giovedì 15 marzo 2012

Interview with Fratelli Marvellini






q)Introduce yourself, name,age, location.

Fratelli Marvellini, vecchi e anche un po’ malandati, eredi unici dell’antico archivio Foto Marvellini - Milano

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

I Fratelli Marvellini a 15 anni facevano carri allegorici e gruppi mascherati di ispirazione futurista inserendosi abusivamente in qualche Carnevale italiano. I decenni successivi non hanno ridotto o modificato gli irrefrenabili impulsi creativi.

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

Passione, assurdo, dissonanze, umorismi, profondità,… Affetto reale per gli oggetti inventati. Disordine interiore ma ordine nell’immagine.

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

Noi ascoltiamo di tutto. I poveri nostri soggetti, invece, sono quasi tutti vecchietti ormai sordi.

q) How would you describe your work to someone?

Cornici vintage a chiudere ricordi fantastici, icone da celebrare, immagini cui affezionarsi, portafortuna a protezione della casa. Piani concentrici. Universi paralleli. Pop-up...

q) Influences?

Una trentina tra pittori illustratori e fumettisti, un ventina di fotografi, quattro stilisti, tre scrittori, due psicologi, un antiquario e gli stessi Fratelli Marvellini che si influenzano molto tra loro.

q) Describe your process for creating new work.

A volte partiamo da un’antica cornice che va salvata e restituita al mondo. Oppure da un vecchio foto-ritratto che ci implora di essere “marVellinato”. Capita di passare giorni con gli occhi, le mani e il cervello che roteano in un caleidoscopio. Più spesso i piccoli Marvellini arrivano da soli e sempre da soli vanno via per il mondo in cerca di una casa e di muro.

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

E mostratelo! A casa di amici, dal balcone, per strada, sull’auto, addosso… Certo è che se il lavoro resta nel cassetto non lo vede nessuno. A meno che il fine non sia proprio quello e a tale proposito consigliamo vivamente di non sottovalutare i posteri. Fate come noi in questi casi: differenziateli.

q) What are you really excited about right now?

Dall’ultimo Marvelini creato.

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

Di Milano? Ah! Ah!… Tutto. Come elencava uno sconsolatissimo Alberto Sordi: “El sciùr culéga, el barbùn, la Galeria, el Motta, el panatùn, el Martinìtt, el Dom,.. el magùn!”

q) Best way to spend a day off?

Andare nei pressi di Como da Simone, il primo fan dei Marvellini. Sdraiarsi davanti al lago e alle montagne, guardare il paesaggio, sentire musica, bere vino rosso.

q) Upcoming shows/ projects?

“Marvellinare” un paio di saloni tra Milano e Torino, un portico a Cremona, una chiesa a Pavia, una sala turbine nel trentino, confidiamo anche in un carcere in autunno. Gli altri blitz sono pensati ma non ancora ben organizzati.

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

Nella rete c’è di tutto, si trovano anche i Marvellini. L’indirizzo a cui hai bussato tu è foto.marvellini@yahoo.it

martedì 6 marzo 2012

Interview with Felice Zhukov






q) Introduce yourself, name,age, location.

a)My name is Felice Zhukov, I'm 25 and live in Bethnal Green, London.

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

a)I've been drawing since I can remember so there was never a point where I decided to become an artist.

It was this or nothing.

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

a)My ideals build my work, I basically create scene's that satirise everything I think is wrong with the world or that scares me. So if you read them and reverse the message then you'll find my ideals….

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

a)I tend to go through stages of listening to music on my headphones, sometimes I relish silence as its extremely rare in my part of the world.

When I do listen to music it tends to be quite a varied selection and I go through different stages, at the moment I'm really getting into electronica like Prefuse 73 and The Flashbulb, but I'm also loving Brigitte Fontaine, Aesop Rock, Kimya Dawson and Ol' Dirty Bastard.

q) How would you describe your work to someone?

a)A rich tapestry of chaos and detail, done in different mediums in various hues of outlandish colour. Usually based around landscapes and filled with intricate details.

q) Influences?

a)I have so many influences! Chris Ofili and Hieronymus Bosch are probably the artists that have inspired me the most over the years but I also love MS Hove, The Clayton Brothers and SKWAK, among many many others....

q) Describe your process for creating new work.

a)I've been thinking about this recently as quite a large part of my process is intuitive, especially in the early stages of the idea, flashes of an image come to me slowly as I think about a certain subject but its takes a while for that to translate to paper, I can walk around with an idea for months before I feel the need to use it. Then I'll read a little about it and begin drawing, often from the imagination but increasingly from resources. Then I build.

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

a)Find a gallery and show it! I've done various piece's for shows but this year for the first time I've decided to do everything myself and put on my own show, its scary but its also really exciting. I feel like I can truly create my own vision.

q) What are you really excited about right now?

a)Everything

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

a)The variation, in nearly every way imaginable. My area is a melting pot of cultures and idea's and it inspires me every day. It also informs my work massively.

qBest way to spend a day off?

a)Outside, just looking around and being immersed in your environment rather than on a screen or in an idea.

q)Upcoming shows/ projects?

a)'The Urban Jungle' at East Gallery , Brick Lane, London Friday 21st-Wednesday 26th September 2012. (Private View: Thursday 20th Sep 6-9). My husband and house mate (the dustup producers FJH and CTEK will be creating a unique and contemporary soundscape to go along with my work, so it should be an interesting show!

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

a)FELICEZHUKOV.COM