Interview with Philippe Jusforgues

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

a) Philippe Jusforgues, 39 years old,born in Monaco, live and work in
Paris since 1992...

q)How did you get started making art?

a) Drawing

q)How would you describe your art?

a) I wouldn't

q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a) To my drug- dealer's

q)What are you working on now?

a) I've stopped collages but I'llkeep working on family pictures

q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recomend? Artists, art communities,xxx,...!?

a) Fredericmagazine.com , for exemple...

q) What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a) Drawing, for his lightness

q) What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

a) To continue

q) What is your personal definition of life and art and everything else in between?

a) The ideal would be nothing in beetween

q) If your persona were immortalized as a cartoon character, who would it be?

a) Snoopy

q) What are your artistic influences?

a) Everything my brain digests

q) How are the reactions on your work in general?

a) Euphoria, some girls strip naked while wailing

q) What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a) I drink champagne

q) Tell us about a recent dream you had.

a) I was flying above the city with my girlfriend

q) What is freedom to you as an artist?

a) No alarm clock that would spoil my flying

q) Are there any particular works you've done that stand out as your favorites?

a) In every séries I have some favorites... I'll publish my best of
when I'll be old and famous...

q) Last Books you read?

a) "Les chemins de Sion" et "Septentrion" de Louis Calaferte

q) Last records you bought?

a) Thom York and Nosfell

q) Who are your favourite artists & Your favourite galleries?

a) Diane Arbus, Twombly, Roger Ballen, Stéphane Mandelbaum, Richard
Billingham, Chapman's brothers,
Pierre la Police, Paul Mc Carthy, Hanakuma etc...More than galleries,I visit bookshops, espécially
"Un Regard Moderne", rue Gît-le coeur, à Paris.

q) Which do you think make good art good? originality, or style? And, why?

a) I think sincerity is the most important thing. It's not a
guarantee to make good art but there's not good art without it.

q)Your contacts….E-mail…Links

a) 21-pjus@noos.fr
http://philippejusforgues.com

Interview with Maria Forde

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

a)Maria Ann Forde. 32. I'm from Iowa. I grew up on a farm then I lived in a little town called Missouri Valley. I graduated high school with 57 people.

q)How did you get started making art?

a)I think I made art like any kid would. nothing unusual.My dad took me to a few painting lessons. He drew with me a bit. There was only one art teacher that taught all the grades in Mo. Valley and she was really mean and boring. She would ignore you if you raised your hand and if you walked up to her desk she would give you a detention. I remember doing those linoleum prints and cutting the hell out of my thumb. That's about it. I didn't take any art in high school. And without really thinking much I took a drawing class at college. And then I thought ...Okay I guess I'll take another art class. And then just kept going.

q)How would you describe your art?

a)Um... shit...I suppose I'd like to think it's my way of trying to communicate with other people. I try very hard to only speak for myself. and be very thoughtful and studied in what I try to make art about. And it's me basically just trying to get things in my head to come out of my hand. I like my work to look like I am trying to do something well. Like I am not just doing something I think I am good at. I should emphasize the word "trying". I think people can tell when someone is expressing a true sorta earnestness and when they are just being sloppy.

q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a)Movies and books and music and comic books are all important to me. It's what I get all excited about. Like when a book by someone I like comes out. Or when I read an interview with an actor or go see people play awesome music.Also I deeply admire the people I have in my life. Their ideas. their sense of humor.

q)What are you working on now?

a)I got several collaborations with people going on. It's weird… It wasn't a conscious effort on my part but I realized I have about five projects I am doing with another person. Making a book… Making pillows... Making stickers… Making drawings together… etc.I think it gets you thinking on a different level. And sorta motivates you in a weird way. Like you want to make this person feel like this is something special. That what you are doing with them you can't do alone or with anyone else. And I just can't believe how many cool friends I have. I know that sounds all dorky. But it's true.

q) How do you approach the creation of a new piece... how does everything come together?

a)I'm trying to fix this... But I am unfortunately very neurotic about alot of things in my life. I'm a nerd. My mind will start spinning and bending in weird ways because I'm trying to be really thorough and careful. And then I can get deluded and start to doubt how I feel about something. and then it can get hard for me to feel like I can stop studying. But so I usually find myself doing alot of reading. Taking alot of scribbly silly notes. And making esoteric or dull lists.And then comes the actual art making.

q)What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a)Damn… This is a tough question.I am such a curious person I can get way interested in just about anything. I love working with my hands though.But I have a pretty good knowledge of alot of computer programs & I feel really grateful that I spent the time to learn them for practical reasons. But I worked in final cut and imovie for awhile when I was in graduate school and I almost lost my mind. It's so weird being hunched over a screen. And I don't think I ever felt so horrible than when the computer would do something stupid and I'd lose something large and important and have to start over. It sucked. Like a slap in the face. And my eyes would get all dried out. And it just seemed so unnatural and weird.But I love woodworking. Framemaking. and the chemistry of painting. there's something really cool about just a piece of paper and something drawn on it.

q)Do you collect anything?

a)No. I have a problem with stuff. I feel like I am weighed down when I think I have too much crap. I don't like alot of stuff on the walls. It interfers with my brain. I like buying clothes and music and comics but I sell them if I get bored with them and just get something different. I like thrifting. I do that with my mom alot. I'm big on libraries.Cuz you get stuff but you can just give it back when you are done. And it's freeee.

q) Is your work all hand done? Or do you use any computer tools to help out?

a)As much as I possibly can I like to do everything myself. I think my work would be retarded if you couldn't see that a person sat down and drew something. It would look like what most everything looks like. An ad or something. I guess I'm just a big fan of anything homemade. And I avoid anything or anyone that appears too slick. It just seems phony and superficial to me. But I need to make clear that I am only speaking of what I am trying to do with my art. I don't want to sound like I am on soap box or something. I just want people to be honest with what they are trying to do. And computer stuff can get me feeling all suspicious like the artist is a robot or something.I like to understand how everything works. i took a photo class. Just so I could understand the process. I like to make my own slides. make my own website.The computer is important for me after I make my art. To be able to organize and archive my work and allow other people see it. If they want… I guess.

q) What, in your opinion, are the best and worst places to exhibit artwork?

a)I think it comes down to finding a place where people feel welcome.I think about this alot. It's like the first day of kindergarten and scoping out the playground and trying to figure out who you'd maybe want to have as a friend or something. figuring out who would want to be your friend.I think my work is pretty intimate. Hopefully you can see it from far away and be like..." hmmm that looks interesting…" and then get up really close and say.."wow… I'm really glad I walked up to this because I feel like I am connecting to what this person is doing." At least that's how I think of it now.I think it's sort of an extension of me though... and I think you can really not notice me. I'm kinda...awkward and bashful at times. And so you have to sorta get up in my face and talk with me for a bitto "get" me.

q) What are your artistic influences?

a)Isn't this like the question about being "inspired" up above?...Well… I'll say people who have created comics well have made me feel very humbled. If you picked up an average history of american comics you'd get an idea of what i'm talking about. I've made comics and they are extremely important to me. But I don't think I am smart enough or skilled enough to make them. And yeah... I know… I need to just keep plugging away but... It's intense. You have to know how to draw anything from any position. You have to know how to letter and ink and color and you have to know how to tell a story and know how to edit and know how to bind a book and know about what type of paper to choose. You have to know all about illustration and printmaking, like offset lithography. And you have to be able to be hunched over at a table for hours on end. And the way comic books have been treated in the world of art is dispicable to me. And I have fought many years of pretentious art school fighting my way and trying to educate people about the importance and respect that comics deserve. I feel like I am just ranting about stuff that i've heard someone like Chris Ware or Dan Clowes be all bitter about. It's nothing new.Just to cap this up… I wouldn't be making art if it wasn't for all the amazing stuff I have learned and appreciated from comic book creators.

q) How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)yikes… I dunno really. I don't think my work is really aggressive or anything. I think either people will think… "that's nice" or .. "um.. I'm bored."Same with me and my personality. I always like it when people like my work. I remember one of my friends looked at something I had made once and he said something like it "makes me feel like it's this moving breathing movie or something." I thought that was super cool. Like it suspended his thought for a moment. Like it resonated for him. It reminds me of when you move from panel to panel in a comic book. Your imagination is allowed to be used. What he said meant alot to me.

q)What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a)I work as a on-call preparator at a couple museums. I'd like to get some work at a frameshop. This guy in sf has a great shop and does everything from scratch. Moldings and gilding. I bother him every once in awhile to see if he needs temp work.I like to go to yoga or on a long bike ride or walk. I love movies and seeing people play music.Going to the library. I'd love to travel if I had money.

q)What are some of the greatest challenges that you think artists face today?

a)Money dude. that's all that's standing in my way. I owe an insane amount of school loans.And most of my money goes to rent. It's very difficult. There's nothing romantic about it.This guy a couple nights ago got really angry with me.I was at an art opening of a friend and I barely knew this guy and he was really drunk but he obviously just needed someone to yell at about how pissed off he was to have to work 40 hours a week to survive. He freaked me out. I remember him saying.. "I'll work 20 hours but I WON'T WORK 40!" geez..

q) What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)This is a silly question and I'm getting tired.I don't think I'll answer this one. I dunno…I'm sorry I'm a jerk.

q) Are there any particular works you've done that stand out as your favorites?

a)No…But I'd like to think my work is hopefully getting better just because I keep practicing at it.

q) What it the coolest thing you have seen recently while wandering the streets?

a)I was riding to see a band one night and I rode past the civic center and there were all these people sitting in this park area. And it sounded like an opera. It was but they were all looking at a big tvscreen of an opera. I dunno if that's cool. It was definitely weird.

q) Do you carry a notebook? Do you draw in public?

a)I don't draw in public. I'm too self conscious. And I think it's kinda rude to draw someone if they are aware of it. It's like taking a photo of someone and not asking. I have notebooks but I usually keep them at home except for a tiny oneI carry around. I lost one once it really … really bummed me out. So I try to be careful.

q) Who are your favourite artists & Your favourite galleries?

a)I'm just gunna say I think Metallica's "kill 'em all" is fucking awesome.

q) Do you get emotionally attached to your work and do you miss your work when it is sold?

a)Nope

q)Your contacts..E-mail.links

a) http://mariaforde.net/

Interview with Takashi Iwasaki

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

a)Takashi Iwasaki, 24, born and raised in Japan until 20 years old, then came to Canada to study fine art and English.Graduated from the University of Manitoba BFA program, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada just this May, 2006.

q)How did you get started making art?

a)Like everybody else does, held a pencil at the age of three or something, and kept drawing and drawing, and somehow the habit stuck to me. I’m still drawing/painting/making something with my passion and desire of seeing something visually stimulating for me.

q)How would you describe your art?

a)My source of joy and playfulness, and hope they’re for the viewers too.

q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a)From architecture, textile, fashion, and everything I can see and feel.

q)What are you working on now?

a)Smaller paintings, collages, and embroidery pieces with visual delicacy, intimacy, playfulness, and positive feelings, but lately I want to paint large again, very large!

q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recommend? Artists, art communities, xxx,...!?

a)http://andrewmorrow.com Andrew Morrow, he is an artist I recently met in Toronto. I haven’t seen his work in real life yet, but the energy and liveliness I can feel from the online images gave me goose bumps at the first sight. I got to see his work right in front of me one day!

q)What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a)Acrylic paints – vibrancy of the colors and the ease of cleaning up. I build up many layers of paints, so the short drying time of acrylic paints is very suitable for my work method. I can’t abandon oil paints – I love the richness of it, which acrylic doesn’t have.

q)What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

a)I’m the one to be advised, but if I can say something… Do what you want to do on your own responsibility and keep doing it until you get tired of it, or you may never get tired of it? And don’t forget to promote yourself! Hopefully this will get us somewhere.

q)What is your personal definition of life and art and everything else in between?

a)They’re all something important and unimportant at the same time. I don’t think the world would’ve been very different without me, but since I’ve got this life I’ll do my best to entertain myself. I try not to define anything specific about “art,” maybe because I don’t have enough knowledge to talk about it. Defining the meanings of life and art isn’t really important to me anyway. Whether defined or not, they’re there and I’m here. It’s the same difference to me. Many people tend to like clarifying and defining things, but I like keeping things vague and fluid. Life isn’t always about black and white.

q) If your persona were immortalized as a cartoon character, who would it be?

a)I want to die happily before I enter such a weird entity.

q)What are your artistic influences?

a)Between the page 123 of ARTFORUM and the hair of my girlfriend’s cat and everything else.

q) How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)People seem to think my work is uplifting, and that’s my intention. Some said that their 5-year-old son could paint like I do – I guess lots of people think like this, hahaha. They’ve got good kids.

q) What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a)I only make art – isn’t true. Cooking, taking a walk with my girlfriend, chatting with friends, spending way too much time on computer, working for money a little bit, managing my gallery space, chatting with friends again, and staying up late.

q) Tell us about a recent dream you had.

a)I see dreams once in a while, but often forget right after waking up. Sexual fantasies are always good, you know. Tell me about your recent dream.

q) What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)To be able to create anything I want without worrying about material cost and storage space.

q) Are there any particular works you've done that stand out as your favorites?

a)Everything I make somehow falls into the category of “my favorite” for a short time until I finish the next work.

q) Last Books you read?

a)I rarely read books. The last book I read is probably the anthropology textbook for my class two years ago. I read short online news everyday though.

q) Last records you bought?

a)I haven’t bought records lately, so I don’t even remember.

q) Who are your favourite artists & your favourite galleries?

a)I like Paul Klee, . I don’t have particular favorite galleries, but tend to like contemporary galleries. I like galleries with friendly directors/curators because they are the people I have to be friends with.

q) Which do you think make good art good? originality, or style? And, why?

a)I think both of them could be factors. Originality may mean uniquness, but doesn’t necessarily mean goodness because it may be uniquely bad. If one perticular style is popular, probably it’s proven that the style is thought to be good by the majority of people, but if it’s found everywhere, it becomes boring – like what often happens in the fashion industory. To me, good art is somehow distinctive, unique, and has potential of being the next popular style.

q) Your contacts….E-mail…Links

a)E-mail: takashiiwasaki@hotmail.com
Website: http://takashiiwasaki.info

Interview with Billy Mavreas

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, somebackground info, etc?

a)My name is Vasilios Billy Mavreas and I was born in 1968 in Montréal,Quebec to Greek parents. I have one older brother, John. I have lived allmy life in Montréal.

q)How did you get started making art?

a)I have been drawing since I could remember, about the age of three. The first drawing that I remember explaining (to my uncle Iraklis who was a huge influence on my brother and I) was of a monster. I remember saying it was a Hippopotamus that lived in quicksand. My uncles room was covered in the drawings my brother and I made. It was very thrilling to have an adult so supportive. I drew for my classmates in grade school but it was in college that I drew for the student newspaper and started doing postersfor local bands my friends played in. Around this time (age 17) I also started participating in zines. After that everything snowballed out ofcontrol and I found myself in the public eye.

q)How would you describe your art?

a)I draw. Sometimes it's loose, sometimes it's tight. Sometimes obsessively detailed, sometimes minimalist. I love collaborating with people. I have a different art practise depending on my mood and the tools and materials at hand. I draw, paint, sculpt, sing, write, dance, do installation,graffiti, mail-art, etc., etc., etc., My practise is not one thing, so I describe my art as a multiplicity of behaviours and ideas that are unifiedby me.

q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?
a)I love to look at the textures of the natural world. Vegetables, stone,all of it fascinates me. Sex and organic life are main inspirations. I also love abstraction and delight in making lines on paper. If I ampleased with a shape that I've made, it encourages me to continue, so artinspires art as well.

q)What are you working on now?

a)I am playing with xeroxes (as usual!) and painted acetate overlays for asmall group show. I am also about to embark on a graphic novel of around 80 pages, it will be all done with pencil and eraser and will feature characters I draw for Ascent, a yoga magazine that I do a quarterly comicstrip for.

q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recomend?Artists, art communities,xxx,...!?

a)No thanks.

q)What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a)I very much enjoy pencil and eraser because of the subtle gradations I can achieve. I am also hopelessly in love with photocopies beacause of the accidental and immediate.

q)What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

a)I would say that a young artist should not get too involved in thinking what is or is not popular. They should experiment and challenge themselves without regard for the art market. They should also continue to creatework even if it seems that no one cares. Also, they should take advantage of the networks that exist such as zines and the internet.

q) What is your personal definition of life and art and everythingelse in between?

a)I'm sorry but I don't have an easy answer for this. I know everything is connected and that an infinite number of possible trajectories reach out from every point.

q) Take us inside your process a little bit. How do you begin a piece? What inspires the concept?

a)I usually just begin scribbling and reach into the tangle of lines to find a face or a figure, then I bring it out. It all depends of course on whether the piece is an improvisational collaboration or a very particular and intentional project. Depending on the project, the process changes abit. I have methods of play and methods of work and use them when necessary.

q) What are your artistic influences?

a)Do you mean what other artists have influenced me ? I already stated that nature in general and the human world as well are my inspirations. I enjoy all kinds of art. I love childrens art and alot of folk and popular traditions like fibre arts and ceramics. I love to look at obsessively detailed works, African and Native American masks, alchemical and masonic diagrams, incidental aesthetics like math games, schemata, charts,alphabets. I don't follow the careers of any specific artists though I am capable of appreciating a wide variety of work.

q) How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)It would seem that I have some fans who like my stuff. I can't really rely on my friends and family because they are too concerned with how I might feel.

q) What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a)I walk around my neighbourhood. I socialize. I read. I watch television. I waste time on the internet. Regular human things like that.

q)What are some of the greatest challenges that you think artists face today?

a)I think they face the challenge of an artistically saturated world that is increasingly concerned with style over content. I feel that alot of the artists today may fall into the trap of thinking that their is no difference between style and content.

q) What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)Freedom is to create or not create art depending on my needs without feelings of guilt. Freedom is also a sense of play and an energetic exchange with the art as it's being created. freedom is to be able to change my vision, and to be able to experiment with no consideration of the market.

q) Are there any particular works you've done that stand out asyour favorites?

a)Occasionally, I'll design a character that really makes me happy or I'll draw a shape that is very evocative for me and i find that i keep coming back to those shapes. I feel that comics, when well done, leave me feeling very satisfied.

q) Last Books you read?

a)Lately I have been reading alot of faerie tales from the Grimm Brothers and the Fables of Aesop.

q) Last records you bought?

a)I am not a music consumer.

q) Who are your favourite artists & Your favourite galleries?

a)No comment

q) Which do you think make good art good? originality, or style?And, why?

a)I appreciate when I feel the artists genuine voice is coming through.

q) Do you get emotionally attached to your work and do you missyour work when it is sold?

a)I like my work and have kept most of it but I don't miss it when it's gone.

q)Your contacts..E-mail.links

a)Billy Mavreas
5478 St-Laurent
Montréal, Quebec
H2T 1S1 Canada
http://billymavreas.blogspot.com

Interview with Angie Mason

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

a)Hello, My name is Angie Mason I am 33 and I live with my husband Lyle Briggs and our cat Mr. Nervil NerverBurger in an old house which was built in 1925 in Northern New Jersey. I have my studio in my house so I do all my artwork there. My art gets to travel around the world as I am lucky enough to take part in many art exhibits. I was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey to factory working parents, my mother who was a weaver at an artistic label loom factory and my father who was a cookie dough dumper in a cookie factory. I was uprooted quite often during my younger years, growing up all over New Jersey and in other places such as Puerto Rico and Florida. I have three sisters one older and two younger.? I always had a deep connection with making art since I was young. I decided to make it official and began studies at Parsons School Of Design when I was 18. While I was there I spent some time in the Fine Art Department then transferring for my final years in the Illustration Department graduating in 1997 with a BFA. I have worked within the design art community since graduating.

q)How did you get started making art?

a)I started making art When I was a young child as most children I loved to make drawings and paintings and really anything I could make art with would make me happy. Sometimes this strong need to make visual marks would get me in big trouble as this desire to make images was so strong if I didn’t have the correct art tools I would use what ever I could find to express myself...As a for instance once I found myself uncontrollably making markings, carving them into my mothers favorite wooden furniture piece with a metal nail file she had laying around. We were considered poor when I was growing up so for me to make my markings on one of her few valued possessions this did not go over well. In any case I still continued to draw and paint and just spew my visions with whatever was available to me at the time which sometimes might just be a bottle of chocolate milk to splash on the wall or if I was really lucky some crayons and paint. Luckily early on in elementary school I was placed in a special art program for gifted children which opened my parents eyes to the seriousness of my need for art supplies as if my messing up my mothers favorite furniture piece wasn't incentive enough for them to get me some basic art supplies. In any case being introverted as a child? I think I always found a refuge in the creation of worlds through art . In my work there was always a strong since of color and existence of characters dwelling within them. Its been a definite natural progression to where I am presently with my artwork.

q)How would you describe your art…?

a)My work is a funny, whimsical, dark and tragic view at the wonderful mess of life as I live it.
I like to utilize characters as a way to paint truths about our human experience. I think in life we tend to make connections to animals, objects and a range of things that are not human yet we impose human traits on them in order to comfort ourselves in some way.I feel that by portraying characters within different emotional situations which we as humans can go through makes the emotion more universal and can connect with more people by being a character rather than a literal portrait of a person. I like presenting situations and characters that can both make you laugh or make you sad all at the same time. I like the balance of opposites that are the perfect recipe of cute and creepy that tug at each other creating this balance or a tug of war between good and evil, hope and despair that are both sweet and sour at the same time. We all have to face demons in our lives and in my paintings my characters are sometimes facing theirs or are in fact the demon themselves.


q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a)I am inspired in my work by many different things in life. I do see my characters as extensions of myself but they are also others I know as well. I deal with situations that have been tragic in my life and create my playground so to speak where my characters can act out whatever emotions it is I am dealing with at that time. However my reasons are not always from a dark side I do like to incorporate lightness and humor into my work to create a balance of opposites. I also like to incorporate playfulness and nonsense and will paint something simply because I drew this character from my head and fell in love with it. I believe paying attention to nonsense has its powers. Aside from personal life influences, my inspiration comes in many forms ranging from animals, imagination such as memories and dreams to fairy tales and folklore, music, design, surrealism and travel. I surround myself with obscure, fantastic information, odd objects and loads of imagery including Folk and Visionary art, the occult, old antique found-objects, pseudo-science, nature, mythology, carnival images, toys, art and comics. Having a wide scope of personal interests only deepens my artistic vision allowing me to utilize and personalize knowledge within my own work.

q)What are you working on now?

a)Presently I am working on a new body of work for my solo show in Berlin at Strychnin Gallery in 2007 as well as some other small group shows I have coming up through the end of this year into 2007.I am very excited to be working with Strychnin Gallery. Yasha Young, who owns the gallery, is just wonderful, super smart and so full of excitement I am very happy knowing her. Some other projects that are coming up are ornament shows and toy shows at ArtStar Gallery www.artstarphilly.com and MF Gallery www.mfgallery.net , Operation Fragmentation show with customized vinyl figures more info on that can be found at www.operationfragmentation.com , Everything Nice a fantastic group show curated by artist Kim Scott will be showing at Toyroom Gallery this October then traveling to Thinkspace Gallery in December. In December I have some work in the Don't Wake Daddy Group show curated by Heiko Mueller at Feinkunst KrGalerie in Hamburg Germany. Basically I am staying quite busy.?


q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recomend? Artists, art communities,???? xxx,...!?

a)http://strychnin.com/ Strychnin Gallery Official Site?

http://memory-jar.com ( This is an old side project website that I had done which I still enjoy the ideas that it is based on).

http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/?
I think this an amazing blog with lots of beautiful inspiring artworks from various? points in history.

http://www.avam.org/?
This is one of my all time favorite museums to visit I love it there.

http://www.artdorks.com/
Art Dorks are cool

http://www.blahblahgallery.com
Blah Blah Gallery

http://www.gogolbordello.com/
Incredible Music I love them so much.

q) What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a)Painting primarily in acrylics is my first love although drawing is a close second. While creating I don’t allow myself to be held back by setting rules and boundaries of only focusing on one thing. I felt it would be more beneficial for me to explore all facets of creating to see where it led me and it would also be more exciting. That experience of not knowing fully what is going to come out in the end makes it exciting to me. A lot of my creative process is about discovery on many different levels whether it’s about technique or personal. I do feel through all that exploration it led me to realize my love of painting so these days my energies are focused on painting. And I stick with acrylics because they are in between the world of water color and oil I can make them look like either one which I quite like and I don't get sick like I used to when I did use oils.



q) What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

a)It is important as an artist to always be honest with yourself and not try to please others. Make art that is pure and true to you and the rest really should follow. Sure the path is a longer and harder road but so much more fulfilling. The way I personally see it, is if you have a strong emotional reaction or connection to a piece you are making and being that we are all humans chances are there will be others who have the same feeling as you and will be moved by the work.
Realize that there will be people who will always try to shoot you down and reject what you do but never let that stop you from doing what you love and matters most to you. In life you should first make artwork for you and not think of money, success or galleries etc... that stuff can come as a bonus later on for all your hard work but really make art you believe in. The other stuff fame, galleries, money it's all fleeting. Realize that too and I think you will enjoy those things more when they come to you.
In the end stay in your art that is what matters most. Also I recommend the book Art and Fear. I think all artists should read this book as well as the book. Interviews With Francis Bacon: The Brutality of Fact. I read both books when I was in my late teens early twenties and found them both really helpful and inspiring and they are still great reads as well.


q) What is your personal definition of life and art and everything else in between?

a)In life art is a the thumbprint of my existence that I leave on the universe.
The visual journey is a necessary one, for existing in the physical world without such deviations all meaning would be lost on all the in between stuff. Having the imaginative world be accessible is the key to discovering and experiencing happiness in my life.

q) Take us inside your process a little bit. How do you begin a piece? What inspires the concept?

a)The inspiration for each piece varies as far as concepts go. Its most likely some sort of life driven, dream driven, or emotional driven concept that sets the work in motion. I work in my journal sketchbooks to work out my ideas and from there I can find a piece and take it to a finished painted version. I work in mostly acrylics and the process is certainly fueled by my moods. A piece can take years to finish or it can take me a much shorter time to finish something depending on how inspired I am in the moments I am working on something. I am also now forced to take more breaks when working since back in 2004 I had someone break my left hand thumb and since that accident it's made creating artwork more of a challenge since I am Left hand dominant. I have to deal with real physical pain from nerve damage though I am extremely driven and have a strong desire to make artwork I overcome and learn ways to cope with the pain.



q) What are your artistic influences?

a)Growing up it came from an internal reaction to my surroundings which were at times harsh and lonely ...I grew up quite poor so there were times I was so hungry I would faint and black out spending so much time in the hospital also when I was young influenced a lot of my work. My upbringing has shaped my visual language as well as relationships with people I have known or know in my life. Nature influences me as well as art history and my existing peers I know who are also artists. Really everything I come in contact with music, words, weather everything matters and influences me somehow.


q) How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive which is really awesome. I love how the internet has allows for people all over the world to see my work. It feels in those moments when connecting with someone the world is small and can be really wonderful even during all the violence and upheaval around us. I would have to say some of my favorite people to hear from are the young kids in high school their letters are usually most open in explaining how they connect to the work which are full of wonder and innocence. Its always a really nice reward to get those kind of notes. It gives my work more meaning knowing its not just touching my life but wow someone somewhere so far away is moved by something I made just amazes me and makes me smile every single time.


q) What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a)When I am not actually making art I am thinking of making art but also being in nature especially in the mountains and near water, gardening, traveling,swinging on swings, running around in circles,goofing off,dreaming, photographing and filming stuff, taking road trips,drinking tea,memory diving, automatic writing, making my cat do tricks, computing,chatting, family, friends,taking deep breaths, star gazing, allowing myself to get lost in order to be found, making and destroying things.... you know,the art of living.




q)What are some of the greatest challenges that you think artists face today?

a)A big challenge for an artist I would imagine in any time is not making art because of fear of survival. We all have to deal with financial obligations in order to eat and live....Don't not make art just because you have to work some day job you hate and you don't think of yourself as an artist. I have heard this story over and over how people don't consider themselves artists because they don't work full time as one. Don't let insecurities in yourself and from others hold you back from making art. I think a challenge everyone deals with in life not just artists is negativity it can be a strong force that eats away and gnaws at your self and if you allow it you can succumb to its horrible ways. I think staying positive or somehow channeling your negativity into your work is important to allow yourself to keep growing making stuff rather than letting negativity cripple you. Don't let fear of failing or succeeding get in your way. Really in the end just make art.

q) What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)Freedom as an artist to me is being able to release any inner fears and create artwork that you believe in not caring what anyone else thinks or believes but you believe in your work and feel completely connected to the work as if it were an extension of yourself. Freedom as an artist is not being controlled like a puppet by someone else harvesting your skills for their own means. Purely making the work first and foremost for you and no one else though others can enjoy and connect with it but during the process of creation no outside forces can tap in trying to control or change your original intentions and directions.


q) Are there any particular works you've done that stand out as your favorites?

a)Its hard for me to pick out and praise my works as I really feel close to all of them. However I do enjoy those moments when working on a piece and I discover something whether its on an emotional level or skill/technique level. My newer works are probably closest to me since I just spent so much time with them.


q) Last Books you read?

a)Funny thing is if I answer this question honestly which I am going to it would be one I wrote a while back which I tend to end up reading quite a bit to children who come into my life such as my niece Sasha and nephew Billy who both constantly ask me to read them the book which is Titled 'Fish In My Belly'. I wrote and did the art work for this book and put it together as it's quite a little sculpture in itself and is the only book of it's kind in existence as it's never been published. Its a funny little story about being shy.
Aside from that bit of silliness some favorite books of mine that come to mind right now which have great characters and are visually rich are Geek Love and Cruddy both two of my favorites.?

q) Last records you bought?

a)The Last actual record I bought was so long ago since now I switched to mp3s ^____^ It was some sort of new wave, punk or hardcore record I am sure. As for recently purchased mp3's I would say...
Sunset Rubdown,Single Frame and Beethoven's 9th Symphony in D minor

q) Who are your favourite artists & Your favourite galleries?

a)Strychnin Gallery in Berlin and NYC... and all the other galleries I show at are my favorite for very selfish reasons ^____^ I have a great affection for many of the original surreal artists from the mid 1900's including Remedios Varos, Leonora Carrington, Unica Zurn, Hans Bellmer, Dorthea Tanning and so many others. I also love so much of the visionary folk outsider art such as Adolf Wolfli, Paul Laffoley and Henry Darger. There are also so many great contemporary artists making work now which is exciting to feel apart of art history in the making not just fine art but illustration as well. My friends are some of my personal favorites as well such as Lori Earley and Christina Graf having known them for years and seeing all of our growth process progress first hand is really great to share with eachother.

q) Which do you think make good art good? originality, or style? And, why?

a) I think work that is someone's personal vision or story mixed with a personalized technique is always a great combination. I think as an artist you have to both explore our inner self and the world we live in as well as explore the physical materials we work with. The artist that really pushes and explores both of those boundaries will most likely make meaningful exciting work that will affect someone other than the person who made it.


q) Do you get emotionally attached to your work and do you miss your work when it is sold?

a)In order to make meaningful work you have to get attached to your work You go through so much together you have a relationship with the work in the deepest sense. I miss my work when it is gone yet I also feel proud of the work going off into the world spreading my visions disease....I actually like to think of my artwork as visual germs infecting the world it makes it easier for me to spread my work around and every time I sell a work to someone I laugh in mad scientist kind of laugh as my plans are all going accordingly.



q)Your contacts?.E-mail?links

a)angie@angiemason.com
www.angiemason.com - Official Art Site
www.myspace.com/angiemasonart - Fan page on Myspace
www.brainspills.blogspot.com - My Blog

Interview with Sylvia Hennequin

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

a)I was born in Swaziland but grew up in the west part of the Netherlands, my parents are Dutch. I’m 37 years young; I’ve got a brother of 39 and a sister of 30. Now I work and live in Rotterdam. I studied Art Therapy, Visual Arts , Graphic Design and Webdesign, but mostof all I'm self-taught . Also I worked with mentally retarded people and I was a student-nurse in an hospital for a few years
I think that personality and life-experience is more important for making pure art than studying art, in my opinion an education in fine arts may be restrictive.

q)How did you get started making art?

a)I’ve always expressed myself with drawing and painting, but mostly when I was in my twenties and thirties I developed myself more as an artist. Especially after my daughter was born (she is 5 years now) I seriously concentrated developing my art on a higher level which is analogue with my life in a broader aspect.

q)How would you describe your art?

a)My art is expressive, emotional and pure with humour in it.


q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a)From my inner world and depths, I’ve learned to express my unconsciousness feelings on canvas, my pure inner feelings, and make whatever I want to make, only thinking what is important to myself instead of what is important for the outside world.

q)What are you working on now?

a)I’m working on the Bunny series right now about my inner conflicts out of experiences from my childhood and growing up and developing myself as an intelligent, independent and sensual woman in today’s world where superficiality becomes more and more the standard and the pure and natural is not of importance. It also expresses the conflict of needing attention, to feel a right for existence and to be taken as a respectably member of the society.


q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recommend? Artists, art communities, xxx,...!?

a)www.mowa.be
www.monkdogz.com

q)What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a)Painting with mixed media such as photography, acrylics, oil on canvas sometimes plastics and textile. Because I have this need to experiment and explore new ways to expres myself. A palet with more possibilities on it, makes it easier for me to do so. I’m often very impatient and I like to work quikly because of much new thoughts in my head, therefore painting is for me the best way to expres myself, but I can also express myself in 3-D technics for example or music.


q)What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

a)Do what you really want to do and need to do, don’t make things for the satisfaction of others, go your own way and listen to your heart. I think it’s very healthy to be rejected and not fit in the valid perception of fine arts, but create your own renewing art that is natural to your own personality and inner world and that’s a real pure piece of art that only fits you. I think there’s too much mediocre art more suited for decoration purposes only. And laugh a lot about the things you create! Have fun!


q)What is your personal definition of life and art and everything else in between?

a)A process of developing and renewing myself and get rid of all the irrational fears and blocks, to feel free! Very important to me is humour!

q)Take us inside your process a little bit. How do you begin a piece? What inspires the concept?

a)In general I just begin with a vague idea of a direction. I really need to surprise myself all the time otherwise I get bored too quickly. But it will be always a continuance of the painting before in one way or the other. Maybe it will be the opposite of it but it must always be seen in a part of the process. I’m almost always making my art in series. I don’t think too much, but feel what I need to do. I can only paint driven by a strong inner (mostly unconscious) motif.
Ideas and feelings and urges to paint, what I feel at the moment, come to me when I’m doing other things like drinking coffee etc. I’m creating in my head the whole day, but really working with the material is happening in a short time with a lot of efficiency and power in my small studio.


q)What are your artistic influences?

a)My personal life; fears, depths, emotions, humour, thoughts, fantasies, early experiences, the human mind, the interaction with the society and culture.


q)How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)In general people think it is unsettling and a great part dislike it, but in a certain area of the art scene it is considered as strong.


q)What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a)Being with my daughter or drinking Italian coffee and read my book somewhere in town. But all the time in mind I’m also with my art


q)What are some of the greatest challenges that you think artists face today?

a)To be authentic and to be seen.

q)What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)To make and to do whatever I want and need to do!


q)Are there any particular works you've done that stand out as your favourites?

a)Often my present work, so now the Bunnies are the most favourite. But also it is often the opposite, it is fluctuating.


q)Last Books you read?

a)I’m reading at the moment Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the original English version, I enjoy the beauty of the language and the pleasure of the subtleties and humour in the little dramas.


q)Last records you bought?

a)I think it was K3 J.


q)Who are your favourite artists & Your favourite galleries?

a)Many unknown artists, in general I like the expression of the Cobra and the post-Cobra movement.

q)Which do you think make good art good? originality, or style? And, why?

a)For me real good art is pure and extracted from the inner world of the artist. Art that communicates with me through my heart, when I feel the soul of it, the emotions within. When I get really moved by it, authenticity, free of restricted standards and moral values. Art that really makes me laugh, gives me a big smile and make me think!


q)Do you get emotionally attached to your work and do you miss your work when it is sold?

a)I’m always sensopathically connected with my work, but when I’ve began a new work I’ll move on. With some work I’ve more attachment than with other work and then it will be missed more.


q)Your contacts….E-mail…links

a)www.sylviahennequin.nl
Info@sylviahennequin.nl

NANOART 2006 Competition

NANOART 2006 Competition
Open to All Artists – Original Electron Microscope Working Image is provided

This is the first ever on-line NanoArt worldwide competition open to all artist 18 years and older. The purpose of this competition is to promote NanoArt as one of the new art disciplines of the 21st Century. NanoArt is a new art form where micro/nanosculptures created by artists/scientists through chemical/physical processes and/or natural micro/nanostructures are visualized with powerful research tools like Scanning Electron Microscopes. The monochromatic electron microscope images are processed further to create a piece of art that can be showcased for a large audience to educate the public with creative images that are appealing and acceptable. To read more about NanoArt and Nanotechnology please visit www.nanoart21.org.
In these days, anyone could have access to these advanced tools at universities or independent labs for an hourly rate. For this competition, the sponsor, nanoart21.org founded by artist/scientist Cris Orfescu (www.absolutearts.com/nanoart), will provide a high resolution monochromatic electron scan. The participating artists will have to alter this image in any artistic way to finish the artistic process and create a NanoArt work.
Submission deadline is November 30, 2006.
The artworks entered this competition will be displayed on-line for voting starting December 1, 2006 through January 31, 2007. Judging is via the Internet and decided by our site visitors. The sponsor reserves the final decision. Winners will be notified and published on-line on February 15, 2007.
One entry is allowed per artist. The Entry Form and the image file for web presentation should be sent by email to nanoart2006@nanoart21.org. The web image file must be .jpg or .gif with the longer dimension of maximum 600 pixels at a resolution of 72 dpi. A Working Image of approximate 3000 x 2300 pixels at a resolution of 72 dpi will be provided by sponsor. This will be the original image (the scanning electron microscope image above) that should be converted by artist in a piece of art. This image will be used by artists for this competition only and is a working vehicle for the artists to exercise their talent and creativity. Copyright for this image remains with the nanoart21.org. Copyright of entered artworks remains with the artist who agrees to grant permission to nanoart21.org to use the submitted material in exhibits on the nanoart21.org web site and other media for marketing and printing. For complete competition details and to download the Entry Form and Working Image please visit: http://www.nanoart21.org/nanoart_2006.htm.

Interview with Brian Viveros

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

a) Hi my name is Brian M. Viveros and I'm a functioning smoking alcoholic. I'm 30 years old and I enjoy drawing and painting smoking woman and making surreal films. My first shot and break at doing a show was back in 1997 The Art of Porn exhibition held in Switzerland where I exhibited with H.R.Giger thanks to friend and Art advisor Les Barany (Giger's agent).I was excited to be a part of a show with H.R.Giger and a list of other greats I always looked up to and respected.I must have jacked off ten times that day....maybe seven......no I think it was six. Since then my work has been in numerous gallery shows and exhibitions in the United States and Europe, and has appeared in Secret Mag,In the Flesh,Skin Two,Drawing Blood,Juxtapoz,Art Alternatives,People Mag Australia,CthuluSex and Fetish Magazine and I can't forget the upcoming december issue of GQ mag International.

q)How did you get started making art?

a)I got started making art at an early age, as I take a hit of my smoke I think to myself and it makes me smile. Drawing with my father was always a great excercise for me. We had this thing called the PitFighters . He would draw one fighter and I would draw his opponent. His were always so much better than mine. The weapons,the detail,the story behind the character. Helped me a lot,made me want to work harder.He was a bodybuilder and owned his own Gym.Muscle bound freaks in and out of my young world. Seeing these monstrosities in person nurtured the depraved and twisted figures of the body I see in my mind today.The page now turns. In the evenings-to my great childhood delight-my father was on call as a surgical tech to make extra money.I would wait up for him to hear the gory stories of his cases. On several occasions,he brought home pictures of real operations,suture kits,and medical clamps.We would practice sewing up napkins and oranges pretending it to be flesh.I look back on these specific moments,there are so many more but these I think layed the path.All these elements in your life make you who you are, and at that age as a kid I poured everything onto paper.The pencil was and still is my best fucking friend.I thank you father for all those great memories.

q)How would you describe your art?

a)Strong Smoking Sexy Surreal Erotic You can't FUCK WITH ME she says kind of art.

q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a)Porn and snuff films...just kidding,a lot of different things inspire me.People you see on the streets,the past,photography,friends artwork,the sky,music ,certain moments and words.

q)What are you working on now?

a)Currently working on my first full length independent film. My first film was a short entitled DISLANDIA . This NEW piece I'm working on is entitled SOUTHERN and it should be out this year.Just finished up three illustrations for the December issue of GQ International and a profile spread in an upcoming issue of Secret Mag. Also my website is being redone with prints and originals for sale at www.brianviveros.com.I will probably launch it for the new year.

q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recomend? Artists, art communities, xxx,...!?

a)www.artatlarge.com www.baranyartists.com www.dislandia.com www.secretmag.com www.cthulhusex.com www.porninart.ch

q)What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a) To pick a favorite would probably be oils right now. Ummm...I like how it moves and I love the smell.Since I had no formal training I just go with what I feel. The oils are unpredictable and thats exxxciting to me.

q)What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

a)Just to really stick it out.......ya know. It takes a lot of hard work but find what you really love and keep on doing it. Develop your own style and approach to what you enjoy painting and always make copies or scans of your work . Another thing that I did which is the old school way of doing things is I would constantly put together packages and mail them out to magazines that catered to the themes and subject matter of the type of work that I did. And yes I did get a lot of rejection letters.....thats not a bad thing. You just keep going. Someone will eventually publish your work and it will lead you to other doors and opportunities.

q)What is your personal definition of life and art and everything else in between?

a)Life is Art and everything else in between I could give two fucks for.

q)Take us inside your process a little bit. How do you begin a piece? What inspires the concept?

a)I begin a piece usually sketching with an airbrush. It allows the image to appear very loose and surreal. Through the sketch I can read the hard lines that stand out. I then sometimes go over that with color pencil tightening up the lines I like and then work my oils on top of that. The inspiration can come from anything you see......an old photo that I would love to distort. a person on the street,a relaxed mind and just letting your hand go. For me it's always in the form of a smoking woman.

q)What are your artistic influences?

a)My early influences came from comics. I was a big admirer of underground horror and indendent books. My favorite comic artist was and still is Tim Vigil. Not just that his art is incredible but it's what he stands for in his work and how true he stayed to what he loves. I've always loved and admired the work of H.R. GIGER. Last year Giger had me and my wife over to his home after my first solo exhibition in Zurich Switzerland. It really was a dream come true. PICASSO,SCHIELE,MUCHA,VARGAS,KLIMPT,FRAZETTA,BEARDSLEY are all a great influence to me along with my close and real friends.

q)How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)Lately the response has been really good. A lot of galleries want to do shows and people are actually starting to e mail me about my work. I just had a solo exhibition in Zurich and the response and reaction to my work was very powerful.

q)What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a) Smoking,drinking,drawing,masturbating.

q)Tell us about a recent dream you had

a)The last dream I had I was able to sketch out and may be putting it to film. It was a big open area and all these woman were gathered around in this kind of huddle. And it's from a distance just to kind of put you in my dream.As you get closer they are in these see through type of gowns with hoods.They have huge needles and they are sewing up the ground, the old in and out the weaving,penetrating the earth with this huge fucked up needle and thread.It looks like a giant vagina with-in the earth being stitched up by these exotic looking woman. That's all I remember and it was fucking RAD.

q)What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)To give back in some way,to leave my art and films behind and hope that it is found and looked back upon as something great. To make people think about something a little different for one second is my freedom. To create is my freedom. That my work will have an impact someday,that is freedom .......that is my freedom

q)Are there any particular works you’ve done that stand out as your favorites?

a)Well my film Dislandia is my favorite piece thus far. That and this Ars Erotica Book I recently came out in. The best in Modern Erotic Art. These things will be around for a long time and that makes me smile.

q)Last Books you read?

a)Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille

q)Last records you bought?

a)I think it was the Ghost World soundtrack


q)Your contacts….E-mail…Links

a)You can contact me at vesilone@netzero.net and check out my website
www.dislandia.com
www.brianviveros.com
Cheers to everyone.And to a dear friend " he'll never die know one can kill him "

Interview with Neil Swaab

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

a)Neil Swaab. 28 years old. From Michigan, currently living in New York.

q)How did you get started making art?

a)I’ve always been drawing pretty much as far back as I can remember. It seemed like a no-brainer to make art my life.

q)How would you describe your art?

a)Warped cartoonish line drawings usually colored in. Sometimes combined with text (i.e. comics)

q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a)From everywhere. Everything I see or experience somehow makes it into my art in some way or another.

q)What are you working on now?

a)Doing a lot of design work. Building a new website for my comic strip. Drawing some t-shirts. Working on a collaborative piece for an art show. Trying to work on some original book ideas. The occasional freelance illustration.

q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recomend? Artists, art communities,xxx,...!?

a)Illustrationmundo.com is one of the best artist sites around these days. And one of the guys behind it, Nate Williams, is a great illustrator. I’ve been art directing him on a book jacket for HarperCollins and he’s been kicking ass on it.

q)What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a)Right now it’s pen and ink and digital. It’s very immediate and I can make a lot of mistakes and try a lot of things. What you can do with digital these days is limitless.

q)What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

a)Do what you love. Art is supposed to be fun. If you’re not having fun doing it, them something’s wrong with the art you’re producing. It shows as an artist when you’re enjoying yourself. And vice versa.

q)What is your personal definition of life and art and everything else in between?

a)I think that question’s too deep for me to answer. Can’t you just ask me about my influences? Oh, wait, I see that’s coming up...

q)If your persona were immortalized as a cartoon character, who would it be?

a)Wile E. Coyote because I feel like I’m always chasing my own personal road runner but am never able to catch it. That, and I get hit with an anvil at least twice a day.

q)What are your artistic influences?

a)Dave McKean, Renee French, Dave Cooper, James Jean, and a million other artists. There’s so many excellent ones these days.

q)How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)Pretty good I guess.

q)What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a)I’m usually always creating art or writing. If I’m not doing that, I’m sleeping, eating, or absorbing media (an artsy way of saying “watching TV”)

q)Tell us about a recent dream you had.

a)I had a dream where I was waiting for some kind of a car and I knew that there would only be two choices of what would be in the car: either a bunch of monkeys or a person wearing this ghoulish mask. If it was the monkeys, I could deal with it, but if it was the mask person, it meant something really bad. It turned out it was the mask and as the car approached everything went into slow motion. I became terrified and paralyzed with fear. I tried to scream, but nothing would come out. Eventually I forced out a scream and woke myself up. I had been screaming in my sleep.

q)What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)To do whatever you feel like doing and be able to live off of it.

q)Are there any particular works you've done that stand out as your favorites?

a)I really like the CD cover I illustrated over the summer for Electric_02. That was the most involved piece I’ve ever done.

q)Last Books you read?

a)I read all the books I design so the last one I read was My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow.

q)Last records you bought?

a)The new(ish) Fiona Apple.

q)Who are your favourite artists & Your favourite galleries?

a)Way too many to name. Even trying to narrow them down scares me.

q)Which do you think make good art good? originality, or style? And, why?

a)I think the best art is when the artist has something to say. Good art has substance. If it’s just style, that doesn’t really last. Substance is what stays with you.

q)Your contacts….E-mail…Links

a)web: neilswaab.com
email: mail@neilswaab.com

Interview with Christopher Davison

q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc?

a)Christopher Davison.
27 years old.
Born in a very small town called Galipolis which is located in South Eastern Ohio, USA. I come from a very large family, with many of the relatives making art (including my father's sculptures and mother's drawings and writings). Although originally from Ohio, I moved to Florida when I was about 5 years old. I have lived in the USA all my life except for 1 year io abito in Roma(2004-2005).Desidero ritornare a Roma.Che Bellissima Italia!

q)How did you get started making art?

a)I have always drawn. My mother was very good at keeping everything, so there is a big stack of work I have done from 3yrs old until I left home for university.

q)How would you describe your art?

a)The forms in my art are a combination of personal narrative and subconscious imagery. Each individual image is part of a larger collection or series. As a whole they depict a future world where things have gone terribly wrong for mankind. A constant but ambiguous narrative sprinkled with a retro-futuristic-prophecy.

q)Where do you get the inspiration for your art?

a)You can understand something better when you meditate on it. My meditation is drawing. I draw to comprehend and better understand dynamic forms and experiences. And then recreate those forms and experiences in various ways. In short I feel all things in the world pivot upon the same logic and the more I draw the more I comprehend this logic or truth.

q)What are you working on now?

a)A new series of drawings(30 or so) and a life size doll.

q)Are there some web sites that you would like to recomend? Artists, art communities, xxx,...!?

a)There are some links off my website to my art-friends and art associates. Those are my favorites really.

q)What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a)Drawing/Etching. It's hard to beat the simplicity and abstract power of a good line. Etching is a natural extension for me as a drawer. I love printmaking and the process of working on copper. It's very minimal and restrictive, and yet it yields some of my best work.

q) What advice would you give to younger up and coming artist?

a)The most valuable lesson I ever learned as an artist was not to bull-shit myself. To always be honest and never, ever settle for something I wasn't happy with. In short, staying on track to constantly try to do better.

q) What is your personal definition of life and art and everything else in between?

a) See art and life intertwined too much to find any room for definition in between.

q)Take us inside your process a little bit. How do you begin a piece? What inspires the concept?

a)Honestly, I close my studio door and prefer to be alone when I'm working because I put myself in a bit of a trance in order to allow the subconsious to take control as much as possible. If I'm thinking about my marks they are only as interesting as a person making marks on paper. They are much more interesting when something is coming through me onto the paper. It's a lot easier that way too because I don't have to think, I just move. It's really quite simple but extremely difficult to explain.

q) What are your artistic influences?

a)The greatest influences are medieval European art, Indian miniatures, Ancient Roman Floor Mosaics... etc. A rather wide range. Some contemporary artists I have liked are Paul Noble, some of the work of Jake and Dinos Chapmann, Christian Holstad, Amy Cutler...

q) How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)Most people find it creepy.

q) What are you doing when you are not creating art?

a)Trying to catch up on my reading. Dancing is very important and happens whenever possible as well.

q)What are some of the greatest challenges that you think artists face today?

a)1. Capitalism
2. A surplus of mass media that functions on the level of a mental tranquilizer. A collection of mainstream books, music, and movies that sedate the mind rather than enlighten it. This surplus casts a shadow of comfort and ignorance on the population and makes them less interested in elements of high culture. If we do not feed the mind what it needs to grow stronger, it grows smaller. When ignorance is promoted by the mass media (and readily consumed), the mind of the population grows weak and is easily controlled by the government and people in power. (how else would people vote twice for Bush?)

q) What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)It is more about freedom of being a human. And that is being able to criticize our government and shed light upon their corruptions. Freedom to learn about our history, to push society forward to a better place so that the mistakes of the past can be avoided.

q) Are there any particular works you've done that stand out as your favorites?

a)Of course there are some, but it is more important to see which ones I very much dislike and understand why they do not work.

q) Last Books you read?

a)America by Franz Kafka, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami, and The Gift by Nabakov

q) Last records you bought?

a)Hot Chip, Animal Collective, Deerhoof , Arcade Fire.

q) Who are your favourite artists & Your favourite galleries?

a)Favorite obscure artist: Lucas Cranach the Elder. Favorite obscure gallery: Pierogi in Brooklyn.

q) Which do you think make good art good? originality, or style? And, why?

a)Neither make good art. Style is fashion and changes as fashion changes. Originality is only original until it becomes known. Both fade. Only Honesty makes good art. Truth lasts, everything else fades.

q) Do you get emotionally attached to your work and do you miss your work when it is sold?

a)Not really. I always like my new work more.

q)Your contacts….E-mail…links

a)You can find these on my website www.christopherdavison.com