![[Valid RSS]](valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
« LAND & SEA COMPETITION: Designs that Decrease Man’s Carbon Footprint | Main | Apache Skate Blast 08: Gathering of the Tribes III »
Spraygraphic Interview with Billy Al Bengston
By Spraygraphic | February 8, 2008
Spraygraphic Interview with Billy Al Bengston
SG: Please tell us about yourself?
BAB: 73. Happy. Hard and somewhat steady worker.
SG: Where do you currently live and work?
BAB: Venice, CA, USA.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
BAB: Anything.
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
BAB: Get up in the morning and go to work.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
BAB: Don’t get blocked, just stop work.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
BAB: In the studio and everywhere else.
SG: Can you tell please tell us a little about your motorcycle racing career and how those experiences and lifestyle found its way into your art?
BAB: The tenacity and hard work ethic of motorcycle racers was a welcome relief from the lackadaisical art world. To be a successful racer you have to commit without question all your talent, skills, hard work and knowledge. That’s how it relates to the art world. The only difference between racing and being an artist is you know when you won.
SG: Your first gallery solo show was in 1958 at the Ferus Gallery. What were your expectations as an artist at that time. And how have your expectations and goals changed over the years?
BAB: None. And there’s hardly any change.
SG: Have you noticed anything different about the art audiences of the 50s and 60s compared to today. Has art appreciation changed? Patronage? Gallery owners?
BAB: There is no comparison between 1958 and 2007. They’re different animals.
SG: Your art has been seen all over the world by many people and museums and galleries have made your work part of their personal collections. Did you ever second guess yourself before you began receiving so much recognition for work?
BAB: I never second guessed myself. That’s for other people. They’re happy to do that. Recognition is irrelevant, except amongst accepted peers.
SG: You have received some really prestigious grants, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Grant and The National Endowment of Art Grant. Could you please offer some suggestions to fellow artists as to how to be successful in grant writing.
BAB: NEA grant was given without application. Guggenheim, on third try I said, take it or leave it. They took it. I don’t think that will help anyone but that was my approach.
SG: Can you please tell us a little about your solo exhibit, Motel Dracula.
BAB: It came about from 2 months work at Tamarind Lithography workshop (another grant). I didn’t know what to do while there so I drew my color references from motel sheets, slightly used (you get the drift). Pasadena and San Francisco Museums liked it. What can I say, other than I made a nice poster.
SG: You are the only artists that I have interviewed so far that has had retrospective shows (which is awesome), Can you please tell us what it is like to have shows where people look back at your art work and appreciate it.
BAB: As Ed Ruscha said, I don’t want no retrospective. What happens is for 2 years after your first retrospective nobody buys or looks at your work. They think either A) it’s too expensive, or B) all snapped up. It ain’t fun. Thanks for asking.
SG: Can you please tell us about Moontang Kilns. Where did the name come from?
BAB: Voulkos tagged me Moondoggie. I preferred Moontang–rhymes with Poontang. Ever since leaving ceramics in 1957 I intended to get back to it. Many fits and starts later the time and the location was right for starting Moontang Kilns. It was fun while it lasted.
SG: Where has your work been seen?
BAB: The usual places and some unusual places.
SG: Where will it be seen next?
BAB: Who knows.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
BAB: I’m living it.
SG: What is your favorite color?
BAB: Color is just like your family. You like it all.
SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?
BAB: H.C. Westermann and John Altoon. Both original and regretfully both dead.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
BAB: MacBook.
SG: Ever do a self portrait? Where is it now?
BAB: Everyday you’re looking at it.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
BAB: Right here.
SG: Any final words of advice?
BAB: Keep laughing. It’s all a joke to be taken very seriously.
Additional Links: patricia faure gallery
ART:
Cliff Westermann, Billy Al Bengston (1968)
Moontang Kilns plate (2003)
Pelolina (1994) 48 x 32″ Acrylic on canvas
Red River Range (1970) 21 x 20″ Lacquer & polyester resin on aluminum
Velzy Knows (2007) Acrylic on MDF (Donation to Laguna Art Museum, CA)
Godzilla’s Saddle (1962) 72 x 72″ Lacquer & oil on masonite
Cleopatra (2007) 14′ 6 1/2″ x 9′ 6″ Acrylic on canvas
Orimi (2007) 48 x 48″ Acrylic on canvas
Ka’ ao Watercolor (1982) 30 x 23″ Watercolor on paper
Standing Log Roast (Lumberjack Lunch) (1977) (Exhibited at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, CA)
Topics: Artist Interviews, California Art Scene, Ceramic Art, Paintings |
