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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