Interview with JOHN HUNDT

q)Walk us through an intimate day in your life

a)Without  boring you with the mundane day to day that everyone deals with, I get up around 7 or 8, take care of household stuff. Walk our four terriers to clear my head. Then I go to work in my studio. I don't really have many people I consider friends by choice. From life experiences,  I prefer to be by myself. I have a custom home studio and am content to work by myself for hours. My wife feels the need to come in occasionally to remind me to eat and drink. It's not unusual for me to work until 4 am.

q) Where did you grow up/where do you live now and how does that contribute to your art?

a) I was born in New Jersey, but my family moved to Palos Verdes Peninsula (Los Angeles County) when I was six. I spent many, many day swimming in the huge tide pools in P.V. catching octopus and fish which I contribute to the underwater imagery that pops up in my work. I also attended 12 years of catholic school which explains the religious themes as well. My wife and I (and our four dogs) split our time between SF and Sonoma County. 

q) What is your earliest memory that propelled you to create?

a)  I have memories in N.J. (I was five and under at that time) going under my parents bed on a regular basis and drawing strange creatures with crayons, cutting them out individually and keeping them in a shoebox. I also remember my kindergarten teacher calling in my parents to talk to them about my 'troubling' drawings. I knew early on that I wanted to be an artist.

q) Tell us a little bit about your creative process.

a)  I find images that are compelling and cut them out with fine scissors and put them aside. Sifting through mountains of source materials, I look for images similar in hue, tonal quality and shapes. I have learned not to paste in haste. Bad collages are not even good for toilet paper. Although sometimes pieces come together in a very short time, most are quite time consuming. Not everything I make is good, but that is my goal.

q) How do you wish for your art to be perceived?

a)  I would like my art to be perceived as great art. That's all.

q) What do your internal dialogues sound like?

a)Not sure. I never listen to what I am talking about.

q) Do you feel that there are limitations to what you want to create?

a) I suppose the only limitations I impose on myself are 'obvious choices'  and 'shocking for the sake of being shocking' . I consider  both of those as boring.

q)Do you feel art is vital to survival and if so, why?

a) To survival? Absolutely not. That's silly.Food, water, oxygen. Those are vital to survival. I do get stir crazy and a little depressed if I don't get to make anything for a few days, but I would have to be a pompous ass to claim I couldn't survive if I couldn't make any art.

q)Describe a world without art.

a)Dull and boring.

q)Tell us a secret, and obsession.

a)Secret: I am the Zodiac   Obsession: Making art.

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

a) Anyone interested in seeing my work can visit my website, www.johnhundt.com or www.jackfischergallery.com. And if you Google John Hundt, the heart

surgeon at John Hopkins University, that's not me.

John Hundt
1375 Sanchez Street
San Francisco | CA | 94131
415 | 559 | 6633

john@johnhundt.com
www.johnhundt.com