Artist Feature: Joel Spencer and Nova May
In a nondescript warehouse behind the Strip on Harmon Avenue, magic happens. Not the abracadabra kind, but another more exciting sort. Ordinary everyday items are transformed into art. Real, tangible, immersive art. This warehouse is Joel Spencer and Nova May’s home away from home. It’s in this space that the partners in art (and life) create their impressive installations. Conjured from found, discarded, or unwanted materials, the couple conceives and builds fantastical experiences. We’re talking in the office of their commercial endeavor, ArtDepartment.Vegas, where clients can hire the pair to deliver anything from set design to public art, temporary or permanent.
They’ve been involved nearly seven years, and have been working together for almost as long. For Nova, the transition from romantic relationship to artistic collaboration was “seamless” due to their similar theater tech backgrounds and ease of dialogue. When I ask them to describe their art Joel silently points at Nova. She takes a beat and says, “I guess installation art, so large scale, either interactive or immersive” at this point Joel chimes in with “quirky” and Nova confirms and adds “big.” It’s no accident the word ‘immersive’ comes up often in discussing their art. Beholding this pair’s work is to be engaged, mesmerized, and enveloped.
In 2017 they lent their expertise to the Art Motel by Meow Wolf, as part of the Life is Beautiful Festival. One of the rooms they designed consisted of rows upon rows of individually created wooden popsicles, on bold colorful backgrounds. This was a profound examination of color, texture, and contrast. Not mention a visual delight, harnessing the giggles and joy of childhood (along with infinite selfies.)
Ten minutes into our conversation I decide to throw them a curve ball, “If your partner was an animal, what animal would they be, and why?” Nova immediately and without hesitation answers, “I’d have to say a fox…because he’s very clever and he’s always, like darting around problem-solving.” Joel, clearly amused by the comparison, tags on “And I’m red.” He then explains his choice for her, “Nova’s a bat…she can sleep long periods…she has this ability, this like sonar type ability about personalities and like she can just read a situation…she just has this sixth sense…” Nova, who likes bats, laughs at the parallels he’s drawn.
Earlier this year, the couple produced a cotton candy dreamscape for Surrealistic Pillow, a one night only pop-up art installation, culinary and libation experience at the Velveteen Rabbit bar. An optimistic, lighthearted thread seems to run through their artistic projects lending them a fleeting air. One can’t imagine hanging on to their pieces’ unique spirit for too long for fear of tainting them with the ugliness of the real world. An ugliness which may or may not be lurking just below the surface, courtesy of Joel’s darker sensibilities.
Their art is not meant to be seen, its meant to be experienced. They both enjoy the “spectacle” of scale—consciously or subconsciously, in some cases—playing to Las Vegas’ reputation of being “over the top”.
The office space, where we’re talking, is a compromise between Joel’s grittier aesthetic and Nova’s clean and bright tendencies. A single glimpse, however, past the door to the workspace paints a different picture. That area is comprised of organized chaos, materials in varied sizes, shapes, and color overlap in a cacophony of textures and purposes. Looking around their warehouse, I get a strong sense of that terrible word—potential. I can’t fathom the fantastic whole the many fragments will join to create, but viewing them through Joel and Nova’s eyes I see something I’ve never seen before. I see endless possibilities and a new kind of powerful whimsy that feels like imagination—unleashed.
Header image: Mohave Lights installation at Delano Hotel (2018)
All images in this post were provided by the artist.
