martedì 14 febbraio 2012

Interview with Ricardo Cavolo






q)Introduce yourself, name,age, location.


a)I'm Ricardo Cavolo, I'm 30 and I live in Madrid (Spain).


q) Can you describe your path to being an artist? When did you really get into it?


a)I was born in a painting studio, so I started my career from the very first day. And I've been working on it always... But this activity became my way of life three years ago, I left my job in an advertising company and I formed my own art studio.


q) Describe your ideals and how they manifest in your work.


a)I always have on mind to talk about weird things, but with a respectful point of view. I try to show the beauty of the weird and strange things of life.


q) Is music a part of your studio time? What do you listen to?


a)Of course, I need music for working. I usually listen american roots music (early blues, bluegrass, country folk, hillbilly...). And the singer is always present in my music list is Johnny Cash. He really inspires me.


q) How would you describe your work to someone?


a)I try to create a special mix creating complex and weird stories using a naif and direct style.


q) Influences?


a)My main influences are the outsider art and folk art. But I use music, literature, films, fashion, history, etc., too for creating my work.


q) Describe your process for creating new work.


a)First of all I need to decide what exactly I want to talk about. I have to think about the particular story I want to develope. After this, I spend some time investigating and trying to know more about the details of the story, the context... When I have on my mind what I'm going to talk about, I prepare a fast sketch for deciding the style, the composition and some more formal details. And finally, when all of this is done, I'm ready for working on the final piece.


q) What advice do you have for artists looking to show their work?


a)I think that the main message we need to have on mind is "to work, to work and more to work". Today is easy to show our work to the rest of the worl in internet, but it is si hard to get soe attention, and I'm sure that we can get something just working a lot for getting a personal style and being able to offer something personal and special.


q) What are you really excited about right now?


a)Till now the main art of my work it's been illustration, but the last months I've come back to paint (acrylics on wood), and I have mi head full of painting projects.


q) What do you love most about where you live?


a)Madrid is a big city, but from the very first time ii is really open and friendly for people that we arrive to Madrid. So you have the nice things of a big city, but being so warm and friendly like a small town or village.


q) Best way to spend a day off?


a)Reading and watching series.


q) Upcoming shows/ projects?


a)I'm preparing my first big painting exhibition, called Vida. It will be opened in Madrid the 19th of Appril. And I feel really happy (and a little bit nervous) offering to the people my first big paintings.


q) Where can people see more of your work on the internet?


a)My portfolio is http://ricardocavolo.com and you can find there a selection of my different kind of main works.

And there is a blog too, http://ricardocavolo.blogspot.com , it is like my work diary, where I show the most of my works I do daily.

martedì 7 febbraio 2012

Interview with Carolina Cleere






q)Please tell us your name and where you practice.


a)My name is Carolina Cleere and I am a visual artist living and working in an old cigar factory on the Gulf coast of Florida.


q) Why do you make art?


a)I find it cathartic because it allows me to process ideas out of my head.


q) How do you work ?


a)I usually work 12 hours a day. Sometimes longer when I'm in the zone or preparing for an upcoming show. There are many step to my process so some days I'm out gathering source material with my camera.Other days, I'm painting in the studio or working on the computer.


q) What´s your background?


a)I attended University of Minnesota and Minneapolis College of Art and Design but my process is self taught after years of discovery in the studio.


q) What role does the artist have in society?


a)Ultimately, I hope to connect with people long enough for them to pause and reflect.


q) What was a seminal experience for you ?


a)Growing up in Florida. I have moved away many times but I always return for the water, the palm trees, and warm weather.


q) Has your practice changed over time ?


a)My work has become more complex and detail oriented. I'm also more confident with my drawing skills.


q) What art do you most identify with ?


a)Frida Kahlo and Northern Renaissance.


q) What´s your strongest memory of your childhood ?


a)Sneaking in the back door of a movie theater to see the horror film Frogs where nature takes out revenge on man for abusing the environment. I was much too young to see a horror film plus the whole time I was terrified of getting caught. I was especially frightened by the content of the film because it looked so much like the bayou where I played every day. Years later I found out it was filmed less than 100 miles from our home.


q) What themes do you pursue ?


a)Lost innocence, environmental, anti-war and religious issues.


q) Describe a real life experience that inspired you.


a)I created the piece 'Fish Out of Water' because the bayou where I learned to swim as a child is now too polluted for swimming. I was questioning if this can happen in my life time what else could happen to my beloved Florida. Shortly after making this piece for the Navel Gazing exhibit at the Brevard Museum of Art, the Deep Water Horizon oil spill hit the coast of Pensacola. It's not conclusive as to why but now oyster beds in Pensacola Bay are dead. Also, red snapper are being found with mysterious lesions and a record number of dead dolphin are being discovered in the Gulf of Mexico.


q) What´s your most embarrassing moment ?


a)There are so many moments but it would have to be falling off a sailboat while approaching the dock after a race. I fell into the water and my boat crashed into the sea wall in front of dozens of spectators.


q) What jobs have you done other than being an artist ?


a)Photojournalist


q) What responses have you had to your work ?


a)Last summer at a show there was someone crying, another person laughing and a third person telling me I was sick, all at the same time.


q) What do you dislike about the artworld ?


a)Too much emphasis on networking and not enough on ideas.


q) What research do you do ?


a)I just finished a piece about Napoleon which required research.


q) What is your dream project?


a)I would like to curate a political exhibition of different artists to coincide with the Republican National Convention here this fall.


q) What´s the best piece of advice you have been given ?


a)Stick to a visual format like all square and three quarter length portraits. I didn't listen though.


q) What couldn’t you do without?


a)Water


q) What makes you angry?


a)Greed


q) What is your worst quality?


a)Guilt, If I say or even think anything bad I wake up in the middle of night feeling terrible.


q) Dogs or Cats ?


a)Dogs


q) Making art is a lot like being on lsd. Know what I mean ?


a)No but I frequently hear, "I wonder what kind of drugs she does?"


q) What does “ copy” mean to you ?


a)If it's a copy it's not art, it's only decoration.


q) What´s your favorite cuss word ?


a)Wanker