Google

Monday, July 28, 2008

Interview with ZOSO

q)What is your name?

a)ZOSO. It’s not my real name, but that’s what I show under.

q) Where do you live and work?

a)Central Los Angeles,I have my studio in my apartment, it’s a craftsman style '4-plex', which is one quarter of a big old house.

q)What is your creative process like?

a)I never really have a formula per-say, so it’s always a bit different. Basically I always try to do things a little differently each time, which has it’s pro's and con's.I always just experiment and do what feels right at the time, and I have a lot of happy accidents. Lately I almost always do an underpainting and go over the whole thing again, its kind of a abbreviated version of the renaissance technique, and I am able to get some great depth and richness from it. It is quite time consuming though.

q)What is your favorite medium?

a)Oil paint, on panels. I used to paint in only acrylics, but I find the oils give me a lot more freedom and time to play around with shading.

q)What is your current favorite subject?

a)As is with my creative process, I can never stick with a solid theme for very long.


q)How long does it take for you to finish a piece?

a)It depends, usually several days. It’s very hard to keep track of how many hours I spend on a painting because I usually work on a couple things at the same time, and I take a lot of breaks. I'm not lazy, just easily distracted.

q)What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?

a)hmmmm... I think the things I am most proud of is getting respect from my contemporaries. I have done a drawing trade with one of my all time favorite living artists, Greg 'Craola' Simkins, that felt very good. I did a collaborative mural with some amazing artists at a big convention down here, those are the things I really am proud of. Getting into nicer galleries and hanging on the same wall as people I hold on a pedestal gives me a nervous warm fuzzy feeling.

q)Are there any contemporary artists that you love?

a)Too many to list. There is a explosion of great art going on right now, especially here on the west coast. It feels like a new renaissaince and everybody is feeding off one another. But the great thing with technology is that the world is small now and its not exclusive to one region. Art is cool again for the younger generation, and there is so much talent its mind boggling. I try not to pay too much attention and study their work too much because I don't want to unintentionally steal their ideas or let them influence my style too much. These days having a strong personal style and original ideas are the most important things.

q)Can we buy your art anywhere?

a)Well, I try to keep my website (
www.zoso1.com) updated on what pieces are avaliable, but I will admit that it is not the most clear and user friendly. I will soon do an update to make it more clear and user friendly to see the pieces I have for sale through myself, but in the meantime of course you can just email me with any absurd question. My stuff is always avaliable through gallery shows first, so to get the first chance to buy something its best to get on my mailing list so you can check out whatever gallery I'm about to show at. My next show is a solo show at Munky King here in LA, they are a vinyl toy company as well as a store and a gallery. munkyking.com check it out!

q)Anything that people should know about that we don’t??

a)HHO gas (nothing to do with me or my art but I think its the answer to our energy woes). Google that shit, cars can run on water!

q)What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?

a)Sketch every day. I always have a sketchbook going and fill them cover to cover, I'm on number 15.

q)What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?

a)Well, it’s weird, but believe it or not I actually have fans. The thought of random people I don’t know being really into what I'm doing and getting a hold of me is very very encouraging. But on the adverse, the naysayers are equally as motivating. Trying to make it as a fine artist is not an easy gig, so when things get discouraging I feel like I have something to prove. I got a chip on my shoulder and am willing to fight to reach my goals.


q)How do you describe your work to those who are unfamiliar with it?

a)Short answer to a stranger I just met: "oh, you know, its kind of illustrative, character driven stuff, I do paintings of goofy little dudes mostly. Here, take a sticker and go check out the website". I don’t like explaining my work too much, especially if you've never seen it.

q)What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?

a)I went to a small community college (I don’t know if you have those in Italy, it’s the same as a university only it’s very cheap and non-exclusive, like a second rate university). I never graduated, but took a lot of art classes for a couple years and learned a lot. As soon as I quit school and started making work for myself, I kind of dropped everything I learned and painted in my own style, but later on I tried to combine my formal training with my own make-it-up-as-you-go-along technique. So I am probably 40% trained and 60% self taught.

q)Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?

a)Well, my whole setup is important to making my art, but if suddenly my easel or my nice oil paints disappeared it wouldn't slow me down a bit. I think maybe the most important element to my creative process is music. I always listen to music when I work and if I couldnt do that it would be an issue.

q)Who are your influences?

a)Historical artists from all over the place! Gothic art, the renaissance, romanticism, baroque, all that stuff is amazing. Art nouveau especially gets me exited. But also floating around my noggin is the pop culture I grew up in, cartoons and movies and graffiti. We are standing on the shoulders of giants. So much has already been done in the name of art.

q)What inspires you to create?

a)Relationships. The desire to succeed and leave an immortal trace of my existence in the world. My city. Traveling. Emotions good and bad. Other amazing talented people of all forms.


q)…your contacts…

a) http://www.zoso1.com/

zoso@zoso1.com

myspace.com/zoso1

nevrliedown.blogspot.com

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Interview with Andrew Loughnane

q)What is your name?

a)Andrew Loughnane

q) Where do you live and work?

a)Chicago, Illinois.

q)What is your creative process like?

a)Well, my work is mostly based on everyday life, so the process is varied. I’d say that it’s mostly developed and derived from the inspiration that one can find in the poetry and beauty of quotidian experience. The singer from the punk band JFK once summed it up best in a skateboard video I once saw as a teenager: Live, just live.

q) What is your favorite medium?

a)I like them all and am willing to do whatever it takes to bring an idea or a feeling into fruition.

q)What is your current favorite subject?

a)The woman I love. Without a doubt, she is my favorite subject!

q)How long does it take for you to finish a piece?

a)Anywhere from 30 seconds to three months to three years, depending on what I’m working on.


q)What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?

a)Survival.
q)Are there any contemporary artists that you love?
a)There are countless contemporary artists that inspire the hell out of me, though my heart lies in figurative marble sculpture. Funny, yet true.

q)Can we buy your art anywhere?

a)I hope to have a work for sale at an apartment gallery called 65 Grand here in Chicago this summer. If anybody can move that Braille piece, Bill Gross can! Apart from that, some of the works on my website are still around, unless they’re noted as part of a collection or have been destroyed. It never hurts to ask, provided anyone is actually interested in that sort of thing. I’m thinking that most of my work isn’t exactly marketable though, which is why I’m still working a day job.

q) Anything that people should know about that we don’t??

a)Of course. There are tons of things that I should know about too, but don’t. Tell me what I should know about first, so I can feel nice and stupid first. Then we’ll start a little dialogue and sort things out as need be.

q)What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?

a)Quit now! No, seriously, just keep at it and never give up. Easier said than done, this I know for sure. Just keep at it and believe in what you’re doing. Sometimes it seems like none of us are meant to be doing what we’re doing. This feeling will unfortunately and inevidably ebb and flow in all of our lives, at any given time.

q)What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?

a)There’s a tiny, inexplicable place inside of all of us that keeps us all going.


q) How do you describe your work to those who are unfamiliar with it?

a)I tell people that I do whatever it takes. Full stop and period: WHATEVER IT TAKES. I’ve been described by art mogul Sue Spaid as a “post-studio, neo-conceptual artist,” for whatever that’s worth. I’m thankful that she included me in a lecture of hers once, as I am thankful for anyone else who references me as an artist.

q)What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?

a)I went to conventional art school as a child at a school called Baker Hunt academy in Covington, Kentucky. After that, it was growing up on a skateboard, studying philosophy in college and spending a few years as an exchange student in Germany that got me into the nonconventional mess I’m in now. Apart from that, I just take things in stride and hope for more opportunities to continue making work, in any form I can. Currently, it’s a batch of record covers for Daniel Martin Moore, whose debut album will be coming out on Sub Pop records in a few months.

q)Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?

a)Tool: my bicycle. Material: air.

q)Who are your influences?

a)Plato, Nietzsche, Hume, Beethoven, Haydn, Phil Lynott, Jeff Koons, Martin Puryear, Bas Jan Ader, Chris Burden, Mark Twain, Alain de Botton, John Cardiel, tons of other big names. Then it’s my friends, family, co-workers, random people from the street, and basically all of the greats that have graced the planet. Basically, whoever inspires me, however they do it.

q)What inspires you to create?

a)Name it: Anything and everything. My bio from the Weston Art Gallery from back when told good truths about that chapter, now it’s just hanging in there, rolling with things as I make my way through life. Everything is art, everyone is an artist. Life is a gift.



q)…your contacts…

a)
www.andrewloughnane.com

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Interview with Luca Scornaienchi

q) What is your name?

a)Luca Scornaienchi

q) Where do you live and work?

a)I live and work between Cosenza and Rome.I get home and studio in Dipignano,a cheerful country of blissful dead souls,which is in the mountains around Cosenza.It’s a beautiful place,but boring.In Rome I live in S.Giovanni quarter,guest of a dearest friend of mine.

q) Who are your influences?

a)’’Cyberpunk,the body’s mutuations,the aesthetic surgery,the research of parallel worlds.



q) What inspires you to create?

a)There isn’t an exact cathartic moment,I can have different moods when I do it,it’s the necessity to communicate generally something.Also the money are a good mainspring to set myself to work.

q) How do you describe your work to those who are unfamiliar with it?

a)I don’t feel myself as an artist,many people define themselves as artists without a bit of humility.How can I feel myself an artist after I’ve seen a concert of Lou Reed or the Sistina Chapel?

q) What is your preferred medium to make your art?

a)’’I’ve no preferences of sort,I can only say you that I like always to change.I’ve chosen this work also to be not bored .Lastly I’m realizing many videos and some good comics.Tomorrow I don’t know.

q) Are there any contemporary artists that you love?

a)Fura dels Bauls and Andrea Pazienza.


q)Your current projects?

a)I’m preparing two comics that will be published on 2009.But about this I can tell you nothing because I’ve not again drawn half line,and I hope that my publisher doesn’t read this interview.A short time ago I’ve finished to shoot a video for a rock band on the notes of a very beautiful song dedicated to George Best,a beautiful and damned footballer,that before to die said:’’I’ve spent all my money on women and alcohol.I’ve wasted all the rest’’.

q) How are the reactions on your work in general?

a)’’Till today nobody has never beaten me.’’

q) What is freedom to you as an artist?

a)’’Today there are not problems of censorship,except some sporadic cases,that then at the end finish to be a great publicity for the work.My answer is not very romantic,but you’ve the true freedom when you’ve the real possibility to realize your works.When you’ve a good gallerist or a buyer,public or private,that puts you in a position to realize your works.’’

q) What advice would you give to younger up and coming artists?

a)’’Do less the rockstars and pass more time to draw…’’


q)…Your contacts…

a) LUCA SCORNAIENCHI

www.zonaunderground.it


www.myspace.com/lucascornaienchi


www.youtube.com/profile?user=lucascornaienchi