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15
Hello Jeff and welcome to NotRandomArt. The current issue is revolving around the problem of communication and identity. Is there any particular way you would describe your identity as an artist but also as a human being in dynamically changing, unstable times? In particular, does your cultural substratum/identity form your aesthetics?
Communication is the way two people interact. Identity is achieved by the symbolic words that are unanimously accepted. Think about that for a second. I create this reality but I share it with your own perspective.
Would you like to tell us something about your artistic as well as life background? What inspired you to be in this artistic point in your life when you are now?
Failure. I’m still trying to convince people I’m still alive. I was a student at the Cleveland Institute of Art for a year and a half. As my friends can attest to I spent most of my time at the Euclid Tavern and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Teaching myself self-illumination through poverty and humility.
Could you identify a specific artwork that has influenced your artistic practice or has impacted the way you think about your identity as a participant of the visual culture?
No nothing specific. I’m quite loyal to the artists that inspire me. Yet you would be hard pressed to figure out which ones they are. I am the rare artist that has figured out how to distance himself from his influences. Best advice I ever received as an artist was this “ Figure out what you do better than anyone else and concentrate on that”
Many of your works carry an autobiographical message. Since you transform your experiences into your artwork, we are curious, what is the role of memory in your artistic productions? We are particularly interested if you try to achieve a faithful translation of your previous experiences or if you rather use memory as starting point to create.
The titles of my paintings are the only thing that is autobiographical. Even then it's rare a title suggests itself in the process of painting. Memory is crucial. I titled an early painting as “I’ve Forgotten more than I can Remember” This is such a truth for me. My figures are ideals and representational constructs of what humanity is, was and will be. Don’t get me wrong I’d like my favorite Pornstars to pose for me but I’m not rich nor famous so I try to make good on what my memory can remember and my hand can translate.
What is the role of technique in your practice? In particular are there any constraints or rules that you follow when creating?
Technique is nothing more than transferring the paint to the board. For me this is the easy part of painting. I start with an abstract expression The process of getting the figures to appear can take months of conjuring through meditation. I have to consciously create them into the painting before I start to paint. Rules are for those who have no imagination. For those who have preconceived ideas I am a disappointment.
How do you see the relationship between emotional and intellectual perception of your work? In particular, how much do you consider the immersive nature of the viewing experience?
I ‘m glad you separated this question between what the artist paints and what the viewer can see and comprehend. As the artist painting is a complete immersion. I live in my basement. It has a 6ft bar. My studio is right beside it. My bed is on the other side of the bar. I live and sleep with my paintings. Creating a subconscious bond with them. Paintings I finished months and years ago intermingle with my current set of unrealized paintings. People see all kinds of strange $hit in my paintings from dogs and horses to cityscapes. I think this is the reason I haven’t explored color. Painting in black and white activates the viewer's imagination to interpret the chaos into a more personal experience. Into stranger and weirder realities than I had intended. The viewer is more of a creator than I am.