18 JANUARY 19,2015
THEBLUEBANNER.NET
BEAT
By Larisa Karr | Features Editor | iakarr@unca.edu
Many stories lurk throughout Asheville, whether they are behind the
Vaudevillian jazz-folk played by buskers around Pritchard Park, the
colorful businesses decorated with funky, hand-made crafts or the
laughter echoing from a patio as locals and tourists alike enjoy
delicious beer.
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Karly Hartzman
Karfy Hartzman, undeclared
freshman student from
Greensboro, NC
How would you describe your style?
“Affordable in a positive way? I dunno,
Goodwill. Let’s see, comfort first, definitely,
and baby buns.” .
Baby buns, yeah. It’s a very 90’s aesthetic.
“Oh yeah, 90’s for sure. I just watched this
documentary on Riot Grrrl culture and I’m like
trying to incorporate them in every aspect of
my life, including style.”
Nice. Who’s your favorite Riot Grrrl or
Riot Grrrl band? ,
“Well, Kathleen Hanna was who the docu
mentary was about, but I just got into, oh, what
was it called? I can’t remember the name of the
band, but I’ve read the Sleater-Kinney meni-
oir.,.‘Be Yr Mama’ by them is so, mmmm,
that’s my song.”
It’s very emotional and energy-charged.
“Mmm-hmmm. For sure.”
If you were to describe what inspires you
artistically, including Riot Grrrl, what else
would you say?
“I mean, hmmm, definitely just girl power
in general. When I draw. I’m always drawing
usually the feminine body and feminine, girly
shit, possible tattoos, stuff that will help girls
be empowered and create themselves, enhance
themselves, in creative, spiritual, whatever
ways they can. Especially as a girl in college,
just, like every time I make something, I’m just
doing it for the ladies.”
Hell. yeah. That’s so important because
it feels women are still undermined in
all aspects of our society and not taken se->
riously.
“What’s really scaring me is the whole, ‘you
have to be crazy to be a successful artist, psy
chologically,’ and it’s really scaring me because
I don’t want to be, like, 1 mean, you look at
Basquiat, Warhol, and they’re all just like, uh,
what’s the word—?”
Eccentric?
“Yeah, and I guess I’ve either got to step my
personality game up or I’ ve just got to make
awesome art and be true to whatever and I think
I’ve got to just get really good at what I’m do
ing and I’ll kill it, instead of having to make up
some persona.”
Just go with who you are and that’ll
communicate itself throng your art. It’ll
make it more genuine.
“Yeah, it’s rough out there, and it’s also
hard as an art student in college, like, compar
ing yourself, as it is in any academic setting.
They’re there for what you’re there for. You’re
not in a high school art class or whatever. It’s
not just for-an easy grade. This is what people
want to do with their lives and you’re so easily
comparing yourself with other people.”
Yeah, it’s, ugh,
“Oh my god, yeah, it’s the same with music
snobs, like I’m reaUy proud of the music I lis
ten to, but when people give people shit about
listening to what they love...”
Yeah.
“Like if they’re jamming to it, let them lis
ten to it. People judge so easily on that, espe
cially like the music students I’ve encountered
honestly, that are like ‘Ah, have you listened
to this new jazz album?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah,
it’s great,’ and someone else is like ‘Yeah, I’m
listening to this,’ and then they’re like, ‘That
sucks.’ Like this one kid was talking about John
Mayer, and this other kid was like, ‘Not to stop
you in the middle of your liking John Mayer,
but John Mayer really fucking sucks.’ He was
just like, ‘It’s what I like!’ I personally don’t
like him either but...”
...you’re not going to say that to someone and
make them hurt.
“Yeah. I’m just encountering so much diffi
culty with that kind of snobbery and this uni
versity setting.”
If you were to have a personal motto that
you live by day-to-day, just like a couple
sentences or a sentence, what would you say
it would be?
“Um, so there’s this anime called ‘Cowboy