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Spraygraphic Interview with Artist Derek Weisberg
By Spraygraphic | November 28, 2008
Spraygraphic Interview with Derek Weisberg
SG: Please tell us about yourself?
DW: My name is Derek Weisberg, I am 25 years old, I live and work in Oakland CA (the right and bright side of the bay) I am a Bay Area native. I have been making art forever, I am a lifer. I wouldn’t know what else to do, and cant really do anything else.
SG: Where do you currently live and work?
DW: West Oakland to be specific, I have a live work space, really just a big cold dark garage. But I love it. Sometimes.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
DW: I primarily work in ceramics/clay. I know you are all thinking about nice pretty pots, cups and stuff, no sorry none of that wheel thrown BS, no offense to any potters out there, because I really think there is some amazing functional work made and can appreciate it, its just not for me. I also like to use a lot of found objects and mixed materials with the ceramic. I also draw and push around some colored stuff on paper but those are more ways to gets ideas out and exercises to help with the sculpture.
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
DW: Working process? I could get real clay dork on you but I will try to spare you, basically all the work is “hand built” (a ceramic term used to differentiate from wheel thrown) made of coils of clay attached and then sculpted. I usually work from both photo reference as well as drawings. And sometimes I say forget that stuff and just go with it and let the material do its thing. Then I glaze (color or paint) the sculptures, then put it in a kiln and fire it. I re-glaze and re-fire if necessary.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
DW: First off I love working! So if I get stuck I just keep working and making, even if it all ends up terrible. At a certain point a switch is flipped and something usually turns up. If I find myself really really blocked, I hit the books, because I also love art history. So I just start looking through lots of art books, and images, etc.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
DW: Is it too cliche and vague to say everywhere? Really my work is emotional and psychological self portraiture, so whatever is happening in my life, however I am feeling is what I turn to, to use as fuel for my sculpture. But maybe you want a more specific answer, I have been looking a lot at ancient Greek and Roman funerary sculpture lately.
SG: Where has your work been seen?
DW: I have shown my work a lot in the Bay Area, LA, and CA. I guess most recently I had a solo earlier this year at a really great gallery, Anno Domini in San Jose, a two person show with my friend Crystal Morey at Young Blood gallery in ATL, an all Oakland artist group show at the important Di Rosa preserve in Napa CA. I have work in the permanent collection at the Oakland Museum. And it has been seen in other galleries nationally and internationally including Mexico, and Germany. And finally I have a page feature in BLISS magazine this month (page 46), check it out
SG: Where will it be seen next?
DW: Right now, I have a few things on my plate. December I will have work at Anno Domini’s Fresh Produce show, as well as this kind of alternative space in Piedmont CA, that show will revolve around and relate to the Winter Solstice. February, I have a solo at one of the coolest and best spaces in Oakland, Rowan Morrison , I am going to turn the whole gallery into a candle lit catacomb, with over 30 sculptures. I am excited for it. And in the (not so distant) future, May 09, a two person show at the legendary Space 1026 in Philly.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
DW: I always listen to music while I am working, always! and about 95% of the time its Hip Hop. For a while I have been dreaming about collaborating with a musician or several. Combining hip hop with my sculptures. In a way giving my visually frozen figures an active auditory narrative or give them words. I want the feeling of an innerness to the sculptures to relate and to share the feelings of the music. It would give the sculptures certain “demanded” time frame, which I think would be interesting. I guess in a sense it would be a soundtrack to a series of sculptures and simultaneously (for the lack of a better word) illustrations to the music. The viewer could walk up to a sculpture, put on some headphones and listen to the music and look at the sculpture, at the same time.
SG: What is your favorite color?
DW: I don’t have one really.
SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?
DW: Too many to name, and it would take forever to list why. Honestly, the list of my favorite artists range from 4680 year old unnamed Egyptian sculptors to contemporary artists like my good friend Percy Feils “ But just to run a little list: MANY Ancient cultures, Egypt, Greek, Assyrian, Medieval art, illuminated manuscripts, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Bernini, Rembrandt, Tilman Riemenshneider, early Picasso, Stephen DeStaebler, Egon Scheile, Giacometti, Clayton Brothers, Os Gemeos, Barry McGee, Phil Frost, “Other”. OOPS thats kind of a serious list, but I guess thats good right?
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
DW: I really like reading, but I like working more and so that is usually how I spend my time. And then when I do read (usually late at night) I tend to read a little bit (because I fall asleep) of a lot of things. So the books I have my nose in right now are: NY alternative art 1965 to 1985, Julie Ault–Solipsist by Henry Rollins, The Golden Compass, The Legend of Baal Shem by Martin Buber, Great German Stories, Said the Shotgun to the Head by Saul Williams, Greek Mythology.
and looking through and reading bits of the Bernini catalogue of the show that was just at the Getty Museum.
SG: Ever do a self portrait? Where is it now?
DW: That is all I do.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
DW: I love NY, but don’t get to hang out there often. I don’t really hang out much, and don’t really go many places. Basically I go to work, come home and work in my studio. (its kind of a sad existence sometimes). When I go out I usually go and see art shows, or music shows, then back home. Lame I know. So I guess to officially answer your question, my studio is my favorite place to hang out.
SG: Any final words of advice?
DW: Go to your studio and make stuff, everyday! Fuck what other people say or think. Make your work the way you want because you have no other option. If you feel like you have another option, great, take it, make lots of money and buy my art or someone’s art who you really like. Peace, find Love and be good.
Topics: Artist Interviews, San Francisco Art Scene, Sculpture Art |
November 29th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Interesting interview. Nice
Like your work Derek. Peace!
NCard
November 29th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Well put Derek, i like the final words. I’d tell you to keep up the good work but i don’t think I need to.
November 30th, 2008 at 4:27 am
I like your work a lot! Keep on doing what you love, and keep on believing it’s possible to live from your art. It’s all that really counts, the rest is just profit
January 12th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I like your work