Interview with Matt Allison and Matthew Usinowicz
January 19, 2019
Artists of Slamdance Cosmopolis
About the artists:
Matt Allison
Matt Allison is a collector and (re)arranger of objects. In a culture increasingly driven by immaterial content and virtual realities, he remains dedicated to uncovering the stories contained within stuff. His practice is particularly informed by the unexpected object pairings that come from “DIY” repurposing projects and homegrown interventions.
He was a co-manager of the experimental art space OPAQ in Jacksonville, FL, and is the co-founder of Sea Farm City and MNK Studio which operate in Downtown Los Angeles. Matt received his BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design in 2004, and his MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2015.
www.mattallisonprojects.com @mattallisonprojects
Matthew Usinowicz
Conceptually drawn to social politics and the physical accumulation of stuff, with a specific interest in the relationship between humans and objects, Matthew works in a process- based mode of production using materialism – the physical and psychological elements of materials – to visually communicate. The results are fabricated objects, using an interdisciplinary practice to create; these objects are used as a humorous, allegorical means of telling a story.
Last time Matthew was in Jacksonville, it was the last stop aboard a US Navy vessel before heading to the Persian Gulf in 2001. 17 years later, he finds himself making and exhibiting artwork that critiques the very system he swore to protect and defend. Some things never change, just the vessel you choose to arrive in.
Matthew received his BFA from San Francisco Art Institute and his MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
www.matthewusinowicz.com @matthew_usinowicz
Where are you from and where are you now working?
Matt: I was born in South Florida, and slowly moved my way North to Jacksonville. I lived in Brooklyn for a few years, before coming out to California. I currently live and work in Los Angeles.
Matthew: I was born in Salt Lake City, but I’ve lived most my life either floating somewhere on the water, or in the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently I live and work in San Francisco.
How did you meet each other and what sparked your collaboration?
Matt: Matthew and I were in the same Graduate Program. I could tell from his work that we had common influences... So I invited him over for dinner. He brought two bottles of wine and several blocks of cheese. We've been working together ever since.
Matthew: We met in graduate school in Southern California. We naturally gravitated towards each other through similar interests: cooking, good food, music, politics, fighting common childhood conformities, grafitti, and of course art making.
How is your work similar? How is your work different?
Matt: We each have our own odd take on formalism with very strong affinities for color. Our reference points overlap a lot: Music, graffiti, providing food for loved ones... We're different in the way we approach materials. Matthew is a butcher so he breaks a material down to its "rawest form." He then refines the material and rebuilds it into something new. I'm a collector, so I'm more concerned with preservation, and transformation through association.
Matthew: We both focus on materials and objects how they exist, how they operate in spaces, and how we can activate (or disrupt) their state. We deconstruct these objects and materials differently. Matt is more of a “arranger or re-arranger” of objects. I intend to break down the objects/ materials formally and manufacture a new, different objects from my deconstruction.
What inspired the show Slamdance Cosmopolis?
Matt: My inspiration for Slamdance Cosmopolis is how “everyday” the process of dehumanization has become. While political leaders are talking about fellow human beings as if they're some alien invasion, the corporate world is looking for prospective employees to be a minimum wage version of Siri. Meanwhile, we’re all sacrificing lived experience in favor of being documentarians for our own fictitious "social" media empire. Everyone is either a super villain or a super hero - No one is just a complex and flawed individual that knows they have no business throwing the first stone.
Matthew: Shitty people in government and shitty people in general.
Why did you choose to do a show in Jacksonville?
Matt: I lived in Jacksonville for during a very formidable time in my life, and consider it my home (even though I didn't get there until I was 23. I love the city's strengths, and wanted to be a small part of the growth that'll overcome its weaknesses. Working with the ACLU of North Florida on a show that opened a few days before midterm elections seemed like a good way to do it.
Matthew: Matt has a strong connection with Jacksonville; working and living there and being involved in the food and art scenes. I heard nothing but good things about Florida Mining Gallery and intriguing nostalgia about Jacksonville. I’ve never been (with exception of a pit stop while cruising with the US Navy) and I love shrimp, grits, and beer! It has been a pleasure making work for Jacksonville, staying in Jacksonville, and eating my fair share of Mayport shrimp in Jacksonville.
What does the title Slamdance Cosmopolis mean?
Matt: It’s a coupling from the poem that Allen Ginsburg recites in the song “Ghetto Defendant” that closes out the A side of Combat Rock.
Matthew: The urge (and possible need) to break out in full mosh (slam dance) mode in a crowded metro car because the crazy shit that’s happening now, the dehumanization and government corruption and pettiness, is absurd. And we all need a good mosh pit now and then.
How would you summarize Slamdance Cosmopolis?
Matt: A visual conversation between two friends, trying to figure out how to retain one’s connection to humanity amid the economic disparity, language barriers, gentrification, emotional isolation, crime and pollution that permeate our respective cityscapes.
Matthew: A dialogue from the past, is the dialogue of the present. Generation after generation, this recurrence of very little change creates anxiety, and progress is moving too damn slow. As a visual artist these are our/ my modes of expression in hope to inspire others to being more active in a push to sustained progress for the human race.
What about Combat Rock by the Clash motivated you to create the series of posters featured in the show?
Matt: It's a record that naturally gets put on the turntable every time Matthew, my wife Katie and I are hanging out in our living room. After several years, we had so many conversations with it playing in the background that it became, in my mind, a sort of conduit for a lot of our best ideas. The Clash are the perfect jumping off point for anyone who want’s to make critical thinking seem like the coolest thing on the planet.
Matthew: Song titles and overall theme.
What is your favorite piece from Slamdance Cosmopolis?
Matt: The "Straight to Hell" poster. Aside from being my favorite song on the album, the lyrics are eerily (and depressingly) relevant to our current administration’s tactic of reducing human life to political capital. I picked the image of Elian Gonzalez as a stand in for the abandoned Vietnamese child from the song, and the very next morning news breaks of families being separated at the Southern Border. Check in as I’m writing this, and those children are now dying in American custody. This is not a partisan issue- Children shouldn’t be victims of our own fabricated conflicts. It doesn’t matter if the president’s last name is Clinton or Trump. Or if you don’t want to give up your assault rifle. Or if you still believe in the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Or if you think frozen concentrate is more convenient then peeling an orange.
Matthew: Straight to Hell. The layers of content are deep and visually it kicks ass!
Do you have plans for your next collaboration?
Matt: Yes, always. Contrary to the artist myth, I got (and stay) in this game to work with others.
Matthew: Yes. Cooking more food together in L.A. or S.F.
Who are some of your biggest influences? Artists or otherwise?
Matt: Currently the list is as follows: My wife Katie and daughter my Clementine, the ACLU, Philip Glass, Chef Dan Giusti's work transforming public school cafeterias, Bell Hooks, the novel Alas Babylon, Defend Boyle Heights, and the Spiritual Jazz scene of the late 1960’s.
Matthew: Traveling. Food. Music. People I meet (formally, through shared experience, eye contact, or otherwise.) when traveling.
How do you navigate the creative process? What helps you develop a piece from beginning to end?
Matt: My creativity is my primary problem solving tool, I’d truly be lost with out it. I’m also extremely restless when it comes to my art practice, so I have this sort of natural catalyst constantly pushing me forward. I’ve never been one to chase the “finish line” when it comes to making work. I’m interested in work that allows for any number of variations, and that grows and evolves over time. Especially when an exhibition is usually the first time you have different people interacting with the work. In a lot of ways, that’s when things are just getting started.
Matthew: Watching/ listening to S.F. Giants baseball, watching “The Wire”, “The Sopranos”, “Fargo” (TV), “Breaking Bad”, or “Better Call Saul”, over again...
Do you have a preferred medium?
Matt: Some small found object that that stirs my soul for reasons unknown me.
Matthew: Never, ever. Always changing. Never limit yourself to medium.
What are your hobbies outside of art?
Matt: Trying not to worry.
Matthew: Travel, eating/ drinking, cooking, music, baseball.
