martedì 25 novembre 2008

Interview with Mikey Brain





q) What is your name and what do you do?

a)My name is Mikey Brain, I am a Social Work student and an Artist.

q)When did you really get into art?

a)I loved art from an early age, it was my favoutite subject at junior school and enjoyed painting and using crayons as a young boy. I began to graffiti when I was a teenager. By the time I started Art at A-level; some of my friends got arrested so I stopped Graffiti and settled into painting in studio - and have done so ever since.

q)How did you come to the realization that you should try your luck at art on a more serious level?

a)I didn't. I painted over the last 10 years (since finishing education) for joy and as a hobby. I managed to find studio space's cheap enough or at times painted in my garage. A few years ago friends began to buy my work and hyped the work up for me. My work was advertised by word of mouth and due to my friends being in the night clubbing industry, my work started selling to people from different cities across the UK. It has recently gained the interest of galleries, fanzines/local zines and websites. I suppose you could say that I am begining to realize now that I should try my luck on a more serious level!

q)How did you discover the particular style that you have?

a)Partly by accident! My old style involved painting easels, in an abstract style, contorted and strange. I liked the canvass to be textured so I had canvases prepped on the floor - which I used to throw any excess paint at. I began to see images in what I had thrown and decided to attempt a new approach at painting. At the same time my illustrations were always figurative, usually ugly and had vivid sexual undertones. Faces made out of sexual organs and such. I combined the raw uglyness of my illustration work and the random unplaned technique i had aquired and I have been tweaking this style ever since.

q)How would you describe your style?

a)Crude, spontaneous yet at times specific. I like to blur the line between random and planned work.

q)Who or what influences your art?

a)I see the world like a giant Rorscharch test - I like finding imagery in anything and everything. I am inspired by the usual things like death, sex, mortality, morbidity and socio-political climates. I am heavily interested in fractual geometry and non euclid shapes and forms (like the structure of snow flakes and the random beauty of a spiral of smoke). I am greatly interested in painters, particulary 20th century artists. Painters that have influenced me greatly are Ralph Steadman, Francis Bacon, Jean-michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Jenny Savile, Maggie Hambling, Jackson Pollock. Recent post graffiti artist such as Space invader, Shepard Fairey (obey) and Banksy I find inspiring. I love most modern art too and enjoy installations such as the work of Mauricio Cattelan.

q)How often do you create a new piece?

a)I paint 3-4 times a week and paint various paintings simutainiously. I usually complete about 2-3 a week. I sketch most evenings I can or in any spare time.

q)What kind of success have you had with your art?

a)I have sold almost everything I have painted since late 2005 - I have been given a lot of praise personaly since then. I have had exhibitions and have a residency in a vibrant bar/club in Birmingham called the Rainbow. I have appeared in Things magazine and have online exhibition space at www.woom.co.uk In january I am going to have my first solo exhibition In Harrogate, Yorkshire, In a tribal arts gallery ( www.tribalartsofharrogate.com). I would like to think I am at the begining of my journey in terms of success

q)What would be the ultimate goal for you and your art?

a)I am a Social Work student and have a Socialist outlook on life. I wouldnt like my work to rise unproportionatly in value. I believe art can be for the everyman - not just the priveledged few. For example, all music is accessable - at a similiar price, however art deemed 'great' by the few who have a say in the art world is un-obtainable. I would like to be able to paint, exhibit and sell my images for a long and productive time. I also have ideas that involve utalising a large gallery space, and that incorparate painting and installation -and are perhaps not as marketable. I do not have the time or resources to utalise these ideas, but hope to do so in the near future.

q)What do you see as an accomplishment in the way of art?

a)Personaly I am never completley satisfied with my results, so I believe an accomplishment to be when a majority of viewers have a good reaction to a piece or set of work. I also like it when I realise my intentions.

q)What kind of message, if any, do you try to convey through your art?

a)For the most part, It is that human behaviour is not that different from a virus. We spread and multiply destroying everything in our paths from eco-systems to different species and each other. We have an egotistical view that, as the top of the food chain we have a natural right to power. We use the Earth as a host and our cities spread accross the landscapes like scabs. Now, that said - I am a happy-go-lucky guy and try to live my life as fun as possible. I enjoy human persuits, Art and the wonders of mankind and all we have achieved . I would like to eventually settle with a family. This is exactly what makes me part of the virus. So in my work I try to convey a duality between what I see to be dark in humanity with a humorous element that reflects my optimistic side.

q)Sum up your art in one word.

a)Horrid.

q)Any additional comments?

a)Work available for commission or purchase. thank you for your time - x

q)…your contacts…

a) mikeybrains@hotmail.com

www.myspace.com/mikeybrains

www.woom.co.uk

2 commenti:

mikey brain ha detto...

1mikeybrains2@gmail.com

mikey brain ha detto...

1mikeybrsins2@gmail.com