miscellaneous
this needs updating...but enjoy 4 now
ceramics
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ceramics ･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.
clay used:
high-fire white clay
album cover mug of "Discipline" by King Crimson
song mug of "Lotus Flower" by Radiohead
collages
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collages .:*･゜ﾟ･*
* all photos in collages are taken by me except for last two
miscellaneous art
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miscellaneous art ･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.
mediums used:
colored pencil, acrylic paint, pencil, pen, charcoal, posca markers
drawn from observation, then added person and teddy bear
drawn from observation, then added person and monstrous plant
interviews
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interviews .｡.:*･'*･゜ﾟ･
all written and recorded for my art zine, Bluekeys Magazine
interview with Alex Paradox for Bluekeys Magazine issue 03 “anomalous”
1. I read on your website that you started out with film by making lego stop motions and a youtube channel called “The Sloth Squad.” Could you tell me a little about both and how those experiences led you to your current style?
“Yeah, definitely! One of my first times using a camera, I was about ten years old making LEGO stop motion that I could only watch using the scroll wheel of my grandma’s Coolpix. Fast forward into middle school, my friends and I ran a Youtube channel called “The Sloth Squad” where we filmed ourselves doing BMX, parkour, challenges, etc that ultimately taught me how to edit and have fun behind the camera. I was always in pursuit of having a good time with what I was doing and I’ve definitely carried that mindset into my work today!”
2. We both are based in Austin, so I must ask, after graduating from UT, do you plan to stay in Austin? Does the art culture affect your work in any way?
“Honestly, it’s impossible for me to decide at the moment. I’m kind of torn between moving to NYC or staying here. I’ve made so many great friends that are vastly talented with reach all the way from the East to the West coast and I think Austin is going to grow even more. This city has something coming and I’m trying to see what it is before I make a move cross-country.”
3. Your “Tactical” print—could you walk me through how you shot this photo? And your different artistic choices—shooting underwater with a flowy, green dress and a massive, black void of a gun—what led you to this unconventional concept?
“This shoot has a pretty funny story actually. The day of it was 40 degrees, raining, and the only light source we had was a flashlight wrapped up in baggies. Although we were shivering the entire time, the photos were just coming out way too cool to stop. The dress and gun were always a part of the concept, heavily inspired by classic pop art. Evan and I knew we had something cool on our hands and we always try to get weird in our shoots, often exploring unconventional norms.”
4. What’s your process in directing films? What are your brainstorming habits, where do you search for inspiration, and do you ever have to make an effort to mold the project to your specific style rather than just some other music video?
“I start all my projects lying in bed, listening to music, brainstorming what might fit the song, jotting down every idea I have in my journal, and finally put everything together in a treatment. I always try and make my pitches story-based rather than the copy-paste “I’ll shoot three scenes and three locations” kinda thing. I think there’s so much more to be said for a song that someone spent so long making and I want to do my best to direct something that does that justice. And of course, I’ve been given an excuse to shoot copious amounts of Super 8, haha.”
5. Many of your photos feature high contrast and neon colors, what do you believe draws you to those editing styles?
“I derived my style from all the plastic toy film cameras I’ve shot growing up. They always come back with really funky and gritty images at times so usually the only thing you can do to save them is to just make them colorful. Even though I think my images are a little better now (at least I hope) I’ve carried that idea over with shooting on film.”
6. And building off the last question, I assume your photos look—for lack of a better word–normal when you first take them, and then the editing adds your distinct style. Do you have a vision from the very start of shooting, or do you tend to play around with weird edits until you find something you like?
“I always start with the edit in mind to get the colorful-but-gritty look I like so much. I’ve discovered 35mm and medium format film gets me closer to that style than anything else, but I always take my time editing colors to make each one pop. Editing is the crucial part of my process and without it, I think every photographer's work would be bland as hell.”
7. Scrolling through your photos, it seems like there is a mix of images that seem to be planned to the last detail, likely holding some political, social, or personal meaning, while others seem sporadic and taken on the fly. How does motivation come to you, and do you tend to be more intentional or erratic with your photography?
“I try to be as intentional as possible with my photos in pre-production, but once we’re shooting I find it interesting to just let things get weird. A large part of my work, and motivation, comes from collaborating with people that aren’t afraid to derive from the plan a little bit. I think you’re doing something wrong if you’re not exploring what else a shoot might have to offer.”
8. You do a lot of both film and photography—which do you feel more drawn to? Do you feel any pressure to focus on one over the other? And ten years from now, where do you see yourself, or want to see yourself?
“Yeah, I’m thinking about this all of the time. I really have a passion for both, and just recently I’ve found a way to shoot music videos whilst taking stills, but at the end of the day, there’s nothing like being out alone in the middle of nowhere just the camera and I. It’s hard to choose, but in ten years I hope to do both and live comfortably.”
8.5. Are you seeing the new Batman...... (editor’s note: this interview was written circa March 2022, near the release of the new Batman movie)
“I have been waiting so long for this film, literally since they announced Matt Reeves was writing/directing, that you best believe I saw it opening weekend. That soundtrack has been on my mind since. TEAM EDWARD ALWAYS!”
9. Lastly, and feel free to be self-indulgent, what do you think is the defining factor of your work? What do you feel you’re doing that is new and untraditional, or shall I say… anomalous?
“A defining factor of my work is difficult to choose, just cause my portfolio is broad, but maybe eye-catching? I really love pursuing the wacky elements of shooting that’s why I’ve explored aspects of politically charged imagery to striking pop art. A good image to me is something that has layers and leads the viewer to their own interpretation. So you tell me what’s my defining factor, haha!”
interview with Katie Hector for Bluekeys Magazine issue 03 “anomalous”
written along side Audry Guzman, former writer for Bluekeys
1. What’s your process in taking the plunge to start a new piece—do you have to drag yourself into it or are you one of the lucky ones who is blessed with consistent motivation? What internal monologue usually occurs during this period of in between projects?
“I like to plan for 2 - 4 painting sessions each day with some buffer time in between to let paint dry, think, or work on other tasks. I also go through cycles of painting & prepping. When I’ve run out of canvases to work on I’ll take a week or so to build & prepare a batch of new stretchers. I like to take this “downtime” to meditate on what to make next.”
2. You obviously hold a very distinct style of art, so take me on a trip. What specific events and phases of life brought you here? Are you content with this style, or do you see yourself being pulled to something different?
“I’ve made so many pivotal personal decisions over the last few years (during the pandemic). I feel as though my subject matter and use of materials reflect upon & parallel the highs & lows of that journey. I’m constantly experimenting with materials & obsessed with process. There’s so much more I’d like to test & it’s exciting to think about how the work will develop.”
3. I noticed you are also a writer, what sorts of things do you write about? What is the relation, if any, between the themes of your paintings compared to your writing?
“I love writing but anyone who writes understands it’s quite a humbling process haha. I enjoy writing exhibition reviews, catalog essays, interviewing artists, & copy editing. I also curate a fair amount & consider both writing & curating an extension of my practice. It’s never been enough to hull myself up in the studio & paint in isolation. I will probably always try to contribute & engage with contemporary art & creative communities as much I can.”
4. If your art was a number, color and day of the week, what would it be?
“I like the premise of this question. At the moment my art is Blood Red, Thursday, 36.”
interview with Keith Petersen for Bluekeys Magazine issue 04 “quixotic”
1. When I first saw your work, to be honest, I had literally no idea what I was looking at. So from start to finish, could you walk me through the creation process for the piece that was most fulfilling to finish?
“Primarily I am combining various inks and pigments with other elements - oils, acidic compounds, etc. and then photographing them. I bring other factors into the equation as well; heat, cold, wind and time are all examples of things I experiment with.
I can’t hone in on a specific piece that was most fulfilling but I can tell you what is so gratifying about the process, and that is discovering a new combination of things that yields something that I haven’t seen before. In the studio I am constantly trying new things, and almost all of them end up failing, but I quickly learned to shrug it off as that is just part of the process. When something new and exciting to me does emerge it makes all of the effort worth it.”
2. Looking at some of your older pieces, correct me if I’m wrong, it seems you were at a time working with light painting of some sort. Having experimented with this medium myself, I’m curious, how was this experience for you? What caused you to transition to the sort of art you focus on now?
“I did a great deal of experimentation back in the 2000s when digital SLRs became more widely available. On a long drive home from a friend’s house there was a very full moon coming just over the horizon, and I began taking photos of it (my wife was driving). I was struck by how painterly the images were - the long exposures in a moving vehicle made the moon look like fat, gestural brushstrokes. I took that idea and ran with it - photographing individual or multiple light sources and layering the photos together to create large abstract compositions. By transitioning from film to digital I was no longer limited to 24-36 photos at a time, and many of my works from that period have hundreds or thousands of photos.
The transition to this new work was after a long period of creative inactivity. I was a part-time stay at home dad to two young kids and art unfortunately had to take a back seat. When they were a little older I began photographing and drawing again, and eventually I came up with the idea to combine the two. I was making really small color gradation grid drawings, and I thought it would be cool to photograph them and blow them up to see what kind of details the naked eye wasn’t seeing. From that initial idea the work evolved into the broader concepts that embody the project today.”
3. You’ve often referred to your work as “accidental.” In your opinion, is there a difference between mistakes and accidents in art? What value do you think these juxtaposed concepts hold in the process of starting, finishing, and, from a viewer's perspective, perceiving pieces?
““We don't make mistakes; we just have happy accidents” - Bob Ross
When I say “accidental” with my work I’m usually referring to the randomness of the shapes and forms that appear. That unpredictability plays a large part in my creative process; some of the works take days or even weeks to complete and I usually don’t know until the end if they were successful or not. Whether or not the viewer perceives this is an interesting question, I suppose in the end they are subject to my editing process and only see what I determine is a successful work.”
4. On your website, there is a section for art classified as “chimera.” The most, although loosely, related definition I could find online was “an organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues, formed by processes such as fusion of early embryos, grafting, or mutation” (via Google). Is this accurate in describing this medium? If not, could you explain how this art is made and what exactly it is in the first place?
““Chimera'' is the name I came up with for a solo show I had last year and it refers specifically to the body of work that I produced for that show. The works are large scale biomorphic compositions meant to emulate organic forms. I’ve always been fascinated with tidepools, microbiology and natural sciences in general and I wanted to create work that gave viewers a sense that they might be seeing something from that world. One of the definitions of chimera is “an illusion or fabrication of the mind” and that’s basically what these works are.”
5. I believe that some of your work is founded upon reactions or combinations of pigments. What sort of pigments do you often use, and why those specific ones? What taught you which pigments work best—was it experience, schooling, or a quick surf of the ole reliable YouTube?
“For the pigments themselves I often make my own, foraging minerals and organic matter for them on the long hikes I take with my dog. I also have a substantial collection of commercial inks in my studio, I own at least one or two colors of virtually every brand of ink out there. I’m somewhat of an inkaholic. Finding out what works best is again just a constant process of experimentation.”
6. Your pieces seem quite large, 44x44, 42x68, 42x46...For lack of better, more knowledgeable phrasing, where does all your work go? How do you store, transport, and ship your pieces?
“I list dimensions of the works on social media, but most of the large works reside on my computer. I do have a large format printer in my studio but I only print the large scale works when a piece is purchased or if I’m preparing for a show. I started listing the medium and dimensions of pieces that I post online to give further context to the nature of the work.”
7. What’s the most eccentric comment, for better or for worse, that you’ve received on your work?
“I had one commenter on Instagram say that they really wanted to f**k a piece that I had posted. I had to delete the comment, my mother-in-law follows me!”