This week we had the pleasure to meet the artist Scott Abrams.
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.
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