q)Please tell us your name and where you practice.
a) Christopher "ILTH" Erickson.
q) Why do you make art?
a) i make what i'd like to see. something to reflect who i am others can't or won't see. Materialization of the mind, imagination, emotions into the visual plane.
it's also serves as a sort of diary. i know what they might mean at the time and then what they mean to me later. this might lead to a later discovery of what i was thinking/feeling.
so, its very theraputic. i make the collages and assemblages first and formost for myself. then if it provokes the imagination in others, and further success. thats what the art i've love/d has done to me.
q) How do you work ?
a) slowly & attentively
q) What´s your background?
a) in art training? as of 2011: none. otherwise my background is whats behind me.
q) What role does the artist have in society?
a) money & power. everyone looks up to the artist, especially in
q) What was a seminal experience for you ?
a) living in an apartment in the dead of winter with no heat. lived in the closet with my two cats and a space heater. no work and a broken hand. i had been drawing all my life and playing music but neither fully satisfied me. in my kitchen in the dark i made my first collage. shortly after i was visited by looming black spirits above me in the closet. i read gold glowing hyroglyphics on the wall. this was a mental break through or breakdown but in all the dark there came a light and i've continued to seek it since. i've sumerized it as: "To shed light on the dark recesses of the mind".
q) Has your practice changed over time ?
a) im more careful and focused. my detail might not always be overloaded with multiple perspectives. but this isn't always the case.
q) What art do you most identify with ?
a) symbolism, dada, surrealism....more than that but that's a few movements i love
q) What´s your strongest memory of your childhood ?
a) a house teetering back and forth on the point of a mountain. this is how i rocked myself to sleep.
q) What themes do you pursue ?
a) death and identifying what remains unknown.
q) Describe a real life experience that inspired you.
a) refere to the winter experiance above. Also, i was greatly insipred by the old masters as a child inaddition to antiquity. as i got older i've been interested in old music which led me to older music and eventually to Dada and surreaslism. i also like junk/antiques and that continues to inspire me. old junk rattles my imagination and provokes lost time in my mind leading to parrallel , imaginary worlds.
q) What´s your most embarrassing moment ?
a)...
q) What jobs have you done other than being an artist ?
a) junk/antique picker, worked in junk/antique shops, physical labour.
q) What responses have you had to your work ?
a) punk/underground bands have asked me to do artwerk for them. i love that. other than that poeple have responded positivly.
q) What do you dislike about the artworld ?
a)nothing yet, from what i know of it first hand. im working with 5 Peice Gallery in
q) What research do you do ?
a) lately i've been interested in politics. i've read alot about dada, Surrealism, music, psychology, and fiction of all sorts. human condition/the search for meaning. my dreams.
q) What is your dream project?
a)...
q) What´s the best piece of advice you have been given ?
a) wipe your ass
q) What couldn’t you do without?
a) oxygen, food, water, warmth
q) What makes you angry?
a) ...
q) What is your worst quality?
a) lack of finacial independence.
q)Dogs or Cats ?
a) cats
q) Making art is a lot like being on lsd. Know what I mean ?
a) sure
q) What does “ copy” mean to you ?
a) clone
q) What´s your favorite cuss word?
a) FUCK
