Tape[Talk] Interview: Mike Fell Tape Art
How/when did you get started doing tape art?
I started around five years ago. People ask how I came up with the idea. I think I was just daydreaming/scheming at work one day and decided to give it a try...
Making a daydream a reality is an epic feat—props to you, sir :D
Generally, what’s your process from start to finish?
Once I've had a general idea for a subject I spend quite a while on finding images to base the work on – this might be from photos or drawings I make myself or images I find online or elsewhere. Sometimes the tape suggests the subject, other times I have a subject in mind and find a tape to match. There is always some kind of relation between the tape and the final image, although it might not always be obvious – and things like the colour and style of the tape and label (and the tape itself) are also important. I then do digital sketches based on this and which I think will work well using the simple lines you get with the tape. Once I've transferred this to a board there is a lot of hammering in of nails, and finally winding of tape. It is pretty painstaking…
Oh yeah I can imagine! Seems very meticulous, and the finished products are an awesome reflection of your work. Incredible stuff!
Tell us about some of your favorite clients or projects. Any favorite pieces of yours come to mind?
Some of my favourite commissions have been for portraits. As always with portraits, you are trying to capture the essence of the person portrayed within – in the case of tape and pins – a pretty restrictive medium. You can’t really do curves, for example, or fills – you just have a few simple strokes, but that means you end up with an interesting, really pared-down look.
That’s interesting—it’s a whole new spin on artistic portraits. You're putting those janky caricature drawings you get at theme parks to shame...for sure.
I’m sure you work with a ton of different tapeheads—from label owners to tape collectors. What’s your favorite thing about the tape community?
That they haven’t so far lynched me for pulling apart tapes. They are also often into DIY/remaking/sharing-type things, which are all fun.
Definitely!
*What would you say is your current go to jam, (in any format)?
My friend Hamish does the best compilations based on old records he gets out of the public library. I don’t know what half of the tracks are as I don’t sit with the case in front of me, but when I want to listen to music at the moment these are what I tend to put on.
I’ve been watching a ton of 80s movies on Netflix lately, (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Dirty Dancing, Say Anything) and have just fallen in love again with the soundtracks and scores. *What’s your favorite 80s flick?
So many, but Bladerunner is in my head.
No way! I actually have the soundtrack to Blade Runner on cassette. I should get you to do a piece with it. Can't go wrong with a cassette portrait of Sean Young, right?
So the intricacy of the designs and your attention to detail are incredible! How long does a typical piece take you?
I work on pieces in quite a few stages over many days, but not whole days, and it really varies between each one. But from hours to days.
Has art always been a passion of yours? When did you realize you wanted to create for a living?
Unfortunately art isn't yet my living! But it is a good supplement to the funding I get for my PhD which I’m doing at University College London. I've always enjoyed art and got serious about improving the technical side of it (like drawing and painting) about five years ago. I've also done quite a bit of printmaking which I also love for some of the same reasons as tape. To me they both combine elements of mass production, uniqueness, technique and DIY. I used to do a lot of music and art has kind of replaced that for me.
You found the perfect combination of the two I’d say, haha.
What is an inspiration to you as an artist?
That’s hard – many things. I enjoy the process, and working within tight constraints to come up with something that looks good. I also find it inspiring to get together with other people in art, something I don’t get a chance to do much in my day job.
Who are a couple of your favorite artists?
Could not be more popular I’m afraid – Van Gogh, Schiele, a lot of pretty expressionist stuff.
Do you feature any pieces publically or locally?
I do shows when I can. For example there is a coffee roaster near me (Volcano Coffee Works) and I’m about to set up a show in their café, and I have an urban art fair coming up in Brixton (South London). I’d like to sort something out with a record store as they would probably be a good venue to show my pictures.
That would be awesome, perfect place to display and spread the word. People will geek out seeing your stuff in person!
Have you made any friends in the tape community doing this specific type of art?
I’ve certainly come across a lot of people whose work I enjoy. As you know I did a picture for Randall at Graveyard Orbit and he was kind enough to send me some tapes – which I've really got into.
I wouldn't say there is much of an identifiable tape community around where I live – or maybe I’m just not trying hard enough…
Yeah! That’s actually how I found out about you. He’s got some spectacular releases. You should check out Birkhouse Recordings and Adventures In Dubbing ;)
Do you sell your art at any venues or festivals? What kind of reactions do you get from people?
As above, mainly art fairs and the odd show – not much music-related as yet. They do tend to get a good reaction from people as often they haven’t seen anything like it. I started out with a stall on the market in Brixton and that was a great way to quickly see what caught people’s eye – definitely better than doing online stuff.
Interesting—I seem to have the opposite thing going on with RFx. We always do 1000% times better selling live.
I saw that you also do the same style of artwork using VHS Tapes (epic!), what’s the difference between VHS vs. Cassette art creation?
Yes, I want to do more on the VHS front. They are a bit harder to do as the tape is wider, but it also shows up more boldly so it works well. There are so many possible subjects – but it is partly a question of finding space in my apartment to put all the pictures (VHS ones have to be bigger).
You should definitely make the trip to Austin next year for Austin Cassette Fest, people will lose their minds when they see your stuff.
It’s a long way, but in principle I would love to!
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