5 Questions with ANTHONY AUSGANG

To paraphrase the worst Clash album ever, let's cut the crap! There's about zero chance that you're reading THIS blog without knowing who the hell Anthony Ausgang is. Unless you're my mother, in which case, Hi Mom! But really, do you need me to remind you of Anthony Ausgang's secure seat at the pop surrealist table? I can safely assume you're familiar with 'Dude Descending A Staircase', right? If you're an artist who does your homework, you already own the seminal Kirsten Anderson book on the lowbrow movement. Hell, you can probably quote the Robert Williams essay in that book verbatim. Maybe you're here because you're a MGMT fan, and you're hoping to dig up some dirt on the band (sorry, we didn't really go there). Maybe you're a fan of weird abstract literature looking for clues to deciphering the  "Pawnee Republican" and "Sleep of Puss Titter" (I can't help you there either). I arranged a meeting with him, to ask only 5 questions. But if I'm completely honest, I just really wanted to see his studio, and get to know the man a little better. I wasn't disappointed. Ausgang possesses a keen intellect, a  witty, jovial veneer, and his studio (as you'll see below) is brimming with archival delights from every stage of his artistic development. Let's go!


1) What was the most revelatory art experience you've ever had?

Well, really it was when I was sixteen, I went to Bali, Indonesia with my family. We stayed there three months. You know, my experience with art up to that point was strictly in museums, art museums around the world. So, I hadn't really had an experience looking at art outside of a museum situation, and when I was in Bali I saw all kinds of art that was being made...for example, there was a tree that had been carved by the side of the road, just this phenomenal sculpture. It was really interesting to see how art was integrated into everyday life there. When I saw that, it made a lot of sense to me. It clicked, right there...about what art is, and the purpose of art, and how it can actually exist outside the laboratory of the museums.

2) You've paid homage to a number of artists in your work, perhaps most famously Duchamp. You've also had some harsh words for John Baldassari. Who do you consider the most historically underrated and most overrated artists?

(laughs) Wow! Yeah, actually I have shifting tastes. My fandom of certain artists comes and goes, but when I was younger I was really impressed by Franz Marc. He had this tragic story, where he was killed in World War I, before he really managed to get any super masterworks done. I find his work really inspiring, because he did some really great paintings of animals, that sort of caught the essence of what it is to be a non-human, sentient being. There's also a Dutchman, colonial cat, living in Indonesia. His name is Walter Spies. He combined, sort of European painting technique with Eastern perspective. So he did these really beautiful paintings, where they seemed to be flat, but they still had that kind of Japanese perspective. Where they don't really decrease in size, things are just kind of stacked on top of each other? He's almost completely unknown outside of Dutch colonial circles. Overrated? Yeah man, Baldessari. I'm against the dude a hundred fucking percent! I don't have anything personally...you know, this is not a personal attack. But I guess in the art world, if you attack somebodies work, you're attacking them personally. I don't necessarily feel that way. But yeah, I think he's overrated. Art should be an additive process, and when it becomes a subtractive process like that...I think it's bullshit. Unless you're sculpting, taking a block of stone, and subtracting the sum until the figure is there. But with painting, where you actually remove imagery, to me is counter intuitive.

3) I asked Isabel Samaras this question once, and got a rather enthusiastic response. What's the most beloved brush in your arsenal?

I use a fan brush, which are for blending...from one color to another, or one value to another. those are my favorites now...because I've seen people use them...like Ron English can use these, and he can actually stop in a perfect spot, whereas I still have to tape it off, it's almost like airbrushing. So, yeah, I love those right now, because I still haven't figured their mystery out. I'm still sort of intrigued by how to use these brushes. Probably my least favorite brush is the pin striping brush. I did pin striping, I use a line brush. You know...actually, my favorite brush is what most artists would consider their worst brush. I use these brushes, and so they get to the point where they're just shit...and most people would just use them to mix paint, or just use them as a stir stick, but at that point...say it's a round, and the bristles are all splayed out. Somehow I figured out how to use those brushes to blend, so they are like a fan brush, but it's a round. Most people would've thrown those brushes away years ago.

4) If you could create the artwork for any Link Wray song, what song would you like to do?

Well, it would be "Rumble" wouldn't it? Link Wray...here's this dude who got shit on. They called his music dangerous. "Rumble" was taken off the charts, right? It was banned...and the dude still kept fucking going...and to me that's one of the most important things about art, is you gotta be in it for the long haul. Sure, I was the hot new flavor at one time, and I've seen other kids now, they're the hot new flavor, and yeah, that's great, but it's longevity and commitment that I think are one of the most attractive qualities for artists...assuming that they do good work, 'cause you know, Baldessari's been around for a while too.

5) I read you were shot at...twice! What the fuck?

I was walking down the street in Austin, Texas around 1978. Austin was entirely different at that point. I walked by this movie theater, and this black dude was...at that moment he was getting kicked out of the theater for drinking. I thought, 'oh, that's fucking weird'. So, I stood around to watch. The ushers got this dude out in the street, and he kicked him in the ass. Then this guy just turned around with his gun, and shot the usher three times in the stomach. Everybody scattered. Everybody split---except me. So, I'm standing there like...'Wow!' Then the guy pointed the gun at me. The instant he pulled the trigger a little alarm went off that said 'Hit the ground dude!'. So, I hit the ground...and split. He went one way, and I went the other. I ran down this alley, and he suddenly changed his mind. He came back and he was running down the alley behind me, and I thought 'This is fucking it man.' So I just stopped, and I got on the ground. The guy ran by me. He was really stupid. He was wearing a white Panama hat, white suit, you know? He couldn't blend in anywhere. I went back the next day and saw that there was a bullet hole in the glass. Another time, I actually did get shot, but it was self-inflicted. It was really stupid. It was the day of the L.A. riots. I learned my lesson. You never have two people handling a loaded gun (laughs), at the same time. But some things you can be told, and other things you have to learn by experience.



Anthony Ausgang will be included in the Daniel Rolnik curated 'Season of Spring' group show
at Flower Pepper Gallery opening March 1st, 2014.
He's also busy curating a Kustom Kulture show in Milan this September, and working on a new novel.

Ausgang in the studio.

A work in progress.

The Ausgang brush corner.

The 'why would you throw it away' brush.

Ammunition.

A life in sketchbooks.

From the Ausgang sketchbook files.

I'm really hoping I posted this right side up.

Vintage Ausgang!

A Raymond Pettibon palm frond!

Another Raymond Pettibon from the Ausgang collection!

The Ausgang album cover files.

Ausgang-edlia.

Thrift store score #1.

Thrift store score #2.

Old Skool Ausgang Xerox manipulations.

The end? Spoiler alert: it didn't.

Art Pick of the Week: Isabel Samaras at Varnish Fine Art

Yes Angelenos, I'm picking a show in San Francisco. But hey, it's really not that far away, and who wouldn't want to spend half a dozen hours driving up the lovely I-5? Okay, forget I said that, hop on a plane. It's the incomparable Isabel Samaras after all! This show features a slew of new work alongside a batch of old favorites, which provides gallery-goers the opportunity to glimpse the span of her impressive career so far.

I've made no secret of my adoration of this artist, so it's really a no brainer choice for me. I had the honor of talking to her about the show (and other stuff) last week for Cartwheel. You can read the interview here.

'Making a Better Yesterday Today'
opens Nov. 3, 2012 and runs through Dec. 15, 2012

Varnish Fine Art

16 Jessie Street, #C120

San Francisco, CA 94105

(415)433-4400

photos courtesy of Isabel Samras and Varnish Fine Art

5 Questions With JENNIFER J. JELENSKI

I will, for the rest of my days, be plagued and pricked by the thorns of a particular decision I made regarding Jennifer J. Jelenski. In August of 2008, my wife and I went to the "Cream Of The Crop" show at La Luz de Jesus. My better half was drawn to the work of JAW Cooper. I was pulled toward Jennifer J. Jelenski's paintings. One, in particular, I coveted, called "Teething Ring".

We admired both women's work, but after much discussion, we ultimately brought home a few JAW Cooper pieces. Leaving "Teething Ring" on the wall, to be purchased (I would find out later) by Morgan Spurlock. As much as I love Jessica Cooper's work, I still think about "Teething Ring"...with more than just a tinge of regret.

I've kept an eye out for Jelenski ever since. Fortuitously, La Luz seems to have embraced her with open arms. She has been featured in several group shows there, and was even selected to be in the stunning La Luz de Jesus 25 retrospective (show and book).

Jelenski's art seems to exist in the clouds, which is not to say a rarefied air, but rather a fluffy white bed of comfort. Inviting, yet mysterious and distant. The titles often raise more questions then they answer: "Purple Monkey Dishwasher", "Honey & Rutting Victrola". Her creatures may be armed and wrathful, but they are also pretty damn cuddly. She seems to constantly be playing two sides against each other. Not lowbrow, and not quite pop surrealism, yet both at once. Her paintings are complex, in a simple way. Chaotic, but orderly. Cute, and menacing. Fun, yet deadly serious. This is art obsessed with BALANCE. I'm a huge fan!

Jennifer J. Jelenski is an intensely private person, so I'm thrilled and honored that she would agree to do this (infrequent) feature on my humble little blog. Here's what she had to say:

1) Your images are often assembled in the shape of a Mandala, and seem to draw a lot of inspiration from Hindu art, and I know you practice yoga.What can you tell me about the bats, bunnies, and monkeys?

Jennifer: "Tibetan Art from the 12th -17th century is a tremendous source of inspiration for me.
This art shares stories. My hope is to bring people closer to finding these stories for themselves.
The animals I work with are meant to be cute. Endearing warm fuzzies invoke a very similar feeling as compassion.
Many people believe we naturally can not be compassionate and that work must be done to enable ones self to become compassionate.
My hope is to trick folks into unlocking this super power!
Yoga is a physical expression of my creativity, prayer in motion, as well as a great way to balance such a sedentary lifestyle."

 2) One of the astounding things about your work, for me, is that you paint complex, intricate fields of color that are bordered by head-scratchingly clean, and consistent line-weights.How on Earth do you achieve that crisp line?

Jennifer: "Thank you!!
A few things I do to achieve such a look are:
Never work wet on wet.
Wear jeweler's glasses while working.
I give my paintings plenty of time to dry.
Apply many many layers of paint.
Use sandpaper to remove any offending textures.
And I use the best tools I can afford and replace worn out tools often.
(I go through 4 dozen brushes or more a year)"



3) How long do you typically work on a sketch, before you're ready to paint, and (sneaking in an extra question) are you brand loyal with paint?

Jennifer: "I may work a drawing or idea for months.
They all start out small.
As a composition develops, I'll draw it over and over.
Until I feel it's problems are resolved to the best of my ability.

I use mostly Golden acrylics.
After an image is drawn onto a canvas, I'll mix my pallet.
Then pour the mixed colors into wee plastic pots.
The colors stay fresh for a year this way.
While I'm working I put a few brushes full of the mixed color into an Ink pot.
Mix this with a bit of gel medium, GAC, and water to begin painting.
I want a lite, creamy texture that is never runny or pasty."

4) I ask everyone this.What are you listening to while you work?

Jennifer: "My tunes!!!!!
Currently I listen to:
Lots of Biosphere. Lots of Lustmord.
Atticus Ross, Book of Eli sound track
Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sound track

My most recent fixation,
Ambient Metal!
For this genre I like:
Jakob, Subsets of SetJakob, Cale:DrewJakob, SolaceIsis, Panopticon (love the track 'In Fiction')
Pelican, What We All Come To Need (#1 fave tune of the moment, The Creeper)"

 5) You seem to be a big kid at heart.What's your favorite children's novel?

Jennifer: "I'm an avid reader, but I haven't read any children's books in a very long time.
Stories that I adored when I was young and still do today would be:
Benjamin Bunny, Beatrix Potter
The Hobbit, J.R.Tolkien

Keith, Thank you so much for this opportunity to share with your readers."

No...Thank You Jennifer!

Jennifer J. Jelenski is primarily self-taught. She is a former doll-maker, tattoo and make-up artist. While she steadfastly refuses to dwell on the past, she has begrudgingly permitted me to say that she has shown her art at Rosemary's Billy Goat Odditorium, Blue Rooster, The Hive, and Cannibal Flower, in addition to La Luz de Jesus Gallery. She has exhibited alongside such luminaries as Gary Baseman, Matjames Metson, Clayton Brothers, Nathan Ota, Chris Mars, Isabel Samaras and others...and fiercely held her own !

I will keep you all posted on any future Jelenski shows.

~KrossD
6/18/2012


All images courtesy of Jennifer J. Jelenski

5 Questions With JAW Cooper

Alright, first things first. That line! The art of JAW Cooper has this sleek, elegant, sinewy line. It's effortless and seductive as hell. It's the kind of line that few people can pull off. Mucha mastered it, James Jean comes pretty close, but Jessica Cooper inhabits that line completely.

Cooper studied at Otis (under such luminaries as Nathan Ota and Bob Dob), but the bulk of her skills are self taught. The daughter of two biologists, Jessica grew up travelling the world, all the while filling countless sketchbooks to amuse herself on the fly.

Her paintings have the same delicate grace as a Hiroshige woodblock, but seem to dwell in the forests of myth, like half-remembered dreams.

If you haven't frequented her Blog, you're missing out. It is the most generous, fan-friendly, little cyber-window into the working process that I've seen any artist offer. She's even been known to give work away when something fails to meet her standards!

Cooper is a very busy girl. Currently included in the MondoPOP group show "Taetrum et Dulce" in Rome (alongside Isabel Samaras and others), she is also feverishly preparing 8-12 new pieces for the mini-solo show "ERODE" at the WWA Gallery in February. So, I'm very grateful that she took time out to chat with me a bit.

1) We must talk about music! I discovered we have something in common. We both make specific play lists to listen to for different projects. Your work virtually oozes musical influence, but I can never get a direct line on the source material. Sometimes I think your work echoes dreampop, or opera, or Kate Bush. Can you share a bit of a recent play list and how it related to a certain piece?

Cooper:  "Oh yes! Music has a great influence over my work. I personally love old school hip hop and alternative music (a strange mix, I know) but my work is most influenced by the latter. I am drawn to songs that are haunting, creepy, beautiful, unearthly, perhaps a bit sad, and that tell a story. Someone recently described my work as being illustrations of a mythology from a time and place that has never existed. This really resonated with me and I think the music I listen to while making art helps me tune in to those feelings of nostalgia and magic. My play list for my last series "Tarnished" included:

Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven
Pan's Labyrinth Lullaby by Javier Navarrete
Jardin d'hiver by Benjamin Biolay
End Of May by Keren Ann
Raphaël by Carla Bruni
Lovely Bloodflow by Baths
Won't Want For Love (Margaret in The Taiga) by The Decemberists
The White Whale by Beirut
Sovay by Andrew Bird
Snow Owl by The Mountain Goats
Little Yellow Spider by Devendra Banhart

...juuust to name a few."

2) Your pencil sketches are devastatingly beautiful. What are your preferred pencils (and paper)?
 

Cooper:  "Oh, well thank you. My preferred pencils are prisma col-erase in carmine red, true blue, and Tuscan red, as well as regular graphite pencils in HB-4B. My favorite paper is heavyweight Stonehenge, bought in large individual sheets not the kind bound in a pad. I have tried a variety of papers and have found this smooth, heavyweight, printmaking paper to be by far the best for my particular process. It is creamy and smooth but with enough tooth to make both detail work and tone-building a breeze. Additionally it is just transparent enough to allow me to transfer my drawings via light box, while sturdy enough not to warp or bubble when I then mount it to museum board using matte medium, so I can paint on it without compromising it's structural integrity. Stonehenge comes in a variety of colors, but I usually find that it is best to buy white and then tone it myself, after transferring the drawing and mounting it to board, for greater control over the color and tone."

3) In addition to the obvious natural elements in your work, there's always a strong feminine presence. Even when you render women in peril, they come across as strong, defiant, and conquering. How much of yourself is in these women, and have you struggled with any gender bias in the art world?

Cooper:  "Art made by girls who draw girls is often perceived as superficial and the gender of the creator can soften the impact of the sexual aspects of the work. This can be a blessing to female artists who find beauty in the feminine form but do not want their work to be perceived as hyper-sexual or "pervy." In my case it is a curse as I prefer my "perv" quotient to be as high as possible. Not to say that the girls that I draw are purely sexual beings, they can be strong, defiant, and conquering, as well as vulnerable. I just do not think that these things have to be mutually exclusive and I certainly do not want their strong sexuality to be downplayed. For this very reason, I chose to make art under the name J.A.W. Cooper (an abbreviation of my full name) to disguise my gender."

  

4) You've lived all over the world. Where do you feel most at home (and why)?

Cooper: "Of all the places that I have lived, the fondest memories that I have are of Sweden. However, I really can feel at home anywhere as long as I have a little bit of privacy and can set up my space to my liking. Growing up on the move was an amazing experience and certainly instrumental in shaping my attitudes toward other cultures and ways of living, not to mention my insatiable curiosity, enthusiasm for learning, and sense of adventure." 

5) Lastly, what is the most valuable thing you've learned as a working artist, that can't be taught in art school?

Cooper: " It took me years to learn what my time is worth and to have the courage and confidence to expect to be compensated adequately for my work. Another tool that comes with experience is the ability to say "no." As creative individuals it is easy to be caught up in the enthusiasm of a potential client's vision, and our desire to please often pushes us to settle for less than we are worth, work for people who are unreliable (or worse, friends and family), or take on jobs that will ultimately be more of a time-suck than an opportunity for growth and promotion. I still struggle with this on a daily basis, and I have to say that I think that the best preventative measure that you can take to avoid these traps is to have a reliable job (in the art/creative field, not at Starbucks) so that you never say "yes" out of desperation to pay bills or because of boredom. Stay busy and productive and you will naturally have to be more discerning in the projects and commitments that you make."

Thanks Jessica!

Calendar of events for JAW Cooper:

Taetrum et Dulce at MondoPOP (Rome) 12/10/2011 - 1/21/2012
Blue Canvas Magazine Issue 11 Launch Event (L.A.) 1/12/2012
G1998 x Adult Swim at Gallery 1998 (L.A.) 1/13/2012
Erode at WWA Gallery (L.A.) 2/17/2012

All photos courtesy (and copyright) of JAW Cooper.

5 Questions With ISABEL SAMARAS

Full disclosure here, I connect with the paintings of Isabel Samaras on a profound and personal level. You see, when I was about seven or eight years old, I had to stay home from school one day because I was ill. I was plied with Nyquil or Robitussin and cherry Sucrets, curled up on the couch, under a blanket, in front of the television. Channel 9 used to play a full day of classic, campy sit-coms (I Dream Of Jeanie, Bewitched, Gilligan's Island, etc.). That one sick day, under a medicinal haze and fever, I saw all those shows in a very different way. The undercurrents of lust, the sexual innuendo, the oddity of some of the relationships. That day was a reckoning, and those characters have remained a bit distorted for me ever since.

Isabel Samaras has a lot of fun with these characters. She plops them into deadly serious scenes that echo Caravaggio and Boticelli (just to name two), and renders them all with a classical technique. Her work is wry, often hysterical, but infused with a certain amount of dark menace. The thing I love the most about her as an artist is that she doesn't stand still. While a lot of the other big names in the lowbrow movement seem content to keep churning out the same painting over and over again, Isabel Samaras keeps exploring new ideas, new obsessions.

I first contacted her with some esoteric technical questions about her varnishing process, and she was prompt and thoroughly helpful in reply. I'm thrilled that she's agreed to be the first artist in the 5 Questions series!

1)  I have to ask, what's your favorite T.V. show of all time?

Isabel:  "It's funny, if I sit and think about it I'm sure I'd come up with something really smart to say but the very first thing that popped into my head was "The Addams Family" -- and I don't necessarily think it's truly #1 FTSoAT (Favorite TV Show of All Time), but it was so *different* from everything else that was on when I was a kid.  It really clicked with me, but not just because of the gothy "alternative lifestyle" the Addams were living (because the Munsters were on at the very same time), the appeal was more about the very adult, spicy relationship between Gomez and Morticia.  When other TV couples were sleeping in separate beds and leading almost platonic lives, these two were percolating with a mutual love and attraction for each other that brought color to a b/w show.  And in a conformist world they were utterly unapologetic about who and what they were. It really helped me realize that being different wasn't just okay, it was fantastic.

All that said, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is probably my actual favorite TV show, and, along with "Firefly", the only ones I own on DVD.  

At this point I could start rattling off a list (the original "Star Trek", "Battlestar Galactica", and of course "Batman"...) but you asked for one, and that's the best I can do at narrowing it down!"

2) You employ an old masters glazing technique in your work that is very painstaking in application. What is the most difficult aspect of your process?

Isabel:  "Ferreting out the ideas and making the time.  At any given moment there's a manic swirl of stuff going on and my brain is usually set on "Frappé", so it can be hard to shove everything else aside to focus on letting the ideas properly steep so they can be decanted onto a surface.  I tend to work from a very tight sketch, so the first phase of painting is usually pretty breezy, right up until I hit that point of "Oh hell, this isn't working!"  Most every painting ends up being a battle of wills between the inner critic on my left shoulder and the encouraging booster on my right.  And I'd probably never finish *anything* if I didn't have deadlines and need to slap a coat of varnish on 'em -- because there's always "one more thing" I could/should do."

3) What is the most used brush in your arsenal?

Isabel:  "I'm a big fan of filberts -- used flat they're like a soft cat's paw, turned to their side they have a nice sharp edge. I have all different brands and types of hair, but the size I like the best is about the same size as my index finger tip (usually an 8 or 10 depending on the maker).  I also have a lot of customized brushes that I've cut with razors to get the shape I want or whittle down the hairs so I can paint eyelashes, etc."

4) If you could have apprenticed under any artist ever, who would you choose?

Isabel:  "That's an easy one:  Ingres.  Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres totally knocks my socks off."

5) Lastly,  I see on Facebook that people send you really cool things in the mail. Christmas is coming. What do you want Santa to bring you?

Isabel:  "More filbert brushes, Julie Newmar's new book, some good dark chocolate, and a couple plane tickets to Barcelona.  A time machine wouldn't be bad either -- if I could go back and paint at night while the other me was sleeping I could really get on top of my To Do list."

Isabel Samaras is currently planning Art-world domination from her secret lair in San Francisco, and I want to thank her immensely for chatting with me!

You can look forward to seeing her newest works at these upcoming events:

"Dark Pop IV" at Last Rites in NYC, March

"Juxtapoz 18th Anniversary Show", at Copro Nason gallery in LA, also March

"Taetrum et Dulce" at MondoPop, Italy, opens Dec. 10th

"Garamania" at FOE Gallery, Northhampton, MA in... Feb?

...and maybe best of all, her big as-yet-untitled show at Varnish Fine Art in SF in November 2012!!!

All photos courtesy (and copyright) of Isabel Samaras!