INTERVIEW | Christian Nicolay

CHRISTIAN NICOLAY IN A BOX
UNEXPLAINED

Sometime ago, I met Christian in a cold, damp, possibly danger filled basement, to the sounds of a typewriter… typewriting. Or was it a swamp swamping? Hmmm. Hard to recall, but more interactions followed, including magazine features, unicorn talk and last but not least, memories of Yoda’s privates. He is possibly our most featured artist, but we sincerely don’t know how to count, so you might have to check out issue number Five, Six, Seven, and Nine to figure it out + read this damn interview to know why we just can’t get enough. Do be aware of the side effects. Words can and might just change your life for good, so do not say we didn’t warn you.

The choice is yours alone.

PART I : LIFE
Lexa: Do you think it’s an uncommon or a new thing to be multidisciplinary?
Christian: Nooo.
L: So how do you divide it up in a year? Some people say working on a number of things will distract you, instead of inspire you…
C: I don’t think it’s a new thing at all. I think so many artists over time have had a variety of different processes and worked in a variety of different mediums, especially now with globalization, and cultures merging, having different rituals, acts or mythology. I think it’s maybe just speeding up, but it’s nothing new. We have different access to technology now, like we never used to, and this different type of access allows for the layering and making of more hybrids of traditional processes. Taking multiple forms of traditional ways of mark making and making it unique to yourself in an immediate and spontaneous way, and being able to share it immediately by having a cheap video camera and a YouTube page. And boom, you’ve got video that’s going “out there.” I think that’s multidisciplinary. Even all the things you have to know just to create a little movie and put it on YouTube. And then, if you’re creating all the videos, making the costumes, etc.

I think what’s new, for me, is that there are a lot more people in my life that are doing the same thing and that I can collaborate with, whereas 10 or 15 years ago I wasn’t around that many people doing that. Nowadays, more creatives are open to that idea. The opportunity to work with people from different fields has presented itself later on in my life. It’s not a new idea, but it makes my process new, because now I’m working with this person, and that person, and oh, that person, and that changes my vocabulary. And that’s art, that’s life, that’s beauty, that’s evolution, it’s de-evolution. And that’s why I do it. I love interaction and storytelling.
L: Has it gotten you closer to seeing Yoda’s dick?
C: Yes. Every night I have a dream…

So this would be sort of it, in a nutshell.

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INTERVIEW | Ehren Salazar

Ehren Salazar

The man.
The machine.
All those little lines. All that time. All that effort. All Ehren.

1.
L: How do you feel as a multidisciplinary artist wandering about on the occasionally dusty roads of Vancity?
E: How do I feel about being an artist in Vancouver?
L: Yeah, and a multidisciplinary artist in particular?
E: I guess for me it keeps… At least life is never boring, but at times I feel like my attention is spread too thin, that I’d like to focus on one thing and I wish that’d be something I was better at doing. I think there are a lot of artists in Vancouver that wrestle with that… But for my work, for instance, that is kind of a training ground for getting things done quicker and working in a style that isn’t as natural for me (tombstones). It involves very vector-line designs, and working off other people’s ideas and what they want from me. But being a multidisciplinary artist…hmmm.  What can I say? I don’t focus enough on dancing. (Smiling) My dance practice is super rusty, but I will throw spin arounders in my day…quick spins. That sort of thing.
L: What kind of dancing do you do? Ballet?
E: No, no I’m joking.
L: I know, ha ha.
E: I like dancing, but…
L: You don’t do it…
E: Yeah…
L: State your “real” disciplines.
E: I draw. I try to draw everyday. And living in this new place has made it possible, in that I can have a mostly clear head. Having a designated area for my art, not just working out of my bedroom or out of cafes. Sometimes you have a designated drawing space, but you can’t focus because it’s at home, so you end up working better at The Grind or other coffee shops. Somehow in a public space you can focus better. But yeah I do: drawing, painting, animation, as well as tombstone and monument design. There is also running a gallery, and trying to play more music, as many music shows as I can… Trying to be a better guitarist. What else do I do? I don’t know if that answers your question.
L:  I don’t know what the answer is either…
E: Who knows?  No one knows the answer to that question.
L: Hmmm, that is probably true, but… would you like to remain a multidisciplinary artist?
E: I would, yeah, if I could. And make a living doing all those things. Music has always been more of a hobby, and I don’t ever anticipate any money coming in from music. But to have a full time job. Right now it’s with Pacific Spirit Stone Designs. It’s a small company. It’s just myself and my boss, and we’ve recently added a third person. There’s no shortage of work, which is good.
L: People keep dying on you?
E: Well, yeah, but we also…Ha ha, it’s the pun. But there are also other things, like parks… We recently did something for Port Moody’s City Hall park, so there’s landscaping, like building retaining walls. We do designs for water fountains made of stone and stone benches, so it’s not all tomb stones, although the bulk of it is.

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REVISIT SKEWED10 | Patrick Blaeser

Untitled by Patrick Blaeser
Silk Thread on Linen
Vancouver, Canada
www.patrickblaeser.com

Revisit: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE TENTH ISSUE

Page 53 // Gallery Submissions // Skewed Issue Number Ten // May/Jun 2010

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REVISIT SKEWED09 | Curtis Santiago

Farmer + Dog by Curtis Santiago
Mixed Media
Canada
www.curtissantiago.com

Revisit: DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE NINTH ISSUE

Page 15 // Profile // Skewed Issue Number Nine // Mar Apr 2010

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ART GUIDE | Seattle

Known as being the birthplace of Starbucks, the headquarters of Microsoft and Amazon.com, and boasting home-grown musicians like Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, Seattle is more recognized for its lattes, dot-com presence, and rich music history than its art scene. However, there is notable architecture and a vibrant art scene in Seattle and its location just a couple of hours from Vancouver makes it the perfect destination for a day trip.

So without further ado, we present you with Skewed’s Art Guide to Seattle.

Seattle Skyline | View from Kerry Park

1. Seattle Space Needle: In terms of architecture, the landmarks in Seattle are abundant; this probably being the most famous. This tower topped with a flying saucer-like structure was a built for the 1962 World Fair and is now a staple of the Seattle skyline. For an amazing lookout point of Seattle and the Space Needle with Mt. Rainier as the backdrop, head up to Kerry Park on Queen Anne hill.

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INTERVIEW | SP Williams

As we started to work towards wrapping up our lil’ mag and making final decisions on who in the world is left to interview, besides absolutely everyone, we unanimously decided that Skewed needed SP Williams’ voice in here to complete a fine pool of insight and wisdom, with some undertones of niftylicious life experience. Coming to you live, all the way from Germany’s capital, where the rest of the painter currently resides, are carefully unwrapped pieces of SP’s brain. A generous X-Mas present indeed, so all of you lovely readers better take good care of it ‘cause it will keep on giving. Happy Holidays from Skewed + our wicked artists, including this one right here. Now read on up everyone…

1. At the start of the week, it’s only Monday, but where does the week end for a practicing artist?
Many practicing artists have second jobs (teaching art, design, illustration, cleaning toilets, etc.), so painting is done in every spare minute you’ve got! Weekends are often a productive time for me.

2. How did you begin your artistic career and how long ago was that?
For many artists including myself, you just make art because it’s what you love to do and a career grows organically over time, or not…

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GALLERY VISIT | Stumble.Fall. Eaten.

We recently had a chance to peak at Bruce Turnbull’s latest work at the Elissa Cristall Gallery and were quite delighted with the variety of themes and motifs the painter integrates into his encaustic work. The beeswax and oil paints are fused onto discarded materials from building sites on which the artist works as a construction manager by day. Bruce states that he is “always looking for the beauty in things that have been discarded,” and as time goes by, his appreciation of “how important Dr. Seuss is to a well-rounded education” increases. For some more info on Bruce and his intricate concoctions, snoop around Elissa Cristall’s website, and if the Vancouver Sun is your cup of tea, take a sip and read up some more about this unique exhibit.

A Solo Show by Bruce Turnbull

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INTERVIEW | Kevin House

Like Channel No.5, but significantly better, Kevin House has been guilty for a while now, of bestowing upon the art world intricately crafted pet portraits, intricately crafted musicianship, intricately crafted miniatures that ‘kill’, and most recently, intricately crafted switchblade swinging renditions of footwear. The latter were part of Shoe Side Story, an exhibit that took place at The Red Gate Gallery in Vancouver.  We sat down with Kevin in a giant shoe, guarded by an undisclosed number of significantly smaller ones to bring these questions your way, before the KGB realizes how great shoes are, and kidnaps Kevin from our midst.

Even issue #9 feature, Curtis Santiago, had some high quality input on this matter.

CHAPTER 1
Who is Kevin House?
Who is Kevin House? Can’t you just email me these questions…
Really?
I think that would just be easier…
Perhaps you should answer the first one, as I take pictures; the recorder is on your knee.
Ok. Ok. Is it on?
Yep.

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