Ciao Fabio,

Please introduce yourself and your background.

I am from the southern part of Italy, Catania, Sicily, but I am really a little bit from everywhere. After the mandatory Italian military service, I left for France. I was 18 and that happened in 1996. I lived 3.5 years in France and then I moved to the United States in September 1999. Throughout my three years in France I learned about French techniques and French coiffeur and I started to take academic courses in England. I moved away from Italy because I needed to learn techniques and visions from other countries. In my field the Italians are considered to be super artistic and crafty with their hands “we are artisans”. It makes a huge impact to be able to visualize and finish something in a proper way. The English have much more structure and precision and they use technical abilities. The French are a combination of both (like the Italians and the English). The French also have a middle eastern influence as well. They know how to deal with different types of hair from a technical point of view but they are also artisans.

After these 3.5 years of experiences, I moved to New York and to Los Angeles and I have been here for 22 years and I currently live in New York.

This dream started in my childhood so I have been doing hair since I was 12 years old.

What do you call yourself?

I can be called a “hairstylist” but I am actually an “Artisan-Artist”, with the vision of an artist and with the technique of an artisan. I am also a hair doctor, consultant, a “Hairapist”.

Anybody can be a hairdresser but I am like a hair specialist. There is always someone that can do better. But do you have many people that can do better than you in every single aspect holistically speaking? The answer is no. I challenge everyone. I can specialize in every single area because of my time and my mindset. The way we approach things here is a little bit different than others. We can cover almost everything from the trichology to morphology and we try to see the psychology and the behavior of the customers in front of us as well as their facial features. Then we analyze everything and cover every single base.

When did you open your first salon and how many salons do you have now?

I have two salons. We have about 15 stations. I would have a maximum of 25 stations.

What made you decide to become a hairstylist? What inspires and motivates you? 

Italians by default have big passions: cars, motorcycles, food, and women. My neighbor was a hairdresser and he was always coming home with beautiful women on dates; he had a nice life and a great car. This guy had it all! He was always well dressed. My mom’s best friend was a hairdresser too and she was coming to the house along with other women and this also encouraged me to become a hairdresser as well. I could be around women, make money. I am very ambitious, I don’t do mediocre things. I always do the best and so I liked the whole package. So this is how everything started.

I was a visionary. Italy unfortunately is not very good about dreams and visionaries. Yes it was good to learn the craft and the creativity but not for dreams.

I learned a lot in Italy. I convinced myself to follow my dreams. I went to do an internship after middle school and I did “the gavetta” without being paid. I was doing a lot of side jobs to support myself.

How did covid have an impact on your business and how did you adjust and create a safe environment for your customers?

We are not anti vaccine, not political oriented, we just want what is the best. We had to adapt to the times, I went beyond the guidelines and I did everything and beyond what they were asking. We wanted to make sure that clients had a protocol when they came in. We stayed updated with the guidelines, we measured the temperature, and everyone had to wear a mask, and kept 6 feet distance between the stations. We stopped offering drinks, (we had a full bar, no more coffee as well), so people could learn how to manage the social distance and feel safe and comfortable when inside our salons. We washed our hands and sanitized everything and each station. Each customer stayed at a station and if they moved we sanitized the entire station and re-cleaned everything. We asked people not to stay in the salon if they didn’t have an appointment. We asked people to remove the mask they came in and put on a new mask; that was a little bit hard, but not negotiable. Nothing was negotiable in the guidelines. It was an extra precaution. The goal was to make sure that our staff members and family and customers were all safe.

We tried to cut down the hours or extend them according to the needs to make sure to be safe. We also eliminated magazines.

If people did not want to follow our guidelines, we had to ask them to leave. It only probably happened twice.

Through PPP we were able to keep the business afloat and I kept paying my staff.

We also started to ask our customers how Covid-19 has been impacting their lives and lifestyles, how often do you wash your hair now? How are you doing your hair now? Now they don’t go to the office but maybe they work on Zoom, so there are differences between seeing people in person or on a flat screen. I therefore asked people to bring a screenshot of how they look on Zoom so that we can work on their hair.

We currently maintain these standards and requirements.

What are your dreams and plans for the future?

My dream, my plan for the future is as follows: one part of my dream is to grow the Fabio Scalia brand in the most important cities in the world where we can be and become pioneers and inspiration for young hairdressers who want to pursue this career and make it a treasure. I also want to be able to give a wonderful opportunity to those who for one reason or another perhaps do not believe in themselves or do not believe that they can have a nice and lucrative professional future by doing hair.

Fabio Scalia’s Website

Instagram 

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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.

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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.

Please tell us a little about where you are from? And what is your background as an artist? 

I was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, USA. It’s a suburb on the Southern side of Pittsburgh. My family rented three rooms on the upper floor of a house there. When I was eleven years old, we moved across the river to Dravosburg, which is yet another suburb on the Southern side of Pittsburgh. We lived in the projects there, and that’s where I lived until I left school.

During the time I was a boy, the steel industry was in full blossom. Everywhere around you, one was surrounded by fire, earthen ores, molten metal, lots of smoke, big machines and industrial noises.  It was really sexy. Today I still love to visit old factories and railroad yards with heavy equipment and huge machines.   

In Pittsburgh, there was some sort of philanthropic program that identified young, artistically inclined students in public school. Through that program, I attended fine art classes at Carnegie Institute for several years, and then later at Carnegie-Mellon University. I studied at CMU at night and on weekends throughout my high school years.  Later, I enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston.   

Carnegie-Mellon was a very classical fine art program. Hours and years spent drawing bottles and human anatomy. The Museum School on the other hand, was the exact opposite. No rules and run with scissors as fast as you can. In fact, pick up some knives and razor blades while you’re at it. It was a change of direction that electrified me.

So you can say that I had a fairly rich academic start to my practice. I’m really grateful to the instructors that I had. I’ve been working in my studio and exhibiting as much as I can ever since. Besides all of that art school stuff, I have two degrees in Electrical Engineering. Who would have known? I actually chose my engineering major based on a sculptural project I was thinking about using electro-magnetism. I could have used a good life coach when I was young.

The academics had value, but the art seed germinates only once you come to terms with the “why” of your practice.

What made you want to become an artist?

Well, since so much of my youth was spent in art school in one way or another, I was very comfortable in an artist’s skin right from the start. There wasn’t a someone or a something that triggered it all for me. I had my artistic heroes and sheroes, but I think it’s more that art gives me a vehicle to think deeply about things.  I become very mentally invested in certain ideas and concepts. Painting is my way of sorting it all out. Actually, my studio practice is a sort of neurosis of mine. You might call it an addiction or even a compulsion.  It’s something I feel that I have to do, something I’m driven to do. If I spend too much prolonged time away from working, I just feel a bit undone. It’s always been that way for me. 

Is there name/category for the kind of art you create?

Because of the materials that I use, my work has been referred to as Haute Pâte, or Matter Painting. There was a time, say maybe ten years ago, when the way I was using the material aptly fit that description. Nowadays, I can’t say that I agree or disagree with those labels.  I am using the Earth as a painting medium but the way that I’m using it is dry rather than some material mixed with paint. Does that qualify as Haute Pâte? It’s thick, gravely stuff affixed to the surface. There are probably people who feel very specific about those terms. As far as I know, I’m unique in what I’m doing.

If we talk about my subject matter, I’m interested in consciousness, and I approach that through metaphysics, physics, and spirituality. The images are mostly abstract, I think.  Sometimes even primitive. Abstract is more real than real, when you’re trying to ask hard questions, in my opinion.

Often there is a message behind art. What is the message behind your art?

When looking at one of my paintings, you’re sharing a snapshot of a moment of time of my stream of consciousness. Maybe that’s more like a babbling brook. You will literally see what I was thinking about at the time I painted the piece. It will have notes, formulae, lyrics, glyphs and so on that are relevant to the topic that I was analyzing and unpacking at the time. The paintings do not read literally though. The composition itself dictates what stays and what is erased. When I watch people looking at my work in the gallery, I’ll catch them trying to read the painting or identify the math. That makes me laugh to myself. There is no secret message to unlock.

Do you have a targeted audience for your art?

That’s a really interesting question. I’ve never thought about a target audience. Now that you bring it up, it’s possible that I’m painting just for myself. The target audience is me!  Isn’t that funny? I should send myself a survey to see how I feel about it. I haven’t noticed that my work is collected by any single sort of demographic. The most frequent feedback that I hear is that “it just makes me feel good.”  I can’t think of a higher compliment, actually.

You state in your artist statement that your body of work is also an attempt to tap into the core of human experience. Can you tell us more what you mean by that? What do you see as the core of human experience? 

It’s a somewhat contrarian view these days, but I think that no matter where you’re from, when you’re from, no matter your race, sex, or culture, people are pretty much the same once we strip off the learned beliefs that end up creating otherwise arbitrary differences.  Sometimes we choose to pick up and carry a flag for those differences, but at the core we’re basically the same. We are Humans, all of us together, motivated ultimately only by love or fear.

If you allow the assertion that we all share a common inherent “humanness,” then at a primal level we all experience the universe in the same way. Because I’m an artist, I’ll give you an example by way of what happens when we see something.

We tend to experience symbols and glyphs in the same primal way no matter who we are.  You can in fact observe this when you look at the ways that ancient cultures, separated by distance and time, used common graphical symbols. A cross, a figure eight, a spiral, curves vs. angles and so on work the same in one place in space and time as they do in another.  We see with our human mind, not with our eyes.  

Looking at this a bit more deeply, it would seem that our minds are connected at a core, root level. Think of islands in the sea. The islands are separated on the surface of the water, but underneath the sea they’re connected through the same Earth. You and me are islands, but we’re connected. A collective, consensus humanness. Interestingly, developments in quantum physics seem to be touching upon the mathematics that identifies how this happens at a quantum level. Physics is affirming metaphysics. So, to answer your question more directly, it’s possible that we are all that there is. At least as far as we’ll ever be concerned. That deserves looking at.

Are you currently working on new artworks?

Always! Constantly! Feet don’t fail me now.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m sort of driven in my studio practice. I’m running a race that never finishes. I started working on this series that I call “Multiverse” around the beginning of the year. This is looking at the ideas around parallel universes. I think there’s still some distance to travel with that, unless a new shiny penny comes my way.

Looking to the future, what are any upcoming projects and art exhibitions that you have? 

I’ve got a few of the early Mulitiverse pieces at the gallery in Atlanta. I’d like to exhibit a larger body of that work sometime this year, but at the moment there’s nothing scheduled for that. My next solo show on the books is in 2022.

On the horizon, I’m thinking about the role of consciousness in the creation of physical reality. I’ve been reading about string theory for some time, and especially the areas of math that involve the presence or absence of an observer. I’m having fun with that and I think there’s enough brain food in that topic that will lead to something soon for me. Then there’s a life/afterlife thing that I’m noodling on too. We’ll see what happens.

COVID-19 has impacted so many parts of our lives. How did Covid-19 impact your work?

You know what, I don’t think it impacted my work at all. I feel a bit odd saying that out loud, but that’s the honest answer.  

I spend eighty percent of every day alone, working in the same room. The social isolation is what my daily routine was anyway. I do miss going out and spending time with friends like I used to, but my work hasn’t changed because of Covid.  Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

I’m an open book. Drop me a line.

Bob Landström’s Website

Instagram: @boblandstrom

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You are an artist and you also perform in shows. Which side of the job do you like and enjoy the most?

I like when everything blurs together and it’s a lifestyle versus a job or a show. It is not just painting, not just performing. I like being ongoing. I paint on my face, then I smash the paint into a canvas, then I stack that onto my chest, then I slam it into a wall, while making a song. Then the song inspires me while I’m drawing. I let it all out, non stop. Sleep less/do more. When we dip back into this “human” life of roles and routine we become less in the moment.

You bridged the gap between the Art and Club world in the 90’s; can you tell us more?

I was a naive kid working clubs in ’93 for food money. I drew at all my events, jobs, even when I WAS A D.J. or did the door or ran events. From booking Wutang to Fat Joe, I was still  drawing all the people that came out. I filled sketchbooks and everyone was like YOOOOO! “Why don’t you just show your work?”  and I was like “ whhhhhhat???”

As a kid I had no clue. I grew up struggling and with no art education so the Club world x “my” people put me on, and then I started organizing art shows at the clubs. Once I saw that I could organize I put other people on. I did things every week back then. I was curating in a way, from dance shows, raves, punk, palladium, horrible bars etc but I left all that and moved on into showing and full time artist life around 18, 19 years old.

Your signature line work has made an impact on NYC. Can you tell us some of the details of what that line is and how it impacted NYC?

I don’t think it’s up to the artist to determine if the work impacts anyone. New York City is constantly changing, the lines are fluid and always moving, overlapping, changing, like this crazy place. Everyone has a line of work, I’m just channeling the rhythms  worked on as a kid and what I develop daily now, to hopefully make new language.

The lines developed from growing up here as a coping mechanism, drawing life, faces, places and movement. Everyone’s experience in New York is different. Growing up I was an extreme outsider to art. The line work I developed was without exposure to the art, even though I was born here. This kind of lifestyle is often overlooked in “art” storytelling when we think of NY. I hope we can start to think of other artists from rough areas that made it, but the common story is born into, or came for it???

I was born sick, as a kid I suffered from extreme illnesses and just became known as the kid that stayed inside and drew weird lines. Outsiders come from all over the world to New York to make art. I was an outsider in my own town, I just drew all the time and it took all the other New Yorkers to tell me to look at these drawings, to look at Warhol, that I was an artist and to go see a Chuck Close show. I was a strange street kid- I was always  getting into trouble living by the side of the road. My NYC story is odd, but many can relate; they just don’t all get the chance to speak and I hope that changes in this extreme twisted culture.

How would you define your work, technique, and what your message is behind it?

I work around the clock every day. I’ve always been this way since I was a kid. My focus has been being free, making, making, making- from doing collage, sculptures, drawings, paintings, masks, music, immersing myself. I like to throw paint on my clothes, cakes on my head and do jackass performances. I need to escape the system and all this man made bullshit construct by creating all the time and fully being lost in the moment. I don’t want to conform and be a part of anything.

You say that your paintings are inside paintings, can you explain to us what you mean by that?

I try to create paintings that are not one dimensional. Even if it’s as simple as strange Miss Piggy if you look closer you can see a skull, a flower and an exploding eye, then maybe yourself. I have to compete with life. People are busy. If I’m making work and want people to see, I have to think of my competition, this huge thing called life which has so many pictures.

There are layers into layers, pushed, smushed and splattering all around fields of color that shift, faces inside of worlds and if you move in close you can discover hidden levels. I’m doing my math, drawing from different angles, different foregrounds, and multiple perspectives. It’s not a straightforward story, it’s more like a painted Matthew Silver bit.

What is art for you?

Art to me isn’t described by the word art. It isn’t something in a box, destroyed by intention, it just is. All the rest is just human bullshit, needs and wants. The thing that works is when it transcends into the next dimension.

You opened the Alien X the living installation. What inspired this installation and can you share with us more about it? What is it about?

We just did an installation on our Lower East Side rooftop with the city skyline, and have another one coming up. We recorded the whole thing live and it’s available to watch. www.michaelalanart.com/thelivinginstallation

During our performances we are creating human paintings, that change and melt and transform on our bodies and in space. In short we slap ourselves up with anything you can think of. We create robots, slam materials on our head, scream and transform and meld our skin, wreaking and creating objects, blindfolded and covered in paint. We speak about the human condition and the artist as a clown and the underlying emptiness of capitalism. My 84 year old mother performs! Jadda cat is my partner. I am just a clown.

People think of New York and they think of Graffiti and Hip Hop and an underground performance scene. We are continuing that old school punk ethos. New York has been shut down and there’s not been too much going on and we are trying to contribute to its rebirth. We designed the show to be accessible in the open air or by live feed so that people have a way to experience art safely again. We also at random daily walk around as living art.

Since artists seem to always be creating or thinking of their next creation, please share with us any of your future projects and dreams.

I have so much work around me piled up and in progress, and series upon series and so many various styles that I can barely keep up. I just keep working and I let it guide me to where I’m going. I want to keep finding the new without an agenda.

 My next show is this upcoming Saturday, May 22nd.

www.instagram.com/michaelalanalien

www.instagram.com/thelivinginstallation

www.facebook.com/MichaelAlan1.0

www.michaelalanart.com

https://michaelalanalien.bandcamp.com/album/michael-alan-alien

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Please introduce yourself and your artistic background.

My name is Scott Abrams. I don’t really have an artistic background.

What kind of art do you create?

I make art with oil paint, words, and other items that I glue onto canvas. The previous year, I used stencils to make a lot of work with animals in dialogue, mostly humorous. I also made a few minimalist pieces, with words on their own, and a large amount of work with items glued onto canvas.

What is the message behind your art?

Message would be too strong a word for anything that I do. My hope is to illuminate conflict in a way that can be a little bit funny and a little bit strange. 

How do you combine the language, the humor, and art?

Combining language, humor and art, that’s the magic. Where exactly one finds the kernel of an idea that eventually gets translated onto the canvas—it’s a mystery to me. I usually get ideas at night and in the early morning and put them onto Post-it notes, though lately my practice has drifted more towards drawing. In this aspect, I’ve been teaching my hand to follow my head. That’s probably where the humor comes from. 

What inspires you and your creations?

What inspires me? I try to create work that I find funny and that I love deeply, or once did.

You are also a writer and in college you studied literature and philosophy. Please tell us more about your literature background and how being a writer has impacted and is impacting your works.

Philosophy helps me get to the root of a problem. Literature helps me understand that the root is probably conflict. I love literature for its wild use of imagination, and it helps me understand things that I can’t see or experience personally. 

Being a writer was the starting point for me as an artist. Much of my early work was just writing in black marker. I did study literature in college and continued to read a lot after that. It gave me templates for what an artist is or can be as well as the framework of finding humor in conflict.
Not only are you an artist and a writer, but also a businessman. You established several companies in real estate and healthcare. Can you tell us more about that?

Business is challenging, but refreshing, too. I originally got a law degree, but I wasn’t cut out for it, so I fell into business because I had to make a living. I actually like the contrast between business and art. Some days you prefer thinking about money, some days about art. It’s like having antennas in many different worlds.

Are you currently working on a specific piece of art?

I am not working on any specific piece of art at the moment. I do work almost every day for about 4 to 6 hours. Mostly, I am trying to improve my ability to make images.

https://www.scott-abrams.com/

The post Meet the Artist Scott Abrams appeared first on Artiholics.

My journey as an artist has been anything but linear. Although I loved the idea of a creative life, I had little going for me in that department aside from encouragement from my art teachers when I was younger. I didn’t go to art school and photography didn’t even become part of the journey until after the birth of my daughter. Feeling compelled to document her life, I bought a used camera and taught myself to use it to document this new life I’d hoped to make better than my own. I made a darkroom in my garage and spent almost every night experimenting as she slept. Finding that space to play with my artistic voice became like a drug and emboldened me to try all kinds of unlikely projects, none of which felt particularly inspiring until I was offered the chance to shoot stills for an independent film in Los Angeles. I arrived on day one with my beat up old camera and was told to find the cinematographer, who just happened to be the late and legendary John Alonzo (Chinatown). On day two he called me over to the grip truck, lent me his gear and told me to “stick close.” Thankfully, I did, and basically came away with a first-class education and a direction to head toward. I had no idea how to make a living with photography but knew then and there it was something I wanted to pursue further. 

I began to worry that I wasn’t doing my daughter any favors by dreaming, so I moved to LA to find work in photography. I managed to land a temp position answering phones at an entertainment firm in Beverly Hills. Within a few short weeks, I started filling in as photo editor, eventually taking over the position. I left four years later as director of the photo department, producing for various big name film, tv, and gaming clients, working closely with celebrity photographers and shooting many of the campaigns myself.

The culture of celebrity can be lucrative but holds little interest for me, however. I was always moonlighting on various personal projects and side hustles, shooting various nightscapes, avoiding anything with people. It was during these nightly escapades that I began to observe and appreciate the ever-changing and ephemeral nature of art of the streets. Hollywood was especially peppered with murals and graffiti, and although I was always working to omit their artwork in my photographs, my thoughts always drifted toward the person behind the work, their enduring spirit, flying in the face of traditional ideas around art, where it’s seen, and who gets to see it. I set out to photograph as many of these elusive figures as possible. 

Seven years later, Heroes & Villains (Zero+ Publishing) was published, just as my daughter was about to turn 16. I was thinking about my next project and she’d recently announced her plans to pursue a professional career in ballet. I asked if she’d be interested in sitting for a more formal portrait. Our time in the studio that day was pivotal in many ways. Having always loved dance — I had been photographing local dance artists initially for the Oregon Cultural Trust, and then for some of the dance companies directly. For me, capturing these artists out of context, not dancing, but simply being was something I wanted to explore. My daughter, with all the hopes and dreams she represented, was the perfect choice to begin that endeavor.

You resist being labeled as a photographer. How do you define yourself? 

Is it cheeky for me to say I’ve no interest in defining myself? While photography is my current medium, the idea that it defines me wouldn’t be true. I am many things. A dancer, a mother, a friend. “Photographer” seems so limiting. I guess I’d prefer to be thought of as someone who cultivates relationships with like minded collaborators? I’m interested in portraying someone as their best self. I like to strip away affectation and expected scenarios. In many ways I feel like an anthropologist who speculates on the future. I especially enjoy working with artists on the cusp.

What kind of works do you create? What do you like to photograph?

I make portraits. My approach, while on the surface may look simple and formalist, is a bit more nuanced and collaborative. I enjoy spending time within a specific genre of artists and having time to get to know someone before we work together. I like to immerse myself in a scene or a movement. I follow my interests, basically. Not in a social media way, but in a one-on-one kind of way. 

What makes one photograph stand out from another? 

That would depend on the viewer, I think. If you’re asking about my editing process, then that’s pretty simple. When I’m working with someone, there is almost always a moment where they’ve let their guard down. Those images tend to stand out for me.

What inspires you?

This is a question I find difficult to answer, mainly because it really depends on the day I’m asked. Other artists inspire me is the short answer. The long answer could lead me down a rabbit hole, but I generally like to read nonfiction. Mostly memoirs and history books. Right now I’m reading Mediocre by Ijeoma Ouelo. 

You are from the East Coast, how did you land up in Los Angeles? What do you like about LA and its art scene?

I grew up in a small town in Maryland and quickly became disenchanted with what I felt were limited prospects for my future. I did what any normal teenager does and sought out adventure, usually hopping on the train to DC or Baltimore to see bands, art exhibitions, or hang out on M Street in Georgetown. I’m close to my Aunt, who was an artist in New York, and when she moved to LA, I ventured out to spend what I expected to be a few weeks helping out. In a relatively short time, I felt surrounded by prospects, the energy and ease really meshed with my personality. LA has a reputation as a place for reinvention and possibility. For me, it continues to deliver, especially within art and culture. While sometimes seeming to dwell in the shadow of Hollywood, I believe the opposite is true. Instead, I think the scene here flies in the face of it.

What is the focus of your current practice?

Mainly two projects with the dance community: one focused on a single artist over several years, and the other, a more comprehensive overview of dance artists who come through or live in the LA area. 

How did Covid-19 impact your art?

Given that my work largely relies on human interaction in the studio and dance artists touring, the shooting component of these projects ground to a halt. Compelled by the state of things and using this as a backdrop, I dove into the archive, noticing and experimenting with themes and patterns that reflect what I feel is our collective state of mind. I also created an outdoor studio at home and collaborated with friends and family on some editorial projects. 

What are your future projects?

As a result of the experimentation with some of my existing imagery, I’ve been learning new software to integrate these stills into what I’m hoping will be something visually interesting.

Otherwise, I have some ideas but given the uncertainty around everything, I really don’t know.

Tatiana Wills’ Website

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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.

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Hi Emanuele,

You are the Prince of Venice. Please tell us about your fascinating story and your background.

It’s a very long story. I am the son and heir of Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia and only male-line grandson of Umberto II, the last King of Italy. My family unified Italy.

My great-great-great grandfather King Victor Emmanuel II became the first king of Italy and then we reigned in Italy until 1946 when the Republic came after the referendum. Since then, we were in exile in Switzerland. We couldn’t go back to Italy and I was not born in my country. In 2002 I was able to go back to Italy finally to visit my country, but my family exists since the year 1000. We are one of the oldest royal families in Europe if not in the world so from France to Switzerland to returning we were a bit all over Europe. 

What made you decide to start a food truck and now a restaurant?

Casualty. One day years ago I was at a big event in Los Angeles, and I discovered the food truck scene.

In Europe, it was not very well known so I arrived and I see all those beautiful food trucks with plenty of colors, but I wanted to eat Italian food. So I was with a friend and I was looking for an Italian food truck and I didn’t see one so I came back home and I said, okay, I’ll do one. So I wanted to do something a bit special. I decided to do fresh handmade pasta and celebrate pizza, Sicilian arancini, desserts, salads and let’s say good Italian food that I think you find here at very expensive restaurants or you don’t find them. I wanted to introduce this food to the Americans and with a very good quality and in a rather good price.

Are you planning on starting a chain of restaurants?

The idea is to go into franchises and I hope, even it’s a difficult time, to open a chain of restaurants. But if we manage to do a good business, not to lose money in this time, I think it shows that the concept is a winner concept. So I’m even more excited to open in these difficult moments and to see that people are responding very well. The restaurant from day one had success but it’s increasing and people are coming back and this is for me something wonderful. So yes the idea is to open then a chain of restaurants all over America.

What are the specialties at your restaurant?

We have very good food. Our arancini are made by a Sicilian cook. We have many food selections. What I like about my restaurant, without taking anything away from anybody else, is that when you enter my restaurant you see that the chef is from Naples, my pizza chef is from Sicily, my manager is from Venice; they all are Italian. I think you need Italian people to have an Italian restaurant. We still have the food truck, but we are holding off now because of the pandemic.

Do you think that the Italian cuisine is a form of art?

I think the Italian cuisine is our culture first of all. There are incredible cooks and chefs that are artists but my goal is to have incredible cooks more than artsy chefs that go on TV. I want people to discover the Italian taste and thus taste our culture. I want people to try the grandmother food. All grandmothers are incredible cooks.

You are a prince, the grandson of the last king of Italy, but you like to be in the front line at the restaurant and you are definitely down to Earth. What is your approach to life?

It’s difficult to describe myself, but I was always very down-to-earth and I’m like, yes, I come from a big family, have a big name, but I’m a guy that works and wants to please people and wants to be friendly with them. I never put distance between me and others or between me and people I could meet. I could meet the President of the United States or my dishwasher and I really treat them in the same way. So this is how I am made.

Prince of Venice Website

Instagram

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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.

Welcome, Stephen! How did you find your way into the art world? Tell us about your journey.

I initially was interested in art by lots of early exposure to it. My parents took me to great museums like the National Gallery of Art and Hirshhorn Museum. My mother used to put me in a papoose-style infant carrier and I’d watch paintings perched on her back. As a kid, I drew and I made Plasticine sculptures routinely and watched my engineer father draw plans for aeronautical projects he did at the Applied Physics Laboratory. Then, after graduating from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, I moved to New York City to make art. I exhibited some work there and came to a big revelation. After experiencing the isolation of making art alone during an ice-cold NYC winter, I wanted to collaborate with other people and use myself as the medium. So, I took acting classes, did professional theater in Washington, D.C., then moved to sunny Los Angeles to act in feature films and network television. After that long, circuitous route, I found an art studio in L.A. and realized plans for dozens of artworks I had been sketching or making notes on the entire time. Now, I’m back.

You are a conceptual artist. For the uninitiated, what exactly is conceptual art? Please, tell us about your conceptual fine art practice.

The traditional definition of conceptual art supposes that the ideas an artist seeks to explore are more important than the objects or events that express them. I think about it differently. While I have developed big and little ideas, the fine art objects I make and their immediate visceral viewer experience are equally important.

My work exists to raise questions about the roles of creation, the people who author our world and those who engage them both. There is obviously a dependence of one upon the other. These relationships, like those in life and society are key to the art experience. Much of my work presents the elements that make up the intimate setting of home interiors. They often say a few things about comfort, class, lifestyle, and – most importantly – personal identity. Our perception wraps up all of the relationships in our lives, which is crowned by our identity and place within those relationships.

At the end of the day, I am an artist – conceptual or otherwise. I create. We all do, whether it’s high art on a white wall or whistling a favorite song. Sometimes, my art is generated from concise ideas that I feel need exploration or an emotional state I feel the audience might want to share, but haven’t been able to.

Your sculptural explorations express domestic dramas. What brought you to that area of interest?

I have always been interested in origin stories. How did it all start? Virtually all of our origin stories began at home with family. Sounds mundane, but it is very complex when, as a young person, you are not equipped to talk about family dynamics or drama. We unconsciously assign value to events in our home lives – good, bad, strange, amazing, disheartening, enlivening. We are, as the saying goes, “meaning making machines.” But we often pack away contorted meanings of our formative upbringing and forge ahead as adults in a rather compromised way.

I was raised in a suburban planned city called Columbia, Maryland, a place where extra care was taken to promote cooperation and understanding among those with differences in class, race, economic power, etc. It wasn’t some idealized “Walden II” town, but had its merits. I experienced family fights, fear of bullies, mysteries of the unknown, loss, love – you name it. I also developed my identity within that experience. The people who made the choice to live there and raise families also chose an aesthetic to populate their homes, whether in step with their station in life or aspirations in life. In my art, I seek to use these home interior design elements and rearrange their context to help audiences review or dispel the meanings we may attach to them.

How do you create your artworks – from conception to completion?

Ideas for new artwork arrive quickly for me. They often come to me in an early morning waking state, a time when we lose consciousness of self, but are brimming with the experience of dreams. When I wake up, I usually write down a working title or a very basic description of what the work will look like and the material it’ll be made of. For days and weeks, I will determine how to refine or simplify the idea.

Sometimes, simply working in the studio helps to generate an idea. A piece I’m currently showing in Hawaii entitled “What’s Right With This Picture?” came from testing out a router radius corner template on scrap wood. I planned to make four rounded corners on the test piece, but stopped short of the fourth corner, keeping the right angle on the lower right side. Then I filled, primed, sanded and finely sprayed it in many layers with a paint gun. It’s difficult to even call it a “picture” at all or say that it is inherently good or bad, right or wrong. It questions perception and judgment, as much art does, but provides very little to gauge or review perception and judgment with. It floats off of the wall and approaches objecthood, but it’s still largely a flat object on that wall. Is it an idea, an object seeking to break out of the idea, a pun or all of the above?

You currently have three exhibitions. Where are they? Is there one that you are enjoying more than others?

I have work right now at the Cameron Art Museum in North Carolina, in L.A. Stories at the Leo Castelli Gallery at Brenau University in Georgia and in Abstract Only! at the Wailoa Center in Hawaii. I think they are all equally interesting spaces and exhibitions. I admire many of the other artists exhibiting alongside me, like Paul Paiement, Abel Alejandre, Cherie Benner Davis and others. I do love the Cameron Art Museum, though. For part of their light-themed Illumination show, I got to do more tech-based work, which I like quite a bit.

Not only are you a conceptual artist, but also maintain a parallel career as a working professional actor on such network TV series as NCIS: Los Angeles. Did you start your acting career first? What brought you to that career?

I started as an artist, but took a long and important detour into the performing arts world. In art college, I took performance art classes with powerhouse playwrights like Ntozake Shange and learned a lot. I later took theater and on-camera acting classes. I love the idea that with my input and someone else’s input, a third unknown thing – a performance, a film, etc. – can be created. That’s phenomenal to me. I figured as an actor, I could make art of myself and contribute to someone else’s art at the same time. I also loved the idea of reaching a great number of people – of affecting a real change of perception – whether it’s in an art house feature film or an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise seen by millions of viewers.

How do you combine your fine art career with your acting career? Do you prefer one over the other?

That’s a great question. There is definitely an overlap between them, so I feel that one informs the other. The activity of making art gives me private time to review my creative motives and a place to decompress from this high velocity world we live in. My acting performance must be integrated with other performances in real time. It takes me out of my comfort zone, but is immediately satisfying. I can’t say that I prefer one over the other, but since the event of Covid-19, making art seems like the best fit.

You are L.A.-based. How do you like the city? Is it part of your inspiration?

Yes, I have been in Los Angeles for many years now, but I also maintain an art studio in Wilmington, North Carolina, so I can be close to family and get extended breaks from the big city. Los Angeles is a fascinating place with a rich history that includes wars, gold rushes, the rise of cinema, agriculture, aerospace industries, the development of suburbs – you name it. It is a city that holds high hopes and uncanny dreams for many people who move there, but tends to be seen and respected differently by indigenous Californians who have an appreciation of the land and what practical life means there.

In some ways, Los Angeles is an inspiration for my art. The sprawl that makes up Metropolitan L.A. is immense, but each distinct neighborhood – from Koreatown to Beverly Hills – can be called home for its residents. Like I said, I am interested in the artifacts that make up “home” in all of those places. The transitory world of Hollywood in particular is, of course, rife with artifice, accolades and anguish that don’t mean much outside of that insular place. Maybe it’s not even a place – but a state of mind. I’m interested in revealing some of that, too.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

I see myself making art that really connects with audiences on a significant scale and on a regular basis. Whether it’s on highway billboards, broadcast on iPhones or seen in a venerated museum, I’m totally up for it. I see having significant commercial and institutional solo shows in the U.S., Europe and Japan – and perhaps setting up some cultural exchange programs among artists all over the world.

How has Covid-19 influenced your artwork and your acting career?

Covid-19 is a truly life-altering event for just about everyone, whether they know it or not. Many people who choose to ignore it have to face the bigger change that has come out of this moment in history – and adapt. The people who do accept it also have to adapt and figure out a way to work with those who don’t believe. Clear communication and perception, as well as true acceptance mean a lot in 2020 – and beyond. It has influenced my art. I’m more determined than ever to invite viewers to review their perception, their origins, their home and the world out there, which really isn’t that alien.

Covid-19 has slowed down my acting career, as the entire business has dropped off significantly, but I still audition for network TV. Some safe feature film productions are being made, but only a handful of major television series are being produced for the time being. Many of us are in active hibernation mode; writing new screenplays, pitching media projects and expecting this thing to turn around when scientific and medical officials say we’re ready to go!

Interestingly, even though some art shows I have had work in were postponed, others are still going strong and new ones are coming up. I’ve shown more work in 2020 than ever before. I’m sure you can agree that people truly need art. It’s healing, it’s provocative, and it has an important place in virtually all of our lives.

 www.stephenwozniakart.com

The post Meet the Los Angeles-based Conceptual Artist Stephen Wozniak appeared first on Artiholics.

Where are you from? Please introduce yourself.

My name is Margaret Zox Brown. I was born and bred in Manhattan and have lived here for basically my entire life.

When did you start painting? What kind of art do you paint?

I started painting in my late 20s. It felt like an exciting leap for me since I had been drawing for my whole life. Painting was a new and challenging medium, and I was introduced to color. I immediately was taken with color and it became (and still is) a focus within my art. I would say that my art is Representational Expressionism.

What medium do you use for your paintings?

Almost all of my paintings are oil on canvas. I have also added oil paint to Conté drawings on paper, creating mixed media pieces. Oil paint and oil painting mediums are what I love most.

How did the lockdown impact your creation and what did it mean for you going forward?

Before Covid, I was heavily immersed in painting a series of New York Characters. Because I could no longer find my subjects nor go to my Garment District studio to paint, I had to rethink everything. After doing a few colored pencil drawings and watercolors at the dining room table, I knew I just had to find a way to paint in oil again to express all that I was feeling during this unique time. I made a temporary, makeshift studio out of the studio apartment above where I live. Eventually that apartment will be joined with our living space but during the lockdown it would be sitting empty. So I made it into my studio. I started painting oil paintings that reflected, once again, my world and the emotions I felt around what I chose to highlight with my art. I also changed from titling each piece to now during this Lockdown series, dating the paintings in order to chronicle how I was feeling throughout this time. I have learned a lot about myself and my intention with my art through this Lockdown series. I realize that I have always been painting the magnificence of the quotidian and connecting with the world by sharing it. And while my world is of course smaller, it is actually so much larger because we all are going through the same thing and we all are experiencing a world of life at home. I am so happy finding beauty within the moment. I have no idea where I will be emotionally in the future, but for now, even as the world starts to open up, I can see continuing to paint what I have been painting.

Most artists’ work has a purpose or a message. What is the message of your art? What emotions and feelings do you want to convey visually in each painting?

My intention with my art is to find the true beauty in the quotidian and to share that with the world. Life most definitely has ups and downs, but I prefer to express the beauty, both aesthetically and emotionally, that I see and I know we all can share.

Tell us about the favorite work of art you created and why it is.

I have many favorite pieces because I have been painting for a very long time and have gone through many different series. Also, I always love where I am in the present the most. So to answer your question, for now I would say my favorite painting is, “April 28th – May 17th, 2020.” This is a painting that is part of my Lockdown series. It is a painting of my husband and dog, snuggling together on the couch. I feel that this painting encompasses so much emotionally and uses so many artistic elements to achieve this that it is pleasing on so many levels. It reveals a sense of love and comfort and life and warmth. All these wonderful feelings of home are brought about through: subject, perspective, color, line and form, light, paint application, layout and design.

Do you have any future projects that you would like to share with us?

I am continuing with this series and continually receiving press about it.

Whose art work do you admire? Whose artwork has impacted you? What direction do you see for the world of art?

I admire many artists for varying reasons: Gauguin for his color, Matisse for his flat picture plane, Alice Neel for her figures, Morandi for his capturing of a moment of pause, and many contemporary artists whose work and careers I follow and applaud. I see the art world definitely continuing to thrive. Everyone needs art more than ever now. It is not only a documentation of the times we are living in but it also provides culture and optimism and a sense of community. And I believe that even if viewing or experiencing art might not be in the way we all have known, the internet is the perfect place to share and discover and enjoy art.

Margaret Zox Brown’s Website

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“The emotions are sometimes so strong that I work without knowing it. The strokes come like speech.” – Vincent van Gogh

Yes! We all feel a thousand emotions in our lives, and some of us get affected by it a bit too much, and as artists, they create a new direction in the art scene. Atom’s art has a lot to say about the same. Atom Hovhanesyan was based in New York City, a young, talented, and passionate artist truly in love with painting and drawing.

Atom’s father had seen him painting for more than 24 hours tirelessly until the last days of Atom’s life in his studio in NYC, which is also supposed to be the place where he left this world. Atom had called his style of art “Post Divisionist and Abstract”. It truly justifies his artworks. Born in Armenia, where his father Ara Hovhannisyan was an electrical engineer and his mother Gayane Davtyan was a personnel manager in an urban trade corporation and also created artworks as a hobby. Well, it was Atom’s mother from whom Atom inherited his artistic skills. It was in July 1997 when Atom’s parents along with Atom and his sister immigrated to the USA.

Atom was based in New York since the age of 16 in 1997. He was an academic learner in the field of fine art, He studied at the Art Students League, National Academy of New York and Grand Central Academy. Atom seems to be inspired by every art movement as can be distinctly seen in his art pieces. Atom’s realistic anatomy and portraits could be related to Renaissance, and his abstract works to Cubism, Impressionism, Divisionism to Post-Impressionism; Van Gogh looks like his favorite. These were the words by Atom, while he explained his medium of works, “Traditional choice of materials and medium, grind my colors. In the abstract works: my goal is to create a unified atmosphere and sense of luminosity. Bits and pieces of forms from memory are utilized as building blocks for constructing the composition.” 

Atom’s professional life was a combination of varied professions. He had also pursued economics at St. John’s University. Atom started working at the age of 16 and paying his expenses. He was also appointed as a General Manager at Prime Grill, Beverly Hills, CA, one of the most luxurious restaurants that attracted famous Hollywood celebrities. Atom worked there from 2006 to 2008 which was the only time he had spent outside New York. It was in 2009 when Atom decided to pursue his passion and love for art as a full-time artist.

It is good to know that Atom’s every artwork and writings are being well preserved and highly valued by his family, which now manages everything he left behind, which are more than 200 artworks. Atom’s father shares that Atom had gifted many of the artworks, which shows he was a kind-hearted soul. His artworks are also in private collections. Atom studied anatomy, figure drawing, portraits, and life drawings under the guidance of various mentors namely; Phil Michelson, Michael Grimaldi, Tom Torak, and Dan Thompson. Atom studied works by different artists right from Cubism, Impressionism, Divisionism to Post-Impressionism including artists like De Kooning, Kandinsky, Picasso, Seurat, and Cezanne and Van Gogh. Atom visited museums, bought the monographs of the masters, studied and combined the study of different art movements in art history including the era of Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael to excel the human anatomy and realistic rendering style which could be seen in some of the portrait paintings made by Atom.

The decade of Atom’s artistic career had many art exhibitions. He exhibited at Pechersky Gallery, Moscow, Russia in 2014; Novomoskovsk Art Gallery, Russia 2014-2017, Annual Exhibition Art Students League of New York 2015-2016, Kunstmatrix.com online exhibition Berlin 2018, Artpal online exhibition New York 2018 and Jose Art Gallery 2018. Atom also participated in multiple private art shows in Manhattan, NY in 2016 and 2017. He was also represented In various events organized and managed by “FED” Inc. Harlem, New York City, from February to July 2019. His works were also exhibited in San Diego Expo May 2019 and Clio Art Fair Exhibition March 5-8, New York 2020. Atom’s artworks have been featured in Artist Portfolio Magazine, Issue 38, 39, 41, 42, and 43. Also featured in SPOTLIGHT ART Magazine Issue 15 and 16 along with the Important World Artists 4 Book May 2020, 4 pages in Premium Presentation.

Atom shared a good bond with his family. Atom’s mother accompanied him to museum visits and his father always insisted to support him financially. But as Atom always wanted to be independent and not to burden anyone, he resisted any financial help from his family. Atom also helped his sister Ellen Davtyan with the interior design of her house and gifted her many of his early Artworks. As we begin to talk about the roller coaster of emotions that flooded Atom’s life, it is noted that he had been through heartbreak and betrayal in both his personal life and professional life. Atom’s beloved girlfriend and many of his business colleagues had betrayed him which had broken his trust many times; he who saw the world as transparent and value being true to everyone did not see this happen with him. The time when the real world hit him hard, he had unconsciously gotten those trapped feelings into his artworks. The paintings of a woman, the dark colors of his palate, and the endless strokes say it all. One day something deep inside had given him the courage to take his own life. Maybe he was in search of a better world with the honesty which he deserved!

Atom would always be remembered for the unique style and presentation of concept as a unique artist of the current art world. The style that combines different eras, yet in harmony. Atom isn’t physically here with us today, yet his presence and energy is still alive and resides in his every art piece.

For Atom’s original artworks, artist statement and bio visit www.artbyatom.com

Email arahov62@yahoo.com (Ara Hovhannisyan, Atom’s father)

Instagram @artbyatomhov (original works updated by Atom’s parents) and @atom_hov (created by Atom)

In collaboration with Grishma Khodaria

The post Gone Too Soon, Yet Explored a New Era of Art appeared first on Artiholics.

Please, introduce yourself. When did Love Ghost get started? Why the name Love Ghost?

Finnegan Bell – singer/Guitar Player, Ryan Stevens – Singer/Bass Player, Daniel Alcala – Guitar Player, Corey Batchler – Keyboards, Samson Young – Drums. Love Ghost has been a band since 2013, a few members have come and gone through this journey, but this line up has been the same for half a year. We are called Love Ghost because at the time I was obsessed with both Love and Death, but Love Death did not sound right, so we decided on Love Ghost.

How would you describe the kind of music you play?

It is a combination of many genres, but we like to call it Trap Rock. Honestly, it is a mixture of Grunge, Emo, acoustic/singer-songwriter, R&B, Punk, Trap and Hip Hop.

Your new single “ll Be Fine” just came out and even if there are some dark themes in the song, there is a message of hope for the listener.

Can you tell us more about the creation of this song and its message? What does it represent to you?

The song was made fast, like in a day. It’s really an acoustic song with trap production. I know what it’s like to have no one there or to feel like everyone hates you. I’ll be “Fine” is about depression and I hope it’s helping people that struggle with depression and people that feel ostracized. What “I’ll be Fine” really represents to me is having an internal voice that tells you that you will be fine, even when no one else does.

How is the pandemic impacting your music?

It sucks that there are no live shows, but we are making lots of music on our own, so that is good. We also do have a live stream coming up on the streaming platform sessions live on Saturday September 12th at 7:00p.m., and we are really excited about that.

What are some future projects and dreams for the future?

We have tons of unreleased music, and we want to have hella collabs in the future. As a band we are writing all the time.

Who/what has influenced your music individually and as a group?

We try to take inspiration from everywhere. A few people who inspire us are Kurt Cobain, Lil Peep, Tupac, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Machine Gun Kelly, Juice Wrld, Alice in Chains, City Morgue and Lil Bo Weep. We also listen to a lot of underground music on
Soundcloud- so it is always changing and growing.

Apart from the group, do any of you have individual projects that you are working on?

We are all song writers in this band. Daniel has Qing and Corey has Little Trauma.

Could you describe the creative process you have when developing a song?

Sometimes one of us comes in with a fully formed song, and the others give feedback and fill-in their parts. Sometimes all of us meet to write together, and we start with nothing, and by the end of the session we usually have the start of a cool song.

Has there been a performance that you each particularly remember that stands out from the rest? And why is that?

Yes, the festival we played in Ecuador. The love we received there was insane and made it very memorable.

What do you do for refreshment when you are not performing?

We write music, watch cartoons (shout out Scooby Doo, Disenchantment and Seis Manos), Ryan, Daniel and Samson also play video games.

http://loveghost.com/

The post Meet Love Ghost 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.

Before we get into the informational questions, could you tell us something about you that would be surprising and unique? Tell us about yourself and a curious fact in your life.

I am the only boy of a family of eight children. My little 5′ tall Irish fairy mother gave birth to a girl every year for 5 years straight. My father was working as a salesman for a pharmaceutical company. He was injecting my mother with Vitamin B and Folic acid to “build” her blood back up after all those babies. They did not know my mother was pregnant with me when she was receiving large doses of Vitamin B and folic acid. The result was that I had an energy level unmatched by anybody else.

What an interesting start to your life. What was your pathway like to become a photographer? When did you decide to become a photographer?

I studied radio, television, and film at Pennsylvania State University. I worked in local community television production for a few years. I left the industry and returned to pursue neon body-painting photographic art. The pathway to my art I cut for myself. I do not like to follow and copy other people’s creativity. I prefer to invent my own. Perfecting the technique was accomplished with much trial and error.

Please tell us what the inspiration is for your photography.

I like to make beautiful things, which I do through stimulating other people’s creativity and inspiration. Everyone has a creative side. I attempt to access and amplify it through my art.

Describe for us what is “Glow-Art”? And how do you create it?

GLOW-ART is a portal to experience the ethereal through the use of everyday earthly items. It is a God-source inspired photographic art. I do not create it. I push the buttons; the creativity comes from above, I am simply the conduit. I created GLOW-ART.COM to expand the conscious and the unconscious feelings and thoughts of my audience.

How do you create your designs? Can you tell us about your creative process?

To create the design I blend contrasting colors. The contrast between the colors is what brings out the thought evoking process.

You are a photographer and now you are also a fashion designer. How did you connect these two artistic worlds? What inspired you?

Transforming from body painting photographic artist to fashion designer was a financial decision. I do not want to make an income from photography the way other photographers do. I chose to cut my own path. Fashion design I believe is a natural avenue to promote art. The fashion and art worlds are both beauty driven, so merging the two is a perfect decision.

You recently have been part of NY Fashion Week. How was that experience for you and your career?

I loved New York Fashion Week. I love all fashion shows. New York happens to be driving distance from my home in York, Pennsylvania. I pursue any and all fashion shows I can afford and can travel easily. Fashion shows have an amazing energy you don’t find anywhere else. The models, the designers, the photographers, the audience are always very positive and vibrant.

COVID-19 is having an impact on every facet of life. How is the Covid-19 situation impacting you?

I maximized the quarantine time to create, design, and market my product from home. I shot photography quite a bit less and less and built much more apparel.

What is on the horizon for you concerning your creative outlets of photography and fashion apparel?

I will continue to bring awareness of  GLOW-ART to people through fashion shows, and photoshoots with other photographers and their models. I hope to bring awareness of my apparel through involving other more traditional photographers and BY working with models from their area. I will happily bring a garment bag full of GLOW-ART apparel to a photo shoot to enhance the work of other photographers and models.

Looking farther down the road into the future, are there any future projects percolating, either in your current fields or with an eye to branching out even further?

I am building a studio with a dark GLOW-ART studio and other spaces for more traditional photography. In my studio I am building model’s quarters to host traveling models. This enhances the ability of the model and regional photographers to create by having the model and studio in one place with all the tools to make great photographic art.

Ron Vestal: GLOW-ART.COM

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Luxury Escapism or “The Oddly Satisfying Spa” is an immersive art technology wellness experience reminiscent of a Spa with elements of theatre & Virtual Reality. Luxury Escapism – a VR Spa has been created by Tyler Pridgen. Initially I went in to do a shoot for their online advertisement campaign last year in December and that itself was a lot of fun. The space was very cool so when Tyler asked me to come on as a member I was intrigued by what that would entail for me as an actor.

What was your role?

My role in Luxury Escapism involved taking on the character of a “Spa Attendant”; working alongside an ensemble of artists to set the stage and keep the front of a Spa. We are given a script that we memorize and deliver for all the different stages like the welcoming of guests into the space, the rules they have to follow, the instructions they should look out for, etc. Doing that was more traditional in the sense of learning lines and delivering them but then the rest of it used improv so we got to play around with a bunch of different techniques.

From an actor point of view, what has been the peculiar aspect of this kind of technology that makes it different from a standard filming project?

In a set up that’s so different from what I’m used to working on, it can sometimes be quite the challenge to not break character. I had never worked on a project like this before and it allowed me to work with a whole new realm of experimental theatricality since it is on us to maintain the believability of the experience and the people coming into the space have no idea about us acting or what they are in for really. The project has been so well received and people genuinely enjoy it because it’s truly one of a kind. I highly recommend everyone to try it!

What is the most important artistic project that you have been a part of?

I think I have been lucky in my journey so far to have worked on a few projects that I consider important to me. One of these was a project I worked on last year that was part of the 48 Hour Film Festival NYC.The film was screened at The Anthology Film Archives, NY.

About your previous works, you took part in a project that was part of the 48 Hour Film Festival NYC.The film was screened at The Anthology Film Archives, NY.  What is the concept of that festival?

The concept of the festival was that we had 48 hours to create a short film after a theme, a prompt and the name of a lead character. “Joan” in our case was the character I played in what had been given to us. The film was action heavy and I hadn’t really worked on many films like before so it was cool to work with a stunt choreographer and being an observer to that process.  It was such a fascinating experience working with a team of people that came together just for this project and had not worked with each other before. Of course we had our set departments like acting, cinematography, producing etc, but it was very collaborative from the script to the directing. I think that’s also the reason that this project was influential because it gave me insight into all the things that go into making a film and I learned a bit about all the aspects. It also peaked my interest into production; I think that may be something I’m keen on going into the future!

Covid-19 and creativity. Has the pandemic changed any of your artistic plans?

I had recently been cast in an off-off broadway satirical comedy show that has actually been a long running show at the Producers Club Theatre, New York. The show called “Sketch of New York” is a hilarious representation of life in NYC. We were due to go on at end of March this year and were mid rehearsals when the lockdown began and we had to postpone the show until further notice, but the directors of the show are still in contact with us. We have had talks about zoom rehearsals to keep us in the rhythm of the show so that once we are in the clear we can pick up where we left off.

With the coronavirus it has been a collective struggle for everyone all around the world and my heart goes out to everyone who has suffered and their families. I wish everyone safety and health. These are strange times that we are living through and with the lockdown the last 2 months have been unusual to say the least.

Were you able to be involved in any artistic project during the pandemic?

I have been trying to use this time to be as creative as possible for when I am not creative that has been detrimental to my well being. I think creative engagement helps so much with keeping positivity alive at a time like this. I actually have been involved in 2-3 remote projects during the quarantine that have kept me busy and it’s been interesting to create with other artists, all of us working on our individual end at home! At the moment, I am working on a music video from home as well so I look forward to seeing how that turns out.

What is your opinion between the filming NY and LA scene? Why have you chosen NY instead of LA?

New York has been my home for the last few years now and I have really liked both living & working here. While I don’t have experience working in LA as yet, it would be a new space for me to break into. I have a familiarity with New York and there is a lot of work that is being done here with films, shows and the theatre but, that being said, I did make the move from India all the way to New York and ultimately if the situation called for me to make the move to LA I would certainly consider it.

I think I would definitely like to work projects there and learn what the “scene” is like there plus I haven’t been to LA yet so that would be a good reason to visit. I am excited to see what opportunities are ahead for me and what else is in store!

Are you a theatre cinema lover, or do you prefer series TV from the couch?

Hmm! That is a hard question to answer (laughs). I love both those things equally I think. I love balance in life, so in general I am person who enjoys both being outside and outdoors but, I also love staying in bed all day or just having a chill day at home. The same can be said about my preference with that because I truly love the experience of going to the cinema – popcorn & soda, but I am also a binge watcher who enjoys her shows.

We are living in an explosion of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and the Disney channel. Do you think that the end of Hollywood has already been decided?

I don’t think so, I wouldn’t say we’re at the end for Hollywood, no. It’s true that with Netflix, Amazon and all the other subscription services we have access to, and a platform for films, tv shows, and such which is amazing. But the experience of going to the cinema has its own very significant place so I do think there’s a big place for films in that capacity in our lives still.

Why have you decided to have a career as an actress and singer in the USA rather than India?

The reason that I made my initial move to the USA was to have the best available education in acting, that’s also why I chose New York. There is such a rich history of the arts here so I knew there was a lot for me to gain in my learning. But it was never a decision of choosing one over the other. At the end of the day I just love to act and if I felt that I had more opportunities in India I would go back, but I’ve been lucky enough to have found my footing here for now. I’m happy that work here has kept me busy and I think another added bonus has been that being in New York has given me the exposure of working with so many talented artists from around the world. It truly is a melting pot of culture and the arts in the best way possible.

The post Acting and Covid-19: A Conversation with Swarnima Singh, an Indian Actress in NYC appeared first on Artiholics.

May I ask you what name you are known by? From where do you originate? How do you describe yourself as an artist?

My name is Corie Mattie. I am also known as the LA Hope Dealer. I grew up in New Jersey – South Jersey, right outside of Philadelphia. I describe myself as an “outsider” artist. I did not go to school for art or to pursue an art career. I don’t have much contact with mainstream art or the art world. 

What kind of art do you do? What is the meaning/purpose behind your art?

My art touches mostly on humanity issues – problems we are all facing as the human race. However, I want my work to bring positivity and motivation to peoples’ individual problems as well.

How would you describe your art? How have others describe your works?

Others have described my work as a mix between stencil and pop art and I would agree. I usually use a bright color for the background (yellow) and draw images in black and white (stencil-like but mostly never stencil).

What are you doing during quarantine to stay creative?

I am using this time to express my voice and my creativity. I try to bring awareness and positivity through my work during such a negative time. I have done over ten murals in the last few months. Painting is my outlet while providing people with some sort of art remedy during a difficult and unprecedented time.

You placed dozens of yellow works across Long Beach and Los Angeles. Tell us more. How do you find the inspiration, what inspired you to start working on the project?

I originally had the “hope dealer” idea written down in my phone from a list of ideas. Once the pandemic hit and I saw how hard it was hitting humanity mentally and physically I decided to bring the character to life. My brother is a doctor – he is someone I have always looked up to and respected. He helped me with some of the concepts – so while he potentially deals with the pandemic hands on I take my art to the streets to bring awareness.  

Following this pandemic theme, did you do any murals as well?

I have done some murals not related to the pandemic. One about following your heart and taking the path less traveled and also one recently touching on the topic of racism. It’s important that I address current issues that society is dealing with so they can relate and connect with my work.

How did people react to your undertaking of this colorful yellow works all over LA?

Almost everyone has reacted positively regarding my yellow works around LA. I think the color tends to stand out and have a warming effect on viewers. It puts images in a more positive light and I think that’s what society needs right now.

Your work has been distributed all over the country. Please tell us more about your many distributions.

I didn’t want this just a Los Angeles movement. I wanted the LA Hope Dealer to be a global movement. So I decided to start shipping my pieces all over the country and now the world. I want people to feel involved and apart of something bigger than them. It allows people to express their creativity and spread a good message where I can’t right now. The more people involved the better. So far pieces have popped up in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, New Orleans, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Phoenix, Tucson, and now Ireland, France and Spain.

When did you create the project LA Hope Dealer and would you describe it?

The LA Hope Dealer came to fruition during this pandemic. It serves as a beacon of hope for people – a nod to keep going and be strong for ourselves as well as for humanity. 

How do you think  the current situation with the pandemic has influenced the art world in your community in LA?

I think it allows artists to express their emotions and feelings through art while connecting with viewers. We are all in the same boat facing a different storm, so artists touching on Covid-19 have an opportunity to challenge, reassure, and address how everyone is currently feeling. 

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on pieces related to racial issues. 

One of your quotes ” After the plague came the Renaissance”, would you please tell us the meaning of that to you?

Just like during the Black Plague in the 14th century, a period of strong artistic expression is underway. Sometimes you can’t describe a situation or feeling with words, so that’s where artistic expression becomes more relatable and valued. Since this is a global issue, pandemic-related pieces are appealing to a wider range of viewers, in an unprecedented way. These pieces convey universal truths across cultures, values, age, gender, situations, etc. Artists have the chance to challenge, justify and comfort the feelings we may be experiencing, while providing clarity and reassurance during such a confusing and weird time.

https://lahopedealer.com/

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What is Clio Art Fair? Can you please describe Clio Art Fair to me?

Clio Art Fair is a marketplace that allows independent artists to come into direct contact with insiders without the presence of any intermediary. The project was born when I was living in New York and working as an art critic, I had come into contact with many independent artists capable of producing quality works but who had difficulty finding exhibition spaces and therefore an audience of insiders; this was because we had little time or little experience to devote to our promotion. Starting from this need, we built a tailor-made fair where artists can promote themselves, and where gallery owners will not be present as exhibitors but are invited to participate as spectators.

When did you create the Clio Art Fair? And how many editions have taken place so far?AB: In our first 6 years of life, Clio had 11 editions of the fair and hosted 541 artists representing 5 continents and 35 countries.

What kind of works do you showcase at the fair?

All sorts of artworks from independent artists and collectives from all over the world. Artists have been freed up to use different materials and media and to deviate from accepted art practice definitions. Clio also hosted two special sections: I Want to Go Home, curated by Asya Rotella in March 2019, and A Nest Watching an Avalanche in March 2020.

What makes Clio Art Fair unique?

The logistics services that we are able to make available to our artists is what makes Clio unique. We can offer logistics for the shipment of the works, for installation and also for sale if requested. We have a team of art handlers and very close curators and sellers built over the years. Moreover, during the selection process, our team of curators establishes a dialogue with each artist, preparing in detail the selection and promotion on-site and online of each work.

How did Clio Art Fair grow in the past years?

During this period together, the fair grew exponentially. In the beginning, the fair started on the fifth floor of the Wolf Building on 26th Street, and by 2018, we were organizing our events on street-level storefronts  positioned in the key areas of the city.

Is there a preferred medium of art that has been successful using this method?

It is important for us to have the maximum diversity of media present, site-specific included.

Do you have any particular success stories related to the new types of dialogues that you have created (artists/collectors, artists/curators)?

From 2014 to today we have managed to create a network of returning artists, curators, and collectors. Every edition we meet new friends, people we sometimes hang out with during the year. Our fair is an opportunity for dialogue, sharing, and comparison with people from all over the world.

What are the plans for this year? And how has this pandemic impacted the fair?

Considering the current health situation, we are officially suspending our fair programming for the next 12 months.

Starting with the name chosen for our project, Clio, the muse of history, we have never hidden the Greek and Latin references of our roots. Our culture, although lovingly open to influences from all over the world, which provide for profitable and mutually enriching exchange, continues to have at its core an education that includes the texts of the Old Testament. Our spirituality is experiencing an epochal and ancestral challenge. And these new times have allowed us to dedicate ourselves to the rediscovery of texts that contributed to our education in our youth and have helped us to  rediscover an awareness of how to live in an obligatory period of repose. In biblical times, every seventh year was a “sabbath under the Mosaic law, a time during which the land was allowed to rest. Clio will enter a sabbath of sorts.

When and where will the next editions of Clio Art Fair be taking place?

We have arrived in our seventh year of activity with an awareness that we will be coming to a halt. However, we are ready to announce new developments. Clio, the Manhattan Fair for independent artists, will debut in Venice in June 2021 as a side event of the Biennale, it will then return to NY in September 2021 during the Armory Show and will debut in Los Angeles in February 2022 as a satellite event of Frieze LA. Once this period of emergency is over, we expect a period of freshness, vigor, and additional energy. We are awaiting and planning for an historical awakening.

We are ready to select the artists for our new programming period, and we invite you to submit your works. The application is free. The marketing fee will be waived if you complete the application by December 14, 2020.

With the hope of a profitable and creative sabbatical period, we respect social distancing today, but we will re-hug stronger than ever tomorrow.

https://www.clioartfair.com/

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