About anja Notanja Sieger, Artist
I use several mediums such as typewritten poetry, performance art, community collaboration, paper cutting, drawing, crochet and sound to understand life. No matter the medium I use, improvisation is the uniting force because it is the split second that most interests me. What wisdom rises to the surface by following instinct? Each day as I create without preliminary sketches or goals, I convey the precise essence of the present moment. Common themes explored in my work: the spirit world, the animal psyche, the performance of gender, the unknown, facing fear, mortality, and forging a humorous rebellion against the unacknowledged minutia of daily life.
About La Prosette
"I am a performing typist selling other people's thoughts. “Prosettes” (poetry-letter hybrids) can be typed for the customer as they watch at festivals and events or they can be ordered on this website. Lacking a delete button, the typewriter forces confidence and offers an instant result. Customers can choose from the following options: Poetry, Love Letter, Insult Letter, Letter of Recommendation, Short Story, Letter from a Pet, Other. Writing letters requires me to pretend for the duration of the composition that I am the customer. This is empathy. Different themes costumes and props are brought to each performance location." Bookings: email Anja at notanja@gmail.com
Awards
Milwaukee Arts Board Grant Finalist, 2020
Mary Nohl Suitcase Grant Recipient, 2019
O, Miami Festival Grant Recipient, 2019
Artist-in-resident at RedLine Milwaukee, 2016-2019
Resident Narrator of the Pfister Hotel, 2014-2015
Winner of the "Art" Story Slam at the Pfister Hotel, 2014
Featured Daily Story on www.cowbird.com, 2012, 2014
Ex Fabula Story Slam All-Star Storyteller, 2011
Selected Press Coverage
PRI's To The Best Of Our Knowledge Interview
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Front Page Feature
Channel 6 Fox Orders A Live Insult Letter
Milwaukee Business Journal's CLACK-A-THON Preview
Art City Interviews Anja Notanja Sieger
88nine Radio Milwaukee feature
Conversant Interview (illustrated by Anja Notanja)
Anja Walks article by Onmilwaukee.com
"Like Life Typewriters Have No Undo Button"
"The Subtle Forces of Daily Minutia"
Milwaukee Independent covers Museum of Advice
OnMilwaukee’s Nose Warmer Feature
Frequently Asked Questions
When did you start doing this?
A few months after I left my job at the puppet theater, I had 10 dollars to my name and a growling stomach. I picked up my nightstand, some paper and a pen and carried it all over to the nearest outdoor mall. I set up shop next to a brass sculpture of a hog and started singing "I can help you to express the feeeeelings you normally repress, poetry for sale, five dollars!" It was 100 degrees, but I got two customers. Afterwards I bought a tub of rocky road ice cream that I ate in its entirety, excluding only some of the cardboard it came in.
What is a Prosette?
A Prosette is a female prose poem hybrid species, occurring naturally in nature without genetic manipulation. It also probably means something in Portuguese, but I don't know Portuguese at this time.
Can you write me a letter from my pet?
"Yeee-oeeeews!" – Widdle Kitty
Do you still do this on the street?
Sometimes and I do a lot of art fairs.
Still have questions? Email notanja@gmail.com