Interview with Erin Frost

q)Lets start with the basics; what's your full name,where do you live, and how old are you?

a)My name is Erin Frost, I currently live in Seattle,Washington, and am 33 years of age.

q) Do you have any formal training?

a)I have a BFA in photography. Although I think you can learn the basics in school, when it comes to art you have to be self-taught in a lot of ways, you know, as far as your own vision goes.

q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?

a)I've never thought about that, but I'm sure it must have. I grew up in Montana, it's a vast and beautiful place. As an only child I suppose my imagination was both necessary and well rounded. Hours spent lost in either the forts of imaginary lands or making art.

q) How do you come up with your concepts?

a)My work is really intuitive, it's not usually mapped out. Since I don't use models there isn't the separation between me and the camera. I'll have an idea, a starting point that sets the tone, and throw myself into situations. Sometimes it's not until afterwards that I see what I'm after. A lot of my concepts are really just a stretch for reinvention.

q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?

a)I make photographs, they are black and white self-portraits shot traditionally on film.

q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?

a)I've always enjoyed drawing and painting, but photography is my main focus, I like finding new ways to make photographs. Some of my recent work combined photography and in-camera collage, I work a lot with mirrors too. Just looking for different ways of using photography, different ways of seeing.

q)What is the best time in the day for you to work ona project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?

a)Usually it's best if I wake up and just dive right into it, maybe half in dream state. And those magic late night hours. But yes, it really is hinged on the mood, the light, and that creative desire.

q) What are your artistic influences?...and .generally who or what influences you the most?

a)I'm really influenced by dreams and memory, tho sesurreal and erotic mental film stills.

q) Who are some of your favourite artists /designers/photographers?

a)I love seeing artist's self-portraits and erotic works. Egon Schiele is one of my favorite artists for these reasons. I have a book of Carlo Mollino's polaroids that I love because it's like looking into someone's secret world. And one of the most impressive shows I've seen recently was a collection of Henry Darger's work. Also I'm very fortunate to know some pretty amazing artists working today.

q) What is your nextproject?Exhibition?Collaboration?

a)My next project is to hopefully update my website.I'll be in a group show, and working on new work for my next solo show, wherever that may be. Also my first published piece is coming out in an erotic artbook collection.

q)What are your plans for the future?

a)Keep making art. Go to the butterfly room at the science museum. Buy some new shoes.

q)Are there some web sites that You would like to recomend? Artists, art communities, xxx,...!?

a)I don't have much to recommend, I don't spend much time online. I mean really, I can't even get my own site updated! But there are some interesting things to see here:www.porninart.ch

www.artatlarge.com

q)What sort of music do you listen to?

a)I have Coco Rosie stuck in my head. I listen to everything from Andre Williams to Tom Waits, Merle Haggard to Cat Power, The Kills to Pink Mountaintops. I love Nina Simone.

q)Do you collect anything? If so what?

a)I collect costumes and props, old cameras and squeeze boxes, shiny things, useless beautiful broken down things.

q)What do you do for fun?

a)Play the stock market. Not really, just play.

q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?

a)Keep at it and have fun, that's my plan at least.

q)Your contacts

a)You can see more work and contact me through my website,www.erinfrostphotography.com

erin.frost@yahoo.com

'’Claudio Parentela:Disturbing Black Inks’’

…& yes!!...Soon in a different and far and wonderful and new air… I’ll have a new personal show(I’ve called it’’Claudio Parentela:Disturbing Black Inks’’…yes like my web site…) at‘’ Sechiisland's Micro Gallery’’ thanx to the dearest friend José Roberto Sechi … The exhibition last from the 1st of June to the 30th of June 2007…I’m very glad for this…it’s not the first show in Brasil but I’m very excited and happy really the same…I love Brasil…
Here all the informations:
Sechiisland's Micro Gallery
Av. M29, N.º 2183 - Jd. Sao Joao
Rio Claro SP 13505-410
Brasil

See you soon...
Claudio Parentela

Interview with Stephen Tompkins

q)Lets start with the basics; what's your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?

a)Stephen Tompkins, Southern California, 35

q) Do you have any formal training?

a)I studied art and music theory at Cleveland State University for a year and electronic music composition under the late composer Rudolph Bubalo. I have a degree in Philosophy from Bowling Green State University and post-graduate work in Phenomenology and Semiotics. I am primarily a self-taught artist despite my range of studies in the arts and humanities.

q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?

a)My uncle was a big influence to me. He taught at the Cleveland Art Institute and my grandfather became a wood sculptor later in life. He made dulcimers too. Craftsmanship and attention to detail was something I picked up on early on. My grandfather taught me some basic wood sculpture techniques. My early paintings were based more on the concept of 'cutting away' like one would sculpt. Negative space is still a primary factor in my image making. Most artists forget this and deal with 'presence' and what's being put down as opposed to how a negative could shape something just as effectively.

q) How do you come up with your concepts?

a)My work is born conceptually out of the process and 'discovered'. I may have a loose idea beforehand, but generally I am more interested in accidental discovery. It reveals more than say, knowing what you want to do and listening to an internal editor to arrive at what you think you wanted. That's boring to me. I am in constant dialogue with my works and it's ongoing. Fleshing out a concept that already exists is also boring. I am interested in things which could possibly have no precedent, new meanings, inceptions...If I like the outcome of a work, it's because it's redefined something that nobody has dreamt up before.

q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?

a)Instant compositions.

q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?

a)I am beginning work on sculpture and some oozing materials that could be quite exciting if I get the material concoction right. I'm an experimenter and I don't want to just go and make another sculpture...that goes for painting, animation, etc...how to push the envelope is more important.

q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?

a)Evening in my studio(s).

q) What are your artistic influences?...and …generally who or what influences you the most?

a)Influence comes from many different places so it would be a very long answer here.

q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?

a)I've liked many artists, but I'm on my own trip now and I try to remember that they were on their trip and what's important to that artist may not be so for me. My reasons for making art are a dissertation or book length..someday a memoir.

q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?

a)I'm going to be working with a few galleries, one gallery, Jack Fischer Gallery is an exciting one, and I'm really looking forward to working with Jack Fischer on some upcoming exhibitions. I'm also collaborating with Bill Dunlap on a few shows - we promise it will be extraordinary. A clip from one of my animations is appearing in a movie called "Freakout in Cucamonga" about Frank Zappa and showing at the Zappanale festival in Germany this year in August. I'm happy Weird Al Yankovic is interviewed in the film. He is one of my all time favorite personas - I can't believe something I've done is in the same flick as Weird Al - SUCCESS!

q)What are your plans for the future?

a)I hope to keep making art and hope my family is healthy and happy.

q)Are there some web sites that You would like to recomend? Artists, art communities, xxx,...!?

a) coasttocoastam.com - I love the radio show and the freedom of the dialogue even though some calls are totally out there, it's very entertaining and so is the website. I like when they do 'alien' life shows.

q)What sort of music do you listen to?

a)I love orchestral music - but not traditional like Carl Stalling, Zappa, Varese, Ligeti, etc...

q)Do you collect anything?If so what?

a)I collect art, comics, unusual animation cels, knick knacks including gumball machine crap.

q)What do you do for fun?

a)Sleep and hopefully 'dream-mare' of something that inspires me to create.

q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?

a)Be yourself until the end and try not to be an asshole to those who care about you and if Claudio interviews you. Thank him. Thank you Claudio.

q)Your contacts…

a) www.stephentompkins.com

artist@stephentompkins.com

Claudio Parentela's Show at ''Museum of Porn in Art''

...Well I’ll show my crazy art at the’'Museum of Porn in Art’’ and exactly here are all the informations:The opening night is on the 18th of May 2007 from 18:00-2:00 hours.The exhibitions last from the 19th of May to the 14th of June 2007,Sunday to Thursday from 12:00-24:00 hours,Friday from 12:00-02:00 hours and Saturday from 11:00-02:hours.

The address is:

Edi’s Weinstube,

Stussihofstatt 14 in Zurich,

Tel.+41/(o)44 260 61 57

Interview with Vahe Berberian

q)Tell me something about yourself….What’s your background…?

a)I was born in Beirut Lebanon in 1955. My father was a draftsman and being a prominent member of the Armenian community, was always busy with meetings and cultural events. My mother was almost 20 years younger than my dad, and she was like an older sister, always encouraging me and helping me with my first attempts in painting. I think my mother could have been a fascinating painter if she was given the chance. I left Beirut when I was 17 years old. I was a hippy. I travelled all over Europe, hitch-hiking and living in communes. Right after returning home, the Lebanese civil war broke out and I had to leave Beirut one more time. I stayed in Cyprus for a short time, then lived in Canada for about a year, then moved to Los Angeles where I have been based the past 30 years.

q)When growing what was the greatest force pushing you towards art?

a)I grew up in an apartment which was full of thousands of books. Both my parents were bibliophiles and they read incessantly. I fell in love with the magical world of letters and images at a very early age. I still have notebooks from my childhood where I have made attempts to create my own books by telling a story on one page and illustrating on the other - just in case people didn’t understand what I was writing about.

q)Were you inspired/encouraged by any one person to pursue your craft?

a)Both my parents appreciated the arts, but my main source of encouragement was my mother. She used to read to me for hours, bought me my first guitar, and was always there when I needed help with my drawings.

q)How would you describe your art to someone who could not see it?

a)The closest that I can come to labelling my work would be calling it abstract expressionism. My paintings are mostly abstract, with hints of figures, forms and writings. The process is very immediate and spontaneous. Under each painting there are many different layers which give texture and history to the piece. I believe that art is a series of mistakes and painting is more about erasing and eliminating than adding. This is why my work has a minimalist feel to it.

q)Are there certain colours, shapes that you’re drawn to?

a)I use a lot of different shades of whites, blacks and oxidized pastels. Fish, umbrellas, bicycle wheels, letters, dripping paint and different body parts appear frequently in my works, however texture remains the dominant fixture.

q)What other talent would you like most to have?

a)All my life writing and acting have been integral part of my creative life. I have numerous plays (a number of them produced here in the US and abroad), three novels (two of them published), half a dozen scripts and hundreds of articles on films, theatre and art. I have been based in Los Angeles for almost 30 years now, however, I travel all over the world performing my monologues. One of my biggest regrets is that I did not pursue my music and stopped singing and playing the guitar in my early 20s.

q)What’s your favourite mediums to work in/on?

a)I love working with acrylic, its immediate, it dries very fast and it suits my temperament. I also use sticks of pastel, wax and oil based pencils and whatever I get my hands on at that specific moment. I paint mostly on stretched canvases and wood panels. Every once in a while I also use paper.

q)What artists influence or have influenced you(these need not be visual artists)and how have they done so?

a)In my early years I was very much in awe of Francis Bacon, however, the more abstract my work became, the more I began to feel a kinship with Cy Twombly and Antoni Tapies.

q)What non-visual art interest you and does this have an impact on your art?

a)Literature has always had a profound influence on me and my work. I read incessantly. But when I paint, music is what keeps me going. My taste in music is very eclectic. I always have my music full blast in my studio and I can listen to Mozart in one second and Rammstein in the next.

q)What do you think about artists using the Internet as a forum for sharing their work?

a)I am not too much into internet. I think there’s nothing wrong with using the internet as a forum and sharing ones work, but in general I am not a technology savvy person and without my assistant I would be completely lost.

q)What is your favourite toy, game or other artefact from your youth(and do you still own it)?

a)I don’t have much of anything left from my childhood. Changing countries of residences robs you of many of the relics of your past.

q)Got any new projects planned?

a)At the moment I am working on a new series of paintings for a show that might go to a few cities on the East Coast. Also, I have a solo exhibition scheduled in early 2008.

q)What advice can you give to other artists to help them improve their chances of survival in this global village we call our home?

a)Perseverance is the key. In my younger days I used to think that someone would discover me and put me on the map. It took me a while to realize that before you’re discovered you have to have something to show. If you’re good, sooner or later you will attract attention, the key is to keep at it, to persevere. I have seen too many mediocrities succeed by the sheer power of their audacity and will power.

q)Favourite books/authors?

a)One of my favourite living authors is Umberto Eco. I think he is the most important novelist of the 20th century. I also enjoy reading writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Milan Kundera, Jonathan Franzen, Amin Maalouf , Gunter Grass and others.

q)Favourite music?

a)I enjoy listening to a lot of ethnic music, also anything that has the ability to energize me, from Clash to Gogol Bodello to Tom Waits and Lhasa.

q)What do you fear most?

a)On a very personal level, what I fear most is getting too old, becoming dependant on others and overstaying my welcome. I guess I should say the physical humiliation that sometimes comes with old age.

q) Your contacts…

a)Website: vaheberberian.com
e-mail address: arkishti@aol.com