Art Space Talk: Sabrina Small

I was introduced to the art of Sabrina Small while attending the Bridge Art Fair preview party. Before moving to Berlin, Germany in September of 2002, Small made her home in Sarasota, Florida. She has exhibited extensively throughout the state of Florida, as well as in San Francisco, New York, London, Budapest and Berlin.

While her earlier work is mainly painted on wood and paper, Small recently began experimenting with hand stitchings on material such as felt, velvet and wearable fabric.

(Brain Bubble, No. 1 - watercolor and ink on paper)

Brian Sherwin: Sabrina, I observed your art during the Preview Party at the Bridge Art Fair in Chicago. How did the exhibit go for you? Is this your first time being involved the Bridge Art Fair?

Sabrina Small: How did I do? Well, no sales, though according to my gallerist, the response to the work was positive - that's always good.

I have to say that my feeling for art fairs is a mixed one. There's been an explosion in the art market over the past five to ten years, with art fairs popping up in every major city. On the one hand, I think it's great that so many people are interested in viewing art and that the opportunities for artists to exhibit their work and have it available to the greater public have increased. And, of course, I like the idea that such a wide audience can view my own work. But is it possible that there's simply too much work out there; too many objects; an over-supply, so to speak, of art? I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from making art or expressing themselves, but with this overabundance of "things" and the multitudes of possibilities to view and consume them (and obviously this speaks about more than art), how can anything make an impression after a while? The impact diminishes, in my view, and in the end I have a tendency - in particular at the art fairs - to check my memories at the exit-door before leaving.

However, despite my frustrations and inner battles concerning the significance of my own work in the larger scheme of things, the need to create, which is quite basic, seems to persist. What to do, what to do...?

And yes, this was my first time showing at the Bridge Art Fair in Chicago.

(Brain Bubble, No. 2 - watercolor and ink on paper)

BS: I remember that many people commented on how art fairs are becoming the 'gallery of tomorrow' when I attended the previews for Scope and Pulse in New York. It seems that some people feel that the old gallery system is becoming old-hat. If it does become common for galleries to focus more on fair participation than exhibiting in their own spaces, what will you do? Can you see that happening? Do you think the burst of creative life that comes from major art fairs could eventually become a process of decay for public interest in art if galleries grow to depend on them on a regular basis?

SS: Good question. I definitely see the presence of art fairs increasing over the years and it is possible that rather than art lovers visiting gallery spaces once a month or so, they'll replace that experience with a yearly visit to Art Basel, for example. But there is something intimate about going to an actual gallery (a space where the viewer is able to focus on one artist or even a group of artists and not be bombarded by a mass of other objects - or people, by the way), that can't be denied. For sure the viewer who only knows the art-viewing-experience through art fairs, will in my mind miss-out immensely.

(Impostor - watercolor and ink on paper)

BS: You decided to move to Berlin in September of 2002. Why did you make that choice? Has living in Germany given you better direction with your work?

SS: Actually, my intention was to live in Copenhagen, a decision based on my fascination with Lars von Trier films and all things Scandinavian. My stay there, however, only lasted about six weeks before a friend came to visit (my boyfriend at the time, who quickly became my ex-boyfriend and is now one of my best friends) and convinced me that Berlin was the place to be. So we hopped on a train and a few hours later found ourselves in Berlin: The Land of Currywurst and Doener Kebabs, among other things.

Needless to say, I fell instantly in love. Berlin in its own special way is THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY all wrapped in one, and is unlike any place I've ever lived. The winters are difficult, to say the least, but when spring and summertime come around, you wouldn't want to be anyplace else.

As far as Germany giving me a better direction for my work - well, it's certainly made its mark - and I suspect will continue to influence my work as the years go on.

(Doppelganger - watercolor and ink on paper )

BS: I've been told that studio space in Berlin is extremely inexpensive compared to lofts and other studio spaces in the States. Is that true? Having lived in Germany do you think it is cheaper for an artist to get by compared to other art hubs of the world?

SS: Other than Mexico City, Berlin must be one of the least expensive and exciting cities for an artist to live today. Of course, there are less expensive cities in the world, but for an artist, it can't be beat. I've been here for almost five years now, and in this time have seen a huge flood of foreign artists of all disciplines moving in and making this their home. New York, London, Tokyo and Paris are all incredible cities, but if you don't want to live and work out of a box, I'm not sure where else you can be.

(Inside Out - watercolor and ink on paper)

BS: Most of your earlier works are on wood and paper, though now it seems you're doing more with stitching. Why did you decide to change your creative process?

SS: Actually, I'm still working on wood and paper and have been working on the hand-stitchings for several years now, though it's true - the stitchings are more prevalent now than in the past. I guess I think of all of my works as drawings. The themes may vary, but technically speaking, they're all very much about line.

BS: So in other words you don't see it as a change in creative process but as a form of your creative evolution?

SS: When I'm always working with the same medium, I have a tendency to get bored. The creative process is quite different when I'm stitching as opposed to drawing, for example. It's a much slower and more thoughtful process, and at certain times exactly what I need. Also, when I'm feeling stuck and having difficulty coming up with new ideas, a change in medium often helps.

(Who's Who - handstitched drawing on black felt)

BS: Two of the pieces presented at the Bridge Art Fair were hand-stitched drawings inspired by the ˜Black Block"; a direct-action group alive and well in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. This group of hooded-leftists, clothed in black from head to toe, appear regularly on the streets of Berlin often as part of larger demonstrations in the fight against neo-naziism, social cutbacks, and the revocation of civil rights (to name just a few causes), and are known to use props such as fireworks, paint-filled eggs and bricks to help get their points across. How did you become involved with the ˜Black Block"? Why are they an inspiration for you?

SS: Normally I'm not one to make politically-themed work, but after first discovering the ˜Black Block" a few years ago at a May Day demo in Kreuzberg, I couldn't help myself. When you see them marching - this magnificent field of black! - it's an incredible sight to behold. I'd never seen or heard of them before and naturally was quite impressed. Their bravery is an inspiration to me, in their constant fight for the rights of others, and although I may not always agree with their methods or what they're fighting for (or against), I support their existence and believe it's important that they're a part of the demonstrations."

BS: I've never heard of them before... I did some quick research. Do you run the risk of arrest by being associated with them?

SS: I'm not exactly involved with them, but rather view them from a distance. For sure if I were in the front line, I would run a risk of arrest or worse perhaps. I was caught in the line-of-fire only once at a demonstration and was hit by the yolk of a colored egg meant for a cop. Misdirected fire.

(Making Contact - handstitched drawing on black felt)

BS: Sabrina, when did you first discover that art would be an important part of your life? Care to share any early memories?
SS: Well I seem to recall quite early on, drawing on whatever I could find - especially in our basement: the walls, the hot-water heater, the doors to my parents' cedar-closet where they stored all their winter clothes and the things they never seemed to wear. Nothing's really changed. I'm still painting on the walls, though rather than getting a scolding for it, my parents praise me. :)

BS: Can you share some of your philosophy about art and artistic creation?

SS: When I'm not pulling my hair out or staring holes in the wall (that's part of the artistic process), making art can be the best form of meditation I know. It's the glue, so to speak, for my thoughts.

As far as my philosophy is concerned - well, I try to focus on creating work that excites me and not spend too much energy thinking about what will sell or what's hip at the moment (technically or thematically speaking). By the time you figure that out, the art world will have moved on to something else. And anyway, everything seems to come back. It's all, in my mind, a regurgitation of the past. There's a good chance that whatever I'm making at the moment will at some point be relevant - if not now than in the future perhaps. We shall see.

(Happy Dream - watercolor on paper)

BS: Would you say that many artists are only concerned with what will sell? I know you mentioned that a lot of the art fairs seem to be showing the same type of art by different artists in your opinion.

SS: It's not so much that they're showing the same type of art, but that there's just so much of it, and as a result the brain has a tendency to meld it all together as a means of retaining the information, and then it all begins to look the same: like one massive piece of art.

As far as artists having their main concern being the sale of their work: well, I believe it's a rather new phenomenon that artists art able to support themselves through their art. And still, most artists don't. I suppose the more successful one becomes, the more of an issue it is.

(Elephant - watercolor on paper)

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

SS: I usually make a pot of tea and turn on the radio to the BBC. NPR just started broadcasting in Berlin, which has been a nice change and has made me feel a bit more at home. My musical taste is vast so it's difficult to say what I listen to, but because I'm playing a lot of vinyl (the only way to truly hear music!), most of it's quite old. I just bought an old album at the flea market called SOUL MAKOSSA by a guy called Manu Dibango. It's circa 1972 and is what you'd call "Black Ivory Soul". Very funky shit!

BS: How do you deal with "creative block", so to speak? Are there times when you become frustrated with your work? How do you overcome it?

SS: I think as an artist, you have to accept these times and look at them as an opportunity to focus on something else for a while. We're not "art factories", cranking the stuff out like cookies or sausages. Of course, the pressures of the market don't always allow for that. In the moment that the bulk of your focus weighs heavier on the market and you think of your work as merely a product or commodity that you can't seem to churn out fast enough, I think it can become a real problem, poisoning the art and the creative process in general. "Creative block", in my mind, is a manufactured idea that has more to do with competition and outside pressures than the inability to actually create.

(Unraveling - watercolor on paper)

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

SS: Not yet, but I'm hoping one day!

BS: Why do you hope for that?

SS: Let me rephrase that. It's not that I support censorship and would certainly NOT like to be living under a fascist regime that dictates what I can and cannot make. However, the idea that my work could generate so much of a stir as to have it be under consideration for censorship is an interesting idea. If it's a threat to the State, then there must be something relevant in it's content.

BS: Sabrina, what was the toughest point in your career as an artist? Have you ever hit rock-bottom?

SS: Hmm, rock-bottom? Well, not exactly. My main struggle, I suppose, is to keep the work fresh - not only for myself but also for others - and not continuously reproduce the same old themes; a constant challenge, for sure. I like the idea of surprising myself and always discovering something new in the art, or at least making an effort to do so. If I can't be inspired by the art, how can I expect anyone else to be?

BS: Where can our readers view more of your work? Do you have a website? Are you represented by a gallery?

SS: My website is: www.sabrinasmall.com.

My gallery in Sarasota, Florida (Greene Contemporary) is also a good way to view my work: www.greenecontemporary.com.

They'll be exhibiting my drawings at Scope Hamptons this summer.

In addition to Greene Contemporary, I'm also represented by Raab Galerie in Berlin and Deck-Galerie fuer Aktuelle Kunst in Stuttgart.

Exhibition listings:

Raab Galerie, Traum - Opening June 5, 2007 www.raab-galerie.de.

Deck Galerie, Dort rastet die Lilith - Opening, June 29th, 2007 www.deck-galerie.de.

I hope that you have enjoyed my interview with Sabrina Small. Feel free to critique or discuss her art.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Ted Stanuga

I met Ted Stanuga at the Artists Project exhibit in Chicago. Ted is known for creating. Ted has said the following about his paintings: "Intention is reasoned anticipation. In facing the infinity of the blank canvas fear supplants intention, and anxiety produces the energy to move against the resulting inertia.' Marks are made and removed, images surface and are removed, replaced with new ones we cannot see. Lines are made that cannot be seen because they have been pulverized by light. Color, tone and rhythm are created, changed and reapplied in a dance off between need and intention. When you finally let go of enough, it emerges."

Q. I observed your work at the Artists Project exhibit in Chicago. How did the exhibit go for you?

A. "It was a wonderful opportunity to meet artist's, gallerists, and museum people, sales were slow."

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

A. "Very early in life, 4th grade I think. Each day we would get an hour to draw while the teacher played music, and that experience changed my life."

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

A. "I think to work every day in and dedicate oneself to art is itself a monumental political statement. The choices we make at every level can be defined as political, and I am quite concious of that as I work. The first job I had as a 15 year old was picking cucumbers with the Mexican fruitpickers in the Imperial Valley, way south in California. That experience has tipped my politics left ever since."

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

A. "Yes. Since I value the mimetic in life and disdain the didactic, art that includes the viewer in a way that he or she can continually find his or her self in the work is the experience I am after. Confronted with the blank canvas I submit to that anxiety and give the resultant energy voice to move against inertia. Marks are made and removed, some are left that you cannot see because they have been pulverised by light. Images emerge and are taken out and eventually, something emerges with enough history to stand."

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

A. "I had some prints early on at the Brooklyn Print Biennial, and it was at that time I knew that my work would be looked at seriously."

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

A. "I would say they are habits not rituals, and Jazz is what I listen to 90% of the time when I listen to music in the studio. However, the great majority of the time the studio is very quiet."

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

A. "People that read and tend to be verbal. Jungians not Freudians."

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

A. "The easiest one to do that with is "Swamp JuJu for the Crescent City" which was begun during the flood of New Orleans after Katrina hit. JuJu is magic stuff one carries for protection, and I was trying to make a talisman that would help them somehow. Its the only work like that I have ever done, and am not at all mystically directed or religious. I just had to do something with the feelings I was having about the travesty/tragedy. I then thought it might get donated to an auction for the city and help those in the 9th ward, but I found out that very few people around here know that the Crescent City is what New Orleans is known as, so the piece made little sense to anyone, except children can see animals in it."

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

A. "I attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, no degree."

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

A. "They chose me early on, and became acutally an extension of my hands."

Q.Where can we see more of your art?

A. "I have several shows coming up. The next one: Call and Response is a show of watercolors that were done by myself and another artist working on the same sheets. It will be at Common Ground, Grace and Clark, May 29-June 30. Also keep up with me at www.myspace.com/tedstanuga, www.stanuga.com."

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

A. "All of the galleries I have exhibited in no longer exist. They include Dart Gallery Chicago, Karen Lennox Gallery, Chicago, Lannon Cole Chicago, Missouri Gallery Chicago. I have also shown at the MOCA Chicago, San Francisico, and the Brooklyn Museum."

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

A. "Artists are finding their way back to each other. More work is getting done. The explosion of technocommunication is changing the nature of how art is sold, shown, transported and talked about. A new thing is emerging and I for one am not sure what it is. A nice place to be really."

Q. Any tips for emerging artists?

A. "Pack your lunch box, go to the studio, turn off the phone, and go to work."

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

A. "Once a long time ago. It was figurative and had a semi rigid penis. There were childrens groups coming to the show that I did not know about, so no big deal."

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

A. "Yes. I dont like to talk much about it, but I am just coming out of a period like that where one chooses to pay the storage bill and live under a bridge. Awful."

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

A. "I love the idea of someone getting pleasure from something I have made with my hands."

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

A. "Chicago is jumping right now and this is after a long quiet spell. There was a noose around its neck for the longest time, but with the work of several tenacious and courageous souls the doors have been blown off the asylum, and there is great art and artists surfacing everywhere. Theses artists may leave Chicago but you will be suprised by how many in this next generation began here."

Q. Has politics ever entered your art?

A. "Its in everyhing I do from cooking to painting."

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

A. "I am an athiest so I suppose it too is in everything."

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

A. "That its diffiucult, with objectives constantly trying to blurr. Stay clear and do the work."

I hope that you have enjoyed learning more about Ted Stanuga. Feel free to critique or discuss his art.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Tanya Gramatikova

I recently discovered the work of Tanya Gramatikova. Tanya is from Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Tanya's photography is strongly focused on the human condition. "I think the most difficult to describe -and most provoking for me -are people... the expression of inner depth and desires."

There was a language barrier with this interview. It serves as an example of how myartspace.com is reaching out to artists throughout the world.


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

A. "I never made a decision. It just happened. I do believe that creativity is a complex process that evolves with time. It depends on your start (upbringing), the influences that affect you, and most important maybe, your inner sensitivity. Then something strikes you that makes you bring out what you've already accumulated..."


Q. Has society influnced your art? What are the social implications in your art?

A. "Art is always influenced by society. If we trace back into art history, every new cultural and artistic movement emerges in relation with specific social and political changes. So in a general sense, yes-I'm part of our society, even though in my work I do not focus on socially engaged themes. Perhaps I must point out my interest in the lives of ethnic minorities. But still I haven't elaborated that topic and the accent is rather on their ethnic colour."

Q. On average, how long does it take to create a piece? Can you share your philosophy about art and artistic creation?

A. "The very act of creation is the easiest part. However, the evolution of ideas requires time ,and let's say, the chance-something happens that strongly echoes in you and then you just follow your intuition ... I work especially with models and do consider the good vision very important. However it is not enough...Their personal presence is very important so maybe the most difficult part is to make them trust me, to provoke in them the essence of their emotional world. Sometimes it is deeply suppressed under superficial conduct."

Q. Has your art ever been published? What prizes have you won?

A. "So far I took part in several BG contests and was nominated for their final exhibitions: "Photography salloon Varna"' 2006, "Photograph of the year-Canon BG" 2006, "Biennale Phodar" 2007. Prizes: Annual Serbin Photography Contest-First Place for colour photography and honorable mention- 2006 ;16th Trierenberg Super Circuit,2007 -Gold medal in special themes category, portrait category.

I have presentations in some online magazines: "Underground Voices", "Liberaeva" and two print magazines, as well as photographic sites and many blogs. Also maybe I should mention my participation in the conceptual album "View of Life" of the russian photographic forum "photosight.ru "and the 17th "Nude" exhibition of the bulgarian forum" photo-forum.net" in the art gallery "Paris",Sofia."

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

A. "I'm contemplative as a person and music is a kind of "mantra' for me. It helps me fall into that special state of mind and makes my senses more subtle.Yes, I always listen to music whenever possible."

Q. Where can we see more of your art?

A. "I do not have an official website. I would love to find gallery representation. "

Q. Why did you choose the medium you use?

A. "Photography is painting with light. I do a lot of digital manipulation in my works. In my younger age I used to paint. However, my family encouraged me to receive a more practical education. I graduated from the English Language School, Blagoevgrad, and later entered the economic department of Sofia University "Kliment Ohridski".

During my university education I started realising that it was not what I wanted to do with my life- though I still had no idea what I wanted to do. Then I had my first photosessions as a model for an artist. Eventually I proceeded on the other side of the camera..."

Q. Any tips for other emerging artists?

A. "I can't escape cliche' but it is very important to throw yourself totally in what you do-you must feel the subject, make its energy pulse with yours, make it follow you...of course, good technical skills and education are very important."

Q. In one sentence: Why do you create art?

A. "It is an inner necessity for aesthetics, to express myself, it is a way to seek answers of many questions to which cannot be given rational ones..."

Q. What has been the toughest point in yor career as an artist? Have you ever hit rock-bottom?

A. "Maybe the disapproval and the strong reaction of my parents to the abrupt discourse in my ambitions..."

Q. Has politics ever entered your art?

A. "No. I try to stay away from it."

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

A. "In Bulgaria art is in a deep crisis along with other spheres of public life. The politicians of our country poorly finance the cultural sector- as a result "pseudoculture" emerges- "chalga" we have for it- a very distasteful mixture of modern and folk trends with no aesthetic values. So people's taste and need for culture is gradually dislocated in the wrong direction.

Many bulgarian artists emigrate and look for realisation in the countries where the social status of artists is on a much higher level... Otherwise Bulgaria as one of the most ancient countries on the Balkan Peninsula and has strong cultural traditions- very specific ones for that region, related with our history and the spirit of the Bulgarians."

Feel free to leave a comment about Tanya's art.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: The Splasher

Street art has long been a tradition in New York. However, in recent years several now-famous artists have graced the streets with their work. Art by Banksy, Swoon, Faile and others have found a safe home on the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan. However, these works have been challenged by an anonymous artssassin. This destroyer of the streets has been coined as 'The Splasher'- and splash he does!

Apparently he, she, or they utilizes buckets of paint as an arsenal of artistic destruction. The attack is simple enough- a quick 'splash' of colors hits the target- a task that could take mere seconds to accomplish. No one has been able to catch the Splasher even though teams have been assembled to 'guard' works that have yet to be destroyed. Also, the works that are targeted are all works by artists who are now famous- the Splasher does not target common sprawl art.

Onlookers have suggested several motives for the destruction due to the Splashers selective practice. One theory is that the Splasher a jealous street artist. Another theory is that the destruction is a ploy are street art collectors who hope to make their collections more valuable by destroying outside works. Others have suggested that Splasher might be an artists who is simply expressing himself by revealing the fact that street art is supposed to 'decay'. Those who support that theory feel that the Splasher is simply striking out against the commercialism of gallery controlled street art.

An interesting aspect of this story is that various manifestos (image above and below) have been left on many of the destroyed works. The papers are glued on the walls with a warning that injury may occur if they are removed due to 'shards of glass'. At least the Splasher has concern for the well-being of the public, right?



What do you think about 'The Splasher'? Do you have a theory about who or what it is? If you are from New York and have seen the remains of these works I'd love to read your experience- how did you feel when you discovered the destruction? Do you think this destruction is just another form of art? Is it acceptable since the work is street art?

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Banksy Strikes Again!

The controversial street artist has struck again! This time in the form of a provocative mural in north London. Banksy's image depicts a young girl being pulled into a cash machine by a robotic arm. The image was painted on a bricked-up window in Exmouth Market. It is the latest example of the artist's graffiti-style work.

Last year Banksy left a life-size replica of a Guantanamo Bay detainee at Disneyland, and decorated Israel's controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of what life is like on the other side. Both images resulted in political unrest. He is also known for a small rock painting of a caveman pushing a supermarket trolley that spent several days in the British Museum before officials spotted it. In other words, Banksy is no stranger to controversy and will put himself at risk in order to make a statement.

Banksy's work has become sought-after in recent years. Celebrities have spent thousands to own his work. For example, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie reportedly spent several thousand on work by Banksy at a Los Angeles sale last year. Keanu Reeves and Jude Law have also spent thousands on Banksy's work.

Not everyone is a fan of Banksy's art. An anonymous person (or group) known as "Splasher" has been destroying street art by Banksy and other famous artists in New York. The Splasher uses a simple method- he slings paint over the original art. I suppose we will soon find out if there is a London 'Splasher'... if that happens he, she, or they could be coined as Jack the Splasher!

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Rebecca Salter

Kocot and Hatton introduced me to Rebecca Salter. Art Critics have described Rebecca Salter's paintings as "paradoxes". Her works appear tranquil, yet are full of movement; they appear empty, but rarely are paintings so full.

Rebecca Salter's art has been featured in several major art fairs- including The Armory Show (2001)- and can be found in major art collections throughout the world. Salter is a two-time recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation award.

Q. Kocot and Hatton introduced me to you. How did you meet them? What other artists have inspired (or influenced) your work? Do you keep an open dialogue with other artists?

A. "I met them (only very briefly I’m afraid) at the opening of my show at Larry Becker in 2005. Contact with other artist who are sympathetic to the work is very important to me. Inspiration and influence are difficult to pin down. There are many artists I admire (the obvious ones such as Rothko, Tobey, Agnes Martin, Barnett Newman) but I try to avoid influence. I never have images of other people’s work in my studio. I don’t have a particular dialogue with any other artists – though there are a few people whose judgment I trust when I need an opinion on the way the work is going.My way of working could be seen as isolated (the reason my be in my reply to a later question on Japan)"

Q. Rebecca, in recent years you have started to use new materials and techniques in your work. For example, the use of aluminum as a support and new techniques involving the partial but deliberate rubbing out of the painted surface. This new manner of working allows you to create in a way that is a subtle shift- a departure from your earlier practice. In your own words, how has your recent work developed from what it once was? Where will your practice take you next?

A. "Choice of materials is largely governed by the way I paint. I need a solid base to work on (canvas stapled to a board/aluminum/wood). My favorite surface is probably paper but having to frame things to protect them is always a problem. I like the immediacy of drawing and it is always a struggle to sustain that and carry it over into painting. In Japan I worked primarily on paper as it is seen as a traditional surface but living back in the UK, the move to canvas became important. It was a challenge to maintain the soft sensibility you can get on Japanese paper. But the problem with the paper was that it is so seductively beautiful that it is easy (and dangerous I think) to rely on that to shape the work. It needs more rigor."

Q. People have described your work as 'empty'... yet they go on to mention that there is a complex form of energy that you convey with your images. In other words, your work is alive in a subtle manner. Can you further discuss your work and the process and methods behind it?

A. "I am quite happy to have my work described as ‘empty’ (which I don’t think it is by the way). The difference lies I believe in the gap between western and eastern concepts of space. Eastern space is not seen as a void, rather as a space with potential. I like to think that my empty spaces are in fact animated with energy – barely perceptible but there all the same. This concept carries through Japanese art/architecture and gardens – which remain a huge source of inspiration to me."

Q. I've read that you were a research student at the Kyoto City University of Arts in Japan from 1979 to 1981. You then stayed in Japan until 1985. I imagine that your experience there influenced your later work. Care to reflect on your experience living and creating in Japan? Who were your mentors? How did that experience shape the future of your art?

A. "I went to Japan at a particularly difficult time for anyone who has left art school and is trying to continue their work. The problem of making a living, finding a studio, exploring your own way of working or even trying to establish a way of working after the security of art school. Going to a culture as different as Japan was, on reflection, an incredibly positive thing to do. Of course I still had the above issues to struggle with but being outside ones own culture provided an invaluable environment to reflect on the tradition from which I come (European) and the tradition in which I was living (Oriental specifically Japanese). Until I had learnt the language my mentors /inspirations were purely visual. As I began to read Japanese I could then study the aesthetics behind what I was seeing and how that was finding its way into my work. This experience has without doubt shaped the way I work still – in that it is based on more on reflection and introspection than dialogue with others."

Q. In 1995 you received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation award. You received another Pollock-Krasner Foundation award in 2003. How did you feel about earning the award? Is your work influenced by Pollock or Krasner?

A. "I have been very fortunate to receive 2 awards. I think the awards epitomise what is the best about the American attitude – the awards are open to all and above all there is an acknowledgment that making art is a serious activity worthy of support. I’m not particularly influenced by their work – though in the unlikely event that I make masses of money I would hope to use it for such worthwhile ends!"

Q. Rebecca, your art can be found in several prestigious collections: Tate Gallery, The British Museum, Yale Center for British Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art... did you expect your work to be so well received or do you still wake up to find yourself shocked at the accomplishments you have had?

A. "The most difficult question for me to answer is the casual inquiry (when people find out that I am an artist) ‘are you successful’? I never know how to respond. Having work in collections is a measure of success but I am haunted by how quickly things can go badly wrong. How many retrospectives end with 2 or 3 rooms of disappointing work? My definition of success doesn’t extend beyond the studio door. My only responsibility (and my personal measure of success) is to do the best possible work that I can, put it away and start another piece. If someone comes along and buys the work or a critic writes about it, then that is a huge bonus (obviously!). But to produce good work is my sole responsibility - the vagaries of the art world are beyond my control."

Q. Rebecca, how has society influenced your art? Are there any social implications in your work? What is hidden beyond the surface?

A. "There are no obvious social messages in my work – except possibly a hope that space can be found for the quiet voice or the visual experience that requires time and contemplation. I often say that I paint in whispers. A lot of work now asks the viewer to ‘experience’ it. I ask the viewer to reflect – a very different activity."

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

A. "Very simple I’m afraid. I can’t work to music at all but I do listen to the radio (spoken voice). I keep very boring regular hours largely governed by the quality of light ( in the winter it gets dark early and that affects colour so I leave). The studio is kept clean and white with no bright colours at all."

Q. Rebecca, where can we see more of your art?

A. "My London gallery (Beardsmore Gallery) has work also Howard Scott in NY and Larry Becker in Philadelphia. And I have a website www.rebeccasalter.com."

Q. Do you have any suggestions for emerging artists or artists who wish to learn more about woodblock printing?

A. "Probably one of the best places to learn woodblock is in the US – there are several people who teach it well and it is more accessible that trying to learn in Japan where it is still largely part of the small workshop tradition and without Japanese it would be very hard. I have only really become involved with woodblock by accident – I learnt it in Japan and over the years became aware that it was dying out so now I am spending time trying to document it."

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

A. "My only advice is to try and keep your work and your feelings about it separate from the art world. The art world is subject to powerful forces that are not only beyond your control but have very little to do with art. We all know of artists who were never recognised despite their obvious talent. The two are not connected in any meaningful way. Believe in yourself first and last - the rest is largely accidental."

Feel free to comment about Rebecca Salter's art.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Lisa Yuskavage's Issues

Recently, I saw Lisa Yuskavage talk about her work. She said she needed to make art to live. Like, or else she'd be miserable. Miserable or dead. (She didn't really say that, but what the hell.) I guess she needs to express herself. She talked about her time in therapy (a lot), something I haven't heard at other artist's talks I've been to. She used words like "transference" and showed slides of (a few of the many) portrait paintings she's done of her shrink. She is an accomplished painter, but perhaps her artistic conversation is mostly with herself. Like, she uses the language of painting to navigate her own issues. I am not particularly interested in her psychology, even though she seems like an ok person. A lot of her friends came to her talk and cheered her on from the front row. It was strange. I mean, she's been famous for years now, how much more encouragement does one need? And with talk like this how the hell did she get so famous? (i.e. the talk I saw was sponsored by the Public Art Fund)

I mean, looking at her paintings I imagine there's been some fruitful discussion of gender, sex, desire, other stuff. But I'm not sure there's been as fruitful a discussion of art. But perhaps that's why her works are so popular: they're relevant, topical, accessible. Conversation starters. And besides, oil painting is in these days, and John Currin is in. But as far as being avant-garde...

She said some of the usual stuff about color, its symbolic and visual effects. She talked about figurative images and narrative in painting, which was interesting, I'll admit. And I guess we could talk about low content (porn) in high culture (oil painting) and the similarities between classic figurative painting and classic 70's pornography (see Warhol). And I do like this painting I put up of hers. It reminds me of the way Picasso used to deconstruct women's bodies, only this time there are hints of cosmetic surgery, anorexia, prostitution.

But I guess I'm not so interested. I've said it before (I think) and I'll say it again, I love the avant-garde (i.e. questioning and expanding the boundaries of art) and I'm not into work that's mostly topical (i.e. the artist's emotions/psychology, sociology, gender studies, etc.). I am into art because I like to talk (mostly) about the field of art, not other stuff. So, what I'd really like to know is how is Yuskavage's work relevant to the field of contemporary art? I mean, from the talk I saw it seems like she's not even sure. She just does it because she has to.

Art Space Talk: Ian Strawn

I observed the art of Ian Strawn while attending the Bridge Art Fair Preview Party in Chicago. With a phenomenally creative painter for a mother, and a set designing, iron sculpting, jack and/or master of all trades for a father, Ian Strawn was well encouraged in his artistic inclinations from the start.

Mr. Strawn has been interested in the human figure since his youth. Since those early years he has developed a unique style of capturing the human form. However, Ian is humble with his talent and skill- stating that his greatest creative achievement was the birth of his daughter.

Q. Ian, I observed your work at the Bridge Art Fair in Chicago. You workwas represented by the Go Go Gallery. How did you fair go for you? Did you make any connections?

A. "The fair went very well for me. It introduced my work to a major collector, who made a purchase. The gallery tells me that my paintings worked up quite a lot of interest at the fair, unfortunately I wasn't there to see it."

Q. Ian, you have called yourself a 'people watcher' and have stated that people watching inspires your work. Can you explain this connection to your work? Where does this interest stem from?

A. "I think we all enjoy watching those around us, it's the reason gossip and reality shows are so popular. When I was a kid, my dad would take me out to dodger stadium, and far more entertaining than the game at hand were the fights and hijinx of the drunks in the cheap seats. There is something to the frenetic and unstructured actions of individual people caught up in their own lives that is fascinating. I'm just taking this fascination and throwing it on the canvas."

Q. So people have always been the focus of your work?

A. "Ever since I was a kid. I was never much for drawing cars or houses or tanks like the other kids around me, though I did have a brief stint of drawing apache helicopters back in the fifth grade. I was always trying to figure out how to draw faces, and as realistically as I could. I'm stilling trying to work it out. There is just so much complexity. To really express someone in paint is much more intense than skin tone and features, somehow emotion, individuality, character, and thought have to work their way in. I love the challenge of it."

Q. I understand that your mother is also a painter. How did she influence the direction of your work? What of your father?

A. "My earliest art projects were those that my mother set up for me, and they were encouraged as major accomplishments by both of my parents.Instead of trophies up on the mantel, my drawings and paintings were up on the wall to show off. Also, I think that watching my mom paint my whole life had a definite impact on me. Her stuff is really bright and colorful and filled with contrast, I think that I get a lot of my color sensibility from her. I keep trying to get her to put her stuff out there in the art world, I think she'd be a hit. As for my dad, I defer to his editing skills. He's a born designer, and every once in awhile when I get myself stuck in a rut I can email off some sketches and catch a critique from the old man."

Q. Do you have formal training in art? If so, where did you study?

A. "Yes, I got an associates in fine art at El Camino Community College near LA, and moved on to get my BA in visual arts from Brigham Young University in Utah. Though, I have to say, really learning art is about doing, all classes did for me was introduce me to new materials and attach a grade to force me to overcome procrastination. Not to say that either of the programs were bad, they were both quite excellent. I just do better on my own."

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

A. "I've heard it said before that artists become artists because they can't do anything else, not that they are incapable but that their drive towards creating art overcomes nearly every other drive in their life. For me, this is true. Even back in high school when I was too lazy to actually spend the energy drawing, I was always thinking about it. Somewhere in the back of my mind I felt guilty for not creating. The same impulse followed me in college. I had meant to study something else, to have something of a fall back career in case the art thing didn't pan out. But I was driven to art classes. My free time was spent painting. Finally, a number of coincidences and administrative whatnot pinned me down into an art major and there I was. I don't try to justify art, I don't have some overarching rationale for it, I just can't imagine myself doing anything else with my life."

Q. Has your art ever been published? Where?

A. "No, it has not yet been published, unless you count a high school student's magazine."

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

A. "I'd really like to say something magnificent like I throw on some Black Sabbath and rock out as I paint, or meditate to a Gregorian chant or two before I start working. But this truth is something much more boring and nerdly - I listen to NPR. I was a courier in LA for a while, and after spending five hours a day relistening to my tiny CD collection, and dodging the commercials of commercial radio, I stumbled across the mind numbingly constant and unending babble of national public radio and was hooked. Like I said, I'm drawn to people, and as much I like watching them, I also enjoy listening to actual conversation. These days I don't actually listen to it on the radio so much as catch the podcasts of my favorite shows - This American Life, Studio 360, the Sound of Young America, Jordan Jesse Go, Fair Game with Faith Salie, etc."

Q.Where can we see more of your art?

A. "You can catch it all on my website www.ianstrawn.com, but I am also exhibitting in a few galleries here and there if you want to see the stuff in person. I just picked up representation from a gallery in San Francisco, the Hespe Gallery, so you can catch me there. Also I'm part of a group show in Denver called "Lacunae" put on by the Plus Gallery, and I have a few pieces in Seth Carmichael's temporary Art Loft space in LA."

Q. Ian, what artists have influence you?

A. "I'd have to say that one of my favorite contemporaries is Chuck Close, the man can do no wrong with paintbrush in hand. As for old school, Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, Magritte, and Duchamp come readily to mind."

Q. What has been the toughest point for you as far as creating your art is concerned?

A. "School. It was a lot of work for a piece of paper. I put myself through school, working nights, selling paintings, the usual stuff. In the end, it's nice to know that if things don't work out that piece of paper might do me some good to get a job. And all the trials to get through it made me more of who I am, but I'd much rather have spent the time painting on my own."

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

A. "No, but thanks for asking."

I hope that you have enjoyed learning more about Ian Strawn. Feel free to critique or discuss his art.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space Talk: Naive John

I recently interviewed the artist known as Naive John. John is a British artist who has a strong focus on figurative painting. John is a self-taught artist with a perfectionist’s attention to detail and craft. His paintings combine mythological and surreal images juxtaposed with Liverpool's urban setting. They often refer to concerns for the environment with a humorous element.

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

A. "Late by most artists’ standards I guess. I was raised in a Glasgow slum before moving to a small town called Cumbernauld which had no galleries or museums. My home life was very dysfunctional and on occasions violent. As a result I attended school infrequently and failed academically. I was always drawing though, usually household ornaments or cartoon characters.

My dad is fond of telling people about the time him and my mum were pulled to one side by a teacher who showed them a sheet of paper which I had completely covered with blue paint. My teacher explained that the class had been asked to paint some fish and when asked where my fish were I had replied that they were ‘under the water, you can’t see them’. I was six years old and already a smart arse.

My dad bought me my first set of oil paints when I was 13. I painted imagined landscapes and portraits of my beloved Doberman. It was, however, a foregone conclusion that I would be apprenticed down the shipyards alongside my dad until that particular industry died on its feet in the 1980s.

Finding myself at 17 on the scrapheap I spent the next decade or so being a waster, sniffing petrol, exchanging drawings for lumps of hashish and tripping on acid or mushrooms. On visiting a local drug dealer I encountered Salvador Dali posters for the first time. It was my first encounter with modern art and something in my head went BANG! After that I educated myself, read lots of art history books and worked hard at my painting. It was something I did for myself in the privacy of my bedroom. I only seriously considered exhibiting my paintings a few years ago."

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

A. "I am a gay man and if it is true that all artists respond in a particular way toward the society they are a part of then it is equally true that the homosexual artist’s response is governed by concerns that do not affect the heterosexual artist. I should say though that I have no desire to create an aesthetic that is specific to it. My paintings are not made for the exclusive use of a particular community."

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

A. "Between 2 and 4 months to complete a 4 x 3ft canvas, depending on complexity."

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

A. "I want to present my world view in beautifully rendered paintings. It is my raison d’etre as an artist. Anyone can make ugly art. Our galleries are bursting at the seams with it. Naive John makes art that an eight year old cannot do and that is how it should be.

My paintings are narrative based figurative works and are painted with an obsessive's attention to finish, resulting in a smooth enamel like surface. I go to considerable lengths to remove anything resembling artistic handwriting from my paintings and consider the expressive brush mark to be entirely over-rated. The painting methods I use are freely adapted from extensive readings on Old Master techniques. In this respect my art could be considered rather conservative and old fashioned. It appears on the surface that I have rejected modernism and clung fast to academic procedures more befitting that of a nineteenth century artist. I'm a big fan of so called bad artists like Bouguereau and Gustav Moreau, they make donkeys of the more acclaimed canonical artists. Like them I heroise my subject matter and at the same time take great pride in almost photographic precision and correctness of detail. I am entirely self-taught in this respect and I work very intuitively.

On one level it could be said that I have more in common with Victor Frankenstein than Vincent van Gogh, sourcing a hand from here and an ear from there and effectively building a composite human being who might then become the protagonist in a painting. I steal from many sources; Google is my best friend. I flip through troves of art historical representations like others might a book of fabric swatches. Detailed tonal drawings are made using a ball point pen which are scanned into my computer. Photoshop is used to arrange them into a composition. There can be as many as 20 variations on a composition. Each is refined in manner and execution until I end up with one which works for me. This is my ‘lo-fi’ approach; a stylus makes the marks on a hard drive in place of a sketch pad."

Q. Has your art ever been published?

A. "Yes - my work has been used on CD and book covers."

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

A. "The Stuckist Punk Victorian Show in the Walker Gallery, Liverpool 2004. It climaxed my ‘coming out’ period as an artist and was a classic case of being in the right place at the right time. I emailed Charles Thomson in March of 2004 with a view to forming a group in Liverpool. He got back to me saying that he thought it would be a good idea. Shortly after this he contacted me again to tell me that Ann Bukantas, the Walker Gallery's fine art curator, admired my painting Toxteth Cherub and that it might be a good thing to have a local artist involved in the show. From there I was asked to submit more work and ended up with 3 canvases in the show.

My inclusion in the show, and the accompanying catalogue, meant that my work and my web site gained a lot of public exposure. I was interviewed by French television and one of my paintings Art Takes a Holiday was the subject of an A-level exam paper (recently presented in book form to me at an exhibition). I was contacted by collectors interested in buying my work and by galleries expressing a desire to show my paintings.

All of these events occurred midway through doing an art history degree and the Chair of the department, Professor Colin Fallows, offered me the opportunity to curate another Stuckist show - The Triumph of Stuckism - as well as lead the accompanying international symposium. Both these events further raised my artistic profile and as a result I am now the subject of a documentary film and a Turner Prize nominee. The irony of which will not be lost on the other Stuckists."

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

A. "I paint exclusively at night and always with music in the background. My studio walls are currently propping up tiers of CDs by Bach, Bjork, Radiohead, Kraftwerk, Duke Ellington and the Boards of Canada. I suck on boiled sweets otherwise I get a sore jaw from unconsciously clenching my jaw. Being a perfectionist is stressful."

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

A. "I seem to appeal to the literary mind. I can count Scotland's Poet Laureate and an 'edgy' novelist amongst my most fervent collectors. Most recently David Roberts, owner of London’s Spectrum Gallery and himself a major collector of contemporary art, bought all of my remaining works as well as Human (versus Mother) Nature - a work in progress."

Q. Discuss one of your pieces.

A. "The Other (image above) is an elaborately staged allegory about bullying. By virtue of his being visibly different from the crowd the centaur has attracted the unwelcome attention of the 'mob'. This centaur far from being cowed is, however, self-assured and, other than keeping a wary eye on the dogs at his heels, appears to be baiting them in a manner similar to that of a matador in a bullfight. Here though in place of the matador’s cape is a towel with a love heart emblazoned upon it. This ‘other’ reacts with patience and intelligence, rather than fear. He exhibits compassion for his tormentors who, he realises, are ignorant rather than hateful.

Dominating the painting in a dynamic diagonal – a compositional device borrowed from the baroque - is the centaur himself, a mythological beast that has traditionally been linked with boorishness in the Classical world but which I have appropriated and deployed here as a signifier of gay iconography. The centaur, for me, is literally a symbol of animal sexuality, a sexuality which is free from societal constraints. At the same time as effectively modelling the alienation of its protagonist, and providing a compelling icon for drawing the viewer into the outsider’s experience, the centaur helps to emphasise the self-conscious fiction of this painted document. It is, after all, a fantastical notion to depict a centaur on an urban Liverpool street. On the wall, and continuing the line of the diagonal, there are two playing cards balanced against one another. One card is the Joker. In tarot the Joker is also known as the fool, a jester. He represents inexperience and naïveté seeking self-expression. The card itself is indicative of mania, delirium, passion, obsession and irrationality. I have adopted the Joker card in many paintings as my signature principally because it embodies many of the adversities which have challenged me, as a man who suffers from dysthymia - a mood disorder. The dogs, in this context, we could regard as a tool of the status quo, their task being to reinforce normative standards. Finally, and acting as a focal point, is the love heart. While universally recognised as a symbol for love, it is in the tarot that this icon symbolizes knowledge. Thus the centaur inhabits and exhibits intelligence and free thinking. Effectively I am mixing the mundane with the marvellous not by trying to juggle the real so much as navigating the artifice. By wedding the eerie with the everyday I am, through the use of metaphors, reinforcing or amplifying the common place.

The Other provided an excuse to indulge in mythological playacting. It is a painting which in both content and technical execution opposes the dominant social values and conceptions of art and academic culture. There is no respect for the hierarchies that exist between high and low culture, good or bad taste. This confusion of styles and forms can have no outcome but the consummation of a camp aesthetic, a kind of knowing kitsch. As such the painting stands in defence of all that is excluded, minoritised or considered deviant up to and including the painting's technical methodology. Demonstrating the importance of the independent and the relative, it shows solidarity with all that is devalued, outcast or excluded.

When I was painting it I was conscious of melding the Wizard of Oz with Animal Farm but within an urban context and from a highly personal point of view. Thus I have depicted the 'real' world as being black and white and the otherwordly in Technicolor. It is also the first painting in which I experimented with systematic blurring. Previous to this I made what I would call hard edged paintings. I was pleased with the results and have taken this method further in Human (versus Mother) Nature, The Rat Race and Sefton Park – genetically modified."

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

A. "I attended Greys School of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland. After they considered my portfolio of work to be exceptional they relaxed the entry requirements for me. It was really quite a soul destroying experience and did not help me as an artist other than to imbibe me with a determination to prove them wrong. The standard of drawing was terrible; the worst in the class was celebrated as being the best. I played a prank one day in life drawing and made a drawing using my left hand (I am right handed). It was, as one would expect, very poor but the lecturer exclaimed that I was 'on the right track'. That really did it for me. I thought they were lazy charlatans for the most part. They expelled me after a year because they couldn't mould me. Most of the students compromised their integrity in order to please their lecturers and get the grades they required."

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

A. "I use all kinds of mediums. Currently my preference is water based oils. Brushes and palette are cleaned under a tap with soap and water. No solvents and very eco friendly. As a vegetarian 'green' type an environmentally friendly medium is high on my priorities."

Q.Where can we see more of your art?

A. "Online at www.naivejohn.com or in the flesh at the Glasgow Hunterian Museum's permanent collection where I am sandwiched between Whistler and the Glasgow Boys."

Q. Are you represented by a gallery? Do you have any upcoming exhibits?
A. "I sell all my work through my website. The internet effectively means that I pay no commission to middlemen and it has the added advantage of allowing people access to my work who might otherwise feel intimidated by the gallery environment.

I have forthcoming exhibitions in London, Barcelona, New York, Berlin and Reykjavik. See www.fellowtravellers.org for more details."

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

A. "View 2 Gallery, Liverpool www.viewtwogallery.co.uk,
Walker Gallery, Liverpool www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/exhibitions/stuckists/ukstuckists/naivejohn.asp,
Urbis Museum, Manchester www.urbis.org.uk
68 Hope Street Gallery, Liverpool www.ljmu.ac.uk/PRS/59041

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

A. "Taste is dictated by a small cartel of elitists. It was always thus."

Q. Any tips for emerging artists?

A. "Make art for yourself first and foremost."

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

A. "Long Ago in Another Place Entirely was discussed by an artist selection panel who thought it quite controversial. They interpreted it politically as an anti-abortion pro-life image. It isn't. It's a positive affirmation of how alien we once were when we lived in the womb. In the end they deemed it to be 'proper art' which would 'provoke' people and allowed it to be shown."

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

A. "As a man I hit 'rock bottom' 6 years ago which resulted in a mental health team visiting my house. I still attend a psychiatric hospital on an outpatient basis. As an artist I have been lucky. There have been no real obstacles other than my own personal shortcomings."

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

A. "To make the kind of paintings I would like to look at."

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

A. "It is cliquey. I steer well clear of it and work in solitude, preferring my own company to that of other artists."

Q. Has politics ever entered your art?

A. "No. I am not interested in making propaganda."

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

A. "I have no religion or faith but consider myself to be a spiritual being. Everything I do is influenced by my belief that everything is one."

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

A. "I am unashamedly populist; I have no interest in cultivating the pretentious type of viewer. As a child my visual inspirations were cartoons, comics, films and TV imagery and to some extent this is still the case. I am naive enough to believe that the ordinary man in the street enjoys art too and I have him in mind when I make paintings because for the majority of my life I have lived in the same streets as this Everyman.

I am suspicious about anything overly intellectual, consequently I most often judge art, whether it be a film, a painting or a piece of music, on my gut instinct.

I am an informed heretic and proud of it. I possess a first class degree in art history so I'm not ignorant about modernist theories but in my opinion much of it is stylistic navel-gazing, irrelevant outside of the museum or the art market. It’s art that has been made for art historians. If you are sufficiently clever with words you can justify anything, you can even convince people that nothing is profoundly something. I have no interest in this kind of 'art'.

As an artist my primary interest lies in making images which are poetic expressions of ideas. I would rather address the general and universal than the specific and overly personal. What people see in my paintings is my world view; often dark but humorous. I'm not interested in self-centred or solipsistic art so the current passion for overtly autobiographical art leaves me completely cold. I do not feel the need to share the intimate details of my day to day existence with anyone else in an art gallery or museum. My experiences are there in some form but they are not explicit. That is part of the art; the transformation of the mundane into something approaching the aesthetic.

I’d like to end by proposing that Naive John is actually quite sophisticated."

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about Naive John. Feel free to critique or discuss his art.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Art Space News: Can you hit Wafaa Bilal?

A controversial installation in Chicago is causing a worldwide stir. Wafaa Bilal, an Iraqi American artist, has made himself the target of a paintball gun in order to express his concern over the war in Iraq. Viewers are allowed to shoot Mr. Bilal with a paintball gun while he stands practically defenseless.

Mr. Bilal has stated that he is trying to convey what life is like in Iraq for the common civilian. “There is a constant threat here, and part of this project is to put myself in harm's way in order to get closer to what my family is going through,” Bilal said.

Mr. Bilal plans to live in the project space at Flatline Galleries for 45 days. At any given moment, he can be shot by the paintball gun since people can take part in the “Domestic Tension" exhibit by visiting a website that Mr. Bilal is involved with (www.crudeoils.us).

Website visitors can actually point to where they want to fire. Ironically some participants refuse to fire and others have actually tried to defend Mr. Bilal. Thus, the installation reveals various sides of human nature.

What do you think about this installation? Does it convey the message that Mr. Bilal set out for? What do you think about him utilizing the internet as a part of his installation? Will his project make a difference? I want to read your opinions about Mr. Bilal's installation.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin