Radio IST List: Graham Williams
Austinist's Will Mills Gets Dunked For Charity [Video]
Bibles and Rhymes: An Interview with Why?'s Yoni Wolf
Saturday, November 22 - Sunday, November 23
Various Venues (Austin)
free, 10am-5pm both days
[info]
Ian’s work can be seen at this weekend's East Austin Studio Tour at 920 Choate Avenue.
What is your background in art and design?
I started drawing and sculpting when I was really young, making my own toys and such. In high school, I got kicked out of art class, and started getting into graffiti. Right after high school, I showed some photos to artist Rory Skagen during his Skagen/Brakhage years. I guess he saw some promise, he let me do some work for them at 19 yrs old. He took me with him when he and the owners of Black Mountain Art, Dana Younger and Kevin Collins, started Blue Genie Art. I worked there about eight or nine years on and off doing a lot of their sculpture and illustration. As well as learning all kinds of crazy shit that I still use everyday, there is some I wish I could forget. I did some tattoo and display art in those years as well. About two years ago I left Blue Genie to focus on my on stuff and finish building my studio.
Talk a little about your new series of paintings.
My new stuff is definitely darker than the past, but I hope people still see some humor in it. A bunch of it has to do with an unnamed secret society of gentlemen that dig sexiness, voyeurism, the occult, space women, destruction, and large cats. I'm trying now to develop an entire run-down outside world these characters live in. I can't tell you where it's gonna go, but it's been fun to play around with. These paintings are also much looser [in technique] than I have worked in the past. I'm trying to understand painting more than drawing right now. I'm using a much smaller palette of color too, which is kinda fun.
Describe your creative process.
Add just a pinch of manic depression, a hefty helping of alcoholism, and agoraphobia to taste.
How did you get involved with EAST?
A few years ago when Blue Genie started participating in it, all the employees put their stuff up in the shop. I had finally met the Big Medium dudes and lovely lady (artist Jana Swec). So naturally my first order of business when leaving my full time job was to get my own studio ready for EAST last year. It was extremely successful for me, so I will continue to be a part of it as long as Big Medium wants to do it.
What are your thoughts on the Austin art scene – what's positive, and what could change?
I think the ARTISTS are the biggest positive in the Austin scene. People that really get it and organize—I can't have enough respect for these people that really try to make Austin a real place for the arts. The Big Medium crew includes of the most forward thinking people I've ever seen. People like Rachel Koper, Win Wallace, Tim Kerr, David Ohlerking, and Michael Schliefke, who co-curated two shows with me - the 2005 Unicorn Art Show and Bolm Studios and the 2007 exhibition Radical Nautical at Gallery Lombardi, a third show will open in 2009, Biblical Proportions at Blue Genie and Bearded Lady Printing - these guys are all trying to further the careers of all Austin artists. God knows none of the galleries or museums give a shit. That being said, the Austin art scene is also overrun with moochers, artsy fartsy snobs, and hipsters. I think if you're going to an art opening, you should at least look at the art, instead of just hanging by the booze and carrots.
As far as the actual art in Austin, I see a lot of stuff these days that is just gonna look so dated in ten years. I would like to see more timeless and little less modern. I'm a big fan of technical skill, not a blank canvas that "means something." I can't wait for figurative work to be art again, instead of illustration.
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Awesome.
This was one of the more entertaining interviews so far.
And just for the record, the Biblical Proportions show is being held at Bearded Lady Printing (#53 on the studio tour) as well as Blue Genie (#89).
booze and carrots.