give 'em hell - whose streets?
by lauren cerand on feb 21, 2005, 19:00
give ‘em hell aka james wolanin, is constantly popping up in new places in new york and around the world. paintings left behind for lucky passers-by and mysterious stickers are just part of this intriguing visual experiment that bridges the gap between the studio and the street. ammo city sat down with james at a café in new york’s alphabet city neighborhood to discuss what’s going on now and what’s up next for give ‘em hell.
ammo city: in terms of creating your paintings in the studio and then distributing them on the street -- is that something you think about? is there any sort of interplay in your mind between street art as a very happening thing now and working in a traditional medium like painting or is that just the easiest way to put your work out there?
james wolanin: well for me it’s pretty much the easiest way for me to get my message and my work out there because i don’t really do wheatpasting or anything like that where you can just put it up there. with me, at least my style of painting, it would be pretty hard for me to do it on the street. i’d probably get arrested. it takes a little more time, so that’s pretty much how it comes about.
ac: so much of the traditional new york gallery scene is about connections and money, and i see new art now as subverting some of those really tired constructs. still, our capitalist society in the u.s. makes it extraordinarily difficult for artists to get by except for the few artists that embrace that ethos. is that something you deal with in your work or personal life, giving away paintings for free? how do you view your relationship to that idea of the art world and is your perspective changing as you participate in more shows?
jc: i don’t think so. alright, say i was to get into the whitney biennial next year. i think i would put paintings out front, for people to take them during the opening right before it. and i think they would freak about that because there’s always somebody sitting behind a desk wanting to make money off you. i feel like [the process through which i distribute my work] is giving back something for everyone.
ac: one of the issues that comes up in the so-called “criminalization” of street art is the idea of reclaiming public space. do you see your work on the street as politically inspired in that sense or are you more focused on broadening your audience? do you worry about getting arrested and the ramifications of that, or do you feel like it’s your right as an artist to make a statement in public space?
jw: i think it’s all of the above, really. i definitely think about getting arrested doing it. you’re always glancing over your shoulder once or twice before putting something up. as far as it being politically charged, i’ll let the viewer interpret that.
ac: what do you see as being next for you? any big things in the next few months besides the metal pig show (www.bomit.com) in austin, or even things you’re just tossing around?
jw: i have another show coming up in april in cleveland. it’s called the 50/50 show, and it’s 50 artists and 50 paintings and they’re all for 50 dollars. so i just did a piece for that.
i want to do a really big street display and i have this idea of incorporating renaissance images into my paintings.
ac: define really big…
jw: meaning one morning i’d like to put like 50 paintings out there.
ac: would that be in a defined geographic area or all over the city or in one neighborhood?
jw: it would be in one neighborhood so the people walking around would be seeing these things one morning everywhere. walking down the street you’ll see five of ‘em on a block. i’d just cover a small little neighborhood like that and do larger pieces also.
ac: and what is it about the renaissance era or period that you find particularly relevant to that project or concept?
jw: i love some of the poses; they’re very religious and i think that would work very well once again with the 1960s symbolism. once again, it would be two images that don’t really go together so it creates that moment of tension there for the viewer.
ac: you had a show in rome not too long ago, right?
jw: yes, that was my second show i had in rome.
ac: it sounds like there’s something really exciting happening in street art there.
jw: actually, i got the rome show through wooster collective (www.woostercollective.com). they had seen my link on the wooster site. her name is laura lombardi and she runs studio 14 (www.fotolog.net/studio14) over there. it’s a really unique little gallery space that they have because they don’t take a commission on the work and they only show street artists. that’s their way to give something back to the artists, so they try to find sponsors and things like that. and put on events to help pay for it. so i think – laura’s also writing a book about street art – so yeah, from what i understand there is a pretty big street art scene going on in rome right now.
ac: given the time you spend putting your art on the street and into the hands of potential collectors, do you have a sense that you’re building a base of collectors? is that something you see as a result of the give ‘em hell name and images being out there so often, or more from the extent that you’ve gone the traditional gallery route? i’m interested in how the popularity of street art is influencing the career paths of young artists working today.
jw: i think i have some collectors out there. they keep in contact with me. i’ve actually had some people who have seen my street art and then have turned around and purchased a painting through my website. so yeah, definitely.
links:
james wolanin’s new work and upcoming projects can be viewed on his site, giveemhell.net.
