Graffuturism has just posted a really interesting article/interviews with many top 'alternative' graff artists entitled, "A Look at Graffiti’s Evolution and Progression 2011 in the Artists own words. Part 1".. well worth a read!
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interview. Show all posts
Bruno Borges
There's a good interview with Brazilian graphic designer & illustrator, Bruno Borges over on PSDTuts....
See lots more of his work HERE
Gein KMag Interview & Guest Mix
A brief chat with American drum & bass duo Gein (aka Adam Darby and Ronny Eremija) leads us through their new release with Dieselboy's Human Imprint, touches on hometown scene politics, introduces their label Bad Chemistry and the whole thing comes together with an exclusive mix packed with new music.
Tell us about The Human Chemistry EP on Human Imprint, how did this release come about?
Adam was living in Atlanta about a year and a half ago, and started collaborating with a good friend, Mayhem. Together they got the tune Ghetto Dope rolling and when Adam moved back to Milwaukee we took it from there. Around the same time, Silent Killer and Breaker sent us a start to the tune 6 Feet, and after a few months of fine tuning both tunes were finished.
Dieselboy caught wind of Ghetto Dope and wanted it for the relaunch of Human Imprint and after hearing 6 Feet decided that they would fit perfectly together for an EP on Human. And seeing as how Human Imprint is one of the biggest drum & bass labels in America, we were happy to work with them on it.
Your tracks are well known for their dancefloor appeal while maintaining a strong dose of darkness, with new subgenre names popping up every other day, what do you call your own stuff?
Simply put, our music is drum & bass. We really do not like to get involved in all the separation of styles, because the more divisions and subgenres you have, more thought goes into what to name the new subgenres than actually listening to the quality of the music. If you had to actually put a name to our music, drum & bass will suffice just fine because our style is changing every day with every new influence we gain from life's daily complexities.
The blending and evolution of music styles is an ongoing process, and drum & bass has been at the front of the pack in that regard for the past ten years, where do you see it going in the next ten?
Drum & bass, to us, has always been a very fast growing style of music that has progressed considerably in the past ten years. It seems that this style of music fits well with all sorts of influences, so we see the next ten years as being basic limitless. We've seen artists use techno, minimal, dub, reggae, hardcore, hip hop, dubstep, and rock 'n' roll influences over the past ten years, and there have been some amazingly groundbreaking tunes coming out. We believe that the next ten years will be very interesting to listen to, because it could go anywhere.
A large chunk of your catalog includes hip-hop / rap vocals, so how do you choose the samples you use, and what other influences do you pull from when working on beats?
Our samples, as a group, come from our individual influences. We all listen to different styles of music on a day to day basis, so when we all get together we draw from each other, expressing where we want a project to go, and work from there.
The name Gein has some pretty dark connotations, how did you choose it, and why does it fit you guys so well?
The name "Gein" comes from a well known serial killer from an area near our hometown, Ed Gein. The name wasn't necessarily chosen to represent death, darkness, etc. but more to represent the complexities and unknown brain patterns involved in such actions, which when transformed into music gives you the power to really explore the direction your music will take, without much outside interference.
We felt the name gave us the ability to basically do whatever we feel is right with our music and not worry so much on what people wanted us to do.
Six years of working together in the studio and playing shows all over is no small feat, have you had any trouble balancing your friendship with the work involved?
Of course. We have been friends for a long time and nerves tend to flare up at moments, but somehow we always tend to work everything out for the best.
What kind of reception do you get playing out in your hometown, and has it always been that way? Where are the best crowds you've seen, and what are your favourite places to play?
When we speak about our hometown, Milwaukee, there are some positive and negative things about it. It's a small city, which helps when you look at things like people knowing what you're doing in the music world, and local support for shows you play at. The past few years though, the scene has become somewhat divided and local support is very hit or miss, which is very disappointing, but at the same time it's okay because we are not confined to our hometown. Gein has toured all over the United States multiple times, and the European tours have all been amazing. Some of the greatest crowds we've seen in the USA have been in LA, Atlanta, and Portland, and Europe as a whole has been pretty amazing, with unbelievable responses in Russia, Portugal, Serbia at the Exit festival and countless others.
Do you have any side-projects or alias stuff we should be watching for?
We thought about side projects and naming them different things, but we decided to stick with the name Gein for any projects we do together in any style of music. So anything we do musically will be pushed on our Bad Chemistry Recordings imprint or on saintGEIN's Habit Recordings.
Thanks for putting together a mix for us, what can listeners expect?
First and foremost thanks for giving us the opportunity to do this mix. We are proud to represent our new label Bad Chemistry and the music on it, as well as all the artists we support and labels we are on worldwide. We have done this for a few years now with our Skinsuit Sessions mixes that have done quite well for us and, more recently, our Bad Chemistry podcasts have helped us really push our label's sounds. So for this, we fused all ideas together and came up with a mix that showcases upcoming Bad Chemistry releases, great music from our friends and, more importantly, what we believe is music that has staying power.
Words: Ty 'Dubcomm' Metford
Download Gein's guest mix
Tracklisting
- Cooh and The Panacea - The Large Hadron Collider (Prospect)
- Forbidden Society - Sad Truth (SPL Remix) (Counterstrike)
- Demo and Ewun - Tek Jam (Bad Chemistry)
- Arsenic - Aneurysm (VIP) (Bad Chemistry)
- Counterstrike, Silent Killer and Breaker - The Visitor (Guerilla)
- Gein and Counterstrike - Pentagram (Gein VIP) (Human Imprint)
- Counterstrike and Zardonic - Hardcore Will Never Die (Human Imprint)
- Demo - O.D. (Gein and Counterstrike Remix) ( Human Imprint)
- Demo - O.D. (Counterstrike Dubstep Remix) (Human Imprint)
- SPL and Triage - Valhalla (Hollow Point)
- Symbl and Bare feat. Messinian - Bad Habits (Sub Human)
- Two Fingers - That Girl (Spor Remix) (Big Dada Recordings)
- Gein and Mayhem - Ghetto Dope (Human Imprint)
- nPHONIX - False Flag (Lost Soul)
- SPKTRM feat. Dark Cube - F.W.C. (Bad Chemistry)
- SPKTRM - Anomalous Singularity (Bad Chemistry)
- Dylan and Kitech - Lights Out (Freak)
- Dub Elements and Venganza - Dick Brain (Resistance)
- Telekinesis and Neurotech - Filth (Breed 12 Inches)
- Thought, Dstruct and Kantyze - Midnight Dogs (Vampire)
- Gein, Silent Killer and Breaker - Six Feet (Human Imprint)
- Forbidden Society - The Smasher (Kathrsys Remix) (Freak)
- Gein and Cooh - Schizm (Bad Chemistry)
- Gein - Motherfucker (Bad Chemistry)
"This Fear You May Know" Exhibition And White Walls Skinner Interview!
Skinner’s solo show “This Fear You May Know” opens on Saturday, August 14th at White Walls from 7 – 11 pm. If you’d like a sneak peak of Skinner’s work and to learn more about him, check out this exclusive interview!
This Fear You May Know opens on August 14, 2010 and runs through September 4, 2010. Blending variant sources of fantasy art accented with nuances of social commentary, Skinner’s works in this exhibit illustrate his observations of a growing obsession with destruction and conflict, and how fear guides the course of social action.
The artwork in This Fear You May Know will be comprised of 24 medium and large-scale acrylic and airbrushed paintings, sculptural pieces, and custom air-brushed masks. These pieces are based on the artist’s interests in mythology, the occult, cultural myths and folk tales, and modified by his nostalgic approach to comics and magazines.
1. How long do you spend on an average sized painting?
I can spend up to a week on an average size painting…If life goes easy on me for a week straight, I can get a considerable amount of work done…but things happen…design jobs to pay immediate bills, music, rabbits need to get neutered, fixing cars…business and meetings…if that stuff could stop then I would be getting paintings done at an exponential rate…which I have essentially tried to do for this show…
2. Your favorite comic book?
My favorite all time comic book would be the Hulk from growing up…But as a strange and very particular adult of bizarre tastes I would have to say Black Hole by Charles Burns…there are many strange zines out there right now as well!..Super Gods by Warren Ellis is amazing right now and The Walking Dead of course.
3. What does your studio usually look like?
You know right now its been pretty clean…Once I started freaking out about keeping these new paintings safe, I started cleaning it out…I took all my big sculptures and giant heads from previous show/ installations and went to the packing place I send my paintings from and they let me do a giant installation there that is permanent so I wouldn’t have to worry about it…Theres Giant severed heads hanging from the ceiling of this rad shipment center now.
4. Your biggest fear as a child?
As a child my fears were very dream based…and now that I examine them as an adult, they are very clearly psychology 101…my fears were all based on the needs and reactions of adults around me…what they wanted, how I should react and what emotional needs I could supply for them…If they would have just not used me and my sister as bargaining chips in their selfish emotional tug of war I would be chillin’…I cant stand people who have children to fulfill some kind of shallow self appreciating, pseudo cultural tradition of reproducing themselves…get over yourselves, do some personal/emotional development and earn the right to lovingly care for another person…Jesus Christ!
5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A really famous, narcissistic asshole who hates what he has become. Or a total fucking burnout.
6. Despite sex, race, and cultural differences, do you think there is something that connects all humans together?
Oh yeah…emotions…whether they are oppressed, damaged, open or distorted…we all have them and are all trying to be “okay”…The lucky ones have been fostered at an early age to accept their emotions..You cannot get away from them…it is best to learn to live with our feelings in a natural healthy way so we can be all happy and supportive of each other…and not punch each other out and road rage on folks…the problem is, we have unhealthy cultural/social conditioning that tries to mold the way we behave in our roles as feminine and masculine people…we are taught that it is best to act a certain way and then it leads to complete douchery and insensitivity. Magazines, ads, and media are there to reinforce it as well in case you ever forget that there are standards that you will never live up to.
7. Best childhood memory?
Anytime I was allowed to be….running around with other kids just wailing on some kickball or wrecking some water slides…I really really loved it when I could just ride my bike for hours behind my house alone.
8. What does your cosmic mayhem look like?
There is a formless and writhing mass in the center of the universe that is slowly pulling everything towards it…it is all colors shifting and folding unto itself and none you can comprehend…It is hideous, liquid, and horrible. It moves as a fleeting dream never to be waken from…It speaks in your mind with aching whispers and sickening memories that send you into a feverish illness not unlike dying…There are no rational laws your mind can abide, no emotional parallels your form can distinguish as a frail mortal body shatters at the absolute inability to understand. This cosmos is not for you and I…we are les than a ripple in the smallest puddle.
9. What does bliss look like for you?
Wrestling with some puppies! Oh…and camping by a river with Kristie and some friends…Go on a hike and take some mushrooms..AND! No deadlines!
10. Favorite thing to eat and drink?
This Fear You May Know opens on August 14, 2010 and runs through September 4, 2010. Blending variant sources of fantasy art accented with nuances of social commentary, Skinner’s works in this exhibit illustrate his observations of a growing obsession with destruction and conflict, and how fear guides the course of social action.
The artwork in This Fear You May Know will be comprised of 24 medium and large-scale acrylic and airbrushed paintings, sculptural pieces, and custom air-brushed masks. These pieces are based on the artist’s interests in mythology, the occult, cultural myths and folk tales, and modified by his nostalgic approach to comics and magazines.
1. How long do you spend on an average sized painting?
I can spend up to a week on an average size painting…If life goes easy on me for a week straight, I can get a considerable amount of work done…but things happen…design jobs to pay immediate bills, music, rabbits need to get neutered, fixing cars…business and meetings…if that stuff could stop then I would be getting paintings done at an exponential rate…which I have essentially tried to do for this show…
2. Your favorite comic book?
My favorite all time comic book would be the Hulk from growing up…But as a strange and very particular adult of bizarre tastes I would have to say Black Hole by Charles Burns…there are many strange zines out there right now as well!..Super Gods by Warren Ellis is amazing right now and The Walking Dead of course.
You know right now its been pretty clean…Once I started freaking out about keeping these new paintings safe, I started cleaning it out…I took all my big sculptures and giant heads from previous show/ installations and went to the packing place I send my paintings from and they let me do a giant installation there that is permanent so I wouldn’t have to worry about it…Theres Giant severed heads hanging from the ceiling of this rad shipment center now.
4. Your biggest fear as a child?
As a child my fears were very dream based…and now that I examine them as an adult, they are very clearly psychology 101…my fears were all based on the needs and reactions of adults around me…what they wanted, how I should react and what emotional needs I could supply for them…If they would have just not used me and my sister as bargaining chips in their selfish emotional tug of war I would be chillin’…I cant stand people who have children to fulfill some kind of shallow self appreciating, pseudo cultural tradition of reproducing themselves…get over yourselves, do some personal/emotional development and earn the right to lovingly care for another person…Jesus Christ!
5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A really famous, narcissistic asshole who hates what he has become. Or a total fucking burnout.
6. Despite sex, race, and cultural differences, do you think there is something that connects all humans together?
Oh yeah…emotions…whether they are oppressed, damaged, open or distorted…we all have them and are all trying to be “okay”…The lucky ones have been fostered at an early age to accept their emotions..You cannot get away from them…it is best to learn to live with our feelings in a natural healthy way so we can be all happy and supportive of each other…and not punch each other out and road rage on folks…the problem is, we have unhealthy cultural/social conditioning that tries to mold the way we behave in our roles as feminine and masculine people…we are taught that it is best to act a certain way and then it leads to complete douchery and insensitivity. Magazines, ads, and media are there to reinforce it as well in case you ever forget that there are standards that you will never live up to.
7. Best childhood memory?
Anytime I was allowed to be….running around with other kids just wailing on some kickball or wrecking some water slides…I really really loved it when I could just ride my bike for hours behind my house alone.
8. What does your cosmic mayhem look like?
There is a formless and writhing mass in the center of the universe that is slowly pulling everything towards it…it is all colors shifting and folding unto itself and none you can comprehend…It is hideous, liquid, and horrible. It moves as a fleeting dream never to be waken from…It speaks in your mind with aching whispers and sickening memories that send you into a feverish illness not unlike dying…There are no rational laws your mind can abide, no emotional parallels your form can distinguish as a frail mortal body shatters at the absolute inability to understand. This cosmos is not for you and I…we are les than a ripple in the smallest puddle.
9. What does bliss look like for you?
Wrestling with some puppies! Oh…and camping by a river with Kristie and some friends…Go on a hike and take some mushrooms..AND! No deadlines!
10. Favorite thing to eat and drink?
I love vegan Thai food! Indian food! And I started going to this Ethiopian restaurant that rules! Queen of Sheba!!
Check out White Walls for more.
ESPVisuals Interview with Nathan Ota
Proud to bring you an interview with Nathan Ota
Tell us a little about yourself and for how long have you been an artist?
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. My mother was an artist so I'm guessing I got that mostly from her. I don't think I would be doing what I'm doing right now if it wasn't for the full support of my parents. I have always drawn ever since I can remember, thats all I wanted to do. I started with copying everything I could get my hands on from my brother's comic books to old punk rock flyers. In Junior High School, I was exposed to Graffiti Art and that was it, I was hooked. I don't think my passion for the traditional arts came quickly, it wasn't until I got to college that I really started to get inspired by the masters.
Your work is extremely colorful and vibrant, what inspires you to produce this kind of work and what techniques, mediums etc. do you use to achieve this?
I think as far as my paintings, it's all color theory, and design. I sincerely feel that without the knowledge of color theory, light logic and composition, painting can be really difficult. It's hard to pinpoint what inspires me to paint. I think it is everything from my daily experiences to my teaching experiences and my students. If that all fails, I love to look at art, that one never fails! I paint with Acrylics on wood panels, I prefer Acrylics for its fast drying tendencies and I really don't use any mediums with my paints, just water to thin them out. As far as my paints, I like to work from dark to light and from background to foreground. I like to keep things very simple with my palette, about 6 colors plus black.
What are your most memorable and exciting experiences during your life as an artist?
I have a few, my first art gig was sort of being a set designer doing graffiti art for Michael Jackson's Video, "The Way You Make Me Feel". I remember feeling real important that my name was on the list to go see them shoot the video. I also got to do some CD covers for Henry Rollins of Black Flag when I was in college. It was so exciting to see my work in the record stores. Once I got out of school and in the real world, I got my first Illustration job for a Magazine called Movieline. I couldn't wait till the issue came out and see my Illustration on the magazine racks! All 2x3 inches of it! I was so proud of myself! After 10 years of doing Commercial Illustration, I started teaching at Santa Monica College and Otis College of Art and Design and pretty much cut my freelance work in half and put more emphasis on teaching. It was a hard transition but a choice I made but after seeing my students grow to much bigger and better things, they all inspired me to get back and really continue what I left behind. This time I made a full commitment and went all in and the galleries and jobs started calling. The rest is history. I have no regrets, everything leads to something and it all happens for a reason. For me, I consider it a great journey and I can't wait to see what's around the corner.
Which artists do you relate to the most and what type of art do you enjoy the most?
Way too hard of a question to answer, I have way too many to mention. I have always gravitated toward popular culture so my early influences came from Punk Rock flyers and street artists. It really wasn't till I got to college where I really got exposed to more art from traditional, abstract to contemporary.
How have you seen your talent and style transform over time and what were the influences?
When I got into the Art Center College of Design, I really wanted to get away from the "Graffiti Culture", it always had a negative connotation about it. I felt that if I wanted to be taken as a serious artist, I needed to grow up and experience new ways and ideas in the arts. It worked out fine for me but I wasn't completely happy with my work. I got work and was able to pay my bills but something was always missing, I never felt that it was me. I guess all artist struggle with similar problems and in a way, it was a blessing in disguise. It kept me working on different approaches, making mistakes and really liking them! It all lead me to what I'm doing today. After years of teaching and not painting as much, I got a call from a Gallery in Chicago to be in a 4 person show. As it turns out, it was owned by a person that used to be an Art Director from way back that remembered my work. It was the best thing to happen to me and my career as an artist! I worked on a body of work for that show and it just felt right. For once, I was painting for myself and started to see the graffiti influence come back mixed with my new knowledge in painting. It was a good mix for me and the right time to bring it into my work.
What is the message you try to deliver through you art, or how is your art perceived by others?
Most of my paintings are narrative, I usually have something very simple to say and I hope that it is successfully executed and communicated well. My paintings are usually about my everyday day life, some good and some bad. I guess I could say that there is a little about me in all my work. I also like to play with words and see how they could be translated in a humorous way. The most common question I get is how do you get your paintings to look like they are glowing?
Where do you think your artistic style is heading and where would you like it to lead?
I really don't know what category or style you would want to put me in. There is so much separation with the Arts and I just want to paint, have fun, and keep striving to do something different.
What are you currently working on and what future plans can we expect to see?
Right now, I'm working on a solo show for September at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles. It has been almost 2 years since my last show in Los Angeles so I'm a bit nervous. I'm also working on some group shows coming earlier this year. I try not to do too many group shows, but this year, there are some benefit art shows for some good causes that I couldn't refuse. I have a few things that are also coming out but I can't really say what they are right now. It would ruin it all! It comes out the same month as my show. You would have to keep up with my blog to find out what's new.
Don't really know what is next, your guess is as good as mine!
Some amazing prints available here.
Be sure to follow Nathan's Blog
ESPVisuals Interview with Ivan Shopov / Cooh
Today we have an interview with the extremely creative Ivan Shopov aka. Cooh
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Ivan Shopov and I am freelance artist and music producer from Bulgaria. Born in a small town called Troyan, that's situated in the middle of the Balkan Mountain in Bulgaria.
How long have you been illustrating and what are your influences?
I started with drawing when I was 6 as my mother is an artist too and I grew up in her studio. Later on I studied in the school of applied arts in my home town, taking ceramic and sculpture classes. Then after another 5 years I graduated at the National Academy of Arts in Bulgaria with speciality of graphic fine arts. So now I have been doing graphic prints and drawings for 13 years. My influences come mostly from the shapes of the nature twisted through the modern and classical art.
You are also a musician, producing electronic music. Tell us more.
I have been doing electronic music for the last 11 years and I have over 40 drum and bass and dubstep vinyl releases with my aliases Cooh and Balkansky.
Currently working on a few new projects in different styles. One of them is with my new alias for techno music - Drum Kid and another for hard and trippy dubstep - Underhill together with Dean Rodell and Current Value.
How does your music relate to your art or vice versa?
Its all connected, as I am a really creative person and cant stay a minute without doing something with my eyes and ears.
For me the art is in both directions and both help each other in the creative process.
When i do music its the same sence of composition, contrast and balance you have to apply for drawing a picture, so most of the time I spend half of my day drawing, the other half doing beats in the studio.
3 words to describe your art?
Organic, Abstract, Freedom.
3 words to describe your music?
Energy, Emotions, Future.
What are you currently working on?
Preparing new try point prints for my future exhibition in Belgium and setting up a portfolio with my current works to get some more attention over my art from galleries and art collectors.
Musicwise I am finishing some collabs for big labels, working on my solo stuff as Cooh, Balkansky and Drum Kid and sorting my tours all around the globe.
Awesome dubstep promo mix
BALKANSKY aka COOH - DUBSTEP PROMO MIX JULY2009 by COOH
COOH - HARD KNOCKS PROMO MIX 2008 by COOH
Cooh - Metal vs Drum & Bass mix by COOH
BALKANSKY aka COOH - DUBSTEP PROMO MIX JULY2009 by COOH
COOH - HARD KNOCKS PROMO MIX 2008 by COOH
Cooh - Metal vs Drum & Bass mix by COOH
Podcast for the mighty Offkey
View Ivan's gallery here.
More of Cooh's dnb here.
As well as Ivan's dubstep project Balkansky, techno project Drum Kid, jazz folk electronica project.
ESPVisuals Interview With Skinner
As one of my favorite artists I am proud to present an interview with Skinner
as well as his latest dark mastery.
as well as his latest dark mastery.
What inspired you to become an artist?Oh man i don't know what inspired me to become an artist as much as i was just a creative kid...things seemed so much bigger and more fantastic...dinosaurs and Hulk hogan, are you kidding me? what kid didn't just automatically know that those were the best things in life? American kid anyways...which i suppose points to our penchant for violence...You learn early...young American training...study aggressive behavior and dominate that ass...for me though I suppose I knew I wanted art to be a job when I couldn't tolerate my boss's weird trips....plus i get to smoke pot and listen to Black Sabbath....
Did you always have this style or what were your influences?I have always had a certain feel or vibe to what i do but My style and skills have definitely branched out away from where I was...I have really tried to open myself to committing and being very present within what I am doing at any time...Much like when I was a kid...I'm trying to get back to that raw focus...uninterrupted and solid....
Which 3 words would you use to describe your art?Harrowing, engaging, and undeterred
Did you attend an art school or how did you develop your skills?I guess I would have gone to an art school...too broke..white trash witches aint got no money...we learn the old ways and pass em/ down to the youngin's...make sure they know how to get by with perseverence and will power...don't need no schoolin' to understand the darkness of the universe..you just gotta open them eyes...it's all around you.
Which artists do you find interesting?Rosaleen Norton, Rory Hayes, every artist in the extreme canvas book ( hand painted movie posters from Ghana), Mars-1, Richard Corben, Alex Pardee, Mike Mignola, Barry McGee, Matt Fox, Irving Norman...Bosch...There's alot more but those are some of the ones I really like...Frazetta, Wrightson...etc.
What are you currently working on?I have a solo show at white walls in august...a bunch of littler shows until then...a lurker toy comin out next month...some prints in a week..hopefully a book this year...writing new music i love...goin to Japan in November i think...but the show in August is definitely what I am focused on...hopefully i will have a new cartoon done for the show...some sculptures and halloween mask replicas in my own style...also a t shirt line in the next couple months...snowboards for capita...just finished the designs for the new season of decks and everything for blood wizard...trying to practice my shredsmanship on my guitar...junk like that
More of Skinner's art can be seen on www.theartofskinner.com
Exclusive Skinner iPhone wallpapers soon available on ESPVisuals.
Exclusive Skinner iPhone wallpapers soon available on ESPVisuals.
Nathan Spoor Interview On ESPVisuals
ESPVisuals is proud to present an Exclusive Interview with the incredible artist Nathan Spoor.
Give us a short introduction about yourself.
My name is Nathan Spoor. I spend my time being creative, painting, writing, and enjoying life each day I've got.
3 words to explain your work
Poetry
Discovery
Mystery
What is your outlook on reality?
I think reality is great for what it is. What's truly amazing is that we call it reality and yet know almost nothing about how it works.
Although your art is very "suggestive", what is the message your artwork portrays?
I think the message in my work is pretty adventuresome and curious about the mysteries of life. Each piece and portion of a painting addresses something different about situations, individuals and some pretty entertaining visual ideas. So perhaps the message is about furthered interest in exploring each moment of life and being.
Which other artists have had a considerable impact or influence on your life as an artist?
So many artists have really helped form my way of making and seeing things. All my teachers throughout schools and universities. I was introduced to surreal art as a glazed over section in art history classes and really couldn't get away from it. That was thankfully after I'd combed through so many earlier stages and could appreciate what art history is about. I'm really fascinated by the growth of the arts, and with artists and individual talents. Since everything affects something else in some manner, I'm curious about the effects of all of that on my work too.
Being from Los Angeles, how much would you say the art mecca influences your art?
Well I do live here, and have lived here for the last 8 and a half years. But I'm from Texas, so the influences I've noticed are pretty real. I think every place or city or situation really affects us whether we realize it or not. For me, moving from a place where there was plenty of space and not enough opportunity to a place with tons of people and all kinds of opportunity was a great move. I've seen LA and CA have an overall influence on my work. The skies, the clouds, the trees and architectural elements around CA have all influenced me and my work.
As far as living in an art mecca, that has many advantages also. When I moved here, there were all kinds of opportunities for young artists if you were dedicated and talented enough to find them. Now there are many more galleries created to service all levels of artists and collector needs. Living here provides a lot of convenience for the lifestyle as well. There's always something inspiring going on, and people really do appreciate art here on a wide variety of levels.
What are your current projects?At the moment I'm working on a bunch of new pieces. Last June I started working in a new process, concentrating only on the line and spatial elements of the work intensely before even starting in with color. At the moment I have about 20 in the works, with line underpaintings slowly reaching the next stage of the work, color.
I'm an Artist In Residence with Tonny Sørensen's artist development company, Planet Illogica. We've been working on several things, including clothing and book ideas. The Pi team has several exciting things coming up that I'm very excited about being involved in. Recently we've done the Manifest Equality event in LA, as well as the big upcoming book fair later this year.
I've also been doing quite a bit of writing, consistently being published in Hi Fructose, Juxtapoz and BL!SSS magazines. Embracing the written aspect of creativity has really opened up a lot of areas for me, both personally and professionally. It's an amazing aspect of communicating that can be very freeing that I can get lost in when not engaging the fine art side of things.
See more of Nathan's amazing work at nathanspoor.com
Prints, Books, Merchandise and more available from his store.
Or contact Nathan here.
Follow ESPVisuals for more exclusive interviews coming soon.
