Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Art Space Talk: Graham Dolphin

I recently interviewed artist Graham Dolphin. Mr. Dolphin exhibited at the New York and Miami Scope Art Fairs last year. His work was represented by SEVENTEEN, a London based gallery. Graham is also represented by Vane Contemporary Art.

Mr. Dolphin's work appropriates objects and icons of the fashion and music industries, reforming them into assemblages that reveal the obsessions and formulas underwriting the temporal world of mass culture. These compulsive actions transform and disrupt the surface aspirations of popular culture and the glamour industry.

(59 Prince Songs)

Q. Mr. Dolphin, on top of exhibiting internationally your work has also been exhibited Scope. It seems you received a lot of recognition during that years art fair. How did you feel going into that fair? Does success still come as a shock?

A. "I exhibited with SEVENTEEN, a London based gallery at both the New York and Miami Scope Art Fairs last year, but I didn't attend either events. In the past I've been to fairs where I have been exhibiting and found them very dry and uncomfortable places. The amount of art splattered onto every surface very dispiriting. Just the amount of it, not necessarily the quality of work.

The response to both fairs was very positive and it has led to a dialogues with a number of collectors and galleries that I am hoping to be able to work with in the future. The series of lyric drawings is still relatively new, making the success of those pieces quite unexpected."


(10 Beach Boys Songs)

Q. The work you exhibited at Scope involved employing seemingly-compulsive writing as the centerpiece. It is amazing to observe the meticulous miniature penmanship of these works. You used lyrics from various songs... what was your motivation behind these works? How long did they take to create?

A. "All my work starts with a secondary source from popular culture which I attempt to shift so I am able to view them again as art in a new context. Most of the time this requires a repetitious act carried out onto or into the surface of the object, which is the case with the lyric drawings. With these I wanted to puncture the meaning and power of the words, reducing them to marks. The longest piece was the Sonic Youth Daydream Nation cover which was scratched into, it took around nine months."

(Kate Moss Tipp-ex)

Q. Some of your earlier work from this decade involved alterations of magazine pages. Kate Moss Tipp-ex (2001- image above) comes to mind. What was your motivation behind manipulating pages from fashion magazines?

A. "It is the same motivation as the lyric drawings, the attempt to shift these very familiar objects and images so I can look at them again in a new context. The manipulated magazines were a long series' of work and fashion, the imagery and products it produces, play an important part of my work."

Q. Has your art ever been published? Where?

A. "The work has been featured in a number of catalogues for group shows, the most recent of which was called Excess at Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham UK (http://www.angelrowgallery.com/).
I also produced a book to accompany my solo exhibition, Thirty Three and a Third, at SEVENTEEN, London which is available from the gallery (http://www.sevengallery.com/).
There is also a book entitled Everything in Vogue, published by Art Editions North in the UK which is a summary of my fashion work, this is distributed worldwide by Cornerhouse press (www.cornerhouse.org/books)."
(25 Buzzcocks Songs)

Q. What was your most important exhibition? Care to share that experience?

A. "In terms of personal development it would be my last solo exhibition Thirty Three and a Third. It enabled me to focus on a body of work and think about them in terms of how they would hang together in a coherent way in an exhibition. I'm still uncertain as to how successful the exhibition was, this in itself is useful in thinking about new work."

(Untitled- Vogue, January 2006 - Scratch)

Q. Do you have any 'studio rituals'? As in, do you listen to certain types of music while working? What helps to get you in the mood for working?

A. "I work a regular day, starting at 8am and working through to 7 or 8 in the evening. My studio is at home, which I prefer as I have everything around me, most importantly music. I listen to a large selection of music and spoken word radio via the internet which takes my mind off the tedium of making some of the work."

Q.Where can we see more of your art?

A. "The two galleries I work with have websites; http://www.seventeengallery.com/ and vane.org.uk .

There will also be a podcast and information on the BALTIC website once the REPEATER exhibition has opened in May 2007- http://www.balticmill.com/ .

I have my own website http://www.grahamdolphin.co.uk/ which I'm really bad at updating."

(Star Spangled Banner Recurring)

Q. Are you represented by a gallery? Do you have any upcoming exhibits?
A. "I'm represented by SEVENTEEN in London and also work with Vane based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. I have a solo exhibition entitled REPEATER opening in May at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, UK. This will feature a number of new works and existing objects and drawings."

(Untitled- Vogue, August 2002 - Burn Holes)


Q. What was the toughest point in your career as an artist? Have you ever hit rock-bottom?

A. "The time right after graduation was pretty poor in every sense - no money and no idea as to how to get by in the world. My partner and I traveled for a while which helped, and then moved to London, we both studied in the south west of England in Bath. Sponging off the state there for a while before landing a dead-end job and getting a studio. Looking back those times were hard and it took about ten years to really get anywhere with my work."

Q. In one sentence... why do you create art?

A. "So I can see what my ideas will look like."

(117 Sonic Youth Songs)

Q. What can you tell our readers about the art scene in your area?

A. "I live the North East of England in Newcastle upon Tyne. The artscene, although small, is quite vibrant with a lot of people making work on a range of different levels. The opening of the BALTIC in Gateshead has appeared to crystalize this scene and the ambition of the artists' here has risen.

There are a growing number of artists spaces, galleries and organisations including Vane, Locus+, mima, Vardy Gallery and Workplace which are doing very interesting projects and exhibitions, helping to create a scene not dependent on the larger cities of London and Glasgow for their culture.

I am also part of the steering group for a new space called AltGallery, situated in the best record store in Newcastle (http://www.altvinyl.com/) which will focus on the the cross overs with sound and visual artists. The first exhibition, Harry Smith Anthology Remixed, has invited 84 artists and musicians to respond with a visual artwork to 1 track each from Harry Smiths' The Anthology of American Folk Music collection. This will open on 8 May and run until 30 June 2007."

I hope that you have enjoyed my interview with Graham Dolphin. Feel free to critique or discuss his work.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Art Space Talk: Michael Velliquette


I recently interviewed artist Michael Velliquette. I observed Mr. Velliquette's art while attending the PULSE Contemporary Art Fair in New York. His work was represented by DCKT Contemporary: http://www.dcktcontemporary.com/
Mr. Velliquette often uses sheets of multi-colored archival card stock that are hand-cut then glued, working from background to foreground, onto a paper backing in successive layers. Narratives ranging from the intimate to the epic address ongoing philosophical quandaries of the human condition including questions of self, other, place, transformation and transcendence.

The flatness of the paper is countered by a dense layering of successively smaller and more ornate pieces; bending, folding and rolling elements coupled with the graphic qualities of the paper cut-out's edges create dramatic spatial relationships. An intuitive use of color supports the works’ handmade aesthetic. The intricately crafted constructions are set in deep frames to heighten the works’ three-dimensionality.

Mr. Velliquette was the recipient of an artist residency and one-person exhibition at Artpace (San Antonio) TX in 2004. He has previously had one-person exhibitions at galleries in Dallas and San Francisco and has been in included in group exhibitions at Western Bridge (Seattle) and Deitch Projects (New York).

Q. When did you first discover that art would be an important part of your adult life?

A. "Around age 19, I met a group of art students at my university (Florida State, Tallahasse). I was undecided in my major at the time (I think I thought I would go into something in theater, but was fairly unfocused.) These young groups of artist were incredibly charismatic. They had a sense of purpose and a connectedness through their artwork that I found compelling. I felt a sort of resonance with their ways of engaging with the world, but art making as a serious endeavor was new to me.

At the time it mostly included these elaborate decorations I would create for my living spaces- I made a bed out of tree branches, painted designs on the ceiling and walls, and would often set up these intricate altars for this sort of do-it-yourself, hippie spirituality I was practicing.

So I then decided to start taking art classes, and my first semester, first class, was drawing 1. The artist Ed Love (who has unfortunately pass on) was the instructor. He sort of looked like a young James Earl Jones, and was totally imposing. He must have been 6'5" or something. He made these politically charged figurative sculptures that were just plain intense. He was also a tough instructor.

Of everything I learned in his class I remember his unwavering belief that art making was not only an important thing for humans to be doing, but a duty. It's something I continue to think about. I guess at some point that first semester it started to make sense to me- this inner call- and response that is the creative process- and it did seem important. I realized that I'd found this direction in life that I would be following for a long time."
Q. How has society influenced your art? Are there any social implications in your art?

A. "Well, to use a corny cliche, artist march to a different beat. I think our society here in the US has certain expectations for success that are tough to be gauged by as an artist. We have to be incredibly mindful and determined to be artists. I guess I would say that society influences my art, by constantly challenging me to determine it's importance. And I think there are social implications to being an artist, simply for this fact that we propose alternate ways to live important lives."

Q. On average, how long does it take you to create a piece?

A. "A long time! I don't know- time is sort of elastic for me in the studio. Stuff can gurgle up in my head and in my sketchbook for months. When it comes to sitting down and making the piece, so many things affect one's focus.This recent cut paper work is very time consuming.

I used to make mixed media sculptures that had improvisational or ephemeral aspects to them, and that were produced very quickly. They were very much tied to the lack of time I had to make art and this 'make-do' aesthetic that was coloring much of my world during this period. But at some point, I read this account of medieval monks spending years producing these single pages of illuminated manuscripts. I guess I began to fetishize the idea of focused time and the hand made- that then translated into hours of cutting paper!

I just set up a new studio and started two new 48x48 inch works. I expect they will take me about one month to finish the both of them."

Q. Can you share some of your philosophy about art and artistic creation?

A. "I try to be in the studio as often as possible for as long as possible. I am a compulsive 'tinkerer'- someone who regularly needs long hours of uninterrupted studio time to feel balanced and happy. Discoveries tend to happen for me through a direct engagement with materials. I tend to need to produce large amounts of work to feel creatively sated. I also make significant breakthroughs just because I was staring at something on the studio wall. I think the key is just being there."

Q. What was your most important exhibition? Care to share experience?

A. "I made a very large installation at Artpace in San Antonio back in 2004. It was important in part for the fact that it was one of the first times I was given significant resources to realize a piece. It took about 6 weeks to build and I had 2 full-time assistants. After that experience I realized I really needed to step things up if I wanted to continue to work on that scale and with that focus."

Q. Do you have any 'studio rituals'? As in, do you listen to certain types of music while working? What helps to get you in the mood for working?

A. "I keep regular hours in the studio, so it's not so much a matter of getting there. And with this current work I generally always know what I'm doing next, so it's really about just setting the mood to produce. Personally I like audio books- and any genre- history, biography, sci-fi, self-help..."

Q. If you could pinpoint the characteristics of people who collect your art, what would they be?

A. "I think some of my work is accessible for the vibrant colors, surface textures, or what could be perceived as light subject matter- rainbows, clouds, birds, etc. I'm totally ok with that. And in that sense, my greatest fans tend to be children and the elderly!

I've recently connected to a global community of scrap-bookers and bloggers into paper art, which is very eccentric and exciting. I do have this more challenging genre of imagery, I guess, that involves some darker stuff too- rivers of blood, demonic deities, dismemberment, etc., and many of those works have sold too. So who knows, I suspect my work appeals to collector-types in general, or those who appreciate oddities or the obscure."

Q. Discuss one of your pieces. What were you thinking when you created it?

A. "The title piece for my recent show in New York is called 'The Intuitive Jungle"(image above). It's horizontal- 15x48 inches and has this multi-colored jungle made of cut paper plants spread over the length of the surface. Out of the density of the colored brush emerge these white hands. One doesn't know if they are corpses digging themselves out, or are perhaps experiencing the rapture.

They might be lost journeyers on a trek of some sort and are signaling to be rescued. It might be one of the more symbolic works in the show. I think that the jungle itself is representative of an inner emotional landscape and the figures are trying to pierce through its canopy to the more monochromatic skyscape. It's about getting objectivity or perspective on oneself.

Q. Tell us more about your educational background. How did it help you as an artist? What can you tell us about the art department that you attended?

A. "I received an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000. For me, it was three years to focus on the development of my work from this sort of artistic adolescence to "early adulthood". My particular program had a focus on craft, which I didn't totally appreciate at the time.

It's only in hindsight now, as a working artist, teacher, and someone who observes a great deal of student art, that I realize many young artists lack the cognitive ability to effectively craft an object. I believe this is important only to the extent that learning to make something well teaches an artist intention, and the ability to follow through from concept to form.

The other major part of my graduate school experience were the people I met and the community of artist peers I built during that time. Many of these individuals I still speak with weekly- if not daily!- and continue to seek their input in the studio."


Q. Why did you choose the medium(s) that you use?

A. "I went through art school during the early years and then later years of the 1990's. By then, this collage-based or mixed-media aesthetic was a sort of standard. Personally I've always had eclectic stylistic sensibilities so that mixing media and materials felt very natural to me. 'A little of this, a little of that' sor of thing. I liked the freedom of flexibility in the material choices. So this has been my approach for years- until recently working with this paper card stock.

These new works are entirely made of paper and glue- no paint, glitter, marker or anything else I would routinely add. It felt odd at first, or I don't know how to explain... cheating something or myself? I know that sounds silly. But then I settled into the process and there was this cohesiveness to the final work that I found very charged and powerful- a sense of unity that I hadn't fully experienced with my work before. So I've decided to explore this for a while.

As for the paper... I'm attracted to it's openness as a material. The blank page is this great metaphor for nothingness and the potential for "somethingness". It can go flat or sculptural, plain or colored. It can be cut, folded, ripped, etc. to create endless textures. It also has this suggested sense of the ephemeral, but can be very strong and enduring. And there is this long history with paper and storytelling that I'm attracted to.

I'm still making other things- other mixed media collages and such, and mobiles, which is an art form I adore. But these are just things for the studio now- not ready to show."


Q. Are you represented by a gallery? Do you have any upcoming exhibits?
A. "Currently DCKT Contemporary, new York, represents me. I just had my first solo show with them this past February. They are really great and pro-active and just generally good folk, which is important to me in a dealer. They are taking some of my work to an art fair in Barcelona called SWAB this coming May."

Q. What galleries have you exhibited in? Can you provide links to their sites?

A. "Apart from DCKT in New York, I've showed in San Francisco a few times, but have primarily worked with Texas galleries including Conduit Gallery in Dallas (http://www.conduitgallery.com/), and Finesilver Gallery in Houston and San Antonio- (http://www.finesilver.com/ )"

Q. Any tips for emerging artists?

A. "Work, work, and work! I also always tell my students to find what it is about making art that brings them the most joy and do more of it. It seems simplistic, but I absolutely believe in it as a strategy for a long-term career and fulfilling life."


Q. What was the toughest point in your career as an artist?

A. "I think it is always hard to be an artist, but there really hasn't been a defining moment where I felt that the deal's off. I mean, what are the alternatives? It makes me shudder to think, really!

I co-directed this artist-run project space in San Antonio called The Bower for about 5 years and there were a few periods where I thought I could be a dealer or curator if I really put my mind to it. But the reality is that nothing has ever been as satisfying to me as making art, even during the darker days."


Q. What can you tell our readers about the art scene in your area?

A. "I'm in the US, and have been based in San Antonio, Texas for the past 6 years. I found Texas to be a sort of hot bed of creativity. It's ver easy, logistically, to be an artist there. It also has a healthy amount of galleries, museums, curators, and collectors, and dialogue with the larger art world centers.

Each city- Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, Lubbock, Marfa, Corpus Christi, etc, have their own scene, but also feed into the wider Texas art scene.
There is a great website (http://live.glasstire.com/ ) that covers most of the stuff that is happening. Overall. it's probably a quieter pace than living on one of the coasts, but for me it's translated into much more time for making art. I've also recently re-located to Madison, WI part-time and am in the process of discovering the artist's life here."


Q. Does religion, faith, or the lack thereof play a part in your art?

A. "My father writes me these letters and draws smiley faces on the outside of the envelopes- which to me is an important part of my faith in art. I mean, how can this circle, two dots, and a line make me feel so good? It's very abstract! So if that can make me feel a certain way- then all images can.

I am still discovering how it is that I want my images to make people feel, but I believe it has to do with this complex relationship between pleasure and pain"

I hope that you have enjoyed my interview with Michael Velliquette. Feel free to critique or discuss his work.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Monday, March 26, 2007

Art Space Talk: Marcia Kocot and Tom Hatton

I recently interviewed Marcia Kocot and Tom Hatton. This husband and wife team have been creating art together for several decades. Tom and Marcia met at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1964. Their first collaborative interaction took place in 1965.

Over the years, their work has been exhibited/ reviewed under the following names: Hatten Co., Hatten, Tom Hatten, Tom & X Hatten, Tom Hatten Xochital, XOCHITALTOMHATTEN, Kocot-Hatten and Kocot and Hatten. Their collaborative work has been exhibited widely and has been published/reviewed in New American Paintings, Artnews, Art-forum, New Art Examiner, and several other publications.

(Scale/Ratio: a work for two sites, 1989)
Q. Thomas, Marcia... the two of you met at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in December of 1964. Your first collaborative interaction took place in 1965. What made you both decide to work together as a team?

A. "We spent several years of working together prior to realizing we were "collaborating". Initially we posed for each other and critiqued each other's paintings and drawings. This lead to actually touching and altering the other's work in a variety of media; it was just a natural evolution leading to collaboration.
(Study for a Life Size Photograph of the Empire State Building)

The decision to work as a team came in 1970 when we proposed building a life size photograph of the Empire State building to be erected in Manhattan for the nation's bicentennial. We approached Leo Castelli with the concept; all of us knew it could never happen, because even though the technology existed for making the photograph (by way of a mosaic method NASA developed to photographically map the Moon) architectural requirements would necessitate erecting a building to support the photograph. Nonetheless, we all got a kick out of the thought of giving the icon the opportunity to reflect on its own beauty.


(18 Karat Gold Plated Prototype for First Piece of Art for/from the Moon)

Also during the early 1970s, another unrealized work, but one that was central to our realization of how important it was for us to work together, was the First Piece of Art for/from the Moon. Approximately five hundred 18-karat gold-plated wooden bricks were to have circulated between three acrylic chambers, each ten feet on a side, placed in three museums around the country. The gold would travel from one location to the next, leaving an empty space in its wake for the duration of the exhibition. The reactions to the proposal varied; MOMA's causing the biggest surprise. Without naming names, we were advised to "leave the Moon alone" because it was losing its unique place in history."

Q. I will assume that you have met many interesting people in the 'art world' having worked together for so many years. Who has been the most influential person you have both met?

A . "As strange as it may sound, it would be each other. From the outset our influence on each other has been a constant, affecting every facet of our work. What is most intriguing is the more time we spend together, the more we inspire each other."

(Untitled From 'Semiconscious' Series, 6-7 May, 2004- 2004)

Q. Do you ever have a 'clash of ideas', so to speak? Have you ever had a conflict in creative direction? How do you work it out?

A. "We tend to appreciate the same artists and developments in the history of art; we have like-minded aesthetic sensibilities. Yes, there are clashes, but that is just part of the process. As individual artists clash with themselves all of the time, we are no different. Additionally, in our collaboration division of labor is not an issue. We are not interested in simply what technically, or conceptually either of us has to bring to a project. If neither of us knows how to do something that is relevant to a work we are creating, we learn what needs to be done.

It is not whose idea we follow, but rather the idea and its potential that is scrutinized. Often we do not remember whose idea sparks the initial thinking. Rather than be completely one person's idea, it usually becomes a compilation of thoughts that rapidly morph into what may or may not be recognizable from that first "spark". Sometimes we begin with a radical idea that then frees up the thought process. Other times we work out sketches then compare and discuss where we go from there. Often the concept determines the choice of medium.

(Untitled (Snowrain white tablet), 2000)

Q. Over the years, your work has also been exhibited/ reviewed under the following names: Hatten Co., Hatten, Tom Hatten, Tom & X Hatten, Tom Hatten Xochital, XOCHITALTOMHATTEN, Kocot-Hatten and Kocot and Hatten. Why have you used so many names? Do they represent changes in direction?

A. "Yes, sometimes the name changes represent changes in direction.

The Life Size Photograph of the Empire State Building and the First Piece of Art for/from the Moon were presented as works by "Hatten Company" because the magnitude of the requests needed a sense of authority and given the attitude towards female artists at that time, we felt the need for ambiguity. It was not unusual to receive letters simply addressed "Dear Sirs".

(Diptych from 10 Year Portrait Project (1981))

When we made the commitment in 1973 to spend ten years on a painting project, we also decided to credit those paintings to "Tom Hatten". Our primary reasoning was practical- the goal was to learn and grow together by painting a portrait of ourselves and each other, once a week for the ten years. We did not want or need the distraction of people trying to figure out who did what and thus give them the opportunity to "decide" who might be the more deft painter. Still, this type of questioning did take place among those few who were aware. This was exactly what we were trying to avoid. We wanted the work to stand on its own. The reason we came up with the ten year project in the first place was because many of our artist friends were growing apart, separating and divorcing due, in part, to the divisive pressures of the art world.

We never cease to be astonished by the value placed on an artist's signature. A 1976 exhibition titled "Artist's Signatures" included "X's Forgery", a clear acrylic panel (the same size as the Mona Lisa) upon which Marcia forged the "Tom Hatten" signature in gold leaf. This work too was credited to Tom Hatten. The issue of the artist's signature came into question again in 1994 when we asked a fellow artist to sign over the authorship of one of his most familiar works. The work was subsequently exhibited along with the signed transfer of authorship."

(DCCA "Wake" Installation- Drawings)


Q. Your work has been exhibited at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Andy Warhol Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art... what exhibit do you consider to have been your most important? Also, how has society influenced your art? Are there any social implications in your art?

A. ""Wake" at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art was probably the most important exhibition for us and that work following 9/11, most influenced by society.

9/11 shook us to our very core and as we struggled to regain our footing in the dark days and months that followed, our elegiac "Black Ground" series began to emerge. These paintings and drawings were created in the dark, in the middle of the night, on the bridge between sleep and wakefulness. While this method of working was not new for us, other paintings from a few years earlier were all white with lines, which like synaptic impulses, seem to appear and disappear. Our "Semiconscious" canvases continued in the summer of 2001 with black replacing white. However, the somber Black Ground paintings born of 9/11 replaced earlier dreamy canvases with dense tar-like paint, an enveloping pitch-black shroud. Each of the ninety-seven "Wake" drawings held a different strata, one an impenetrable gray fog, another marked by deep ebony gouges, still others a tangle of interlocking lines."

(DCCA "Wake" Installation- paintings)


Q. Your work has been published/reviewed in New American Paintings, Artnews, Art-forum, New Art Examiner, and several other publications. Did you expect your combined effort to be so successful?

A. "We are greatly appreciative of not only the efforts put forth in reviewing our work but also with discussions we have with our peers. Our focus has always been on the work and multiple perspectives can be very enlightening."

(Additive Subtractive Primaries - Green, 2005-2006)

Q. Marcia, Thomas... can you share some of your philosophy about art and artistic creation?

A. "To paraphrase a quote by us in an Institute of Contemporary Art catalogue from 1975, "the job of the artist is to forever try to prove that there is art.""
(Additive Subtractive Primaries - Red, 2005-2006)

Q. Do you have any 'studio rituals'? As in, do you listen to certain types of music together while working? What helps to get you both in the mood for working?

A. "The majority of our current work, at least on the creative side, is done in the hypnopompic (waking) state, as opposed to the hypnogogic state preceding sleep. An entry in one of Andre Breton's diaries listed the hypnogogic as where he got the idea for automatic writing.

In the "awake studio" when grounding canvases or setting up for video shoots, music ranges from Koto to Cecilia Bartoli to set the tempo for the tasks at hand. As for getting in the mood for working, we do so whether we are in the mood, or not."


(Dawn- 8 August 2005 - sky water)

Q. Discuss one of your pieces. What were you thinking when you created it?

A. "Dawn (Image above: 8 August 2005-Sky Water) is one of a suite of thirteen DVDs titled Meditations. Our videos are not edited aside from clipping the start and end points. Many of our non-narrative videos are basically like watching the earth breathe, they function as a way for us to preserve moments of a disappearing and often fragile nature. Sky Water was filmed in the Berkshires, the recordings took place at dawn over the course of five days. During taping neither of us thought we were going to be able to record anything satisfying. Our original intent had been to capture the mountains at first light, but shifted after reviewing footage that focused on the pristine lake itself. We found our gaze moving downward and upward, outside, in-between and inside simultaneously, reflections affecting us physically and mentally. A dark and solid mountain became fluid, part of some primal rhythm. The clouds shaping and reshaping themselves as they moved across both sky and water... bits of life inserted themselves unexpectedly- fish nibbling at invisible insects- dragonflies gracefully cruising a mere fraction of an inch above the serene surface."

(Meditations: Moonlight (29 August 2004), 2004)

Q. Where can we see more of your art?

A. "http://www.artnet.com/lbecker.html (Larry Becker Contemporary Art)"

Q. Are you both represented by the same gallery?

A. "We have not created work individually since the early 1970s."

(Voice Print, 1970-2001)

Q. "Any tips for emerging artists or artists who are thinking of collaborating on projects?

A. "Our collaboration focuses on two artists wanting to create a work of art that upon completion stands on its own, one that in the final result could have been created by one, two or any number of artists. Perhaps the most difficult and rewarding aspect of working in this method of collaboration is having a partner, or partners you trust so much that you're willing to allow them to change anything, or everything you have done.

At the opening of Jean Tinguely's 1959 exhibition in Dusseldorf, Yves Klein in a prepared talk spoke of his concept of collaboration that included the right of any artist to walk up to any other artist's work and sign their name. That degree of ideal trust and belief in artistic community was not practical in his time or ours, but conceptually he articulated how every artist's work is linked with the work of all other artists."

(Scale / Ratio, [Plan of Bipolar Dynamic] Floorcloth, 1989)

Q. Has your work ever been censored? If so, how did you deal with it?

A. "Our work has not been censored, but several instances censoring our collaboration have occurred. In 1984, we had a work included in an exhibition, a tribute to another artist. The work was catalogued only by Hatten's name. The curator, who happened to be a female, refused to re-credit properly. She stated she did not think it was important that the female of the collaboration be given credit. A correction was made only when she was informed the work would be removed from the exhibition."
Q. What can you tell our readers about the art scene in your area?

A. "Philadelphia has a number of fine major museums such as The Philadelphia Museum of Art, currently exhibiting Thomas Chimes, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (art school and museum), where a large work by Robert Ryman was permanently installed only recently, the Rodin Museum, and the Barnes Foundation, with its wealth of Cezannes and Matisses (just a short ride from center city.) Among the outstanding galleries in the city are Larry Becker Contemporary Art, Locks Gallery, Gallery Joe, Gallery 339, Slought Foundation, Vox Populi and Basekamp."

Q. Is there anything else you would like to say about your collaborative art or the 'art world'?

A. "We are only qualified to speak on long term collaboration. We are always trying new ways to bring our collaboration closer yet still retain our own individuality. Ego is most dangerous to collaboration. Our objective is to sublimate ego by way of working in the hypnopompic state."

I hope that you have enjoyed my interview with Marcia Kocot and Tom Hatton- Kocot and Hatton. Feel free to critique or discuss their work.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Art Space Talk: Davide Grazioli

I recently interviewed artist Davide Grazioli. Mr. Grazioli is a nomadic artist moving through the most diverse media, ranging from painting to embroidery, from digital works to sculptures. Grazioli’s ever changing work seems to incorporate many identities reflecting the globalist observer point of view.

The composite identity of this artist is not merely related to his geographical background in the traditional sense but it is more appropriately related to his diverse and distant experiences and to the choice of releasing his works each time in different places. This constant search for ambivalence and ubiquity allows the artist to pose questions about the"identities in transition" that so much characterize our world today.

Mr. Grazioli is represented by nt art gallery- Bologna. I'd like to personally thank Nadia Toffaloni for helping during the translation process- (http://www.ntartgallery.com/ ).


Q. You are represented by the nt art gallery. How has that experience been for you? What is the website for the gallery?

A. "The experience with nt art gallery has been extremely satisfying. I have felt free to express myself and supported at all times. The gallery web site is http://www.ntartgallery.com/"

Q. When did you first discover that art would be an important part of your adult life?

A. "It was when I realised that I had become the assistant of a senior Italian leading artist, called Aldo Mondino (born Torino - Italy 1938) that I met at a small exhibition of mine in 1998 in Milan."


Q. How has society influenced your art? Are there any social implications in your art?

A. "Totally. Any of my works is a reaction to some aspects of society as for example in my latest series of incense sculptures portraying the endangered species threatened by human behaviour."

Q. On average, how long does it take you to create a piece?

A. "From 1 minute to 1 year!"


Q. Can you share some of your philosophy about art and artistic creation?

A. "As an artist I perceive the work mainly as being available. One must be silent enough to listen and absorb a vision of the world before giving it back. To me in particular art is about undressing from my individual identity in order to perceive something of what is universal.

I personally do not feel my role as an artist as actor but mostly as acted.

I do not like to be the focus of my works instead I try to peak aspects of experiences that I had and share them only if they can be representative for a major phenomenon. The works in which I physically appear are not intended to represent myself. They are rather allegories of a certain number of westerners. I think that today’s artists have a peculiar chance to portray identities in transition. And anything transient in a broad sense is the objective of my work."

Q. Has your art ever been published?

"Yes, several times in catalogues, articles in art magazines. See a selected press coverage in my web site http://www.davidegrazioli.com/ "


Q. What was your most important exhibition? Care to share that experience?

A. "Probably my exhibition titled "Accidental Occidental", that I held in August 2003 in Madras (India). This is one of my dearest experiences, because for the first time I managed to perceive that Asia and India in particular was about to conquer a crucial role in today’s world and again for the first time I felt allowed to act in a global perspective, crossing the boundaries of my former cultural background. This attitude towards artistic creation has become in these years the main characteristic of my artistic approach.

For that exhibition I spent many months in Madras and this long-term stay offered me access to unconventional media, which I could never think of before. To show my perception of the complexity of Indian changing society for the occasion I exhibited works in multiple media, one next to the other. Bronze sculptures were close to digital prints. Light-boxes in a space that I previously covered in palm leaves. But the central part of the exhibition was represented by the paintings I realised with (and through) the advertising billboard painters of Madras.
In that occasion I took the chance to show the ability of these disappearing commercial artists using them as a real media. So I asked them to translate some of my images into enamel on tin paintings. The result was very interesting because it was impossible to me to repeat the artistic action without them and at the same time they were going to be jobless very soon (today all the ones I met have already disappeared. Their skill have been replaced by digital print).
In general the exhibition was about portraying the unique feature of the Indian contemporary world that comprehends many velocities and many layers at the same time from the rural to the hyper technological from the spiritual to the materialistic."


Q. Do you have any 'studio rituals'? As in, do you listen to certain types of music while working? What helps to get you in the mood for working?

A. "I don’t. No ritual would work twice in my face. As I work on differences, on the "other" and on the "elsewhere", my only ritual is pushing myself into a long term travel. This almost automatically gives me the urge of releasing some kind of work in an emergency studio. It is through the outside that I reconnect to the unity. Movement is crucial for me. Nothing else ever triggered my ideas."

Q. If you could pinpoint the characteristics of people who collect your art, what would they be?

A. "Very open."


Q. Discuss your art. What are you thinking when you create it?

A. "For example before creating the incense sculptures I was thinking that I needed to express the fragility and impermanence of the ecological balance. So, I was looking for a medium that was transient but connected to the mystery of spirituality. Due to perfect chance I happened (during a trip) to encounter a man who produced organic incense. In that moment I realised the trip offered me the media I was looking for."

Q. Do you have a degree or do you plan to attend school for art? If so, how did it help you as an artist? What can you tell us about the art department that you attended?

A. "I have a degree in science of communication which is a combination of visual communication, semiotic and linguistic. This gave me the chance of a transversal approach to art not been too academic but in general the most important lesson I learnt from relationships. The encounter and work with my former Master was the most the most valuable lesson."


Q. Why did you choose the medium(s) that you use?

A. "As I said before in a joke: "They chose me"."

Q. Where can we see more of your art?

A. "You can visit my web site that works as an archive: http://www.davidegrazioli.com/. Next update with the latest series of embroideries made in Vietnam will be on April 1st 2007."


Q. What trends do you see in the 'art world'?

A. "The good part is that I see many different trends co-existing at the same time. And this is a kind of richness for society. The bad thing is that I perceive a deliberate intention- on many occasions- works soaked in cynicism that sometime show no intension of search."

Q. Has your work ever been censored? If so, how did you deal with it?

A. "Not yet but I think I came very close, when I portrayed a mixture of Indian and outer Gods merged in one single image. That required a lot of explanations."


Q. What was the toughest point in your career as an artist? Have you ever hit rock-bottom?

A. "Dealing with "rock-bottoms" is something every artist knows about but it is not just something negative. The tough periods are the ones that mostly awaken an artist’s mind. It is through and thanks to these periods that I managed to elaborate my view. In general for young artists it is always tough because initially nobody legitimates your work.
One of the most important skills to develop is endurance. In general I think that society has a peculiar way of defending itself trying to keep you in the mainstream as soon as one decides to make his/her living out this passion immediately all the social support around him/her stops. That’s the first price that you must be prepared to pay when you decide to be an artist."

Q. In one sentence... why do you create art?

A. "Because I have to."

Q. What can you tell our readers about the art scene in your area?

A. "I am an Italian from Milan and I just moved to Berlin. This city is very fertile and full of cultural inspiration. The artistic panorama is very heterogeneous and rich."


Q. Has politics ever entered your art?

A. "In a way my work against the poaching of the last 5000 tigers destined to the fuel the traditional Chinese medicine has been considered a political one."

Q. Does religion, faith, or the lack there of play a part in your art?

A. "A crucial part. But I will let my works answer this question."

Q. Is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the 'art world'?

A. "Nothing else. Thank you for the interview."
I hope that you have enjoyed my interview with Davide Grazioli. Feel free to critique or discuss his work.
Take care, Stay true,
Brian Sherwin

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Art Space Talk: Stefan Saffer

I recently interviewed artist Stefan Saffer. Mr. Saffer studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts (Nuremberg) and Goldsmiths (London). He was a Master Student of Professor R.G Dienst. Stefan lives and works in Berlin, Germany. His work has been exhibited widely in the United States and Europe.


Q. When did you first discover that art would be an important part of your adult life?

A. "I think this might have been already in my childhood. I did not know that it was called art but I loved to draw and paint and there is the story that I was so deep into drawing once that I forgot that kindergarden was over and my mother was there to pick me up. Later in the age of 15 I announced that I will become an artist."

Q. How has society influenced your art? Are there any social implications in your art?

A. "I grew up in a small village with no understanding fo art at all. This shaped a very strong demand in me to be able to make art which could access even those who are not knowing of art or who grew up with no understanding of art. I later entered and founded a collaborative of artists and architects to create possibilities for art to include people at their level of an understanding of art. Since 2005 I am again working allone."


Q. On average, how long does it take you to create a piece?

A. "It takes on average exactly as long as it takes."
Q. Can you share some of your philosophy about art and artistic creation?

A. "Philosophy and art develop constantly further within ones worklife. I can say what I still like about art. That is its ability to create a very individual communication between the viewer and the work which expands by far the limits of language or knowledge. I am hoping for some of my pieces that they maintain an interesting discourse within society, within individuals beyond my life."


Q. What was your most important exhibition? Care to share that experience?

A. "I dont think in those terms too much but I can share a few of those moments I loved. The monents I like are those where people who I do not know and who might not know anything about my art get caught by a sparkle of one of my works and get intrigued to rethink maybe a thought or to question their own perspectives."


Q. Do you have any 'studio rituals'? As in, do you listen to certain types of music while working? What helps to get you in the mood for working?

A. "I am listening constantly to radio and I do have a nice collection of radiostations online always with me to listen to their broadcast everywhere like npr or deutschlandradio etc."

Q. If you could pinpoint the characteristics of people who collect your art, what would they be?

A. "I wish for the people who collect my art to be smart and sensitive and beautiful and maybe they all are like that."

Q. Discuss one of your pieces. What were you thinking when you created it?

A. "I think an important piece for me was "Jackson and me" which is a poster of a work of Pollock and a drawing on the back of his work and then there are all in betweens of my drawing cut and bend through his work like a splitter bomb crashing through a wall. It took me a long time to get started on this work and I had the poster on my table for a long time. I really think that this piece enabled me to create my very personal dialouge with art history but more important with artist I respect deeply and who I had wished to argue with when they were alive. I decided to not sell this piece."


Q. Do you have a degree or do you plan to attend school for art? If so, how did it help you as an artist? What can you tell us about the art department that you attended?

A. "Oh well. I did my MFA at Goldsmiths College at a time when Micheal Craig Martin was still there teaching. I think any school is only as good as its teachers and a reputation does not tell you whether teachers are good or not. One has to find out and look out for THE teacher. That means students should not take eductaion for granted but look around and test out many things. This is not about chosing the easiest way."

Q. Why did you choose the medium(s) that you use?

A. "I love paper and cardboard but I am not at all limited to any medium. Paper is just great because it is never really the same. Besides that you can get paper everywhere."

Q.Where can we see more of your art?

A. "http://stefansaffer.com/index.html"


Q. Are you represented by a gallery? Do you have any upcoming exhibits?
A. "I am represented by Kate Macgarry in London and my next upcoming solo show will be 2008 there. I just had a solo show in New York at Pavel Zoubok and I am in a group show in Cologne at the moment."

Q. What galleries have you exhibited in?

A. "Oh there are many. Look up my cv on my webpage and then you can figure it out yourself. http://stefansaffer.com/docs/SafferCV.pdf "


Q. What trends do you see in the 'art world'?

A. "I see a trend to skip craftmanship completely as well as formal thinking. I also see a trend to copy a lot. Both trends are rather worrying."

Q. Any tips for emerging artists?

A. "Well only one. Don't give up and don't stop working on your works and don't measure your success in money or shows or whatever the so called market wants you to believe is success."


Q. What was the toughest point in your career as an artist? Have you ever hit rock-bottom?

A. "The toughest point is when you realise that you really made a very bad work for a show. That is very bad."

Q. In one sentence... why do you create art?

A. "Thats all I can and thats all it needs."

Q. What can you tell our readers about the art scene in your area?

A. "I live in Berlin and Berlin is the greatest city for artists worldwide at the moment. There is no scene but many, many scenes and the number of scenes and artists is growing."

Q. Has politics ever entered your art?

A. "It always does in many ways. I am not sure though whether it has to enter in a visual way."


Q. Does religion, faith, or the lack thereof play a part in your art?

A. "Religion was part of my uprbinging and I am sure that traces of it, in a subconcious way, could be found in my works too, maybe."

Q. Is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the 'art world'?

A. "Do you really think that the art world is who artists want to address with their works or is it just the world?"
I hope that you have enjoyed my interview with Stefan Saffer. Feel free to critique or discuss his work.
Take care, Stay true,
Brian Sherwin