Her vibrant and multi-dimensional work ranges from sculpture to animation, which she uses to craft her own ‘surreal, myth-like alternative habitats’ which both celebrate and transcend language.

You root your work in language and translation. Can you tell us a little bit about your background, and how this theme came to influence your art?

I grew up in a rather conservative middle-class family in Bavaria, Germany, in a house full of 19th-century art. My own desire to study art, however, was not an acceptable career choice so I ended up studying English and French. As a result, I had a colorful working life; I did some translation work, worked in administration and taught German and French to children who weren’t too keen.  Though language has always fascinated me, etymology, semantics, social and geographical contexts of words and phrases, the desire to create art was always inside me. When I finally made the leap it seemed to be logical to examine and to look at language in a visual way as well.

Can you describe your work for us?

With the realm of language being so multifaceted and inspiration coming from many different angles, it is difficult to describe my work in a short paragraph. I draw a lot on day to day conversations, literal translations, (anti) feminist language and I like to poke fun at political rhetoric and propaganda. I see language as multi-dimensional, therefore a lot of my work is sculptural and multi-disciplinary. Still, I don’t like to be restricted in my practice or pigeonholed in any way, and although language and translation are probably the main strands in my practice I like to stray occasionally to wherever inspiration lies…

How did the pandemic influence your art?

Working from my garden studio and studying remotely for a Master’s degree, the pandemic initially had little impact on me, despite having had several exhibitions cancelled at the last minute. As weeks turned to months, the pandemic started to hit me more emotionally as my isolation was suddenly no longer self-imposed, but something forced onto me.

With this sense of losing control, I began to work on a new body of work ‘I’m still alive’ (which then transmuted into ‘Albeit Hanging by a Thread’), in which I explored these sudden, unfamiliar emotions that resulted in such very conflicting sentiments of despair, hope, endurance and optimism in collages that became more and more surreal. There were days when I thought I was developing bi-polar tendencies; my mood was up and down like a yoyo. ‘Through the Pink Gate to Far Horizons’ is one of these works. Dreaming of a brighter future, it also incorporates some of my photography (the pink gate), symbolizing positive expectations.

Several lockdowns also resulted in new creative ways of looking for and finding materials. I began to work more with recycled materials, particularly packaging paper and items found around the house and on my dog walks.

What materials do you enjoy working with the most?

I used to call myself a painter and started my career with watercolors but my focus shifted a lot during my studies and I began to incorporate multiple disciplines and materials. A favorite material is newspaper but paper packaging, random objects, children toys, clay and paint, all have their uses. It’s very much determined by what I’m working on, the concept dictates its own materials.

I collect a lot of old magazines for the collages for example, that have become an art material in their own right. Cuttings from magazines, once taken out of context, develop an agency that in return affects the other images in quite a powerful way. It is quite fascinating watching the narrative develop, which often takes weeks; and although I tend to start with a rough idea or concept it frequently takes a different path, as the images take control and turn me into a mere facilitator!

What are you working on now?

At the moment I am focusing on my upcoming solo exhibition ‘Nomansland’ in Chester [UK] in September, which is based on a feminist language inspired utopia. Parallel to this, I’m currently working with hybrid photography, as a way of incorporating more photography in my work that seems to be gaining a lot of significance for me as I’m wrestling with some recent personal trauma.

Visit Brigitte’s website.

And if you’re wondering why ‘Make Slugs Beautiful’ – this refers to the litter of slugs on Brigitte’s countryside running route, and the nagging thought that if they were beautiful like sea slugs, they wouldn’t be so bad.

The post In the Studio with Artist Brigitte Watkinson from Make Slugs Beautiful appeared first on Artiholics.

Artiholics caught up with the artist.

You’ve been in the international news during the pandemic. Can you tell us about it? 

When lockdown started my work was due to go to the Tate for an art festival. The pandemic prevented this. Whilst at home in isolation I decided to fight back, so I began putting on impromptu exhibitions in my back garden.

Because of my disability, my teenage kids would help me install and inflate the sculptures. My neighbours started hanging out of their windows to see this exhibition appear over the garden wall, and even the local ‘bin men’ shouted over the fence that they loved the work. One of my neighbour’s young daughters, Florence, would draw me in my garden with the sculptures, which she would then post through the letterbox. This had such a huge impact on me. A little bit of magic in the bleakest time.

I then started to get interviews requests from newspapers in Germany and then TV companies arrived at my door. In lockdown, this attention had a regenerative effect on me and lifted me to create new art, in new ways. I never stopped working, as you can’t put breaks on the creative process. The attention I received seemed to boost this exponentially.

The 10ft tall, colour changing and illuminated ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ inflatable is a stunning example of your work – what’s its story? 

In 1963 the Ray Harryhausen film was released ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ and when I came along in 1969, my parents named me after this illustrious and dynamic hero. I was always intrigued by my name and where it came from. When I found out more about the story of the ‘other’ Jason and his voyage, where he set out to find the finest heroes in ancient Greece to set sail with him and reclaim the magical Golden Fleece, it fitted in well with what I was attempting to do with my art practice.

I had stopped making art just about myself and started to focus on making art about others in the disabled community, and making a conscious decision to make art with and about them.

I was attracted to the idea of replicating a great heroic voyage of discovery where I was collecting stories, which I would then reflect on and make art about.

I am very much a reluctant disability activist, although I choose to use humour and psychedelic colours to get my points across. The works I created are influenced by my working-class childhood, in Yorkshire, in the 1970s.

The surface of this sculpture is covered with the iconography of my own life and the stories which have been shared with me. It is also richly adorned by the names of all who have taken part in my work and my travels around the UK, working with deprived disabled communities.

I am not a spokesperson for these communities, I am just an artist who chooses to make these statements, to make art about those I feel some connection with.

I love the fact that this sculpture is linked so closely with my biography and with those I choose to work with also.

When people ask what my work is about I simply answer that it lies somewhere between the British children’s comic book ‘The Beano’ and the social commentary film ‘I, Daniel Blake’. Don’t be fooled by the bright colours, as the work is a trojan horse (or even a trojan sheep) in that the viewer is pulled in and then I can discuss the complex hidden stories.

And there’s an even bigger inflatable on the way?

Yes, there is a huge inflatable sculpture on the way, which will be unveiled at my solo show at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in October. The sculpture is so big that it will allow the viewer to walk in and around it.

It shows a prone figure who is brightly coloured and highly decorated with tattoos, each with a significant meaning. I have designed it so that you will continue to find different things, regardless of how many times you view the work.

The figure represents a disabled person who is being changed on the floor, as they cannot access proper toilet facilities.

I wanted to create an accessible piece of work that told this story whilst being careful not to preach. Being angry does not work for me when making art, and I think the best approach is to get people on side by making them smile or even laugh first. It is meant to be absurd and provocative.

You use AR a lot in your work and have an iOS app, ‘Jason Residential’. Can you describe this work for us?

Most of my sculptures link to an augmented reality app, so I can animate and move the work and unlock further content, which adds to the sculptural work and is a piece of art in its own right.

Technology has democratised my art and allowed people to download my sculptures into their own living rooms or gardens. I get photos from people who have downloaded my virtual sculptures and it fills my heart with joy, especially when I was so isolated in lockdown. The technology set me free.

The ‘Residential’ app allows you not only to download my work but virtually walk around my head and see the creative process. Think of the film ‘Being John Malkovich’ but in digital form, as the app fully immerses the viewer.

Through the AR I can extend my practice by integrating my love of 1970s animation and popular culture, using the most up to date and cutting edge technology.

In lockdown, I loved the idea of the 70s movie ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ as I wanted to escape the four walls I was trapped in because of the pandemic. I wanted to create magical portals, just like the tollbooth, through which you could see movies and animated characters who acted as strange and magical gatekeepers to this wonderful new work.

This unique approach was adopted by SHAPE Arts and developed by Hot Knife Digital Media to create the app Unfolding Shrines, giving a creative space to other disabled artists around the world. It effectively became a virtual artist AirBnB. 

What’s coming up?

I have a new sculpture being unveiled as part of the prestigious Folkestone Triennial in July and in August I am releasing my first virtual reality video game, which is going to be housed at Shire Hall Courthouse Museum in Dorset.

In September I will be taking part in a SKY Arts tv programme, but I can’t say too much about that yet, and I am unveiling two new inflatable sculptures. In October my work is going to be shown at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe. This will be so exciting as I get to unveil my largest ever sculpture.

Is there anything else you’d like to share? 

‘The Argonauts on Tour’ is showing across the UK in 2022 and is available to tour to venues internationally. If you are interested in showing the work, then please contact me at Jason@jwmartist.co.uk.

You can also see more of my work at my website www.jwmartist.co.uk and on my Instagram account wilshermills.

The post How Digital Artist Jason Wilsher-Mills is Inflating Accessible Art appeared first on Artiholics.

To wind up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art must have been an interesting journey. Could you please tell us a little about yourself and the journey that brought you there.

I’m a chemist. I studied chemistry in Italy and then crystallography which is the discipline that studies crystalline materials particularly minerals; I obtained my PhD in Italy. Then I came to the US for a postdoctoral period at the University of Michigan continuing along that line with regular chemistry. That’s where I started looking for an alternative career in the industry.

Simultaneously, I discovered American art museums and found that they are very interesting and different than European museums, especially the Italian ones.

There is a degree of integration among different professions and also a broader array of professions within the museum. I discovered that there were scientists working in museums. Here in the US I found they have science labs that we are supporting the restorers, conservators and the art curators in their investigation which was a big discovery for me. Very few people were hiring scientists in museums and it was just a few university laboratories doing this and there were no scientists in museums, and even now there are no scientists in museums in Italy.

So I always had the thought to do this but I always left it as a thought thinking it would be nice but I can’t.

I discovered this field, then I just picked up the phone and started calling all the labs in museums. I spoke with their scientists and asked about an opening. I had a list of 12 it names to call. I still remember in fact my wife Jennifer, who at the time I was dating, said who told me that since I had a list of contacts to just pick up the phone and call.

And I wondered how to do that because I wouldn’t do that in Italy. She reminded me that this is not Italy and this is how you do things in America. So I just called them.

Everybody was very nice. There weren’t many opportunities. But the last person I called was the scientist at Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He said yes and he informed me that they had a fellowship I should apply for and so I applied. I actually went there on my own. I took a Southwest flight that probably stopped in 16 places before getting to LA to go for the interview.

They offered me a job that paid very little. I could manage and so, after a lot of trouble to get the Visa permit, I started in LA. I still remember when I went there for my interview because it was March and there was still snow on the ground in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I was living at the time. I got to LAX (which is not the best place in LA) but when I saw the palm trees I said, I’m going to get this job. So I started it and that September I moved to LA. I spent two years there as a fellow which is basically a very Junior position but it was an extraordinary experience because I really had a fantastic mentor, great colleagues, and it was really so integrated. There I got to work on everything from paintings to ancient Egyptian silver and bronze sculptures, Modern art. So really that was how I learned. After two years, I had the opportunity to get a research position at the Freer Gallery in Washington DC, which is the collection of Asian art of the Smithsonian. There I started working on a special project on Japanese art.

Then, after two years LA County Museum of Art called me and told me that the person I worked with there had retired and asked if I was interested in the job of senior scientist there. After some time there the Met museum called. Even though I loved Los Angeles, I could not say no to New York. New York is where things happen and and my task at the MET was really to create the first scientific research department in the all history of the MET. The MET had a few scientists, but they were working on different conservation areas, in different environments. So they asked me to come in, bring them together and create a bigger structure. Therefore, I gave up surfing in the morning before I went to work and I moved to NYC.

I’m still here, 16 years later.

You are a very successful scientist, what is your role/job description at the Met museum?

Now every day the first thing I do is to arrange the calendar for the following week because out of 16 people on my team I can only bring in six people every day because of Covid-19 occupancy restrictions, so I’m just like the guy who takes down bookings for the tennis courts or something like that. It’s not very exciting and you can imagine everybody wants to be here. A lot of my work is administrative. I created a team, I assembled a work structure; as a non profit we have to do a lot of fundraising that is looking for grants to secure positions to take care of the maintenance of equipment and to purchase new equipment. My biggest priority right now is really helping museums and the Arts to achieve more representation and more diversity.

We’re lucky that in the sciences we have an amazing pool of talented scientists of color, so we can take advantage of programs that existed in the past. We increased the minority representation in the sciences and our task now is reaching out to these candidates letting them know that this is a great career and they can join the museum and contribute and help us become more representative of America. To do that I just need to do a lot of knocking on doors to get money.

Because today is a very quiet day I could come in to do the interview with you and also work in the laboratory. I’m thinking it’s a luxury for me. I can shut off the paperwork and go to the laboratory where I’m putting together a new instrument that will allow us to do more work in identifying materials in works of art. Tomorrow I have a new Junior scientist who’s a PhD candidate here at City College and who works with me.

I also work on Japanese art. That’s my skill, my passion. I’ve done a lot of work to study artworks such as the famous Great Wave by Hokusai. If you Google me you’ll see that I talk a lot about that. Our job is to discover how those prints were made, and also to really look through materials, through the technology, through the identification of artists pigments and processes, and understand more about the society that produced these works.

Our aim would be not to just stop at the surface or under the surface, but scrape down and tell a story that really says something new about Hokusai and understand art through the lens of the components and physical nature of the object.

How do you apply your scientific expertise to the artworks that the museum deals with? Can you give an example?

For example, in Hokusai’s Great Wave (you can look up in our collection website) you see there’s a beautiful and dynamic live representational force of nature in the Great Wave where tiny little men are about to be washed out by the wave. One of the things that was very interesting to me was the use of blue. Now the woodblock printing in Japan in the 1800s was the most advanced color reproduction technique in the world. So even though it was a pre-industrial society, there was no steam power, no machine, etc., they could achieve amazing results in several fields.

They were able to achieve amazing color quality, amazing quality control over print that were sold at a very low cost. It was commercial illustration, it was not art. You start seeing prints like the Great Wave, my own hypothesis is that we have the beginning of artistic prints in that they go beyond even what was already highly achievable at that time in the sense that the depth of color and the color range is amazing. Our brain processes variations in light (expressed in drawings with light and dark shading) as variation in depth in space. Hokusai and the master craftsmen who printed this work knew this intuitively, and they took extra care with lighter and darker shades of blue to create depth and movement. The observation is that these works are truly exceptional, and trying to deconstruct them to see what makes them amazing in the use of color and then going into analysis to prove this theory is part of the work. Therefore, we use a variety of tools, and the most important ones are the eye and the microscope, as you really want to get close to it and observe it. I’m not that good but my colleagues that work in conservation really have highly trained eyes and they can very often tell me what I’m going to find. They are always right. And then we go on with non-invasive analytical techniques. These are instruments that allow us to identify the materials without removing particles from the work, eventually it may be necessary to do what we call micro sampling, that is removing microscopic fragments.

We have a fiber optic instrument that shines just like regular white light and we capture the reflection of the color, and we can see through a spectrometer broken down in each wavelength rather than the eye which has only three receptors, the eye sees blue, green, and red.

Blue, green, and red are amazing colors because we have color vision essentially by seeing these three colors. This instrument instead has hundreds of receptors so we can really get a very complex picture that gives us the fingerprint of a certain color. We can tell whether it’s Indigo or Prussian Blue.

So what we discovered was how those two pigments were mixed which makes the printing more complex, time consuming, and ultimately more expensive, if you see that the publisher chose to go through this route and created something that clearly has more added value, more artistic quality. Then, this is not a normal print, and I think that that is an important statement to make because it says something about the time that was done and what people wanted and it gets a bit more complex. You can imagine that landscapes are important to those who love to travel. And that’s normal for us. We don’t even think about it. You have a landscape in front of you and say, oh I would like to visit the place or I visited that place. I think about older times like special feudal society when they were not allowed to travel and could not just pick up and go with money; but also needing to be authorized by their local sovereign lord. You could not just go somewhere else and not work for him.

So what we see in Japan in Tokyo is that people had a little bit more money and

people started traveling. So maybe it’s a pilgrimage. Maybe it’s going to a famous sanctuary or famous art place. So if you’re a person of means you travel and you commission a painting that shows a famous place.

If your personal means are less you may buy a print and maybe still travel so the print could be a souvenir. If you’re somebody who cannot travel at least you can afford the print because now you see the landscapes around you. There is always a correlation of what you see in paintings and what you need to make that painting.

Before the 1820’s (The Great Wave is from 1830s) you cannot find landscape prints in Japan.

Quite simply because they didn’t have a blue color that you can use for print that would give you the bright blue of the sky and the deep blue of the ocean. All they had was indigo, which is the color of blue jeans, a bit of a dull color. It doesn’t really work. If you make it really concentrated it comes out a dull grey-blue.

If you want to you can make it a little like the blue sky but it won’t be the real blue sky and so at some point Prussian blue from Europe arrived in Japan. And that’s about 1820 the moment it arrives you have landscape prints. This is not a coincidence.

We traced the use of colors which is the very basic step into looking at a piece of art with the curators or art historians. We then join in and so it’s a little bit of a forensic conversation, a little bit of art historical background. We go in through a step-by-step approach using not the eyes but microscopes, for non-invasive analysis as well as x-ray laser based infrared tools.

Have you ever come across a forgery?

We generally don’t comment on forgeries and similar issues. There are other issues which are not outright forgeries, but it’s where a piece has been restored and and so a part is not original and some of them could be historical and some could be very new. So it’s more about deciding which one stays and which one goes. I know it’s a very fascinating topic, but I am sure there are actually less forgeries than you think. We haven’t seen many those. We also have the opposite which is when we have an object that may be classified as a reproduction or a copy and with true analysis we can tell that it’s actually the real thing. That’s far more exciting because instead of condemning something you can actually bring it back from obscurity.

What do you think of the art world right now during Covid-19? What has the impact been as far as you see?

I can tell you only what I know about-that it is certainly a crisis.

This is hitting all of us really hard.

I say it’s a catastrophe because right now the MET is losing an enormous amount of money. We’re trying to stay open and we really wanted to stay open, not so much to find revenue. As you know, we have a particular admission policy where New Yorkers and New York State residents “pay as they wish”.

The fixed price ticket is only for people outside of the State of New York. But with Covid the only people who come to the museum are New Yorkers and New York State residents. Our revenue is very small right now and really I would say the decision was to open because we think we represent something for the city for our members, for our public, and we wanted to be there.

The reopening was not about the money. As you look at museums closing around the country it’s very sad and I hope that museums can stay open and will decide to stay open if they can.

It is a great time now to visit and experience the museum because there are only very small crowds. Everybody is wearing a mask. Everybody is distancing. You can relax in the galleries.

What has been the most challenging part of your job?

We are a frontier profession but the field is still making advances that are considerable. Also we are at the border between different disciplines so it’s really a matter of communication. It’s really learning the language of other professions while communicating our work in a way that is responsible and relevant to others, and fighting every day for our own relevance. Really the ones at the table are the ones being part of the messaging in every sense.

What has been the most enjoyable part of your job?

I like to talk all over the world about my profession. I’ve been honored to be with scientists who achieve far more than me and we talked to school children and we see them get excited when we bring them here in the labs. We want to do more and more of that. That is absolutely enjoyable.

Then, the other part that is amazingly enjoyable is being in the lab and developing something new, creating a new instrument, making a new discovery. That is something that by itself is worth all the work that you put in.

You most likely do not work alone. What kinds of things do the team members do to assist you with your work?

The staff is highly specialized: chemists or geologists. Most of them are with PhDs where 80% are women, 20% men. Every year we have two to three postdoctoral fellows. We have had over 200 since I came here: interns from High School to graduate, undergraduate to graduate, and post graduate fellows to high level scientists coming.

That’s a very broad crew. We have people specializing in different areas. So I have a person who specializes in analysis of paintings, a person specializing in organic material now. This is sort of the oil, the tempera order. We have a person specializing in organic analysis for the rest of the collection. We established it recently, three people who are in charge of the environment. They study air quality, temperature, humidity, and light conditions.

It’s a luxury to have so many. We’re probably the largest in the US in a museum.

These types of diversity of scientific training and discipline is very important when you think of an art museum like the MET. We collect anything and everything from ancient Asia art

to the contemporary world. There isn’t another museum in the world that has a collection so broad and I don’t mean this to brag. For example, the British museum has the widest archaeological collection but does not have the diversity of art that the Met museum has.

It doesn’t matter how big you are, but it’s about the diversity.

The post Meet Marco Leona from the Metropolitan Museum of Art appeared first on Artiholics.

Hi Ann! Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background. How did you come to the art field?

Thank you for letting me share my art expressions and experiences. It’s been an interesting journey!

I grew up in Southern California and I have two brothers and a sister. My dad is deceased; he was a great man. My mom is very active in all aspects of life. She’s an amazing person.

I started painting after I had my gymnastics accident. I tried to do a summersault off a balance beam, I landed on my neck and pinched my spinal cord. I have a C1-C2 spinal cord injury which means I’m unable to use anything from my neck down and normal breathing is impossible. I spent nine months in the hospital learning how to adjust to my new normal way of life. It’s a life time of learning. Since I was five when I had my accident, I didn’t have any prior knowledge of art.

Thelma Steinberg, a family friend taught me how to paint. She put the paint brush in my mouth and I started painting. We started in junior high school. I had a lot to learn but I throughly enjoyed painting with Thelma.

You paint with your mouth. When did you start painting?

Yes, I do since I don’t have the ability to paint with my hands. I started painting when I was ten years old, five years after my accident.

Were you painting with your hands before or is it something that came to you after?

No, I didn’t paint with my hands before my accident. I was using my hands for every day use and to play tennis, snow & water skiing. We have an active family. 

What do you enjoy about painting?

I enjoy designing, colors, and composition. I call it ARTITUDE, I made this up for myself; it’s putting my attitude and thoughts into art and ignoring my to do list and ignoring the rest of the world while I am painting. I noticed when I didn’t block out my other responsibilities my mind was distracted and my thoughts were partially about the painting and partially about my other duties. I didn’t have my best painting days when I was doing this. This is how Artitude evolved; now my painting time is more enjoyable and I am in the moment.

I find art is healing; it’s creative, peaceful, and emotional. Art gives me a positive emotional feeling when the scene is evolving and is becoming the design that I had envisioned. This is not always the case so I do appreciate the days when all of the elements come together on the canvas.

How are you inspired?

I am inspired by the beauty of the world, the natural and man made beauty. True, not all of the world is beautiful but I am encouraged to emphasize the positive attitudes of people and cultures, animals, nature (from the tallest to the smallest forms), the oceans, lakes, and trees. I am inspired by the world around me such as the beauty in a garden, going for walks, the creativity and beauty in people’s homes. I see beauty in magazines, books, movies, colors and design in award shows, staging, beauty of the beach, the amazing colors of a sunset, the activities at the park. I love watching people laugh, talk, and interact with one another, seeing the kids play, watching the animals play with each other, the positive energy and activities in a stadium, the space shuttle is extremely exciting to me. Life is art, and when my world doesn’t make sense an abstract painting will be created.

How extensive is the role of Art in your life?

Art plays a very active role in my life. When I am designing and experiencing life, I see art everywhere and I try to capture it in my mind and I’ll take a photograph of what I see to reinforce my memory.

Who is your favorite artist?

Claude Monet. I think he uses vibrant colors and I admire his brush strokes and the movement in his paintings.

Do you have a particular genre that you prefer?

Definitely Impressionism.

How extensive is the field of artists, people who paint with alternative ways other than their hands?

I don’t know, but I do know that there are many other people such as I who paint with their mouth, as well as people who paint with their feet. Art is healing and people will do what they have to do to create a painting. It’s fascinating and impressive what people can do.

Have you ever felt discouraged or frustrated? What would you say to someone in a challenging situation?

Yes, at times I get frustrated at my situation!!! At times it’s difficult not to do something for yourself; it would be so much easier and faster to do things independently of other people. My spinal cord injury, SCI, creates problems: for example, I sit a lot and that can give me pressure sores which are difficult to heal and there’s not a lot of options to heal them. It can drive you crazy! I don’t wish what I have on my worst enemy.

For me, my mind is critical in handling every situation. I would suggest to other people to have a positive attitude and outlook on life. My motto is “inch by inch life’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s hard, and mile by mile it’s a pile.” In essence chew a little of life at a time; this reduces stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed. Try to avoid being angry; it takes a lot of negative energy which is not good for your body. Learn breathing techniques to relieve stress and anger.

Use your mind to control your emotions, attitude and thoughts. Stay positive and think positive thoughts and be involved in activities that are exciting for you. For example, be involved in writing music, poetry, a script for a play or for Netflix, make a viral video, paint, watch and write about sports and if you are able to be physically involved in sports, then play sports. It’s also good to volunteer somewhere, help other people, believe in God, be around good people, be good to other people, take good care of yourself. Keep busy!! Keep your mind thinking about the next positive step. It’s fine to be angry for a short time then let it go and move on. Be patient, use your humor to laugh and to enjoy life. Kindness matters! Be grateful for what you can do and for what you have.

Basically accept, adjust, and move forward; this is your new normal. Don’t give up and don’t give in. If need be ask for help. It might be hard but it’s fine, yet don’t cry wolf. Lastly “no” whining, screaming or complaining.

What do you think of Art therapy for people?

Art therapy is extremely important.

I know for a fact that art therapy has saved people from depression and suicide. Art gives people a purpose and a way to express their feelings. It’s even more important for people who have had an unfortunate accident or a life changing disease. For people who are in rehabilitation, art allows people to think about what and how they are going to paint instead of their situation which often brings sadness and frustration. A person’s outlook can go down fast and art can keep their mind in a positive direction.

My friend was an artist before he had a stroke after which he wasn’t able to move his right hand, his painting  hand. He was seriously depressed. Thank God he eventually learned to use his left arm to paint. It was hard for him and he missed what he had, yet he was grateful that he could paint again. He is an amazing artist.

Can you cite a specific example from your life when art was helpful? 

Yes, art lets you use your imagination. For a history class the teacher asked me to paint a person in history and to report on what I was painting. I painted Abraham Lincoln and talked about his accomplishments.

The post The Inspiring Story of the Fine Artist Ann Ruth appeared first on Artiholics.

My name is Gianfranco Meggiato, I was born in Venice in 1963 and am a sculptor of abstract works in bronze, aluminum, stainless steel and marble.

Please describe your journey to starting your life as an artist. How did you start your career and what brought you to start showing your works?

Since I was a child I felt a particular inclination for art, drawing, modeling, I studied for five years at the Istituto Statale of Venice, where I came into contact with different materials: wood, stone, clay, plaster, bronze.
Already at sixteen I participated in a collective exhibition in Piazza San Marco, at the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation, organized by the municipality of Venice, where I presented my first work created at school: a perforated stone panel on both walls; it already contained the initial seed of my future plastic research.

What is the process behind the creation of your works?

Unlike many other sculptors, I never start from a drawing or from a project, but instinctively, directly, by modeling the wax directly by heating it in special stoves and then modeling it with the help of a heat gun and lavacrete.
It is a very long and complex job and a work is sometimes done over and over again until the satisfactory result is achieved.

What inspires your artworks?

Telling you what inspires my works is not easy, in the sense that my sculptures arrive a little on their own. It is not that when I start working in the morning I already know what I will do, but as I proceed, the idea born takes shape and develops.
As Joan Mirò said: “Images take shape while I work. In other words, instead of deciding to paint something, I start working and while I paint the image imposes itself or offers itself to my brush.”
Here in this definition of Mirò on making art I find myself very much there and in my opinion the artist is nothing more than an energy receptor which then manages to transform matter whatever their medium, plastic in my case.

Your sculptures are elegant and very powerful. Is there a specific meaning or message behind your Art?

On the general meaning of my artistic research I can say that I model my sculptures often inspired by the biomorphic fabric and the labyrinth that symbolize the tortuous and tormented path of man aimed at finding himself and his own precious inner sphere. In this context, space enters into all my works and emptiness becomes as important as fullness. 

Lately I have been increasingly attracted to the foundational concepts of quantum physics
One of the best known experiments in the field of quantum physics is that of the double slit (a variant of Young’s experiment) where the results change as the conditions of observation and execution change.
In essence, subatomic particles are fired through two slits and their behavior changes, changing their nature from beam to wave, depending on whether or not there is the presence of an observer assisting with the experiment.
A question then arises: what is the true nature of man if he is able to modify, with the mere presence of an observer, the behavior and nature of subatomic particles?
Here I think that contemporary art must be in line with its time, also having the courage to touch uncomfortable scientific themes.
Some of my latest works: Uomo Quantico, Respiro Quantico etc. refer precisely to a way of making art linked to these scientific theories where space and time would not exist but everything would happen at the same time and in the same space.
In creating the sculpture, I then proceed to perform separately, without an overall view, each single element that will constitute together with the others the final sculpture that will appear when all the elements are composed in the same space and at the same time.

In general mine is a plastic research that tries to touch current issues and inner research.

You exhibited all over the world, tell us about your experiences. Any favorite places? 

I must say that in my opinion, before being in museums, art must be among people and that is why in recent years I have given much space to monumental installations placed in squares or in particularly symbolic public places.
One of the installations that touched me most was: “La Spirale della Vita” made in Piazza Bologni in Palermo on the occasion of Manifesta 12, between June and September 2018.

The installation dedicated to the 878 innocent mafia victims, made in the shape of a spiral of twelve meters in diameter, made up of jute bags, culminated in the center with a vertical sculpture 4 meters high entitled: “Il Mio Pensiero Libero” because in the end only a free thought can free us from the spiral of death.

This installation was particularly felt and experienced by the Palermitans who came to see if the name of their relative or friend was among those imprinted in the jute bags; the Spiral of Life had then become a mausoleum to their dead.

When art interprets the common feeling of a people, remembering the fallen and at the same time giving a message of hope, I think it can be said that it has achieved one of its highest goals.

Tell us about your icomos-UNESCO award. What is it awarded for? When did you receive it? How did you feel? Was there any impact upon your career after receiving this award?

The Icomos-Unesco prize was awarded to me in Florence in October 2017 “for having masterfully combined the ancient and the contemporary in sculptural installations of great evocative power and aesthetic value.”
In June of that year at the International Sculpture Park of the Marca museum in Catanzaro I had created a circular installation of 20 meters in diameter consisting of 4 thousand jute bags with 8 monumental sculptures inside entitled: Il Giardino delle Muse Silenti.

These military jute bags were symbolically placed in defense of our values, of our culture, also given the repeated terrorist attacks that had occurred in that period: “Not soldiers behind the fortifications but sculptures: the Silent Muses, after having inspired the poetry the Muse defends it, the last bulwark against barbarism and death.” (Luca Beatrice)
This which had been my first large installation had immediately made me aware that this was my way.
I was thrilled by an art made of “social” installations to face the drama of the contemporary era and the Icomos-Unesco award received had made me understand that I was in the right direction.
At the end of the installation, the Marca museum has acquired and placed on permanent display in the international sculpture park, a work of mine 4 meters high: Il Mio Pensiero Libero.

How is the Covid-19 influencing your Art? What is the impact of the virus on you? How are you using the quarantine time?

In 2019 on the occasion of Matera European Capital of Culture I had created the largest contemporary art installation of the event.
An installation of 25 x 20 meters was made with more than 5 thousand bags colored with the 7 colors of peace, in the shape of the hand of Fatima, a symbol common to Jews, Muslims and Orthodox Christians.

The founding theme of the installation was: Everything is One, imprinted on the bags in the 30 most spoken languages in the world.

Well the year of Covid-19 made us understand how prophetic that phrase was.
We are all cells of the same organism and a body must remain united if it wants to defeat the virus.
In June of this year, the art magazine ArteIn dedicated the cover to my installation.

“Today“– writes Luciano Caprile for ArteIn –“we can open the drawers of the soul and take advantage of this difficult period as an opportunity for growth and enrichment. In this respect, the great hand of Gianfranco Meggiato, open to all humanity, makes us understand how truly everything is one (…) and how each person’s physical and spiritual salvation depends on safeguarding this conviction.”
Personally, I used the time of quarantine to model new works in view of the next exhibitions.

What are your plans for the future?

For the summer of 2021 I am planning a large exhibition with about twenty monumental works in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, one of the most visited archaeological sites in the world where great international sculptors, from Igor Mitoraj to Jan Fabre and many others, can be viewed.

The theme will be “Know Yourself” the famous inscription on the pediment of the temple of Apollo in Delphi.

The post Gianfranco Meggiato: The Master of Sculpture appeared first on Artiholics.

Last month when it was announced that Björk’s Album of apps Biophilia was being purchased by MoMA for its collection I noticed they hadn’t mentioned Max Weisel.

What I thought was the most profound thing at the time the album was designed was that a large portion of the apps on the album were designed and programmed by a teenager.

I met Max at the 2012 Volta NY pre-party  at Villain in Williamsburg few months before this article in Vice was written.  He told me about how he and developed apps for Björk’s Biophilia album, and that they constructed a playable iPad rig on stage, so he could control a lot of the music and was now touring with Bjork.

I was a huge fan, and had a huge crush on Björk in my teenage years (who didn’t?), and he introduced me to a few of her Icelandic choral background singers who were also at the party; Ester Auðunsdóttir invited me to come to their show at Roseland ballroom the next night as their guest .

Needless to say, the show was an INSANE mix of music, singing, performance art, and technology.

I caught up with Max in June 2014.  We chatted online, me from my studio in NYC, he rather appropriately on a tablet in an airplane flying to California. We talked about the inclusion of the app in MoMA’s permanent collection, his involvement in the project at such a young age (he designed the app at 18) and how it all came together.  Enjoy the Artiholics Exclusive interview with artist / programmer Max Weisel.

Artiholics:  So how did Björk find you in the first place?

Max Weisel: At the beginning, Björk had the idea to do an app album. Normally, when someone goes to do a music video or something like that, the label has people they can reach out to. They know production companies and directors. Björk herself knows a lot of people too of course. However, when they started this project (early 2010) no one was making apps for albums.

She was talking with her manager who she’s been with for 30 years and he suggested they reach out to the developers of her favorite apps. I had made some small apps at the time. Nothing too crazy in the music / creative space. I woke up one day to a comment on my wordpress blog asking for my info on behalf of Björk. I actually laughed it off and assumed someone was just messing with me. However, curiosity got the best of me. I started looking into the name attached to the comment and found a record label and a phone number. I called them up.

“Hey, this might be odd, but someone wrote a comment on my blog asking for my info for Björk”

Artiholics:  Where were you living at the time?

Max Weisel:  Arizona with my parents, I was 18 and had just graduated high school (barely :P).  The person on the other end of the line was like “Yeah! Thanks for reaching out. We’re still figuring this out, but let me get your info and I’ll shoot you an email.”

A week or so later, I got an email from Björk and her assistant with some of their ideas and the themes she was thinking about for each of the songs on the album. We kept emailing back and forth for awhile and I started putting rough concepts together.

Header photo by Joris Bulckens

Interview by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

The post Artiholics Exclusive Interview: The Teenage Programmer Behind Björk’s Biophilia App… The One MoMA Recently Acquired appeared first on Artiholics.

With just five days into the Kickstarter campaign, founders Maxwell Bogue, Daniel Cowen and Peter Dilworth got over $1.9 million in pledges and undoubtedly surpassed their goal of only $30,000… (you can see our initial report here).

So, what is the 3Doodler you might ask?

The 3Doodler is a pen which heats up plastic sticks and releases them.  Once the plastic comes out of the pen, it cools really quickly and solidifies into wherever you lead the pen!  This allows you to “draw in 3D”.

Brilliant!

To develop such creative technology, it undeniably takes minds that are programmed to think outside of a box.

So, I got to ask the founders Maxwell, Daniel and Peter exactly how they did it:

What inspired you with the idea to create the 3Doodler pen?  How was it birthed?

The idea came about as we frequently use our own 3D printers for rapid prototyping.  We wanted to see if the process could be sped up and made “freer” by placing the parts of the 3D printer in a pen form.  The first iteration was called the teacup, basically an extruder with a handle.  It worked horribly, but it did work.  The team then added to this, creating a unique cooling mechanism and evolving to the 3Doodler you see today.

Are you developing any new products?  If so, how do you find time to develop them?

Yes, we recently announced some new products at CES.  The first is a holder for the pen, which makes storing the 3Doodler in between doodling easier, while also doubling as a moveable platform to allow you to create larger structures with far less hassle.  3Doodler will also be launching the first in a series of changeable nozzles, allowing users to extrude plastic in different shapes and sizes; as well as DoodleBlocks™; silicon molds that can be easily “filled in” with the ABS or PLA plastic from the pen.  The molds come in various shapes including stars, numbers, and letters, making it effortless to create perfectly shaped objects.

What were your biggest challenges leading up to the launch of the 3Doodler?  And any advice to our readers with product ideas of their own?

Prepare, prepare, prepare.  If you think you have something that could get very big, I’d recommend reaching out to media before the launch.  The idea that you can just throw it up there and see how it does might work for smaller projects, but for something really big, you need to reach out.  Logistics are important as well – you need an idea or a basic plan for how you’re going to deal with the craziness.  If you’re thinking of launching on Kickstarter, talking to a Kickstarter veteran is helpful as well.  I spoke to Joe Schlesinger (of Arcbotics) a lot about the pitfalls he hit with Kickstarter. You’re going to get a ton of emails.  My girlfriend took a few weeks off from work, just to help us answer them.  We had some amazing help to strategize and execute the whole campaign.  In short: it’s really important to prepare completely – have exactly the right hands and brains on deck.  There aren’t really any negative points about our Kickstarter experience – but if we were to give advice for those considering it, we’d say be prepared for the amount of emails and publicity, and try and get back to all enquiries if you can!

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and process with us!  If you would like to purchase your own 3Doodler, check it out here:  www.the3doodler.com

Written by Laura West

The post Into The Minds of the Creators: 3Doodler appeared first on Artiholics.

If you’re traveling into New York City or are lucky enough to abide in the area this holiday season, I highly recommend stopping by Forum Gallery to catch a glimpse of leading figurative artist, Steven Assael.

Channeling the grace, technique and voices of Old Masters, their souls are left whispering in the air as they’re brought to life in the drawings created by the delicate hands of Steven Assael.

Steven Assael is known in America as one of the top representational figurative artists who marvelously captures intimate psychological portraits in fine detail. Every piece has its own story to tell as a human image is captured in moments of stillness and muted scenes.

A realist, Assael works from life and is selective in the way he represents a human figure.

Allowing the pencil to drift into essential lines, this organic detail gives a spaciousness and a haunting tonality to his pieces.

It was astounding to witness the individuality he managed to capture in each of his portraits.  The eyes possess a distinct personality, even in the most complex expression.

Assael has fine-tuned an incredible technique that really warrants one to look up close at the technicality.  Using graphite and crayon, he is able to capture exceptionally intricate detail, tasteful space, unique personalities and a mastery in his craft.

This exhibition will not disappoint.  It will leave you breathing in the elegance of Steven Assael’s new drawings and wanting to see more.

Steven Assael: New Drawings will be on exhibit at Forum Gallery from November 21, 2013 to February 1, 2014. Be sure to stop by!

Written by Laura West

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When attending  0 to 60, please PLEASE don’t rush through. These works each deserve at least 60 seconds of your precious time, but once you see a piece for 60 seconds, do not move quickly on to the next piece, like the majority of art viewers do all over the world. For this show, we break the impatient habit that most viewers have, and we take our time with this art.

0 to 60 is up until January 25th, 2014 at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery, (144 West 14th Street, 2nd Floor). This show allows for a beautiful meditation on time, and this review will help you appreciate some of the works more, so when you go there, you won’t waste your time.

Right when you walk into the gallery, there’s a site-specific installation that catches your eyes with all of its vibrant colors. The gallery has the privilege of hosting the assemblage work of artist, Lisa Hoke, whose collection of commonly discarded cardboard packages and plastic containers are utilized in unique 3-dimensional compositions right on the gallery wall. The accumulation of recycled materials marks another marker of time- the objects so frequently thrown away- without a second thought as to where they are going, or how much of them are passing through our lives. She essentially honors the sophistication of Robert Raushenberg’s assemblages, by integrating a fluid psychedelic spin of her own.Hoke’s work is immersive, and I wouldn’t underestimate it to literally swallow the viewer as I overheard someone talking to Lisa, conversing about its fragile state, and how it’s vulnerable to collapse. She revitalizes the aesthetic value of logos, covering packaging that most consumers spot when they make a purchase, with the sole intention of using the product, and throwing away the extraneous material as garbage right after their consumption.

Hoke has a gift of breathing life into mundane cardboard and plastic wrapping to become something of a contrasting value- something that will make us marvel. I met Lisa at the gallery opening, and we both took a second to admire the logos found within the materials in her installation. Rarely, do I look at the “Coca-Cola” logo, and say, “that’s a gorgeous design;” but Lisa Hoke’s work evokes that reaction. She recontextualizes everyday consumer imagery into a transient and ephemeral form; the piece at this gallery will be deconstructed once the show is over. The carefully and intuitively placed assemblage is unique to this show- it utilizes the gallery space in a way that only her work can and ever will.

The second work I’m going to mention is Last Breath, by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. This piece intrigued me instantly, with its robotic structure, and moving extremities. The work entails plastic tubing that connects to a brown paper bag that curiously inflates and deflates, at the rate much like our lungs breathe. Apparently, the work is “activated 10,000 times a day, the typical respiratory frequency for an adult at rest.” There is even a digital red counter, marking which breath the bag is at. One way we can measure time is through the amount of breaths we take each day. Have you begun counting? Take three breaths, right now. Do it, and count. Does time always have to be measured in seconds, hours, or days? Rafael Lozano-Hemmer does the extraordinary feat of reminding us that we only have a certain amount of breaths left in our life. Simply remembering his work brings a new appreciation to every breath we take. I just counted- my three breaths took 15 seconds.

In another corner of the gallery, you will find a sweet aspect of the show- that of Felix Gonzalez-Torres, within his legendary installation of white candies individually wrapped in cellophane, weighing approximately 175 pounds in total. If you have not seen his work before, or rather, if you have not tasted his work before, this is your opportunity to do so. The piece is apparently frequently replenished, so viewers are welcome to take one candy per show. I know of people who have stuffed their pockets with the candy. The sweets represent the weight of a human being, and each time someone grabs and eats one, the symbolic weight of that human deteriorates by the weight of one more candy. This reminds me that the cells in our body are constantly dying and regenerating, and that although someone may be 50 years old, most cells in their body are only around 7 to 10 years young. When enough viewers see this show, the entire installation of Torres may pass through a collection of bodies, and help regenerate the cells in hundreds of viewers.

Artist David Shapiro exhibited a piece in the show, in which receipts were displayed within a glass case. These were not ordinary receipts, as Shapiro meticulously and painstakingly reproduced a plethora of receipts from his daily life with pen, color pencil, ink, gouache, and paper. We leave a paper trail behind us, as we buy a coffee here, and pay a parking ticking there. The passage of our time can be marked through these paper receipts, and Shapiro, through these works, glorifies this evidence of our existence. The human touch is seen as not all the marks are pristine, and there are the slightest of errors and curved lines.

Caetano de Almeida’s pollution drawings have a quiet presence, as they have slight differentiations in tone on the paper behind their glass frame. Almeida’s work reveals the dust and pollution that collects over time with the use of stencils on paper outside the artist’s balcony in Sao Paolo. The pollution paintings are evidence of  how, as time passes, small particles leave traces, and you can observe that the lightest areas of the piece were out on the balcony the shortest amount of time, as they had the least amount of dust and pollution collected on them. I am horrified by what the pollution is doing on the lungs of people that breathe in this air everyday.

We constantly keep track of time, and our lives, especially in NYC, are ruled by time- we have to be on time, we want to spend time with the right people, make time for memories that matter. This exhibit enlightens us to consider how everything in our lives accumulates or deteriorates, subjected to the grand ruler of time. There are more artists, and I recommend purchasing the book that accompanies the show, so you can get a more insightful look at all the artists.

Written and photographed by Andrew Kaminski

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NEW YORK CITY, NY – Monday, September 9, 2013

You might recognize Rick Genest better known as Zombie Boy (or Rico the Zombie) from the Lady Gaga Born This Way video.  Or maybe you’ve seen his fashion modeling work (he’s the face of Jay Z‘s clothing line Rocawear in Europe- and the face of Dermablend Professional).

He also DJ’s, is the front man for a punk band, a side show freak, and acts in music videos as well as alongside Keanu Reeves  as “Savage” in 47Ronin due out in December 2013.

Any way you slice it, if you’ve seen him, you can’t forget him (at least your subconscious can’t).  In a world of short attention spans, and first impressions, there is no mistaking this tattooed artist in a crowd.  He is in NYC for fashion week, modeling tonight with Eyewear Designer Stevie Boi for the fashion-show  “Leather” to be held at The Out Hotel 510 W 42nd Street at 7pm.

Followed by an After Party hosted by Dermablend Professional (the tattoo cover-up seen above), that you surely won’t want to miss. Especially, since the underground fashion & music scene is already a buzz. Zombie Boy will be performing LIVE for the FIRST time ever & debuting his material from his upcoming EP due out November 2013 –  ‘Zombie Boy Vs The World’ – at Webster Hall’s Marlin Room – Doors 10pm – Stage time Midnight. RSVP is required for both events. zombieboyguestlist@gmail.com

One day before his band’s big NYC debut I got a chance to ask him the requisite 10 questions to try to find out why corpse is the new black.

Artiholics: “What was your first tattoo?”

ZOMBIE BOY: “The Jolly Roger on my shoulder. The Jolly Roger is an old school symbol that represented anarchy. ”

Artiholics: “Have you ever just bought flash off the wall?”

ZOMBIE BOY: “Yes, a cupcake on my ass.”

Artiholics: “Who designs your tats, and who actually needles them into your skin?”

ZOMBIE BOY: “My grandmother.”

Artiholics: “In your modeling career, have there ever been any outfits your tats have clashed with?”

ZOMBIE BOY: “No, because all my ink is black and white and goes with everything. Except for the time I had to wear the red dress. It wasn’t the designers fault though… Or mine. ”

Artiholics: “Do you ever find your own body artwork competes with the artwork on the clothes you wear?”

ZOMBIE BOY: “I feel the clothes I model complement my tattoos and vice versa.”

Artiholics: “How did you get involved with Gaga?”

ZOMBIE BOY: “I was modeling for Nicola Formichetti the designer of Muglar who is Gaga’s designer and we had previously worked together in fashion.”

Artiholics: “What’s the weirdest reaction you’ve ever got from a stranger”

ZOMBIE BOY: “Airport security or a bus driver? lt’s hard to narrow it down. I once held a door for a little old lady and she went all the way to the other set of doors to avoid me. ”

Artiholics: “What was the first artwork you were proud of?”

ZOMBIE BOY: ” I did some pretty bad ass finger paintings when I was a kid. And some wicked Lego creations.”

Artiholics: “Do you consider your facade a work of performance art, a living sculpture, or a life long installation?”

ZOMBIE BOY: “Facade? (laughs) I’m a living piece of something. Or am I?”

Artiholics: “Now that you have covered your entire canvas, what is your next masterpiece?”

ZOMBIE BOY: ” My band, Zombie Boy vs. the World is the main focus of my facade but I’m also working on getting my laundry done.”

Interview by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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New York, NY – Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Late last year Street Artist Essam was arrested for a highly charged NYPD drone fake ad campaign he hung around the city.  In mid-March I went to a fundraising art event at Mother hosted by Animal NY to help pay his attorney and court fees.

The list of artists that donated work to the silent auction included Clay Patrick McBride, Dan Witz, Peter Max, Tanyth Berkeley, GILF, Mr. EWOKONE, Patrick Waldo, Jaron Berman, QRST,Stash, SERVO, Army of One, Adam Dare, and many more.  There were also musical performances by Ben Morgan, Danny Musengo​, California Kings​, Motherwell Johnson​, and Ludlow Thieves.

I caught up with Essam a few months later to see what had resulted from the auction, and how the case was going after all the dust had settled.

Artiholics: “First off, can you give me a little run down of what exactly happened for any of my readers who might be living outside of NYC who might not have caught the story?”

ESSAM: “On November 28th the NYPD intelligence/counter terrorism unit came knocking on my door and arrested me for allegedly placing mock NYPD public service announcements all over Manhattan.  The ad’s said things like ‘Always Watching,’ with Bloomberg’s face, cameras and drones ominously watching overhead, and “NYPD Drones, protection when you least expect it,” with a drone firing a hellfire at a fleeing family. Needless to say the NYPD was none to pleased.”

Artiholics: “What charges did they slap you with?”

ESSAM: “I’m being charged with Grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, 56 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, and criminal possession of a firearm for my great grand fathers antique revolver.”

Artiholics: “Who proposed the Free Essam silent auction?”

ESSAM: “The silent auction and concert were actually first proposed by my close friend Danny Musengo, the lead singer of Ludlow Thieves who headlined the performance that evening. I spent a week thinking, ‘I either let this ruin my life, or I try to use the momentum in the press to make something of this’. In hind sight it seems like a no brainer.”

Essam (Left) with Clay Patrick McBride.

Artiholics: “How did you get such an eclectic mix of artists to donate work?”

ESSAM: “Well, I received a formal arts education at SVA, and having been older than most other students due to my previous military service, I formed some very lasting relationships with the faculty, a few of which were instrumental in making the benefit happen. Mainly Clay Patrick McBride who was the MC for the evening, is a very well known and respected photographer in the music and sports industries and really went to bat for me. Through him I was able to meet many of the artists who donated, including one of the performers.”

Artiholics: “Anyone show up at the party you didn’t expect to?”

ESSAM: “I met a lot of people that I was honored to have in attendance to include one of the heads of Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, the wall street journal, a representative from Adam Harvey’s studio, but I was most surprised to see photographer Kareem Black, who’s presence usually signifies ‘this’ is the cool thing to be doing, and collector W. H. Hunt who is one of the bigger collectors and curators of photography in New York. There was also an Assistant District Attorney in attendance which made me a little nervous.”

Artiholics: “Did the party raise a lot of funds?  Anyone offer up a get out of jail free card?”

ESSAM: “I managed to raise about $13,000 front the event itself and another $10,000 through the sale of work online with 1xRun, which in total nearly covered the cost of my attorney, so i’m happy, though a get out of jail free card would have been nice. I did make a piece for Libertarian Billionaire Peter Thiel and sent it along with a letter to his place of business in San Francisco in hopes of at least having an ally in the fight but I never received a response.”

Artiholics: “Have you had to return to court since the party?”

ESSAM: “I have, I went back on May 1st, the case was adjured until August 5th.  To date there has been no progress in the case, My attorney is in communication with the district attorney to negotiate a plea bargain. The only real progress is soon I may finally be receiving my computers and hard drives that were taken in the raid.”

Artiholics: “What’s next on the horizon for you artistically?  And where can we keep tabs on your openings and events?”

ESSAM: “Right now I’m working with 1xRun on another edition of screen prints and I’m putting together work for a couple shows. No dates are set but you can keep updated with both my photography and my street art at www.eadamattia.com and www.freeessam.com, Free_ESSAM is on all social media as well.”

To support the FREE ESSAM campaign, you can buy a poster, the first two posters have sold out.  The third edition of posters are now available to purchase on 1xrun.com  (here)

You can also sign the petition to drop the charges against Essam, on ForceChange.com

Interview and Photos by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”
(header image by The Daily News)

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I arrived a few hours into an 8 hour living installation performance and the madness was already well underway. An amazing seat had been taped off with a “Reserved For Cojo” sign.  The second my ass hit metal I was catapulted front row center into an intoxicating juxtaposition of paint, garbage, and the odd beauty of the artistically distorted female form.

Ethereal music echoed, rose and fell as the faceless muses blindly repeated insignificant tasks with purpose. Ad nausium they wound up a rope, or painted and repainted their breasts with one hand while loosely shooting the action with a close-circuit camera linked to an HD flat screen sitting a few feet away.

The women start as clothed audience members, stripping nude as they walk towards the stage.  Their faces are quickly covered in some sort of mask.  The whole scene reminded me a bit of Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.

Once in the middle of everything one girl’s mask slipped off, and the odd flash of humanity it revealed was jarring.

I grabbed one photo (although you aren’t supposed to) with my camera to show the chaotic scene from where I was sitting.  I also wanted to make sure I got a shot of artist  Joseph Meloy, who was the official photographer of the event in action.

I caught up with Michael Alan a few days later to talk a bit about the show, and the drawings he’s working on for his upcoming performance at The New Museum.

Artiholics: “The last of your ‘living installations’ I went to was The Healing Show (read about it on ArtSucks), this one new one ‘The Adoration Of Women’ seemed a little less chaotic, can you talk a little bit about the different approaches you took with the two shows?”

“My drawing for The New Museum performance/live show! This is one of 4 drawings that will be picked for the card/ for the Untapped show at the Museum!” – Michael Alan

Michael Alan: “The installations, drawings, sculptures, music, and paintings are all connected with their language.  That being said, every work is standalone.  The healing show was extremely raw, chaotic and emotional. It was a few days after Sandy and that was the energy at the time.  We were extremely lucky we were able to make that production happen and it was wild! This experience, the adoration of women, was less chaotic and more attentive to what the performers and I wanted to express.

We wanted to highlight and deeply develop each character for the audience.  Each performer had their place on stage, forming a circle.  I was in the center of this ritual, so the piece was literally centered.”

Artiholics: “So this is the last of your live performances before the big show at The New Museum.  How crazy are you gonna get over there, seems like you would probably have to tone it down a bit.”

Michael Alan: “The word crazy is relative.  The New Museum untapped living installation is entitled ‘freedom’. The curators have given us the liberty to work in new collaborative opportunities (special thanks Rick Herron and Travis Chamberlain!).  This festival is outdoors for the public.  I’m work working with musicians I’ve never worked with before.  I’m using less paint and moving to different materials. I have decided to work with Rose Lou and Tim Love Lee verse my normal 8 to really push that collaboration to the extreme.

In addition to collaborative works I will be drawing 15 large, human sized works, and building miniature sculptures.This festival inspired us to be coming out with a 12 song album, of Tim and Mike songs!”

Artiholics: “I’m sure after seeing one of your performances, people picture your studio to be like that scene in the movie Frida where we see Diego Rivera’s studio and there are just nude female models hanging around 24×7 swinging on fabric swings.  How close is that to reality?”

Michael Alan: “This is the classic Hollywood fantasy, at the end the hero drives and crashes off a cliff. On a typical Monday, there is usually about 750 nude male and female aliens swimming in a #warm pool of legos while eating feathers, fishies, and bags of paper. On Tuesday, there is anywhere between 50-75 billion naked smurfs, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 lbs each. On Wednesdays, there are 20,000 half monkey half raccoon hybrids clapping while they teach lizards and squirrels how to get along. Fridays are casual, I’m usually free basing. The rest of my schedule is really confusing.”

Pictured: Michael Alan.  (You only get one ride on this dirty fucking earth speck, so why not make it interesting).

Artiholics: “After the New Museum show, where and when can people who’ve never experienced a Michael Alan ‘Living Installation’ or seen your drawings and paintings expect to see you next?”

Michael Alan: “My work is with Gasser Grunert gallery, on 19th and 11th in Chelsea, New York. There is always work up, and a ton on request. I’m planning a huge installation in the beginning of the summer, and The Draw-A-Thon reunion, a studio show called “works on fire a bunch of group shows, my Record comes out! and possibly a solo show! Woop!” ~

You can view some of Michael Alan’s artwork, as well as keep tabs on his upcoming projects on his website: MichaelAlanArt.com

See his New Museum Performance of The Living Installation: Saturday, May 4th at IDEAS CITY. Houston and Chrystie St., NYC 12-4pm. FREE!!!!

Michael Alan featuring Tim Love Lee, Pearl Necklace, Maria Minerva, La Big Vic, Erika Spring
and so much more!!! Come!

Written by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”
Photographs by Joseph Meloy

The post The Adoration Of Women: The Return of Michael Alan’s Living Installation appeared first on Artiholics.

New York, NY – Monday, April 22nd, 2013

If you are a fan of Kenny’s work, with just that simple description you can now draw a mental image of this snake in your mind.  This is how iconic the man’s work is, and it almost seems bizarre that he got arrested.  It would be on par to Howard Stern getting an FCC fine for using a few foul words on mic at a bachelor party.  After navigating all the crazy web traffic the article sent my way, I caught up with the artist for a quick interview about his twenty hours in the Brooklyn Tombs:

Andy Warhol, Jacqueline Schnabel, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel & Kenny Scharf, NY 1984

Artiholics: “What was the first image or words you drew / painted on property you didn’t own, and where was it?  I personally have been asked many times if I do graffiti, and I never have.  There must have been something or someone that encouraged you to do it that first time.”

Kenny Scharf: “The first image I drew on the street was a TV set with the words the Jetsons inside probably 1978 and was somewhere in Chelsea I think and it was Jean-Michael {Basquiat} who handed me his marker after tagging Samo. We were both teenagers.”

Artiholics: “I guess it’s always been an unwritten law of the streets, that anyone who does any sort of “street art” isn’t really credible until they have been arrested.  How was your recent stint in the clink?”

Kenny Scharf: “I don’t recommend anyone to go to jail whether it helps you get street CRED. i have been there before for the same reason over 30 years ago but that’s another crazy story much crazier than the recent one. I didn’t really count going back I thought one time was enough so I’m definitely not planning on third visit. The only reason I got caught was there was someone with me and I assumed he was watching my back which wasn’t the case if I have been alone this would not have happened.”

Artiholics: “The amount of man hours you put into making the drabber parts of the city more colorful and vibrant, seems kind of weird to be throwing you in the same cell as hoodlums, rapists, and murders.  What was your prison experience like compared to your last NYC stint 30 years ago?”

Kenny Scharf: “The experience I had this time compared to 30 years ago is similar yet very different. the first time the cops physically abused me and this time nobody touched me except for the handcuffs and frisking. The whole system itself seems to be much worse than 30 years ago much more chaotic and the crowds we were all packed like sardines and it just felt like half of the black kids in Brooklyn were in there with me I mean I couldn’t believe HOW crowded it was.”

Artiholics: “You seem to love to work big, I remember that show you had back at PS1 in 2009, your pieces were gigantic.  Did you start out going big on walls, or canvas?”

Kenny Scharf:  “I always liked the New York school and wanted to be a part of that so big paintings were definitely part of that. I also love cinema and big paintings can have that vibe. As far as murals go the bigger the better.”

The finished Scharf Mural on Houston, December 2010. (Photo by Noel Y.C.)

Artiholics: “It is always weird to me to see people doing throw-up tags over your pieces, like the big mural on Houston you did which kept getting bombed.  Do they not know their history, or are they just trying to get some quick notoriety by being completely disrespectful?”

Photo by Ev Grieve.

Kenny Scharf: “I think the latter half of your question is the correct one just want to be noticed and by choosing the most noticeable wall in the city they feel some notoriety. I have the unfortunate luck to be the only artist on that group that didn’t get a protective coating which allows you to rub off the tags. so I had to fix it myself it was not Fun.”

Artiholics:“People are speculating, where exactly is this building you were tagged tagging?  It should almost get landmark status now. People should be taking Instagram #selfies in front of this now-iconic piece.”

Kenny Scharf: “It’s around the corner from my mural on Metropolitan there’s three tags and they’re all on Morgan Very close to Metropolitan. I was having a grand old time until the handcuffs.”

Thanks Kenny, and if anyone does find the piece, be sure to take a picture with it and send it here.  I’ll put together a gallery of them.  A little shrine to the piece that landed Kenny Scharf in jail. – Cojo

If you want to see the snake in question (and take a #selfie in front of it) , you will be catching an L Train to Brooklyn. If you want to see his most recent work that isn’t on the side of a building, Kenny Scharf is fresh off of the opening his new show titled KOLORS at Paul Kasmin Gallery featuring three large sculptures, and ten new paintings. The show is on view till May 4th at 515 West 27th Street, New York, NYC.

Interviewed by Cojo “Art Juggernaut” for Artiholics.com

The post Artiholics.com Exclusive Interview: Kenny Scharf – Unchained appeared first on Artiholics.

I met artist and graphic designer Pierre Bernard Jr. many years ago over Myspace when we were both two NYC based illustrators doing our thing in the big city.  Pierre at the time was an artist for Late Night with Conan O’Brien and I was the lead artist at Maxim Magazine.  Over the years we have kept in touch sporadically as he moved to California with Conan from Late Night to The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien, and now to Conan on TBS.  As Conan does with much of his staff, Pierre has been used as an on-air character, playing himself throughout the years.

 Some of you may remember on Late Night he had his own segment called “Pierre Bernard’s Recliner of Rage” where he would “rage” about different art related issues while sitting in a recliner.  Pierre is a very laid back and passive guy, so his version of raging never exceeded normal speaking voice levels, which is what made it hilarious.


I recently wrote about the various competing Drink n’ Draw live drawing sessions happening in NY, and apparently this isn’t just an East Coast fad.  For the past 3 years Pierre has been tightening up his drawing skills by attending multiple live drawing classes every week in Los Angeles. He is a huge proponent of drawing from live models, and even talked about the benefits of it with Conan on the air back in 2010 (see above video).  After three years of live sessions, and amassing a giant collection of drawings, Pierre has decided to make an art book:

18″x 24″ And Other Sizes:  A 3 Year Collection Of Life Drawings.
Pierre decided to take a swing at crowd sourced internet funding for the printing of this book, which is very dear to his heart. Five days ago Pierre’s   18″ x 24″ And Other Sizes Kickstarter campaign ended unsuccessfully, just shy of half way to his funding goal. In a facebook message to his fans following the Kickstarter closing Pierre posted:

“Sad news, I did all I could and many of you were there for me but it just wasn’t enough to make this campaign succeed. But it was a good fight and I can’t thank everyone of you enough for backing and believing in me and my book. That said, I am still pushing 18″ x 24” forward. This past week when I saw where the campaign was at, I started looking into alternative funding strategies and came up with one. I didn’t spend half a year working on this to quit now. What I’ve put together in my book is worth getting out to the public, not just for my dreams and passion towards life drawing but to help start defining an area of art that up till now very little has been publicly seen. I strongly believe once people see what’s been going on at these various events it just might encourage some to go out and take part in this creativity activity. So even though this campaign was a lost, you still backed a unique and inspiring project and in the end you will be glad you did so cause 18″ x 24″ will come into existence and it will be a winner! Again, thank you everyone, and keep watching, you haven’t seen nothing yet!“– Pierre Bernard

Undeterred Pierre is still confident that he can get this book printed before Summer is over.  I caught up with the artist, and asked him about the project, drawing from life, and his experience with the odd and sometimes cruel beast known as kickstarter.
Artiholics: “What got you into going to these live model drawing sessions? Was it because the show moved to LA and you didn’t know anybody?”

Pierre Bernard: “I was attending life drawing events in New York. The two that I knew about at the time was the Tuesday or Thursday night drawing at the Society of Illustrators and the Friday night drawing at the Art Student League. The league was very traditional, a nude model doing standard poses. At S.O.I., it was a little different. There was a small live jazz band but I always felt that the band was there because in a section of the space was a bar and though artist in the room did mingle, there was still an air of formality in the room.  

Here in L.A., there are formal classes but many of the places I attend are more like events then workshops. And the vibe of the rooms are far removed from formal drawing classes. I did start attending many of these drawing events as a way help me deal with the move at the time, I didn’t know a lot of people here and drawing has always been the one thing that makes me feel comfortable.”

Artiholics: “A lot of young artists might draw a lot from photo reference. What would you say is the benefit of drawing from a live human model?”

Pierre Bernard: “Drawing from photos is ok, not good. The reason I say this is that in this day and age a majority of printed images have been altered through photoshop. There was a time when looking at Playboy was worth while. Recently I saw a copy and the amount of distortions and anatomical mistakes that are in the pictures are insane. I can only assume that these images are the result of retouchers who don’t have a clue what correct anatomical proportions look like on a woman.
Drawing from a model forces you to look and study what the form really looks like, the limitations of the joints, etc. If you are shooting your own reference then you’re better off.”

Artiholics: “Is a live model session a good place to socialize? Possibly meet women?”

Pierre Bernard: “A live drawing event is a great place to socialize and meet people in general. I love meeting women at these events but if that’s your main reason for going, don’t bother. One of the things that usually happens at these drawing events is people learning from each other, studying the other peoples art work, getting a different perspective on what’s going on. If your only goal is to get numbers and not contribute, you’re just going to get in the way of others who are trying to get something out of the experience. And trust me, women can tell when you’re just wasting time.”

Artiholics: “So you had been live drawing at these weekly live drawing events for three years. What gave you the idea to put a book together?”

Pierre Bernard: “A friend of mine who moved out here back in August of last year came over to visit my new place. She wanted to see some of my artwork and after seeing a couple of box worth wanted to know what I was going to do with all the artwork and I told her I was planning to put it in storage. She said why not make an art book and that was the beginning of the idea.”

Artiholics: “Why is the book so dimensionally large? Do people in LA have giant shelves?”

Pierre Bernard: “Actually, the book isn’t all that big, the final size is 9″ x 12′. Originally, I wanted to do an actual 18″ x 24″ book (that was the thinking behind the title, 18″ x 24″ And Other Sizes), but the size and weigh of such a book wasn’t a great idea, scaling it down proportionally made since.”

View Pierre’s Kickstarter video interviews, where he introduces the various models he has drawn in the book.

Artiholics: “Did you make a book just so you could hug-up on all these art models?”

Pierre Bernard: “I didn’t need the book to hug-up on them, that was happening well before that started! Seriously, I’ve been going to so many of these events out here that the majority of the models working know me or know of me. Many of them have become close friends and as a result when we’re in a room together it take on an extra dimension of fun. The videos I shot for the Kickstarter were totally natural and unrehearsed. What you saw were real friends having fun and I think that’s what comes across in my drawings of them in the book.”

Artiholics: “When you are live drawing do you work in pencil and then color later, or do you work full color in real time? Also, do you think this intense live drawing practice has sharpened your on-air design skills? Has the quality of your work on Conan gotten better?”

Pierre Bernard: “My life drawings are in real time. In my book there are 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 and 25 minute poses. Often when people watch me draw they tell me afterwards that I am fast, I think its from working with Conan all these years. Everyday is a deadline with very little time so I’ve been trained to think and draw quickly over the years.  There’s no question that working with Conan has sharpened my skills as a draftsman. If I was a mutant, my powers is my quick skills of drawing and Conan is the Charles Xavier who help me develop them.”

Artiholics: “Since facebook was limiting in how many fans were viewing your messages about your Kickstarter, how do you plan to get the word out on the next go round?”

Pierre Bernard: “Kickstarter was an experience worth having, that said I wish I had given the funding part more thought, had I done so, I doubt Kickstarter would have been the path I’d chosen. The amount of over head that I had to tack on to the printing was the problem. Original reward printing, packing material, shipping cost and Kickstarter fees created a goal that couldn’t be reached easily, not to mention a lot of the people who said they’d back it, disappeared once the campaign started.  When the Kickstarter was down to 2 weeks left I saw where it was and decided to start looking into alternate ways to get the book done, something I should have done at the start. I came up with a personal solution that will work for me and so the book is still on track to get done hopefully before the summer is over.

My love for life drawing is deep. This book was a labor of love, everything I am as an artist in the last 3 years is in there. I put too much of my time into this project to allow any one or anything to get in the way of my finishing it.”

Artiholics: “Finally, everyone probably wants to know, when your Kickstarter didn’t get funded in time, were comfortable and angry?”

Pierre Bernard: “If ever there was a time I needed my recliner…”

To learn more about Pierre Bernard Jr., his art life, what he’s raging about, and the status of this book, be sure to follow him on twitter at twitter.com/pbdotman. You can also Like His Page on Facebook.   There is an underground Facebook Campaign to get Pierre on The Big Bang Theory.  And as always, keep an eye out for him on Conan, you never now what he’ll say next, but you will know it’s always funny.

Interview by Cojo “Art Juggernaut”

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