Interview with Wang Qingsong

q)Let’s start with the basics; what's your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?

a) My full name is WANG Qingsong. I live in Beijing and I am 41 years old.

q) Do you have any formal training?

a) Before going to college, I went to a training school for educating kids to learn basics of painting. Then I got only two-year professional training at the Department of Oil Painting in Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts..

q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?

a) Yes, a lot. I grew up in a small town but very ancient one. This town has a very long history and tradition where the Three Kingdoms was famous for. When I moved in Beijing in 1993, I found my hometown so small and backward. However, Beijing is too big that endures a dramatic rapid change of modernization. I cannot get used to the drastic comparison between my city Jinzhou and Beijing. Hence so many of my works are symbolic of memories of my childhood and the urbanization I experience during the last several decades in China..

q) How do you come up with your concepts?

a) My ideas all come from life. I call my art works photo-journalism. They are inspired from the realities that I witness in this country with rapid social and mental changes. Most often I like to wander on the street, looking at the people and places. Gradually I will be triggered by some interesting ideas and later I will summarize these happenings into my photo works.

q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?

a) My creations are inspired by life, but not simply records of life. They are sum-ups from the varieties of life. I call them photo-journalism.

q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?

a) I am thinking right now to explore installations. Maybe later I will make short films.

q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?

a) At night when my mind thinks fast because all other things keep quiet then. I think both environment and mood contribute to good thinking.

q) What are your artistic influences?...and …generally who or what influences you the most?

a) I think the influence comes from my life. My life experiences influence me the most.

q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?

a) Artists are Thomas Demand, but I have a problem in remembering foreign names. Basically I like very thoughtful and humorous art works.

q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?

a) My next public project involves public participation on a theatre in England. I am now making some works which are related to the sports theme. So these works will go to be shown in museums that exhibit art pieces related to sports. I seldom work with others. Most of the time, I do art works independently. During shooting, I invite artist friends to help out.

q)What are your plans for the future?

a) My plans for the future are varied, first, I want to finish some installation pieces. Then I will be happy to finish my own script and make it into a movie. Then ….

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

a) websites are artnet.com, art-forum.com

q)What sort of music do you listen to?

a) I don’t listen to specific music. I am acceptable to any sort of music.

q)Do you collect anything? If so what?

a) I collect porcelain, books, and art works as well. Many of the pieces are friends’ art works. Now I like to buy sometimes very interesting photographs by international artists.

q)What do you do for fun?

a) I like to play cards, chat with others and just sleep simply.

q) Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?
a) Be yourself! Be nice to everyone!

q)Your contacts…

a)Mailing address: PO. Box 100006-10, Beijing, China. Tel: 0086-10-51273205, mobile: 0086-13601133831. Fax: 0086-10-51273206.

Interview with Mercedes Helnwein

q)Let’s start with the basics; what's your full name,where do you live, and how old are you?

a)Mercedes Helnwein.I live in Tipperary in Ireland and Los Angeles.27.

q) Do you have any formal training?

a)No,I never went to art school. but drawing has been an addiction of mine ever since I can remember.I never went anywhere without paper and pens. And I guess if you do it that much, you can't help but get good at it.

q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?

a)Sure.I grew up in Vienna, Germany, the U.K.,Ireland, America, and each of those places is like a different planet. I think growing up in so many diverse cultures rubs off and gives you a much broader picture of life.Of course different places have different things to offer in terms of inspiration.America has always been something of a candy store to me in that sense. It's one hell of a weird place, and you can find so many diverse things and phenomena there - from the genius of the blues and the beauty of it's golden age to the embarrasments of the modern mainstream culture. America has such a large spectrum, with extremes at either end and everything in between.There's definetely a lot to be fascinated with. I find that the east and west coast alone are like two different countries - not to mention the Midwest,which is a world of it's own.

q) How do you come up with your concepts?

a)It varies. sometimes I have weird ideas in my head that come from god knows where and some how wrestle themselves into finished, polished drawings; and sometimes it is something I see - a bumper sticker somewhere in traffic, someone's expression, an article of clothing, a cooking utensil...

q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?

a)Realistic, large scale drawings in full color pencil or black pencil.And writing.

q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?

a)Oil paints and watercolors for the moment. Probably also pastels. Anything really - I don't think I would want to limit myself to anything.

q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment …maybe the right mood?

a)I love working in the mornings. But I also love working at nights. I guess the middle of the day isn't so bad either.It comes down to the fact again that I'm addicted, so there probably are no rules.

q) What are your artistic influences?...and generally who or what influences you the most?

a)Robert Crumb, Munch, Alfred Kubin, Goya, Rembrandt, my father (Gottfried Helnwein), Bukowski, the blues, Mark Twain, Tom Waits, Steinbeck, Bob Dylan, Dostoyevski,the White Stripes. I think "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is one of the best books ever written, and my respect for it has no end.I could go on for a very long time about the people I admire, so I'll just keep it at that.

q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?

a)see the above.

q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?

a)I have a show, "Strange Days", that just opened up at the BESPOKE GALLERY (www.bespokegallery.com) in New York, which has some of my newest works in it.

q)What are your plans for the future?

a)Well, I have a novel that will be published by Simon &Schuster next feb., the title is being finalized right now. It will be announced shortly. it's a weird story.And of course, more art shows. There will be a solo show in Los Angeles in late spring 2008 with a whole new series of work, which I'm working on now. And some shows in Europe.

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

a)my family:www.helnwein.com (my father's work)

www.alihelnwein.com (my brother ali, composer)

www.cyrilhelnwein.com (my brother cyril, photographer)

www.tractionorchestra.com (the Traction Ave. Chamber Orchestra)

www.strayeddogs.com (this site is still being finished up)

friends and artists:www.loveliessleeping.net (the band Love Lies Sleeping)www.glenbaxter.com (Glen Baxter, artist)

www.kevart.com (Keven Llewellyn, artist)

www.alexprager.com (Alex Prager, photographer)

www.wesc.com (We Are the Superlative Conspiracy,clothing)

www.viviangray.com (Vivian Gray, actress)

q)What sort of music do you listen to?

a)Old blues music changed my life. I started listenting to it when I was about 15, and it felt like I was finally home. That might sound corny, but it happensto be true. I never seemed to fit in anywhere before that - everything that I tried to be into or be a part of seemed awkward on me - all the music, the social groups, the styles of clothing. I just felt like the modern world didn't have much to do with me. But there was something so potent and honest about the blues - it just blew everything away. I truly think this is one of the highest forms of art.I also love Tom Waits. as well as Jimi Hendrix, BobDylan, Django Reinhardt, White Stripes, RollingStones,Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Who, Love Lies Sleeping, etc.… Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Shubert, Bach, etc. It's always a little hard to answer that question because you know you are leaving a lot out.

q)Do you collect anything?If so what?

a)Art! one of the good, solid advantages of being a visual artist is that you can trade artwork with other artists.

q)What do you do for fun?

a)Work.When I'm not drawing or writing, I become uneasy, as though something is very wrong. That, or being around other artists on a regular basis. I don't know what people usually do for fun -partying? I don't even really know what that means.I like playing the banjo, and sometimes I like doing pointless things, like orchestrating photoshoots with friends (or random people) of imaginary sport teams,fake office Christmas parties, or fictionalized family pictures.

q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?

a)Not to be discouraged by the official art scene, which for the most part is a conglomeration of pretentious,deeply mediocre arts and crafts.If you really want to go to sleep, pick up an arts magazine featuring the biggest new artists. There's great art out there, but it is not always theart that is being force fed to the public."Modern art" of whatever shape, form or size should not be concerned with being an erudite celebration of things that only a few people can feel snug about because they're holding a Martini glass and made some sense out of some metal stick protruding from the wallof a gallery. Art has only one purpose: to move. To move on all levels.You should never walk away from a true piece of art and be left the same:un-dented, un-changed, with nothing new floating about in your head. The art world needs some help, so I would say, help itout.

q)Your contacts.

a) www.mercedeshelnwein.com

Interview with Mark Dugally

q)Let’s start with the basics; what's your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?

a)MARK ALEXANDER DUGALLY, MANY PEOPLE REFER TO ME AS DUGALLERY (MY STUDIO) OR MAD (MY INITIALS)

q) Do you have any formal training?

a)MY FATHER IS AN ARCHITECT, SO I GREW UP AROUND DESIGN. MY DAYJOB IS ARCHITECTURAL AND INTERIOR DESIGN.
I WENT TO OTIS SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN IN LOS ANGELES. I RECEIVED A BFA IN ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN.

q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?

a)I GREW UP IN A CITY CALLED LA HABRA HEIGHTS, IN LOS ANGELES. IT WAS LIKE LIVING IN A JUNGLE. I THINK IT DEFINITELY INSPIRED ME AS A CHILD, ALONG WITH MY FATHER WHO WORKED OUT OF OUR HOME.

q) How do you come up with your concepts?

a)I HAVE NO IDEA. THESE THINGS LIVE INSIDE OF ME. I HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO KEEP THEM FROM COMING OUT. I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY COME FROM......
MY BRAIN WORKS IN A VERY 3 DIMENSIONAL AND ABSTRACT MANOR. I CAN DRAW ANYTHING. I DO NOT USE ANY COMPUTERS FOR ANY OF MY WORK. EVEN MY ARCHITECTURAL WORK. MY MIND IS ALMOST LIKE ANOTHER PERSON FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION THAT I CAN TAP INTO WHEN I WANT TO.

q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?

a)I CALL IT MADNESS, JUST TO KEEP IT SIMPLE AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE ABSTRACTION IS NOT NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND. A FRIEND OF MINE DEEMED IT "FRUIT SALAD FROM HELL". I REALLY LIKED THAT DESCRIPTION.
IN ONE SENTENCE, I WOULD SAY, " MY ARTWORK IS THE RESULT OF DISCOVERING THE KEY TO MY OWN PERSONAL BLACKHOLE".

q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?

a)I AM REALLY TRYING TO GET INTO METALURGY AND STEEL WORK. MY NEWEST ALL ENGULFING PASSION IS MOTORCYCLES. I JUST TOOK A FIRST PRIZE TROPHY FOR A CUSTOM MOTORBIKE. THAT IS THE DIRECTION THAT I AM HEADING.

q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?

a)I AM ALWAYS DRIVEN TO WORK ON MY MANY PROJECTS, BUT NIGHTTIME IS MY MIND'S FAVORITE TIME TO BE ALIVE. I USUALLY GO TO BED AT 2 OR 3 IN THE MORNING. I HAVE A FANTASTIC WORK ENVIRONMENT. I LIVE AND WORK IN A BARN BUILT IN 1926, IN MONROVIA, CALIFORNIA.

q) What are your artistic influences?...and …generally who or what influences you the most?

a)I FIND MORE INSPIRATION IN NATURE AND DECAY AND SYNCOPATED CIRCUMSTANCE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. IF I WERE TO CHOOSE MY FAVORITE ARTISTS:
SALVADOR DALI, ROBERT WILLIAMS, HEIRONYMUS BOSCH, MARK RYDEN, SHINYA KIMURA, BLAINE FONTANA, NATHAN SPOOR AND MANY OTHERS.

q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?

a)SEE ABOVE...

q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?

a)MOTORCYCLES. I EAT DRINK AND SLEEP THEM. CUSTOM PAINT AS WELL. I AM TURNING MY HONDA CBR954RR INTO A FULL CUSTOM AND FROM THERE I WILL BE DOING AN EVEN MORE EXTENSIVE CUSTOM JOB ON MY APRILIA FUTURA.

q)What are your plans for the future?

a)I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN A CUSTOM BIKE AND PAINT SHOP. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE TATTOOING INVOLVED IN IT AS WELL. I DID TATTOOS FOR ABOUT 6 YEARS ALSO. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO HAVE A HOUSE IN ITALY. YES, ITALY. I LOVE YOUR COUNTRY.

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

a)WELL, I AM NOT REALLY THAT INVOLVED IN ANY COMMUNITIES ANYMORE. I WOULD DEFINITELY CHECK OUT
www.cannibalflower.com
IF YOU LIKE MY ART, YOU WILL LOVE WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER. THIS IS ONE OF THE LARGEST UNDERGROUND ARTSHOW SCENES YOU WILL EVER COME ACROSS. I SHOWED WITH THEM FOR YEARS, BUT THEN I FELL IN LOVE WITH MY WIFE AND MY MANY 2-WHEELED GIRLFRIENDS.

q)What sort of music do you listen to?

a)I DON'T LISTEN TO TOO MUCH MUSIC ANYMORE EITHER. I AM ASHAMED TO SAY. I LIKE TO LISTEN TO COMEDY.
ALL TIME FAVORITE BAND: POST-RUBBER SOUL BEATLES.

q)Do you collect anything?If so what?

a)I COLLECT RANDOM TEMPORALTHINGS. BEE HIVES, BIRD NESTS, RUSTY SCRAPS OF METAL, PLANTS, TAPE, BOTTLE CAPS.

q)What do you do for fun?

a)I LOVE TO HIKE. AND OF COURSE RIDE MY BIKES. I LIKE TO ENTERTAIN AT MY STUDIO OVER A GOOD BOTTLE OF WINE AND SOME HOOKAH SMOKE. TRAVELLING IS MY ALL TIME LOVE. ANYWHERE IS GOOD. I LOVE TO EXPERIENCE NEW THINGS AND PLACES.

q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?

a)MOST ARTISTS ARE TOO PROUD TO GET A SHITTY JOB TO PAY FOR THE BILLS, THEY WANT TO GET PAID TO DO THEIR ART. YOU MUST KEEP THESE WORLDS SEPERATE. IF YOU EVER GET OFFERED MONEY TO DO YOUR PERSONAL ARTWORK, YOU CAN TAKE IT, BUT DON'T GIVE UP YOUR SOURCE OF FUNDING AND NEVER STARVE. IT DOESNT BUILD CHARACTER, IT JUST MAKES YOU SELL OUT AS SOON AS SOMEONE SHOWS INTEREST IN YOUR WORK. ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT PERFECTION DOESNT EXIST. AS SOON AS YOU REALIZE THAT THE SOONER YOU WILL STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP AND YOU MIGHT EVEN HAVE A GOOD TIME.

q)Your contacts…

a) http://www.dugallery.com/
mark@dugallery.com

Interview with José Hernández

q)Let's start with the basics; what's your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?

a)José Hernández. I live in Madrid, Spain and also in the province of Málaga. I am now 63 years old.

q) Do you have any formal training?

a)If you refer to formal education no but visual experience is universal.

q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?

a)Very much.

q) How do you come up with your concepts?

a) I didn’t come up with my concepts they came up with me.

q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?

a)They are part of me, I am part of them and we understand each other. I call them images.

q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?

a)I would like to explore all mediums, ancient and new.

q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?

a)I work in the morning, in the afternoon and evening, usually from 10 to 2 and 4 to 8, seven days a week, sometimes more and rarely less.

q) What are your artistic influences?...and …generally who or what influences you the most?

a)All artists are influenced by so many events, other artists, history but if I am pushed to mention a few artists; Bacon, Goya, Valdes Leal, …

q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?

a)The list would be long. I am eclectic and it wouldn’t vary too much from the above.

q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?

a)My next projects are a large mural for Leganés, a town near Madrid, Spain, a show in Paris, a show in Pamplona, Spain.

q)What are your plans for the future?

a)Too many to put into a sentence, but to keep painting, drawing and engraving, as well as thinking, and living.

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

a)I am only beginning to communicate on the web. It will take me some time to get organized.

q)What sort of music do you listen to?

a)Mostly classic, but also modern jazz, Dixie land jazz, operas… music is part of my life.

q)Do you collect anything?If so what?

a)I am not a collector as such, but many of my friends have brought different mounted insects from South America or Africa, and mounted bones of various animals, even a whales’ jaw, and sundry other interesting bones. An entomologist friend has even named a new species “hermerobius hernandezi” after me, which he found in Costa Rica.

q)What do you do for fun?

a)Fun is a word I find difficult to locate in my mind but pleasure is something I could be closer to, and I would say, have a good wine, good meal with good friends, and of course work alone in my studio in front of my paintings, my ideas and myself.

q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?

a)I don´t condescend to other’s opinions, I just work – the canvas, the engraving plate and even the sculpture is something that is done in your studio, you do it, you are alone (this doesn’t mean you haven’t learned from others, but when you are starting something that is your own (creating?) you are alone in your studio.

q)Your contacts…

a)As I say I am just beginning to use the web. This maybe will begin later. Of course, I have my galleries. Galería Leandro Navarro, Madrid, Galerie Michèle Broutta, París.

Interview with Sean Star Wars

q)Let's start with the basics; what's your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?

a)Sean Star Wars.I am 37 years old and live in The poor, deep southern state of Mississippi

q) Do you have any formal training?

a)I have a Masters Of Fine Arts in printmaking from Louisiana State University .

q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?

a)I grew up in Virginia Beach Virginia which has always had a pretty strong skateboarding scene. my involvement with skating my exposure to guys like Mark Gonzales and Neil Blender were directly responsible for my interest in Art and imagemaking

q) How do you come up with your concepts?

a)I steal them from other places. Kids books, old advertisements, I get a lot of ideas from news articles on the DrudgeReport. Like the story about the medical student that stole a human hand and gave it to his favorite stripper , she kept it in jar in her dressing room, it sounded like something that I could sink my teeth into...

q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?

a)I make woodcuts with bright colours and fucked up teeth

q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?

a)I'd like to work more sculpturally , bigger and more agressive.

q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?

a)I am always working on something throughout the day and well into the night .The mood or my attention span dictates whether I am creating new stuff, documenting old work, updating website . Answering emails. Or whatever. But it all goes into the same pot . It’s all got to be done and I am the only one that’s gonna do it for me...

q) What are your artistic influences?...and …generally who or what influences you the most?.

a)The expressionists and then skaters like I mentioned when I was young. But really, I think my work ethic and much of my general approach to the creation of art comes from Charles Bukowski, his idea that the only thing that matters is what you make next. Not what you made yesterday or who says the like what you do.You keep making work and you do it for yourself

q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?

a)There are so many great people out there doing a lot of exciting /quality stuff . But I think Tom Huck is probably my favorite, along with Bill Fick, Dennis Mcnett, the guys from Cannonball Press. Yeehaw Industries. The common thread is that they make relief prints and are all good friends of mine. We all push each other even though we are spread out over the whole USA, a lot of good comes from friendly competition.

q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?

a)I do a lot of Visiting Artist Lectures. I'd like to come over to Europe and mix it up with the kids at the Universities over there. I'm working on a crazy kids book. Me and Dennis, are getting ready to do some shows together...

q)What are your plans for the future?

a) To live on the moon, and watch the tv in my head to race my spaceship over to mars and make more woodcuts.

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

a)I keep saying the same names over and over. Bill, Fick, Tom Huck, Dennis Mcnett, Cannonball Press, Yeehaw Industries . I think those guys are making great stuff and not getting as much attention as some people that work in other media.

q)What sort of music do you listen to?

a)My favorite band is Guided by Voices or anything that Robert Pollard gets involved with. He is so incredibly Prolific and lyrically creative. A lot of Old Punk Music and of course Devo . I live in Mississippi so there’s a connection there for old delta blues singers. Just a man and a guitar .

q)Do you collect anything?If so what?

a)I collect anything Related to Mountain Dew. You can see some video of my collection on my website , I love the color of the pacaking, the flavor of the drink and the zaniness of the old advertising campaings from the sixties which featured a gun toting moonshiner and a pig...

q)What do you do for fun?

a)I don’t get to have any fun. I am fucking married.... I am lucky I even get to make my woodcuts...

q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?

a) Yeah don’t get married. And don’t waste your fucking money getting a degree in art. Take that money and buy art supplies a printing press ten computers anything. Anything to help you get further in your art.. And don’t only do it from time to time. Make it your priorty, if you do get a degree in art . Make more art than everyone else in your class , everytime. Put them to shame.

q)Your contacts…

a) sstarwars@msn.com
website: seanstarwars.com