ess mckee is a multimedia artist whose style and skill are as multifaceted as the mediums she uses to create. I had the opportunity to visit ess’ studio at the Harrison Center to discuss her journey and how graffiti inspired her to create ‘art by any means,’ the words she lives by. Take a look at our conversation. 

Natalya Herndon (NH): Tell me a bit about who you are and how you got started in art. 
ess mckee (em): I am ess mckee, a mixed media artist. I have been creating since childhood, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating something. I am from Arizona, but I believe I’ve been here long enough to be an honorary Hoosier. I transferred from a school in Texas to Ball State University—and I’ve been here since graduating. I majored in Industry and Technology with a minor in Printmaking. I’ve always been into design, graphic design, illustration, and things of that sort. 

NH: Let’s go back to your childhood for a second, what was little ess mckee creating? What was the avenue that gave you an introduction to art? 
em: I was always drawing, and I liked to copy things I saw on TV and in magazines. But for sure it was graffiti. When I saw and discovered graffiti through hip hop, of course, I was like ‘wow this is intriguing to me’ so I delved deeper into that.  

NH: For someone who has never seen an ess mckee piece how would you describe your work to them? I know that may be hard to do since you are a mixed media artist but what’s the feeling you want people to have when they see your work? 
em: I always use bright colors, my work usually has a grungy type of feel to it. It looks kind of like graffiti art because that’s where a lot of my inspiration comes from, graffiti art, street art, things of that sort. I almost always have some sort of paint splatter or something. Abstract at times but it could be vibrant even if the message is heavy. Bright colors, street art! 

NH: Can you walk me through your process of having an idea to the completion of it? 
em: A lot of times I’ll have an idea when it’s very inconvenient. And when it comes to mind, I stew on it for a while, like weeks. Just formulating what [materials] I want to use, what I want to put it on. Will it translate from my brain to real life in the way that I want it to? And that’s what really happened with the flag. It was like ‘I want this thing to look like its waving and moving but how do I do it without something on it? So, I thought about that for weeks and weeks. Eventually I’ll be like ‘okay I gotta go ahead and get this out.’ I like to get pieces done all in one sitting so I might take all day or all night. Sometimes it will take a few days but there haven’t been many pieces that I work on for months and months unless it’s a series.  

NH: Because you create all types of art, how did you select The Beautiful for We. The Culture? And did you create it for this exhibition specifically? 
em: It was not new, I wanted to pick something that I felt was appropriate for the time and the things that were going on in the moment. Especially given the journey that has brought us to this exhibition. It was a part of a series I did called Distress Signals. It started in 2016 or 2017, but that particular piece was created in 2020. 

NH: And to wrap up our conversation, for people who haven’t seen your piece yet in the museum can you describe what it is and your inspiration behind it? 
em: My piece in the IMA is called The Beautiful, it is the companion piece to another piece called Black America in Distress and it’s supposed to work in contrast to the other flag piece to really give a depiction of two Americas or however many [Americas] because to be an American is different for all of us. So, the piece that is currently up is somewhat of a reflection into your own experience to how you see your life as an American, or not an American. How do you see America? It is a beautiful place, there’s freedom, there’s the ability to do and say what we like and there are also other things that are okay to critique, and we should. 

You can keep up with ess on Instagram at @essmckee or find out more about her art at https://www.iamessmckee.com/. 

Exhibition Credit:
We. The Culture: Works by The Eighteen Art Collective is presented by Aaron Wealth Advisors, Gary & Hannah Hirschberg. Lead support is provided by Rachel M. Simon & the Herbert Simon Family Foundation and June McCormack. Associate support is provided by IceMiller and its Racial Equity Solutions Team. Additional support is provided by Judy Donner, Nathan & Deborah Oatts, and Emily A. West.