Katherine: close at hand, he’s sixteen
Lucy: Oh, sixteen years old
Katherine: Yes
Lucy: It’s quite old for a dog, isn’t it?
Katherine: Yes, he’s doing well for his age
Lucy: All right, umm, so, I must admit I really didn’t expect your work to be so good,
Katherine: Oh, thank you
Lucy: Yeah, it’s all really…clever, isn’t it?
Katherine: Yes, well it’s technically advanced a lot of films that I make I very much use a huge amount of manipulation I’m very much into cutting, pasting, adding effects and stuff like that and with the pop video I made the soundtrack for it and I also had two camera persons which I directed, you know, they basically operated the camera specifically to my directions, which was great, so I got the angles that I wanted and then I edited it all on the computer and that’s..
Lucy: Oh, great, so you really made the work yourself?
Katherine: Yes, it’s amazing how you can actually produce a pop video on a very low budget and create all these effects without spending vast amounts of money, I mean it’s possible if you have the creativity and the ability and you sort of think you know the process to do it.
Lucy: That’s great, so umm, I saw in your video you present yourself as a pop star, do you dream of being the next Madonna?
Katherine: No. I’m not sure whether that’s a compliment, no, I’m an artist, I don’t aspire to be a pop artist, I just made the pop video because within the music industry if I was really wanting to become a pop artist then it’s unlikely that I would be accepted because of body aesthetics and so because I am an artist I just thought it would be a one off, it’s something fun to do and it’s …
Lucy: I see
Katherine: … something that I’ve never seen, and I loosely based my character on Leigh Bowery because he was…
Lucy: who?
Katherine: … such an outrageous artist at the time, he was Australian and he just used to wear these outrageous costumes and he would appear and he was very much part of the night scene in London..
Lucy: Who did you say it was, sorry?
Katherine: Leigh Bowery
Lucy: All right, I see, so do you think MTV should have a special category for disabled pop stars?
Katherine: Umm, I think if a person is skilled and has what it takes to become a solo artist or part of a boy band or girl band or whatever then,
Lucy: You mean the X factor?
Katherine: Yeah, the X factor true yeah, I think if they have whatever it takes for that package, I think they should definitely go for it, but unfortunately what the package does seem to also want is the perfect body and to be honest I think if we were just to see more people out there in boy bands or girl bands who were maybe had a physical disability or whatever, then I think it would be fine, I think that the more you see, the more it becomes just you know normal.
Lucy: I see, talking about success, I see that you won the Wardens purchase prize…
Katherine: yes
Lucy: at Goldsmiths College, that’s really fine – congratulations
Katherine: thank you
Lucy: it’s really great so, umm, do you think the fact that you are disabled helped you in a way…winning this prize?
Katherine: Umm, what do you mean by that?
Lucy: Umm, I mean do you think the jury was influenced positively because you are a disabled person maybe?
Katherine: Umm, no, the reason why I won the Wardens purchase prize and was paid £500 for my work to be part of their archive is because basically what they do is they select the work which is part of the MA end of year show and they basically make their selection on the basis of technical merit, so because the pop video had so many sort of things going on in it and it was very sort of technically advanced and all these effects going on etc., etc., that’s why I won it. Had I made a documentary and the camera was quite static…
Lucy: Yeah, sorry but do you think that able-bodied audiences umm, will ever be interested in disabled art?
Katherine: Umm, I think an audience, an art audience would be interested in art if it’s good art and hopefully they’re not prejudiced to the point where they only able to select or appreciate art that is you know based upon somebody’s physical agility, I mean hopefully, I would imagine it does actually go just a little bit more beyond that.
Lucy: Yes, hopefully. Then umm, but is it difficult to find galleries for disabled people?
Katherine: Umm, it’s difficult to find galleries that are all wheelchair or all accessible to disabled people, I don’t quite know what you mean by galleries for disabled people?
Lucy: I mean umm galleries which show some work like yours or made by disabled artists.
Katherine: Well, I think what you have to try to understand, umm, Lucy, is that the work that I make, is very much you know contemporary and in line with what other artists without disabilities are making. I mean the work that I make is intrusive to me it’s about, you know, how I live, it’s about what’s important to me and the concerns that I have, and obviously, you know, because I am a disabled woman I chosen to use aspects of that to incorporate in my work but certainly not homing in on the impairment it’s more about the social issues that surround that.
Lucy: Yes off course but do you think that disabled artists should talk more about their medical condition so that people would understand a bit better what their work is about?
Katherine: No, I’m not sure whether you are really understanding much of what I am saying, I mean I think that unwittingly you are stereotyping me,
Lucy: I’m sorry,
Katherine: I mean it’s like if I said to you, because of the way you look, and what you’re wearing today I might say to you, you know, do you take the contraceptive pill?
Lucy: Well, actually I don’t but we’re gonna watch another extract from your latest work, it’s called umm ‘staircase miracle’, and, ok, so let’s watch it