Helping you waste your employer's money.

I recently got the chance to interview our close personal friend J.P. about his cerberal artwork. Recently, he was part of a group show down in Los Angeles called “Zombies” at Gallery Nucleus, and did some really neat artwork. I should have written this before the show opening, but I forgot. The show runs from February 6th to the 20th, so there is still a chance for you to see it if you are in LA.

It seems you are really into the idea of humorously interconnecting objects in your art (i.e. square brains capturing bunny rabbits, nested russian dolls of owls), why do you do this?

Those are my favorite moments in life. Things from completely different worlds forced together. You can’t really anticipate what will happen. Usually funny is about to happen. Funny or war. Could go either way.

I think they call this “juxtaposition”, if I’m not mistaken. It’s a similar mechanism you utilized in the painting you did of a Pomeranian sticking his red rocket into a lime wedge. That being said, can you focus yourself on the immediacy of when / why these moments happen? I mean, is it like you stick a bunch of random things together in a pot and stir, and then the “funny” happens, or is it more complex?

According to dictionary.com you are right. It appears Juxtaposition is a great vehicle for creating something interesting. Usually I start off with some type of logic as to what creates these moments. Then it just kind of devolves from there.

What foods or drinks do you consume when you do art?

Nothing of interest really. Whatever I feel like at the time. Large amounts of water. I usually have to pee frequently.

What inspires you?

Print, design, typography, music and in general: intelligent creative expressions.

Can you provide an example of a unintelligent creative expression?

The homeless person outside my window shouting about rotary phones as he shits on the sidewalk.

Does art make you feel good inside?

Sure, definitely. There’s a manic process to it. While making stuff I normally go between extremes of angst and happy, but the end result usually results in something satisfying.

What is the meaning of a “bird brain” in the context of an owl and russian nesting dolls?

The theme of this show was “Zombie Love.” I thought the idea of love birds with exposed brains as Russian Dolls was an interesting one because of the way the dolls work with the bigger doll consuming the smaller, etc. I do think all birds could be love birds. I’m for love bird equality.

If you open all the dolls, there is just a brain left at the end. Can you describe this brain and where it came from? Is it like a lineage of the ancestry before it, or is it some sort of a smarter mind that came from the hand of God? It’s almost like the chicken and the egg…which came first, the dolls or the brain…

I never really thought about it, but I know the answer. The brains come first. Because I painted those first then the rest of the bird after.

Do you do art for praise / recognition, or do you do art for yourself?

Myself. It’s definitely nice when they all go together and it adds to the reward, but I just like it’s something to satisfy my own self. So much of what I do is revised to meet someone else’s needs. It’s like when a prostitute goes home after work and masturbates. Just like that actually.

So are you saying that your the process of doing art is similar to your rewarding day job in advertising?

I’m saying my art is masturbation.

Help us imagine how a prostitute masturbates. I’m having a hard time envisioning this… It sounds unlubricated or rough to me.

I’d imagine it can be. There are many types of prostitutes and therefore, I’d imagine, many types of masturbations created from them. Some would be a clean-shaven slip and slide, some would be a sweaty, nesty mess and some a cankerous ooze fest. Regardless it’s all satisfying I’m sure.

When do you find time to do art with your busy schedule?

90% of it is just figuring it out in my head. Once that’s done the rest doesn’t take too long usually.

Name three things you think are good.

Niki, my cat Mogley, my friends/family.

Name three things you hate.

Cilantro, voice recognition customer service, junk mail.

Name a movie you hate.

Anything by Michael Bay.

Related posts:

1. ESPO x White Walls Gallery, November 14th