Interview with Lucien Shapiro

1)First of all,..can you present yourself..?
1)My name is Lucien Shapiro.

2)Do you think of yourself as an artist,or what?
2) I guess I’m an artist I like to make stuff called art. But I have a ways to go before I could ever be happy with it

3)What is creativity?
3)Creativity is the ability to solve problems that are worth solving.

4)Does your environment influence your art,either in style/format or interference?
4)My environment influences and inspires. Nothing like walking out out your front door leaping over a crack head and a puddle of piss to get your morning cup of coffee

5)What are some of your influences and inspirations?
5)My family, friends and music keeps me going , city and country. Life and death.


6)What’s your favourite mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc…)to work in/on?
6)Favorite medium is mixed media sculpting//

7)Who are some of your favourite painters/artists?
7) Favorite artists Jon Wayshak, Brad Isdrab, Dave Corirea, Alex Pardee, Myssi Christensen, Coro,Heman Baglione, DJ Burt Erik Siador, Nate Van Dyke, Ela, Norm , Amanda Lynn,Reyes, Saber, John Casey, Tim Hanrahan, Matthew Barney, Eva Hesse, Lee Bonticou, Lee Ballard, James Jesse, David Chong Le, Mars-1, Nome, Snap Jackson, Stanislav Szukalski, Cam De Leon, and of course Michelangelo, Leonardo, Giacometti, and any god damn person that wastes their time making great things. If I forgot you it wasn’t on purpose I got a lot going on right now.. But I love your work too.....

8)How long does it normally take you to complete a piece of your artwork?
8) I work on many pieces at once usually. Depending on sizes each piece can take months to produce . I feel the works are are never fully completed, they just come to that stage where it is time to move on to a new project.

9)What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
9)Well I also talk into microphones babbling about what a wonderous vast earth we live on.

10)Got any new projects planned?
10)Yea I am driving a cross America and sculpting my impression of people I run into along the way. Then turning the trip into a book, also planning on a new art book some time in the next year or two.. Other then that I figit and twitch a lot.

11)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?
11)A collaboration of things turned into other things beginnings of a puzzle never quite complete. Hairy and almost realistic . An impression of 80's pop culture horror, cartoons, and toys.and my want to figure out the unanswered question we all search for.

12)What other talent would most like to have?
12)I would love to be able to never sleep so that more could be accomplished and seen. But you know you gotta sleep sometime.

13)What are your most beloved items?
13)My lizard Leon and pieces of the past.

14)Favourite books?
14)Haven’t been reading an incredible amount lately. But the age of the spiritual machine, and the secret meaning of things are what I’m reading now. Favorites come and go..

15)Do you remember the first draw you made?
15)Not the first ever but I’m sure it looked something like crayon scribbles.

16)What kind of music do you like and do you listen…And is the music importan for your art…?
16)I love music and it is very important to me, I will list some and by no means is this all I listen to

Anticon, Prefuse 73, Atmosphere, Aretha Franklin, Fiona apple, Audio Pharmacy, Company Flow, Cage, Aesop Rock, Fish Bone, Scarub, 13 and god, Subtle, Mike Patton, of 1942, Aceyalone, Alias and Tarsier, Paper Vehicle, Pedestrian, Alice in Chains,Aphex Twin, Lewee and the Regals, Babblefish, Bad Religion, Charles Manson., Beans Beatles, Bjork, Portishead,Bk, Blackalicious, Blockhead, Dj Shadow, Boom Bip, Legends, Sixtoo, Tychonichi, Buck 65, C rayz Walz,Casual , Cloud Dead, Dose, Jel, Cuf. Dax,Mf Doom, Beethoven , Marley, Bicassso, Beck , Abilities, EQW, Eligh, Eyedea, Four Tet, Gangstar, Fu Shcnickens, Perseph one, Funkdoobiest, Gas lamp killer, Ghost face killer, Grouch, Haiku d'etat, Herbie Hancock, Henry Rollins, Guns n roses,Hieroglyphics, Icarus Jones, Turtle, J dilla,Janes Addiction , Jean Grae, Sole, Metallica, Milla, Mr bungle, Neil young,Biggie, Odd Nosdam, Pink Floyd,Sage Francis, Saul Williams, Buddy Wakefield, Sebitones, Themselves, Tom Petty, Tool, Wu tang , Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and so much god damn more.......

17)Any advice do you have for artists?
17)Don’t waste your time... unless you care for nothing more then creation..

18)Your contacts…E-mail….Links…
18) www.lucienshapiro.com
lucien@lucienshapiro.com
thanks