q)What is your name?
a)I'm Vacon but my real name is Daniele Sartirani. Story: once I met a child who said to me: "That's you! Vacon" Vacon was his invisible friend. Now I stealed his identity, or maybe I used to be invisible all the time until then.
q) Where do you live and work?
a)Right now, in
q)What is your creative process like?
a)When I feel I have a good idea, I draw it, then scan it and color it. That's all. If I need sometimes I print it, but it's not necessary for all my artworks.
q)What is your favorite medium?
a)Paper. Everything is born on paper, at the beginning.
q)What is your current favorite subject?
a)heheh famous people. It' so amazing to see how we can regognize them even when there's no face to recognize, but just an "aura" that we have built around the image of the vip. I portray it, the "aura". You say: "hey, thats Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy!" just because you see a fat and a thin with a bowler hat. We don't really see what we think to see. Did you ever read "The man who mistook his wife for a hat"? Something like that.
q)How long does it take for you to finish a piece?
a)A day. I never go to bed until I have finished my artwork (that means I usually stay awake until late night). Sometimes I tried - to go to sleep - but always woke up in the middle of the night to continue drawing. I've got the "unfinished design" syndrome, I guess. The problem is to have a good idea. Not all subjects are good do be portraied as I do. To find a good one, and a suggestive way to portray it, is the real hard work.
q)What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?
a)Well, I just started doing art, less than a year so... to become an artist from real scratch, is the best things that professionally happened to me, until now.
q)Are there any contemporary artists that you love?
a)My flickr contacts. There's so much art in there, I think they can't imagine.
q)Can we buy your art anywhere?
a)Yes. You can buy it from me (sirtrain@gmail.com) or by my etsy shop. That's not so updated right now just because I haven't printed my new works, but it's just a matter of time. Stand by.
q)Anything that people should know about that we don’t??
a)I don't know if you heard about it, but the world is going to hell. Just to stay in argument: art and culture are in a sort of indian reservation. That's not good at all. We have to fight, before everything gets even worse.
q)What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
a)To never be ashamed to ask for respect by art professionals. To pretend respect and acknowledgement for skills, merits, and talent, is not a privilege, is a right that every man has to fight for. But today it's even harder.
q)What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
a)There's always somebody new who wants to work with me for something interesting. I need support, by other artists, not to feel alone, and luckly I have it.
q)How do you describe your work to those who are unfamiliar with it?
a)A mirror in which we can see ourselves as we are becoming.
q)What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
a)Doing absolutely no drawings for nearly 6 years helped me to choose what I should draw. It's a lot of time, I admit, for the final result. :) But, seriously, before I was too confused. I think after the art school I had to stop and focus: what needs to be drawn? I could stay like that for the eternity waiting for the "satori". I favour good ideas, that's what I was always searching for.
q)Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
a)No, but it could be paper. You know, I'm not so good with brushes: during the art school I just used to smoke hashish all the time.
q)Who are your influences?
a)That's a classic question. Ok, first: Luigi Serafini. I had his Codex as a present and he tought me that infinite alternative worlds are waiting to be illustrated. Second: Max Ernst. During the art school I really loved how he used to touch every new idea in art without losing himself. I think he did a great contribution in re-thinking every new visual art without being strictly classified. He was an idea-oriented man. If you scroll his catalogue, you can't find two similar pieces, that's absolutely great. And, last: Ernst Haeckel (I wish my name was Ernst ;D) i discovered him very late, after I started to draw what I draw, but since then my art can't be thought without him. And he even wasn't an artist!
q)What inspires you to create?
a)People around me, I mean in the streets or in the magazines. They're are waiting to be trasformed in something more slimy. I like to see, maybe, a family in the park and say: "so cute... they would be perfect monsters".
q)…your contacts…
a)Of course! sirtrain@gmail.com my one and only contact - don't doubt, I'm an e-mail addict I check it at every blink.
My stuff on the web: www.myspace.com/vaconvacon for the myspace, vacon.etsy.com for the shop.That's all. Ah and the Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/vitadasosia
q)Can we buy your art anywhere?
