Interview with Scott Batty
q)Please introduce yourself.
a)My name is SCOTT BATTY. I was born
in
q)Where do you live and work?
a)I live and work near
q)How would you describe your work to someone
who has never seen it?
a)Ghosts that you can taste.
q)How did you start in the arts? How/when did you
realize you were an artist?
a)When I was 20 years old, I saw a Rothko exhibition
at the Tate Gallery in
day changed my life. I’ve never decided to be an artist.
It’s what I need to do. In fact I don’t have a choice.
q)What are your favorite art materials and why?
a)I use anything. Acrylic, felt tip, pencil, paper, rubbish
from the bin. Whatever is needed.
q)What/who influences you most?
a)Being here. This second. Now. In the early days after
Rothko, I got into Bacon, Basquiat and Bellmer. Now
I seem to have found ‘my’ place, or at least ‘a’ place.
Experience doesn’t necessarily make things easier. I just
feel that I actually know what I am doing, and that frees me
up to keep on trekking.
q)Describe a typical day of art making for you.
a)That’s very difficult to say. There are no typical days.
I just try and catch myself when I’m on fire, and follow it
through. Ideally, my ‘time’ is Midday-8pm.
q)Do you have goals, specific things you want to achieve
with your art or in your career as an artist?
a)I want to take my work to the next level. And I always
hope that somebody somewhere is touched by it.
Then they can begin their own private dialogue with
the piece in question. Art is not a career. I take it far too
seriously, and have too much respect for it’s potential power,
to consider it a career. We are witnesses to it’s unique
presence. And this is only the beginning. To me, art with
depth and class is oxygen.
q)What contemporary artists or developments in art
interest you?
a)At the moment, I am too absorbed in my own work to be
able to hone in on others. Apart from some of the cool
painters on this blog! And I’m not easy to please. Which
is how I should be. “Contemporary developments” don’t
do much for me. That’s the art mafia getting bored and restless.
They change every six months. They like it if you paint a
banana pink, or stand on your head. That side of the fence
can be exhausting. I once saw a woman cry in front of one of
my paintings. She was a refugee from
“thank you, thank you, you understand…” If I have an audience
of any kind, then it contains people like that woman.
And gives me the impetus to move on and adapt.
q)How long does it typically take you to finish a piece?
a)Again, it’s difficult to say. From 5 minutes to 5 years.
Something like that.
q)Do you enjoy selling your pieces, or are you emotionally
attached to them?
a)I have to try and sell my work. It’s tough. How can you
put a price on a part of yourself ? I always prefer to know
who the person is. It’s all about finding a ‘nest’ for the piece.
That sounds like some form of adoption. I suppose it is,
really. It’s just that I know the amount of effort that goes
into each piece. When this process works well, then we are
literally dealing with art and magic.
q)Is music important to you? If so, what are some things
you're listening to now?
a)I listen to the group I sing and write for : THE ART OF
SKINLESSNESS (details below). Also Shearwater, Bon Iver,
Scott Walker, Gordale scar, Clairvoyants, Pusherman,
The Fall, Swans, The Durutti column etc.
q)Books?
a)The one I am currently preparing, “
of words and images with Pacôme Thiellement.
“
and the spectre that breathes within us all. (details below).
q)What theories or beliefs do you have regarding creativity
or the creative process?
a)Those who can…. DO
Those who can’t…. talk about it all the time.
q)What do you do (or what do you enjoy doing) when
you're not creating?
a)I am never consciously ‘empty’. I’m always up to something.
It seems to be 24/7 and I have to live with that, and make
the necessary domestic adjustments.
q)Do you have any projects or shows coming up that
you are particularly excited about?
a)Touch wood, there are 3 exhibitions on the horizon :
1- a solo show at Sydney Doctors East,
2- a group show, plus a gig in
3- a group show at Galerie Vidourle Prix in Sauve,
South of France, December 2009
q)Do you follow contemporary art scenes? If so, how?
What websites, magazines, galleries do you prefer?
a)I don’t, really. I’m always working, or trying to create
the peace in order to work.
q)Ask yourself a question you'd like to answer, and
answer it.
a)Q: How do you combine painting, writing and music ?
A: I work on each one separately. They all have their
own separate value, but there seems to be a unifying
spine that brings them together.
q)Any advice for aspiring artists?
a)Scare yourself. You are on your own. And there is no
going back. I don’t believe you can teach Art. You can only
encourage people. Then it’s up to them to blossom.
q)Where can we see more of your work online?
a)The website for my paintings: www.scottbatty.com
The site for the group I play in :
http://myspace.com/theartofskinlessness
The book “Gas flowers”, paintings, editions Le Dernier Cri,
Marseille : http://www.lederniercri.org/ DC shop / Books /
The book “Schreber Président”, French, collaborative
project, featuring 12 of my paintings and a poem, editions Fage
: http://www.fage-editions.c.la/ collection Actifs
The book “Vom Sterben”, Austrian, collaborative
project with the Austrian writer Gerhard Moser,
with numerous paintings in colour, editions Foulland,
The book “
paintings, editions MF, published end of 2009:
Cover for vinyl record for “BUG”, rock is Hell records :
http://www.myspace.com/bugbuam
My (as yet) unpublished stories and lots of images, on a blog : http://laguerretotale.blogspot.com/
posted by Claudio Parentela | 1:45 PM
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