q)Who are you? Where are you from and where do you live now?
a)I am Danny Quirk, an artist/recent college grad looking to make a name for myself in the art world.... I'm originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, but am currently residing in Brooklyn, NY.
q)What is it that you do? What media do you use?
a)I am currently working on two major bodies of work, Anatomical Self Dissection, and Military Artistic Journalism... The self dissections are an attempt at combining classical elements (chiaroscuro lighting, portraiture, nudes, etc) with a surreal twist... the figure reveals their inner anatomy via, dissection. As for the military body, the point of the series was to illustrate the story of a 'fictitious' Marine from boot camp, to deployment, to combat, to death, to return emphasizing the emotions felt by those fighting. Each piece was derived from interviews I'd had with Marines, each piece, being a different story. All the pieces, both series are done in watercolor.
q)What do you think sets your work apart?
a)I don't know really... I'd say maybe the technical handling of watercolor, or attention to detail.
q)How long have you been showing your work for? Did you have a “big break?”
a)Not terribly long... aside from some 'student shows' in high school, I didn't start showing work until I graduated last May (some 5 months ago). Since then, I've had about 13 show(ing)s since then, ranging from a weekend to a month, but sadly, no "big break" as of yet. Granted, every show has opened doors to new opportunities, but I am still what you would call a 'starving artist'. haha.
q)What are some things that have inspired you?
a)Anatomy, physiology, the human body... they're all massive sources of inspiration for me. My goal in life is to become a medical illustrator, so it would only make sense these things would be of interest. ha. In terms of artistic influences... always been a huge fan of Alex Grey, H.R. Geiger, Dali, Caravaggio, etc.
q)What have you been working on recently?
a)That was inadvertently mentioned above. ha. But for a recap... Anatomical Self Dissections, where the figure portrayed dissects a region of the body, revealing the underlying anatomy, and a series of military pieces derived from interviews with Marines, focusing on the emotions felt by those fighting overseas.
q)Do you listen to music while you create your work? If so, would you give some examples?
a)For me, music is about as important as as the paints when making artwork. ha. I listen to a lot of Tool, Birthday Massacre, Primus, Buckethead, Lacuna Coil, Marilyn Manson... generally speaking 'darker' music, but I'd say it definitely reflects in the artwork.
q)Do you do work in any other media? Other projects not necessarily related to your main body of work?
a)Yes... I've been dabbling in some digital work these past few months... it's kind of a side project, branch off of the military pieces, but I've been doing a series of schematic painting of all the US military guns in service.
q)What advice do you have for artists looking to show their work?
a)Coming from experience, I'd say, take any/every opportunity to show your work. I spent far too much time being shy/not getting my work out, it kind of makes me wonder where I could be if I'd shown while in school? But what I'd suggest is just go to as many shows as you can, armed with a stack of business cards... talk about work and find ways to slide yours in, be confident about yourself, but not too confident. ha... one MAJOR thing I've learned is network, netWORK, NETWOK! Go to shows, be proud of your work, and form alliances with artists who are similarly different to you. It's easy for galleries to turn down one artist at a time, but if they're approached by two strong artists of similar themes/different styles (vice versa) they're less apt to turn you down, giving yourself another opportunity to be seen, and fact of the matter is, you just never know who could come through and see it.
q)Do you have any upcoming exhibitions of your work that you can mention?
a)Yes... there's going to be a 3 month solo show in Springfield, Massachusetts this Jan-Mar at the Bing Center, and then Dec 20-26th at The Window Gallery in Manhattan, NY.
q)Where can people see more of your work on the internet?
a)http://www.behance.net/dannyquirk
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Danny-Quirk-Artwork/283073600976?ref=ts
