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.

5 (MORE) Questions With RON ENGLISH

One of the limitations of the 5 Question interview format, is that it doesn't allow for a lot of give and take. You have to try to cover as much ground as you can in only five attempts. It's a challenge that I welcome, but it inevitably leaves me with regret. Sometimes the answers just end up raising more questions. Such was the case with the Ron English chat we had back in March. He mentioned working with Chris Brown on a toy project. The release of said toy has caused some controversy, and even led some of his artistic peers to cry "sell out" and "hypocrite".

Look...Ron English didn't have to talk about this with me, or anyone for that matter. But he has, and I can't help but respect him for it. Here's how it went:

1) Back in March, you mentioned collaborating with Chris Brown. Now, even Rihanna has recently worked with him, but somehow I'm more surprised that you did. Tara McPherson (who you gave a shout-out to in the same blog) has been frequently tweeting her disappointment. Frank Kozik has joined in as well. Did you have any reservations about working with someone who has come to exemplify domestic violence?

Ron: When I was young I might have stolen a car or something like that but I was allowed a second chance and I believe I took advantage of that and my life since then has been pretty positive.Had I continued that behavior I would not have expected continued forgiveness nor would I be so forgiving of anyone who continued such antisocial behavior. I do intend to start tweeting this week, as much as I loath the inconvenience. I can't let Frank have the last word. (my tag is ronenglishart)

 2) Since we last talked, Thomas Kinkade and Leroy Neiman have passed away. Both of whom made vast sums of money by mass-marketing their "brand" of "art". Do you think it's possible for an artist to be hugely successful and still retain a modicum of integrity...or is success the art?

 Ron: Thomas Kinkade painted what people wanted to see; I paint what I want people to see. Both approaches have their own integrity, or if you prefer, lack of integrity. I'm put off by people who judge art by its price tag and also by those who equate poverty with integrity.

3) You've been sued by Disney, King Features, and KISS. Yet you've NEVER lost a lawsuit?! Who is your lawyer?

Ron: I think I have a great lawyer, but he's doesn't have to be great because his client hasn't broken any copyright laws.

  4) What was the last billboard you did? And are the billboard companies still unwilling to sell you space?

Ron: I did one in London over the weekend but they built the billboard for me at the London Pleasure Gardens and I painted it, no billboard company was involved. My obsession with billboards has dissipated to some extent.

 5) Are you Banksy?

Ron: I thought you were Banksy!

Thanks Ron. I hope I didn't put you off with the questions . I'm pretty sure I'm destined to a life of poverty, but I know that doesn't mean I have integrity.

Ron: Having art sell for a lot of money or not at all does not affect the quality of the art whatsoever. That's all I was saying. I'd rather be poor with my own sense of integrity than a rich prostitute.

'Nuff said!

5 Questions with RON ENGLISH

I have to confess, I'm guilty. I've surrendered my cash (and health) to just about all the monsters that Ron English relentlessly wages art war on. I haven't been to a McDonald's in years, but when I drive by one I can still taste the Quarter Pounder With Cheese, and the oily fries. I own a few Disney movies on Blu-Ray. I smoke. When I was thirteen, I was a card carrying member of the KISS ARMY. Guilty as sin.

Having said that, I'm also aware enough to see the blistering truth in English's work. As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the most important artists working today. I assume anyone reading this blog already knows who Ron English is. He's among the finest guerilla artists of our time. His solo show "Seasons In Superbia" at the Corey Helford Gallery was the best exhibit I saw last year. He was just immortalized on The Simpsons for chrissakes! So, you can imagine my excitement when he answered the phone and agreed to do "5 Questions". Here's the thing though, if you had a chance to ask Goya five questions, it wouldn't be enough. You'd immediately want five more, and five more after that...and on and on. So I may have to start a new "5 More Questions" feature soon.

At any rate, here's how it went:

1) Your transition from photographer to "hyper-realist" painter seemed to happen effortlessly, and at lightning speed. Was there much of a learning curve, or were you able to hone your painting skills without much struggle?

Ron: Someone once told me that if you can draw, you can paint. I had been drawing photorealistic pieces on cardboard and staging them as environments in my photographs. I thought painting would be easy. The first painting I ever made, I sold. It was of Saint Basel's Cathedral. I was eight. A teacher bought it to show her students what an eight year old could do. But as far as New York Art World level painting, I really wasn't on terra firma until I was around 30 years old, four years after I began my quest to become a painter. I still struggle.

2) Have Disney and/or McDonald's ever tried to hire you?

Ron: I did art for The ESPN Zone in NYC. It was a series of 30 paintings that were mash-ups of art history and sports history. I also did a colab Stitch figure with Disney and a colab Mad Hatter figure. I brought 40 clowns to lunch at McDonald's, but they didn't try to hire me then or ever. Do you have any contacts at McDonald's? I was just thinking my little fat Ronalds would go good in Happy Meals. I'm sure they would be all about that.

3) Are you a KISS fan, or do you consider them emblematic of the insidious culture of branding?

Ron: Well, they probably merched out better than any band since The Beatles. Actually they probably have more merch than The Beatles ever dreamed of and you can bet your bottom dollar Gene gets his fair share of the profits. If I were a young band I would study my Kisstory.  It's really hard to make money off your music these days and having a lot of collectable merch available could help a lot. Personally I love little collectable chotchkies and would be pretty stoked if a band I love like MSI released little characters of themselves designed by an artist like Tara McPherson or Jeremy Fish. That would be cool, right?  I have a toy coming out with Chris Brown and a bust with Slash this year. I would love to do something with The Apples in Stereo or The Dandy Warhols. I have a band too, The Electric Illuminati. Maybe I should listen to my own advice and do an EI toy!

4) There was a painting in SEASONS IN SUPERBIA that had a tiny little Warhol skull framed and hanging inside a doll house. There were these little white blotches across it. It's really been bugging me. Was that an accident...or am I missing your intent?

Ron: It is supposed to be reflections from lit windows in another building. Probably too confusing.

5) Assuming you have an iPod, what song has the highest play count?

Ron: The Eels' "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues".

Thanks Ron!

All photos taken at The Corey Helford Gallery by KrossD