‘Outside Lies Magic’ Brings Street Art Inside
The exhibition Outside Lies Magic brings street art inside to the walls of L.A.’s Gabba Gallery. Starting this Saturday, over three dozen artists will be merging the outdoors with the indoors, bringing their works from sidewalk scrawls to a fine art setting. With that in mind, we spoke to four of the featured artists to get a better glimpse of their art and their inspiration.
How did you first get into street art?
I’ve been showing my work since 2009, but the gallery world was feeling really small, and sometimes hard to be taken seriously in without an art education. Pop-up shows were fun, but I don’t really support a model that charges artists to hang work in massive shows. In 2012, a street artist friend encouraged me to make stickers out of my mixed media pieces and put them up, they were quickly photographed and blogged about. Melrose and Fairfax posted my LA heart sticker with the caption “sticker of the year” and it kind of spiraled from there, making me want to do more and go bigger. I was invited to show at Fame Fest and Ethos Gallery on Melrose and within months I was painting murals and painting and showing my work with artists who had been a huge inspiration to me. Its been an amazing few years, and I really feel like Im just getting started.
You work across many mediums. How do you determine what goes where and gets made with what?
Honestly, I have no attention span. When I’m in the studio without any set deadlines, I just kind of look around and throw things together until I like them. I’m really heavy on process, if I put too much thought into planning exactly what I am doing, I lose interest fast. Im usually working on three or four things at once that are completely different. If I’m feeling creatively blocked, I like to draw and paint on magazine pages to get my brain going, but I approach a lot of my work without any idea of how it will turn out when its finished. Except there’s almost always a heart in there somewhere.
Yes, you work a lot with human anatomy, especially hearts. What is it about the subject that appeals to you?
When I was growing up, my mom had breast cancer. I remember a lot of the visual stuff from back then, the ways her body changed and was medically altered, and a lot of the things I saw in the hospitals had a big effect on me. It was completely terrifying, channeling that into anatomical art has always helped me deal with a lot of those feelings. As for the hearts, the symbolism is universal, everyone can relate to them but for really individual reasons. I like knowing people connect to my work, it’s like a conversation. I’ve heard some incredible and very personal stories from heart patients, people going through breakups, and all kinds of other stories from complete strangers because they connected to what I was doing. Art is powerful, hearts are powerful, it makes perfect sense and provides an endless supply of inspiration.
What are the biggest benefits of making public art in your opinion?
Making public art is rewarding for a lot of different reasons, the exposure you get from having your work in public versus a gallery is off the charts. The city of L.A. is a big part of who I am, being able to contribute my art to the landscape is an amazing feeling. I’ll never get tired of that.
How did you first start making murals?
I started painting “Random Act Flowers” in 2007, few and far between at first. I amped it up in 2009 and painted on “for lease’ or abandon buildings across the country in over 51 cities and towns. I mix from the primaries, on the spot, using outdoor house paint and a brush.
Where does your inspiration come from?
I am inspired by nature and flowers, the good feeling and lack of dogma they convey.
Can you explain your relationship/duties with Google Cultural Institute Street Art Platform?
I partnered with Jason Ostro to form the StreetArt Brokerage Firm and we partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to represent street art in Los Angeles, California. We upload content and curate exhibitions of Los Angeles Street Art and I have encouraged our L.A.-based photographers to give me images as far back as 2011, when the L.A. Scene really took off, with blogs such as MelroseandFairfax.com fueling the creative fire and international street art tourism that continues to grow.
What are your thoughts on L.A.’s relationship with public art?
Public art implies it was paid for by the “public” as in government. Much of the street art you see in L.A. is self-funded by the artist, there is a chance a benefactor or co-sponsor is generously helping to cover costs and pay the artists. That said… The public, as in the people walking, driving, visiting the streets of L.A., love it. Love it. When I am out painting, I get all kinds of support from the community. There is much driving and perfect weather… so there is a lot of time to enjoy the art in this City of Angels and watch how it uplifts, beautifies and inspires the communities you find it in.
How do you describe the work that you make?
A pinched nerve of the soul. Sometimes its therapy, sometimes it’s to help people feel a little less alone in the world. Major themes include but are not limited to love, hate, life and death.
How did you first get into street art?
I first got into street art as a dare to myself. It was a personal challenge to go around and put as much art as I could in public places. It was very difficult at first, but after a while it was my favorite medium. Nothing beats the gallery of the streets. Every piece is different, every wall a challenge and every interaction a reward.
You work a lot with black and white, what is it about the contrast that appeal to you?
I want bold easy reads. Life is too short. I don’t have a lot of time to waste wondering what something is, and I’m pretty sure no one else does either.
What are your biggest reasons for making art outdoors?
Creating dialogue and interaction with everyone. I want all access to my art. No VIP, no lists, no private viewing. Art is from the soul, and the soul lies inside everyone. Art should be available to all the people. Every single last one.
What is your approach for this show since it will be indoors?
My approach will be to put something on something you can put on a wall. Art is art. The only thing that changes is the mediums. Creativity has eternal life, only hindered by our own mortality.
4. Gianni Arone (also pictured top)
How did you first get into creating murals?
I believe around 2008/2009 I started working outside. Catching small tags here and there, working with crude hand-cut stencils where I would just take a sheet of paper and an x-acto knife and then cut freestyle with the negative space. I quickly started using cans a bit more — in a freestyle fashion, as everything I do , for the most part — has a bit or a lot of serendipity to it. I enjoy the Graffuturism movement, as it has allowed a progression for outsiders like myself, who were never graffiti writers to work with the concept of letter, form, and space. For me, the style is liberating, as it allows creation to occur — without any real boundaries. When you deconstruct the letter which essentially is an abstraction of emotion to its raw essence it is nothing more than a dot from a pen. You can go anywhere with that. That’s the type of space and freedom I need as an artist.
What are the benefits and challenges of creating large scale art?
For me it’s actually the movement you get to partake in. When you are working on a larger scale your entire body is in it. There is motion in the arms and legs that you sometimes do not get when working studio work. You are also outside, with nature. You interact with the sun as it passes throughout the day. You engage with people. The challenges are simply that you are always learning, always adapting, and this is a beautiful thing.
You do a lot of varied work from illustration to GIFs. How does working across multiple media shape you as an artist?
As a creator and as an artist, I see no reason why one would not wish to engage in any medium they have at their disposal. Time is quite short in this human life, so I wish to experience as many creative outlets as I can, in as many styles as I can, as often as I can, without burden of genre or rule, because there seems to be so many of both but simply with the grace of being an artist.
This is what I do. I create. It is very simple. I’m just a channel, freely creating, allowing the process to narrate. My job is to listen.
