Interview with Ry Wharton, for Temporary Art Review!

The Center For Ongoing Research and Projects: An Interview with Ryland Wharton | Temporary Art

Interview with Stephanie Rond

Q, I enjoyed seeing your new series knuckles sprawled out across the floor, at my visit to your loft studio, they seems both vintage americana, and pop art. What was your inspiration for this series?

A. Thanks, that series was great fun, and a great way to pay homage to the people in the community that I admire for one reason or another. The inspiration for this series came from a friend of mine, Sharon Bell, who sent me a funny picture of a knuckle tattoo that said “bookworm” on it. I think she sent it because I embrace myself as the research nerd that I am. I got to thinking about knuckle tattoos and what they mean in society and how I could incorporate that into the money themed show I was working on at the time. That’s where the first painting was born; it was called “artwhore”. “artwhore” got so much attention and a couple commissions that I thought a whole show of knuckle tattoos where I “tattooed” my friends would be fun. The people involved were very excited and couldn’t wait to see what their tattoos were. Part of the proceeds from this show went to The Girlz Rhythm and Rock Camp.

I have always been heavily influenced by the Pop Artists. Rauschenberg is my favorite, but I will not shy away from a Warhol either. I have always felt that for my own work it is important to make a statement. In most cases the work is political with a humorous edge. I have always enjoyed making art that borrows from things in culture that have already existed. For me, it is about recreating a new story. I have always been labeled as heavily influenced by Pop Art, which is fine with me. But the Americana reference is a relatively new one, and I have been hearing this more about my work lately. I have to admit that I looked up the dictionary definition of Americana…the definition is “something that is distinctly American”. I guess I’m still wrapping my head around that one.

Q. am so fond of your craft based work, what would you say is your take on these american traditions?

A. The craft based work was a natural progression for me. I have been a feminist for about 20 years now. Women’s issues charged most of the work that I did in college. My work is still charged by that today. I began thinking about the role that needlework has played in women’s lives for centuries. Although it can be said that needlework is women’s busy work, I find the opposite is true. It requires mathematical skills, color theory and an artistic eye.

Last year at the same time that I was interested in the patterns of needlework, I also became interested in stenciling, but more specifically stencils that were considered “graffiti”. I began making my own stencils and patterns based on other stencils I had seen in books and online. These patterns were of bombs, tanks and grenades, etc, all representations of war.

I liked the idea of taking something so female dominated as cross stitch and combining it with something male dominated (grafitti) and giving them a story together. So I went to war on what is seen as a stereotypical beautiful woman. I went to war with the objectification of women. This war concept also branched out into a war on nature as well.


Q. I love your division of right brain gallery / left brain gallery on your website! Do you generally fluctuate between these two styles?

A. I do, but I had to change the format of the website. It got confusing that I was, and always am working in two separate styles. So rather than have two separate galleries I now name each series and the years they were completed in. I think this gives people a better idea that I am always working in this way.

Both styles feed different parts of who I am artistically as well as a person. The lighter stuff such as the work for the knuckle tattoo show shows my funny side. The craft based work shows my more serious and political voice.

Some have said I should pick one style or the other. I see their point but I think that is also why I tend to hold tight to both styles. I’m pretty stubborn so the minute someone tells me I can’t do something or should limit myself, I will always see that as a challenge and fight against it.

Q. I thought your studio was so cool, how, it is not in your house but above your garage. Sort of the best of both worlds. Do you ever slip out the back door with your PJ's and slippers on to work?

A. LOL that’s a good question. The commute is the best in town. I don’t tend to do that because I will end up with paint all over my PJ’s. I have designated painting clothes…..lots of designated painting clothes, almost everything except my PJs.

Q. Do you work at night? or during the day?

A. I work during the day. I used to paint at night but when I did the 9-5 gig years ago, I started seeing the advantages of working during the day. Since leaving that gig I have kept the same hours. Honestly I usually block out the two windows that I do have in the studio and there isn’t a clock so I can never tell what time it actually is. Sometimes I wake up extremely early like 4 or 5 am and get started because I will be so excited about what I’m working on that I cant stay in bed.

Q. Do you have some current favorite tunes you are listening to in your studio, or are you a work in silence type?

A. Actually, it depends on what type of work I am doing. If it is extremely tedious work or work that requires problem solving, I will listen to music. That way I can go in and out of being conscious of sound. I listen to just about anything but country. Not a country fan. Mostly I listen to Punk, Alternative (if that is even a genre anymore?), Metal, Rap and good ole Rock n Roll. If I’m doing something mundane like line work or square work, then I listen to books on CD. I have this book called “1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” I’m slowly checking off the list. I have read/listened to about 15% of them.

Q. What are you currently working on?

A. I am currently working on a body of work called “Defacing Beauty”. The flower patterns from the older work have gotten smaller, and way more detailed. Rather than war stencils such as grenades and bombs, I have replaced them with toasters and vacuum cleaners. I no longer feel a need to tell stories with war attached to them. I figure if I’m going to “tag” or “deface” my paintings why not deface them with the stereotypes of women’s “tools of the trade” I have also been studying wheat pasting, so I’m excited to see where that will lead me.

Tim Portlock, Philadelphia

Could you in layman's terms describe your process?

For the images I have been doing lately I find my way to neighborhoods with a large number of abandoned and degraded buildings. Usually I ride my bike, find interesting structures and photograph them from as many different angles as needed. I use these images as references for the next step which is to re-create the buildings using digital imaging and special effects software. Once I have re-created enough of these buildings I then group them into city blocks after which I play around with the lighting and composition. Lastly I print out large format inkjet prints from these computer generated spaces.


Also what are you currently working on?

Currently I am working on two projects. I am creating a newer set of images for my ongoing series, Ghost City, which I discussed in the earlier paragraph. For this latest group of images I am including abandoned industrial structures to draw out the relationship between the disolution of certain types of labor and the quality of architectural and living conditions in post-industrial urban space. The other project I am working on right now is a computer animation that is powered by the stock market. More specifically it is a project that takes streaming stock market information from the web and applies it to the moving elements in my imagery. This will get projected on the side of a building in Fall 2009 and if everything goes well it will also exist on the web.

Is your work created entirely on the computer?

While the creative process for my present work is roughly 95% digital the final output are large format inkjet prints that hang on gallery walls. I make very large prints to create a “physical” dynamic between the viewer and the imagery in the art. I have made the conscious choice to use imaging software to create these images of post-industrial urban space specifically because of the relationship between digital technology and the demise of an industrial based society. In addition to these concerns many of the aesthetic references in the work come out of the Western landscape painting tradition. One of things that I am often pleasantly surprised by is how often people cannot tell the work is computer generated which is completely fine with me.


How much do you create from scratch and how much is photographic based?

It is hard to answer that question. I am not sure if you are equating “from scratch” with” made by hand” or made without source images. I think in a lot of ways my work is basically a form of collage. Just like with traditional collage I put different visual elements together in such a way that either creates the illusion of a seamless whole or I make imagery that draws attention to the fragmentary aspect of its construction. Whether or not I am using a camera as the starting off point I am still manipulating these fragments in much the same way a painter might use a set of fragmentary sketches to make a larger more developed painting.


You have recently, well, somewhat recently moved to a new town, has the new environment influenced your work at all?

It definitely did. One of things that struck me was the huge volume and scale of abandoned buildings that exist here. In fact they are so numerous that if you could magically move them to their own space they would be their own city. Hence the name Ghost City. One of the things I find interesting is how the longer you live somewhere the more these types of things fade from consciousness. Being a new comer to this city it was impossible to miss these glaring details.

Do you listen to music while you work? If so what r you listening to now?

I am afraid to say I very rarely listen to music these days. I am even less likely to listen to music while making art. If I do listen to music it is usually because I am feeling nostalgic. However I do listen to public radio about 6 hours a day. Because I get it from the internet I listen to public radio from different cities depending on the time of day.

Tugboat Printshop, Pittsburgh

Here is an interview with Paul and Valerie Lueth, they work together making amazing woodblocks. I first found their work at Tiny Canary, Columbus. I had the hardest time choosing which print to buy, so I have 4 of their woodland series prints I couldn't live without.

Q. It is a little unusual for artists to work with other artists, and I wanted to ask, when did you start printing together?
A. "The Woodland Creatures" series was our first collaborative series, though we did design + print some woodcut t-shirts before that. Working together seemed like a very natural step to us both. After our move from Nashville to Pittsburgh, we were looking to try something "different' and "new" with printmaking and felt that working collaboratively could offer that. We are both pretty meticulous artists in our personal work--and are both aware of each other's tendancies to be this way. Collaborating allows us to work through ideas much faster than we would individually, the resulting artwork becoming stronger through our deliberation and scrutiny. It's been really delightful to see how our ideas can meld together to create such simple, appealing images. People are always trying to guess who did which part...but our collaborative work is truely that. It would basically be impossible to point out any part of our prints that didn't have both of our hands involved.

Q. At what point did you realize that you could work together?
A. We had been working together for some time, as we are married (ha, ha)...but we thought it could be a fun thing to do long before we actually started to work together. Using woodcut as our medium really 'fuses' our styles together seamlessly. Since all information is drawn on the flat surface of the wood and then cut out, all of our marks exist together on the same plane.

Q. Do you taker turns designing? or do you each have particular aspects that you are more keen on?
A.We do a lot of talking and brainstorming about our ideas before an image makes its way to the block. This cultivates an excitement about diving into the project and allows us to really elaborate upon many ideas with one another before drawing even starts. Typically, we are working on 3-6 blocks at a time pretty intensely, with about 3-6 more ready to go in the shoot. Working on multiple blocks simultaneously allows us to switch blocks back and forth when drawing and cutting...making the collaboration much easier (elbow room!).

Our latest project and biggest collaboration to date is "America the Beautiful." This 24" x 32" woodcut print is a whopper of an image--5 total blocks all hand-drawn, hand-carved and hand-printed. Because the block was so big, we were both able to work on it at the same time until we started the cutting...then we worked in shifts round the clock. We finished the key block in 2 weeks time--a pretty tight timeline for a block of that complexity and scale! "America the Beautiful" was conceived for a the Manifest Hope: DC exhibition celebrating the inauguration this past January. We are seriously excited about how this image turned out and look forward to tackling additional large scale pieces in the near future. The wheels are always turning!

Q. I Found this quote on you blog, "Tugboat Printshop is our printshop, frameshop, and studio space in Pittsburgh, PA. We specialize in original woodcuts + etchings but also make drawings, gardens, renovations, dinner, and good time when driving on the interstate." I love on your blog that you refer to "good time when driving on the interstate." I love driving too, I tend to get ideas when driving long distances, sort of like just before bed sometimes. Can you tell us a little interstate story?
A.Hmmm...well the good time on the interstate is certainly true! We're always on a deadline, working to bring new prints to every show that we do--so we usually end up scrambling out the door, pedal to the metal to our destination. We're starting to take more leisurely drives now, though...stopping at the interesting roadside getaways. Our latest favorite is "Roadside America" (Exit 23 I-78). A tiny handmade villiage built by two brothers over the coarse of their lifetime. It will blow your mind! If you ever go, be sure to stick around long enough to witness the 'pagaent'. Also, delicious pies abounding at the restaurant just around the corner.
Thanks Paul and Valerie!

Photo: Valerie Lueth

Dale Johnson, Columbus

Interview with Dale by Melissa
Photo: Melissa Vogley Woods


M. I was so amazed to see the variety abound in your studio, I have been aware of your custom stonework, but had not seen the fine art work. I was really amazed at the variety and amount of artwork you produce. I felt a bit like a kid in a candy store walking around in your home and studio a gasp at all I saw.

D. Thank you for the kind words.


M. Do you find working in different medias relaxing?


D. Necessary. In my non-commissioned work when I finish a piece it may never find a home outside my own. I'm ok with that. But there is no carrot, no pat on the back. With a commission, the process may be similar to my improvisations, but the lack of spontenaity is a killer to my imagination. On the other hand, the gratitude and recognition of a job well done as expressed by my clients is needed to maintain motivation. I use the by-products of the commissions as the material for my original works. The two processes compliment each other. I have trained myself to be able to execute about anything anybody wants to pay for, so I am like a total sell out that way, but I turn it around and use the commissions to fund the explorations, over which I have total control, with expensive materials, and without need to sell them getting in the way of what they are. I don't need to sell my art to be able to afford to make it, which enables me to have a great deal of freedom in my work.

M. You hear a lot about building a cohesive body of work in the arts, do you ever feel pulled in different directions, or are you all stone carver?


D. Not all stone carver at all. Mostly musician, actually. I play piano, keyboards, and guitar. Free improv jazz. Loud and wild. And I like to draw. I draw a lot, pastels and pencil, mostly taken from a landscape point of departure. I love light and how it plays across large spaces. My back vista is amazing, and I have drawn it hundreds of times, in all lights and seasons. I don't bother with galleries and expectations of a cohesive body. I just make whatever I want. As a result I'm not really gallery material, so I don't often show, and rarely sell the originals. Maybe I could show the pastels. I'd like to show again, but I need a space that could accommodate a forklift to do it right. And I have been loving doing my cast stainless work, as well as the recent welded pieces and "musical implement" sculptures. I think my next show should be both indoors and outdoors in a single location. I don't know where that might be.


M. Could you tell us a little bit about how you got started stone carving? What was your first piece?


D. As an art student, I was drawn to cast glass. This was the early 80's. At that time cast glass was very new to an individual artist, as it's cooling can take weeks. The computer came to the rescue of the cooling process and monitering. An artist, Howard Ben tre, of Providence, Rhode Island had been making the largest cast glass sculptures in the world outside of the 24 hour factories of Czechoslovkia, and I wrote him and asked if he would let me apprentice. I said I would work for free and live on the floor of the studio if he would feed me and teach me. We met in LA at a glass confereance, and he agreed. I received full credit for a semester, and lived and worked in NYC and Providence. We put together a show at Cowles in SOHO. I loved the internsity. We worked 7 days, literally 18 hour days. I met Castelli, Johns, Warhol, it was crazy. I was maybe 24, 25. After I got back to Berkely I wanted to learn more from older dudes, and I had been throwing together crazy chemicals in my glass castings trying to make them look like stone. It never occurred to me that people still carve stone. Seemed too hard to do. So when I saw the poster of a "world famous African stone sculptor" looking for an apprentice I jumped at it. John Odoch-Ameny of Uganda had irritated Idi Amin, and so his gallery in San Fransisco brought him her until Amin died. I worked in the driveway of the gallery owner, where John was staying, for about a year. I had a wife and a kid and I was a full time student with a full time job making cookies in a mall. Hard long days, baby. Too old for that now. Where does that energy come from? John gave me his tools before he went home. I treasure them, and they are are on my mantle now. Hippopotimus skin, the steel banding around the wagon wheels that drove colonialism form the blades that still cut stone. My first original stone was a coffeepot with a Scottish air and hat. My computer is down so I can't share the photo. I am writing this from my wife's computer.


M. We talked a lot about technique, and method during out visit, how do you in your fine art transcend the labor of the piece? I often think of the piece in the yard with the two puppets, I find it hard to wrap my mind around how it appears so spontaneous, yet it is carved out of stone!


D. I am given ideas I have learned enough to execute. I execute them. I am grateful for the ideas, and grateful I have had the opportunity to have learned how to do with my hands what I am told to do. The ideas are free, but once received, I have to complete them. It's kind of a deal like Robert Johnson. If I do what I'm told to do, I will be fed. But the long works are a lot of time, a lot of work. Doing them is how I earn my keep. The paymaster is tough. I listen and obey.


M. After you finish a large piece, do you take a little break, or do you just on keep on keeping on?


D. I need to have a large, long term work slowly brew while I share it's gestation with more spontaneous work. There is a break between the long term ones, but no break in total output.


M. I have a feeling you do not listen to music when you work, (the noise factor), but do you have some favorites?


D. I wear headphones and a dust mask pretty much all day, and most days I am alone all day. I like to listen to my thoughts and the birds. For me, visual art making requires a pretty noise-free (as regards organized sound) environment. I listen with my eyes.
As for music I like, well, I'm all over the board. I'm a huge Beatles fan, and I love Harry Partch; Belefonte is my favorite all time singer; I'm a big collector of 50's mambo records; I love Miles, Coltrane, Dizzy, Chet Baker, etc., and I had my Mahavishnu Orchestra moments as well. I like rockabilly and I love to dance, so all that stuff is good. I like pre-war acoustic blues. I like New Wave. I love Flamenco guitar and trumpet. I love trumpet period. I love Al Hirt. I love the Sex Pistols and punk in general. I like the classical composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. I like spoken word. I hate heavy metal and most modern "country". I like anything Latin. I like Dean Martin. So there you go.



D. Thanks for the questions. This has been fun.


M. Thanks Dale!!!


D. Thanks Melissa!

Interview with Ashley Voss, Coreroc

Q. I notice that your artwork is informed by street art, do you have a past in street art?
A. Yes I have been doing street art and graffiti for many many years. I believe that I started back in like 1992 or so writing the name corupt. It was a spin off from one of my faqvority ra groups back then the Dogg Pound Gangsters. The group consisted of Daz and Kurupt who also played cameo roles in some of Snoop dogg and Dr. Dre’s early albums. I changed the spelling a little and went from there. I soon learned that 6 letters was a bit much for a street art moniker. So I shortened it up a bit and began to work with 4 letter words and have since like 1994.

Q.. Do you have a favorite style of street art?
A. When it comes to the style that I have grabbed onto from the street art world it would be more of an East Coast Old School graffiti style. The likes of Ces, Cope, and T-Kid from NYC really grabbed my attention. Along with writers like Espo and Kaws from Philly I also found some influence from. When it comes to my graffiti like and dislike what draws me the most to an artist’s style is the attention to the letter form. I can’t stand when an artist just tries to make graffiti look colorful and detailed when in the end the letters look like crap and cannot be read. Very much like the world of DJ’s in hip hop and the theory of a Beat Junkie. I would consider myself a letter junkie.

I will also go on to say that I was heavily influenced by the graffiti of the mid 90’s in the San Francisco and Oakland California area. My sister moved out there in like 1993 and it was the first large city I ran around in during my integration to street art and art in general. I was attracted to the aesthetic of the west coast some, but the methods and locations that the artists used was eye opening to a young inspired artist like myself. My first trip to Cali I met Neon and Jase who at the time were some of the west coast kings and I shot picture of them painting a huge wall in what is now the famous Oakland yard. This exact wall was later featured in the book Graffito along with many of the other walls in the bay area that inspired me in the mid 90’s.

Q. Is there an "Ohio"style?
A. In the world of graffiti I would say that there is a style to Columbus but across Ohio it differs. In Columbus I would say that 2 direct influences created 2 eras of style in Columbus. In the early 90’s a writer named Orse moved here from LA and brought a very clean style of hand signature or Tag as well as a very clean 3d style. Many of the old school writers in Columbus took lead from Orse and developed a very clean letter style. I would contribute the works of artists like Dell, Res, Metro, Esa, Flip, and myself to the LA style brought here by Orse. In the late 90’s to early 2000’s some of the new school generation took some lead from Chicago and artists like Heist (R.I.P.) and Grey. All in all the styles that were adapted in Columbus stayed here and have become identified as our style. In 2003 I hosted the first and only to date meeting of the international graffiti battle called “Write 4 Gold”. In that competition Columbus artists ranked very high against the best of the best and in the hand style competition Columbus style dominated the event.

Q. Do you find your work diverging away from a street style at times, or is it always present as a fundamental aspect of your work?
A. You know I think my work will always reflect a street style at least to those familiar with east coast and old school graffiti. However I find myself working on abstract paintings that fall away from some of the aesthetics common to the street. However on some level I think my work will always have an edge that is undeniably street. Even when working abstracts or vinyl toys I tend to use spray paint close to 90% of the time.

Q. In your work I see elements of nature, urban landscape, and mark-making, could you tell us a little about these elements?
A. In respect to the nature side of my work I have always balanced my city boy lifestyle with nature. As a very young man I grew up on boats around Florida and Lake Erie. One of the first things I began to draw and paint was landscapes and ocean scenes. I also growing up had a pet cockatiel that was as close if not closer than your typical family dog. I grew to love this bird and I think that may be where the influence of birds began to appear in my work. The urban landscape is what I call home and where my comfort lies. It’s a sad but true story that concrete and cockroaches make me feel at home. Just yesterday I said a certain artist didn’t have enough pigeon shit on his shoes for me to accept as an urban artist. It takes a special kind of person to climb water towers and walk through pitch black abandoned warehouses. I take an even different person to find the beauty of these harsh environments. I think that’s why my work is a sexy balance between the two very different environments. Graffiti being my staple it’s hard for me not to have lettering involved in the work I produce. For about a year I steered clear of graffiti, but I am very much back to the basics in 2009 and try to incorporate it as much as possible. As evident in my new series of work called “Ghetto Birdz”.



Q. When I stopped in your studio, I noticed lots of records, I must ask, what do you listen to while you are working?
A. Well that’s a damn good question! The records come from my 12 year tenure as a hip hop DJ and turntablist. Being a DJ was like another venue to make beauty with words and language. There was one day that I bought used records from a place called Goldmine Records in Columbus and fell into a desperate money situation a week later. I tried to return the records for cash and was told be the owner and guy who sold them to me for about $40 that thety had no value and he wouldn’t buy them. I was so pissed that I decided they would have value as artwork if I painted them. This set off a whole new medium and has become a very common surface to paint in the lowbrow community.

As for what I listen to when I work well that varies in most likely way to extreme of a manner as I have been told per my Ipod playlist. If I put my tunes on random shuffle then you will hear everything from gangster rap to Jazz or Geto Boys to Dizzy Gillespie. The playlist could go from “Bitches ain’t shit but hoes and tricks” to “Come on feel the Noise” by Quiet Riot. When I lock into a creative mood and I have a need to stay focused I tend to stick to early 90’s hip hop like AZ, Tribe Called Quest, De LA, Soul, and the Beatnuts. At time I take indication from the lyrics of the songs an incorporate them into the visuals that I paint. Music becomes a very crucial part of my creative process. In some of my more recent works I have been embedding cassette tapes into the texture of my backgrounds.

Q. Also what's coming up for you in the future?

A.
*Currently showing work at the Spring Salon Show at Terra Gallery in the Short North Arts District. http://www.terra-gallery.com/

*April 10th, 2009 I will be a part of a group art show at Blue 77 Gallery In San Fransisco titled Humans Beware. This is a Custom toy show that also features Cowtown Lowbrow Collective member Clinton Reno. The list of artists and international press on this show has reached amazing proportions at this point and the show is yet to even open. See more info here: http://www.blue77gallery.com/

*May 16th, 2009 will present the Agora 2009 show at Junctionview studios. Come see my studio(112) transform into a formal gallery space with two separate bodies of work on display. The fist will be the De-K (decay) series that will reflect urban and rural decay embodied in a mixed media presentation and installation in my small gallery space. My main gallery space will present a series titled Off the Wall. These works will reflect progressive graffiti both in raw form on the walls and coordinating art pieces with a very vivid and bold color scheme. I will also be performing a very tribal live performance art piece in coordination with Kristina Issabell and High Jinks. this will involve themed costume design, live mural painting, fire spinning, and interactive music performance. This will by far be a performance not to miss this year. More details to come and check my blog for updates.

*May 9th, 2009 I will be involved in a group show at Lift Gallery in Detroit titled "Multiple Personalities". This is also an open platform Custom Toy show that will feature works from an array of International talent in one of the worlds premiere lowbrow galleries. I also have a fixed installation at the gallery that has grown into their logo and branding identity. You can see my installation in the past events section of the Lift website at: http://www.liftfootwear.com/madl_photos.htm

*June 5th, 2009 I will be a part of a group show at 1am Gallery In San Fransisco that is titled "Into the Darkness". This will be an open platform custom DIY toy show that I will be submitting work form the De-K series for. Make sure that you attend the Agora for hometown dibs on my work before it leaves for the Bay Area.

*June 2009 I will be presenting a solo show at Lift Gallery in Detroit. Dates are being determined and the tentative title for the show will be Ghetto Birdz and will reflect a new body of paintings and custom vinyl toys. The name ghetto birds stems from the release of my clothing line late 2009 or early 2010. Look for more information on my Blog
* July 2009 I will have a solo show at KickStart in the Short North Arts District. The body of work will reflect the cultural passion for two wheeled transportation including but not limited to Vespa’s, BMX, and motorcycles.

*Summer 2009 I will be presenting a full retail installation project along with a Public Mural at Black Sheep Board and Skate in the South Campus area of Ohio State University. Look for an explosion of color and detail on your ride up and down High Street @ the old Industry Standard site. Also in coordination with Mike Reed on design/programming look for the release of my portfolio website at www.coreroc.net along with a full marketing and branding overhaul.

*September 2009 I will be presenting small works and new clothing designs at the Independents Day festival in Downtown Columbus. Look for another presentation of Montana Gold x Coreroc X Dick Blick with a live painting expo and retail booth. I will also be doing a live mural painting most likely with Cyrus Fire and others at Urban Scrawl with a date TBD. Urban Scrawl will be held at Dodge Skatepark along with vendors, live music, and a skateboard competition. You can find me there working colaboritive murals with Cyrus Fire.

*October 2009 I Will be curating a show at Lift Gallery in Detroit for the Cowtown Lowbrom Collective that will be titled "MIGR8". It will be the first presentation of work by the collective outside of of Columbus. We will present a new series of works to a new demographic and help to put Bustown on the Lowbrow map. Look for more details and teasers in the future.

*December 2009 will mark the 3rd iteration of the C Note Art Show that is my pet project and introduction into art show curation on a massive level. WIth over $40,000 in sales generated from the previous 2 events in under a year the C Note is not only a huge success, but is fastly becoming a not to miss event in the city. The show and all of the money generated go directly back into the pockets of the artists and directly help with the creative drive in the city. This event has seen over 400 artists and close to 1300 different paintings.

* Late 2009 is the tentative date for the inaugural release of my new Clothing line and designs called Ghetto Bird. The line will reflect my love for the harmony between nature and the urban landscape. You will see in the first designs bolkd colors and imagery just like you will find in my art work. Look for a series of painting to parallel the unavailing.

*Skate park Project: I am in the process of developing a proposal for the City of Columbus to build and maintain a top of the line outdoor skate park within the 270 loop. This development will include the use of land that will work as a public park, public legal graffiti mural wall, and a concrete outdoor extreme sports complex. The theory will be to offer the younger demographic an area of the city to develop both artistically and physically through the use of this complex. the hope is that it will create a haven for summer outdoor events such as mural competitions, skateboard and BMX competitions as well as concerts and festivals. Although I look at this proposal as something I expect to take several years the bulk of the work and design concepts will be driven in 2009.

interview with Adam Brouillette

Q. How do you balance all the many many things you work on, I mean, The work you do at the Ohio Art league, your design company, your artwork, and your music... Does it just all fall into place or do you find yourself designating and allotting?

A. Lets just say that my iCal is due a hefty bonus sometime soon. It isn't easy. I'm often overwhelmed. But I keep in mind that what I am doing is so much more rewarding than watching TV or going to the bar and I hate being bored.

Q. I know that you and work with interns at your design company could you tell us a little about the mutual benefit of a program such as this?

A. I work with interns through the design company, with my artwork, and in the Couchfire Collective. I keep them busy. Sometimes I wonder what they are benefitting from watching me work and cleaning my messes.. but then I see what they can do when they leave. The amount of information that is menial to me is important and necessary for them. The amount of productivity from me increases. Plus it gives me a friend to sit and talk with, which is always a good thing.

Q. On your website I was excited to see you are now making t-shirts with your designs on them! Is this a new aspect of your work? Will there be more of this in the future?

A. It has been an on and off thing for me for a long time. I was/am a printmaker... and have been for a while. Shirts seem like natural expansions from that process. My work being commercially friendly helps too. I imagine there will be more designs soon. They come and go. The biggest problem is having the time to make them.

Q. I have been curious about the the name little red men, could you talk a little bit about this, when did you start with this character?

A. I started making the characters in 2000, as a sophomore at CCAD. Initially, they were all red... and small. When I went to the bank to open a business checking... to keep things separated... they asked me for the business name..... so there is it was. A web URL was available, and now it is the name. I sticks. The characters have developed alot since that time. But the name sticks. So why mess with something people remember?

Q. Do you listen to music when you work? if so got some favorites?

A. Most definitely. The Books are constantly playing. Prefuse 73. Girltalk. Boris. Various fast hardcore bands. Of Montreal. This list could go on forever. There is always something playing. And if it isn't music... I'm watching Star Wars or Napoleon Dynamite.

Thanks Adam!

Adam Brouillette

Adam working in his studio, located at Junctionview Studios, in the neighborhood of Grandview. yes, he is cutting out eyes, "An unlikly task" as Adam stated on my visit to his spacious studio. Adam is also a member of Couchfire Collective, an artists co-operative. Among many,many other things!
This is from his website:
My favorite foods are berries
My favorite drink is a smoothie
My favorite color is hansa yellow deep
My favorite TV show is The Price Is Right
My favorite artist is Yoshitomo Nara
My favorite animal is the raccoon
My favorite movie is Star Wars: A New Hope
My favorite cartoon is Dexter's Laboratory
My favorite book is Le Petit Prince
My favorite season is spring
My favorite thing to do is build stuff
Photo: Melissa Vogley Woods

Astronette

in commemoration
Originally uploaded by -astronette-

I asked Astronette, When did she start sewing...

I started sewing about 4 years ago selling my garments at a local handmade & vintage boutique in Asheville NC. Now I live in Chattanooga TN where my partner & I are opening a handmade shop/gallery. We'll hopefully be open near the end of April! The shop will have handmade clothing & functional art.... So far artists & designers from all over the U.S, Canada, Australia & plenty of local chattanoogans (of course)!
Photo: Astronette

Interview with Paul Volker

Q.could you describe your work a little bit for the blog,

A. My work focuses on streamlining the mechanical process of painting in order to maximize creative flexibility. The paintings I make have no canvas, no exterior frame, and everything is done with various blends of house paint. 60 years ago the artworld debated whether a painting needed content. I go one step further by basically making fun of whatever content shows up in my paintings. My art is art that ridicules art.

Q.Also, You are known to sell out at comfest, who buys your work?

A. I usually sell out at comfest because I can't seem to get more than about 300 paintings done ahead of time, and because they sell for $20 there. This year my goal is to paint 400. Many people buy more than one. Most of my works are purchased by persons of superior intelligence, sophistication and taste, who have an extra 20 bucks.

Q. Do you have a favorite painting right now?

A. My favorite painting right now is called "Peace Speaks a Universal Tongue". It pictures an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian soldier french kissing.

Q. If you could give one of your pieces to the current President what would you give him?

A. The painting I’d give to President Obama is: "Hard Times With Sparkling Unicorn", the one featured on my website, volkerworld.com. It's about how everybody thinks he's the magical pony who is going to solve all the problems, and what a load of crap that is.

Q.How about that last guy that was in there?

A. Do I have a painting for George W.Bush? I have one ogf a guy pushing a shopping cart. I can't imagine that Bush has ever pushed a shopping cart.

Q.Anything else to add for our audience?
A. You've heard of Impressionism? Expressionism? I refer to my style of work as "Neo-Recessionism". The theory behind this is that art has to respond to the current situation of the world, both economic and ecologic. . Neo-Recessionist art must be cheap to make, inexpensive to buy, easy to produce, and use discarded or recycled materials as much as possible. The theory is that when the process is reduced to bare essentials and production becomes monotonous, the work must then rely completely on creative genius to make up the difference, and it is upon this difference that the artist and the artist's work is thus judged. "Creative genius" here doesn't mean intelligence, creativity, cleverness or technical skill. It means being able to completely let go of all concets of "this is what art is" and "this is what an artist is" and "I define myself as an artist''. and just let the imagination run free. Art isn't art until you take the art out of art. And where does that leave me? I am a painted plywood hustler.



-Paul

An interview with Danny Mansmith

Q Do you listen to music in your space? if so do you have a favorite?

A it's important to me to built a feeling a mood in the studio when i'm working, i burn incense and play music like
bjork, tori amos, cranes, sade, asobi seksu, the sundays, cocteau twins, levy, david lynch, matmos, joanna newsom, joy division, pj harvey, rob zombie, tricky, crisis

Q What time of day do you work?

A i'm a morning person !
but sometimes making just happens when it wants to so i go along for the ride

Q Is your space close to home, in your home, or far from it?

A i'm 2 blocks from my studio so it's an extension of my home
the street here on damen in chicago is my strip, i'm up and down it all day

Q Do you work on one series at a time? or do you roam?

A i hate the term series, hehe
i just work and make what i'm inspired to make at that time
i think of it all the same
life and how i deal with it is my inspiration, art making is how i'm able to stay in this world for sure
with out it i would be nothing
my identity is linked to my work
at times i make things you can wear
and at times not

Q What are your dogs names? do they hang with you while you work?

A Ianto and manu
i share them with my ex partner so i bring them to the studio to hang out with and walk
they bring me much joy, they are my sunshines

Q How do you find a balance between the different forms your work takes? :)

A i don't it just happens and it's all ok

Thank you Danny!