Steve Gray
Steve Gray from Geelong Vic Australia is a contemporary Visual Artist and has been making art for about 35 years (with some serious break’s in between) his website and blog is at www.stevegray.com.au
Interests you have other than art you feel are important to mention?
Business, family, music (I play a bit of guitar) the environment. I am fascinated by a whole range of things, from the day to day to the bigger picture.
What are the main medium/s you work in…
Acrylics, photographs and drawing with some pen and ink thrown in for exploration.
Artist’s statement…
I spend a lot of mental time evaluating things, I should do this, I can do that it’s about this and about that, then I swing 180 degrees and think the opposite, so my works float somewhere in between. In essence I always come back to universal forces and exploring the various notions this can mean. I am interested in the duality of life, a happy scene can become tragic, a dry day can become wet, $100 in the hand can be stolen etc, and a myriad of options from there.
My later works have delved into and around some of the concepts of DNA and the ways it’s portrayed visually (by scientists), I loosely started out with the promise of “What if it’s not like that at all? What if it’s a double helix but not a strict or formal structure?”
Mind you all of this is fine to say, but a day or so on from writing this I can change my mind… hmm and anyhow , how can you put visual language into words, we often fall short.
How do you describe your work, realistic, stylised, abstract, narrative, symbolic, other?
Abstract and stylised (some of my more literal landscape type images) the photo’s are clearly realistic and I aim for the an awe inspiring feel with those (although I may rarely capture that sensibility!)
Does your work have social, political, cultural and or personal messages?
Some of the works are environmentally focused, the bridges series looked at the connection (Bridges) both literal and conceptual between man, and the landscape and the way it’s been fooled around with.
What fascinates you?
Life and lots of things, I revel in an almost existential fascination for things, I will stop mid stride to check out the effect of dappled light from a tree on to a surface, then watch an ant, a fly, a flower and walk off. Oh and business that is an art in itself. I also think life is full of EM - NM (Everything Matters - Nothing Matters) It’s like a pendulum swinging between the two, and depending on your view or involvement will depend on which it is and to what degree, Therefore I can spend time thinking which is this an EM or NM situation, I thought of this myself, pretty neat hey? “Umm yeah I guess so”.
The change of seasons, so about now we are in late spring leading up to summer, and this morning there is BRILLIANT sunshine bathing everything, the plants out the front are perfectly lit (where’s that camera?) and the feeling is one of nothing can be wrong in the world. It’s brilliant, as a kid the leaves on the trees in autumn would go golden, and in the spring the new growth was a clear sign things were growing fast, so I always had a good feel for the seasons although we can have 4 seasons in one day! I am also pretty good at knowing the time without a watch, and remember being able to pick 2 pm fairly well as a kid.
As a kid I got to look after people’s places in the neighbourhood while they were away, so I got a more in depth feel for how people lived, I watered their garden, mowed the grass, fed their cat etc. Sometimes the cat would be an indoors one so you could wander about and experience the view from their lounge room, pat the cat, feed it and move on. I love seeing how people do things differently, the way they revere different things, the family photo’s the smells.
In our current house we have a view from upstairs over an elderly ladies backyard, her vegie patch, her grass, the washing on the line, the dappled light cast from her trees and so on. When she dotters and potters about the backyard it’s a glimpse of another life, another way of being… Now that’s fascination, What’s her history, what’s her story, how long will she live, what does she do, the list is endless.
That leads me to another area of fascination, day dreaming, as a kid I did it heaps (who did school work anyway?) I would watch the birds out the window in the garden, the light through the trees, imagine being elsewhere. Other kids read books to “escape” I had my own world to escape to. I figured out later in life I am ADD and so this fits, short attention span for crap in class.
You are about being “In the moment” by the sounds of things?
That’s a great way to put it… in the moment, I can get out of a car on a rainy day, my head hurtling in one direction full of things to do, places to be and all that jazz, then get caught in the moment, mesmerised by a view (wet bitumen in a car park can do that to a person)… I also like to use the word “mesmeric” I am not sure if it’s a real word but it’s a way of saying “when a thing is mesmerising” so I call it mesmeric. Dad taught me (not meaning to…) to play with words, it’s one of those joys in life people speak little of, he used to say things like “Pass me the K-nif-e” now we all know it’s pronounced nyf but spelt knife, so he would dishup the literal phonetic chunk and throw it out of amusement.
I can get captivated by those day dreamy chunks of life that are so ADD, away with the faeries not a care in the world.
Acrylic on Canvas 600 x 1200
Why are you an artist?
I could say “to avoid leading a boring life”, but really it’s about exploring the world more and keeping my hyperactive being, being, well that’s part of it, I guess I like looking at things and checking out ways it could be represented, talked about and so on.. I can’t say it’s a vital part of my life, in a sense I have had big chunks of time with no production or showing… I enjoy the engagement of the mind aspect probably the most and the tooing and froing, does this work, does that work, try this try that, push the boundaries. Then you go to see a show and find someone else has done a similar thing, and how they went about it, fascinating…
How did you get into art?
It seemed like an easy option at school (Yr 11 etc…) but it turned out to be the hardest path (in more ways than one) It was the first real time I had bothered to do any decent form of homework… Something about colour, processes and the materials engrossed me, then VOOM it all became very engaging, the notion of conceptual art… wow, the notion of creating something new… WOW! the notion of being “allowed” to explore 
!!! WOW!!!. I remember thinking why are some of the students doing art not overly interested in this? They were just plodding in an awkward way, it was a trudge, a go no where challenge. I never got that, If I sign up for something (well most things) I do it because it holds some form of fascination for me.
How important is art for you?
Very important, it gives me a range of perspectives for handling and exploring a tumultuous world.
Your art education was…?
Good, I could have pushed the boundaries more, great opportunities were lost due to laziness. I had some great teachers and some lousy ones, no names please.
On the topic of art education I think it falls short, change the title to “Aesthetics” then that would give them scope to put in more interior decoration type stuff, and cover other aspects than just “Art” and lets face it even though they call it “art” it’s often more of a “busy hands” subject, and if a teacher gives them any theory or homework shite hits the fan. Go to a parent teacher interview and watch the art teacher, often underwhelmed with visitors, people don’t generally value the arts, tough really.
Have you always been interested in art?
Not really, but now, that’s a different thing, while people swan about going to sports etc on the weekend I go to galleries (not all the time, perhaps a few times a year).
What did you do before becoming an artist?
It’s what I’ve done while being an artist that is probably more important, from a secondary art teacher, technical support staff for a photo company, a handyman, business teacher, coach and consultant, entrepreneur, etc… I love business it’s an art in itself (hey did I already say that somewhere else…) but it’s true many businesses fail, they got too loose, and in art that can happen too, so follow the rules then break them, repeat that cycle, plan do check act, it’s simple and hard all at once.
But life before art, well is that possible, hmm let’s see well I have always pulled things apart and built things, been hyper, thought “what if”, created things like Billy Carts and cubby houses, and had a vivid imagination. As a kid I would climb trees and watch the world unfold beneath me, sometimes I was able to hide from mates, I learned to hide my bike so they could not find me at times (I like my independence). So a creative being always.
What is your earliest memory of art?
Kinder, doing finger painting, and Yr 7 drawing a figure, the legs were too big but the rest was good. I did a picture with textas for mum once on a chunk of ply, I asked for it back a few months later, I think the ply was for a seat on my Billy Cart (hey it was important okay!)
Was art a “thing” that was encouraged in your family?
Simply put, no, but they put up with it. Struggle and discussion has helped, at dinner mum and I would discuss if a thing was a sculpture or not, she typed some of my early art assignments when I got stuck and helped out with a few of the structural parts of those, so that was good. The job prospects were NEVER there but over time It has had it’s uses, hey look at this blog, mind you my mum never said, you should start a blog and I will support you, my wife didn’t really either although it’s really her ideas that sparked my interest in creating it so thanks Sal. I think art needs to be encouraged, but the struggling artist thing is a great cliche to fall on to support it not being supported (did that come out right?). We are the sum total of all the things we have done, and so a rebellion against the “tres ordinare” life of my folks? Yeah probably.
Did the place where you grew up have an influence?
Yep, Yallourn in Victoria had great spring, summer and autumn days, the sun in the trees we used to climb, the innocence of the community (in the 60’s) I loved being a kid in a great place (it was a very beautiful town) and watching everything unfold with graceful elegance. I could ride my bike for hours exploring that place (and did.) I guess over time I look back with fondness and wish it was still there to explore differently. (The town was removed to remove the coal underneath it).
What or who inspires your art?
The landscape, the work of Jacko Pollock, visiting contemporary galleries (I try to get out on a gallery “crawl” as often as I can.) Science, documentaries, human frailty, human stupidity, intelligence, philosophy, nature, the Simpsons, positive people etc. Oh and Zippy the Pin Head (cartoon) great influence (or perhaps diversion) “Are we having fun yet!” Go google that and you will see where some of my sense of humor, philosophy and outlook on life has been tweaked (thanks again to Max for that one, can I mention he was an influence). Yeah one more Fluke, happenstance, synchronicity, universal forces… (those sneaky gods, what lesson are they teaching me now, or am I just being used as a guide as to what not to do?)
What caused you to choose the medium you currently work in?
Acrylics dry fast and I can get some nearly oil like effects when I want to. It suits my Hyperactive ADD nature, if I want image now, I don’t want to fuss and mess about with a long process spontaneity is a big thing for me at times, if I want to do it now I darn well will or be angry for not being able to.
Has your work changed much since your early efforts?
Yes and no… I seem go in one direction and then return to the source, then off on another tangent, I was always interested in “Universal forces”. I have slowly developed a sensibility around mark making and hope that what I do has tome “Intelligent” mark making happen.
Have your artistic influences altered over time?
Yes, I see new artists in on a gallery crawl and think YUM, and sometimes even YUK! Or I can do that, how much are they asking for it? Hmm.. I remember Kaye Green (Tasmanian Printmaker) who was one of my lecturers at the end of my vis art studies at uni say “I am interested in the perfect hill, finding it, drawing it, exploring it, creating it… That’s what am about in my work” Now that was at the time, it may have altered since then but you get the idea. I was totally taken with that level of absorption to the subject matter at the time. Then I go to a point of exploring things in other ways and search more for the essence of things, rather than trying to represent things in some way… However when it comes to landscape it can be SOOO tempting to throw in a ‘cliche’ horizon line.
You know you are successful in Visual Arts when…
You get a sense your peers are nodding in a positive way and the galleries show more than a passing glance at what you do. No stuff that it’s when people line up to buy your works and you can’t produce enough so you take on staff to assist you. No wrong, it’s when you are making $250k per year+ just from your art. Yeah that’s it, oh does that sound too much like I want to only make money from Art… Hmm, I guess I want a balance between producing amazing works that grab attention and stand on their own (whatever that might mean) and an income.
How important do you think craftsmanship is to artistic creation?
Basics are basics, well made will win out more often than not, mind you I have seen a lot of crap over the years going for top dollar in galleries, I end up saying I could do better than that! so it’s back to basics…
Creative streaks do they come in waves for you?
Yes, sometimes I get swamped, sometimes it’s a gentle current. Once I did a bunch of etchings and gave one to a mate for his 21st present, one of his “bogan mates” commented that it “looked like two bandaids jumping a barbed wire fence…” so the next day i did an etching had that title and was more literally like it says, I was so excited by the idea, the guy didn’t understand, thought I was a nut, I had a sleepless night waiting to get to the print room.
Some say the lifespan of an “artist” post educationally is about five years, any thoughts on that?
Fight it I say, ask how important is Visual Art to you and then make it happen, yeah easier said than done… It comes down to people not valuing the arts, and that falls on the education system as much as parental values and beliefs do. We should be holding artists aloft, treating them like goddesses and warriors… oh who am I kidding but it’s a nice thought, heck these people create anew, they explore boundaries, push limits, challenge our thinking, and that is VERY useful.
What has been a turning point in your career thus far and why?
Having a joint exhibition with Pete Biram, I pushed, he produced, I produced and we did it, 25 odd years after the first photo show we did together after art school, good value I got an itch to do more. The first solo show (the next year after the joint show) was also good value lots of friends and some family showed up, the friends that showed up were genuine in their support and I hope I have also been genuine in my support of them too.
Another turning point was at Uni I set up an art installation and one of the guys said “Oh your work is very existential” I then tried to figure out what he meant, that moment comes back often, and yeah he’s right. Its a branch of philosophy, with a view that things unfold day to day and my work now and then fits to that, then again so does so much other work too!
If you could have any piece of artwork in your personal collection, what would it be and why?
Blue poles by jackson Pollock, masterpieces are masterpieces full stop, I could (and have) stood and looked at it for ages. The same with most of Fred Williams work, as for a print, Melancholia by Albrecht Durer is simply sensational, the symbolism, the sense of foreboding etc… YUM! Yeah and a big indigenous piece in the Ian Potter Museum in Melbourne, it’s really long and was a joint effort between a bunch of artists, it is mind blowing!
Can you name a favourite artist or three… and why?
Pollock (clearly) Mary Tonkin (sublime landscapes) from a banal view to an exceptional concept, too good to be true. Denis Nona, lots of Indigenous works, lots my peers… Kaye Green, Euan Heng, Tim Storrier, Ray Arnold, Penelope Long, Pete Biram, Albrecht Durer, Ansel Adams, Euene Atget, Kerrie Warren, Colin Pennock (texture rocks!), and a bunch of others. I have one of Kerries, and Kayes Pieces, so vibrant.
All artists seem to have struggles, tell us about any you have had.
Life is full of “curve balls” a long break between shows and producing didn’t help I guess. I wanted to be prolific but that has come in fits and spurts, I get started and then fade, I guess I lose some interest perhaps from a lack of confidence in my own ability, I see how many artists are out there and I am only one small voice.
Do you keep an Art Journal or Visual Diary of some kind?
Only when working, I used to have a very active journal (lots of writing and not much imagery.)
Do you aim to break the rules of basic composition, layout etc or do you ignore the “rules” and just create?
Yes, rules are there to be pushed, it’s part of the “You can’t do that, mentality…” and the ensuing “Oh no? Just watch me…!”
What sort of research and or reference material do you do for current works and has that changed over time?
The internet is a source of lots of things. I draw a bit, use memory use photo’s as a sense of reference. In the good old days it was a conceptual world so not a lot of reference points were thought about, drawn, photographed etc.
I write a lot, jotting ideas down, getting strings of words together to assist me to make sense of the world, does it show that I like words? sometimes I am able to pull together a neat bunch of words and want to some how illustrate those or mimic them visually somehow.
Musical influences?
Zappa (thanks Max…) Absurd realities is what Frank was all about, I love the absurd views. Also instrumental stuff, new age sometimes, classical, but I generally work in silence. I tried having music in the darkroom as a student but I danced about too much and got little done, don’t tell anyone that! Oops…
My Brother has a band I was in one of them (playing bass many years back) the latest incarnation plays Blues, that’s been an influence, I used to also do sound and lighting for one of the earlier ones, so a lot of drinking played a part (hey can I put that down as an influence or a distraction?) Too much alcohol took its toll in various ways but a big part of the scene for me at that time.
Another influence, STOMP these guys do a stage routine that has amazing beats and rhythms that are simply wonderful, and all on junkyard scrap, amazing. Oh and Cirque Du Soliel, yes the music and the performances… BRILLIANT!
What sort of depth or meaning is there behind the work you do?
Probably the best example is the Harm series I did with text (a comment on violence and how we accept it) these have symbols I created relating to the words I have used to explore the theme. (The symbols gave me a chance to get a directly visual connection happening to the words and therefore, hopefully engage the viewer somehow more deeply.)
Do you hope the viewer will “get” what you are trying to communicate or do you feel compelled to spell it out to them?
I go back and forward on this one, but how can I know if they “Get it” or not. Some might say what is there to get?
How important is it to you that your work communicates something to the viewer?
Vital, but then again how can it not communicate anything, is it communicating the right things effectively?
Art is about entertainment, experiment, inventiveness or shock for you?
Experiment and inventiveness, entertainment? Hmm not sure but the egotist in me says yeah… Would love to shock people but apart from using a tazer on the viwers I think I might not be there quite yet.
Your first “decent” gallery representation, how did it come about?
I thought I did then I didn’t… I had a joint show an art consultant saw, we still chat but the representation thing is a hurdle, confidence? fear of failure? fear of success? Enough work? no awards… no accolades?
The business or marketing side of Art can be a challenge to some, what are your thoughts?
Business is mostly art or should I say a creative process, rather than a strict science, so art should be able to handle it conceptually and artists should go for the ride full throttle (my view). But it doesn’t happen often enough, I think there must be a lot of works under beds hidden away because of this. I guess there is not enough emphasis on the business side of art in educational institutions as it is seen as some form of “Prostitution” and you “sell out” if you sell your work, but then they talk about successful artists often in $$ terms.
Note how this swings through what I was talking about earlier, EM - NM. I think there must be many frustrated parents that have sent their “kid” to art school (because they were somehow “good at it” according to the teacher), this was covered with some thinly veiled notion of jobs being available… Lets take that for a moment and think if you spend three or more years at Uni on most other courses, you come out with a job prospect and a pay scale commensurate with doing that level of study, in Vis Arts, nup that rarely happens… Oh but go ahead and prove me wrong.
What is the most unexpected response you’ve received from a viewer of your work?
“These photographs are meaningless.” Gee Einstien thanks for that, glad you have diplomacy skills (not!) I had a giggle, he got a few mouthfuls from the crowd, the odd ooh and ahh (negatively) for that. (There goes that pendulum swinging between EM - NM again… If you don’t watch it it will knock you over…
Is your art, “art for art sake…” or a matter of “art for commercial viability?”
Sheesh! I wish I could decide and get on with it… I want it to pay it’s way, I want people to hang the works, I want to have a gallery say “more, more, MORE!” But for all the right reasons.
Your work seems to cover a range of stylistic diversions, thoughts, concepts?
Hmm yep, I like lots of things, so from a Mandala, a DNA type image, dappled light, war and harm, landscape, pure abstraction I like it all (and then some), so for me to explore all these things is great, the big thing is I have come back to art later in life and don’t have too many pressures of galleries saying I need to be consistent etc. Anyway I don’t stand too solidly by the consistency theory, I am more “art for art sake” than commercially viable, but I always struggle to handle that, perhaps it’s a response to not being represented (yet) and I am covering my lack of confidence, but then I also have forces working on the idea of “but if it’s got a decorative nature to it it will sell better? Am I looping yet?. What was the question?
If you have been working as an artist for a while, how do you feel about earlier works that are in people’s collections / ownership?
Fine, there is one piece I would like back it’s too good to be out in public/private hands… the guy that had it died so I hope his partner kept it. It’s a red scupltural piece that hangs on the wall with imagery and a waxed parcel of photocopies… I t freak my mum out as it has me wearing a blindfold holding up a mirror, she was spooked by it, so much so I had to take it off my wall at home.
Name a book or books, which may have inspired your work as an artist?
A photo book on Eugene Atget with Poems by Marcel Proust, I loved that book, it was $75 about 25 years back I read it cover to cover in two days and drooled over the photo’s… Images by Ansel Adams did the same thing, hey should I mention these guys as artistic influences or whatever? Oh and there was a photo book shop in Melb where I tried to buy $150 worth of books and I did not have that much on my credit card, it was hard to only get $50 worth, I had to choose! gee that was hard.
Shaun Tan’s books are a visual delight, they are worth a look and of course “Re-Imagine” by Tom Peters, the man is a legend in business management circles and yess ALL of it relates to art, the pasion for the subject, the passion for design, etc, it’s all there.
One other book that also stands out is by Dr David McLelland on Human Motivation, Brilliant!
Tell us about your studio environment.
At the moment I have a tight little garage space my wife wants back for the car… grr. Low light, crap space no room for much storage, but I am lucky I now want to do smaller works (rolls his eye’s).
Is your work process fast or slow?
Yes it can be. (rolls his eye’s again) But I don’t do nearly enough work, like a lot of artists I run out of room, (hey wanna buy a painting, give an old artist some more room to create?) I would like to be really prolific, but I start looping about, it goes like this… “I have to but I can’t, I can but do I want to?” repeat… Grr! again… (Steve fidgets a bit and says) So yeah it’s a conundrum, (He’s now jiggling one leg up and down rather fast, an almost nervous twitch.) So I would like to have a great situation, you know, someone supplies the canvas and the paint and I paint, or draw, or photograph, but I figure right… I would probably procrastinate,s o there is something about the struggling artist bit that makes things interesting.
Otto Dix the German artist said (in part)… “All art is exorcism…” Is that the case for you?
How can it not be? Devil be gone! But he keeps coming back, tortures the soul the prick, and if there is a god I think he (or it?) is in cahoots with the devil, they play good cop bad cop all the time, as to why they have singled me out is another thing.
Art as a therapeutic device; do you think it is useful for this purpose and is your work in this category somehow?
Yes, how can it not be… (Did I say that already?) cathartic might be a response here, see the Otto Dix statement. I am interested in how at can open dialogue between people, not that this happens much (or enough), but when it does “Watch out!” case in point when a work on a wall in a home causes a discussion and it goes back and forth for 20 mins + then that is a good thing, even if the discussion is an argument.
Some artists are more “at home” isolated in their creative process, while others revel in being part of a group to bounce “ideas off” how about you?
Deep in contemplation, no disruptions please and keep your ideas to yourself, nice that you might like it but rack off while it’s being developed.
When you get the urge to create art because something has “pushed your button/s” how compelling is it for you?
Try and stop me, it’s a hassle though, you can be a squillion miles away from the studio or your camera grr! Ever notice how many photo’s you see without a camera?
What is more important to you in your work, content or technique, concept or product?
Concept, I see it as the foundation the rest is built on, no idea, no art. End product is vital (as proof you made art).
Is the making of art all it was “cracked up to be”?
Never, it’s harder and very competitive, mind you the teachers did say that, we never belived a word of it though.
Do you connect with other art mediums and styles?
Yes lots, but printmaking and drawing (all sorts) is of perhaps deeper interest. I would like to get back into mono prints, they can be so rich, deep and alluring.
You just said it’s competitive, who are you competing with?
Myself mainly, but the big bad world of art has fresh faced graduates coming out and older ones stepping up, and mature ones coming back, and not enough galleries to go around, hey they should put a limit on how many artists there are… grr. (Rolls his eye’s and giggles.)
Do you aim to make “masterpieces” with the aim of being seen in the future as an artist that really made their mark in art history?
I wish… Masterpieces would be good, oh and how would you measure that?
What are you currently working on?
Did some pen and ink works to explore where I am at with my general imagery and concepts, it became a bit of an evolutionary process. I want to do more, some mono prints would be good, my latter paintings are very light so working in Black and white has been useful to break the bonds that provides.
You didn’t include any of the drawings or photo’s in the images for this interview, reason?
Go check them out in the album on the website (link at top), the drawings are all about exploring ideas and notional concepts of possibility, I guess they are not finished art works as such, hmm then again? the photo’s are a mix of things that interest me and a quick grab of things of value, I am so fortunate to be able to paint and photograph, draw and do whatever with all of it. My early photo’s are black and white (not on the website yet) are strongly contrasted against the colours and flightiness of the paintings and drawings.
Your blog is different from other artists blogs, how come?
Well It’s interesting, It started out as a resource to assist teachers to teach without having too, send the students here and let them do some “trawling” for resources, especially art theory at VCE level, but now the interviews have taken off and some great feedback too. I also have some web experience in other blogs and forums and have coupled that experience together and used it here, my web guy is right, he says content is king, so on start up I whacked up a bunch of articles and just kept going. So by the time people got here it looked well established, and in Blog terms it is.
Other artists start a blog to tell the world about their journey, but in essence who cares? (cynical is another trait of mine, so sorry if I have offended…) and in google search terms the idea is to keep it active and humming, many run out of things to say, many don’t have it as their home page and jump on it to chat to the world, many don’t even know how many people look at it, so after a while their interest wanes. Pity really so much that could be said, so little time.
Watch out for a fresh development a sister site (hey how come we don’t say a brother site?) with art activities and this site to have the gritty interviews etc.
Your work other than art is training and development based, how does that fit into the picture?
Well the idea was as an art student to make money making art. Then reality set in, over the years I have done a lot of things and one of the things I found I was good at was training people, so the stuff I do is about leadership, Innovation (creativity had to creep in there somewhere!) and communication. I use a lot of creative approaches to teach people, that means fun, that means more info shared effectively. Quick example of a creative training approach, I have used with groups a simple exercise to stimulate left and right brain, mind mapping and so on.
One of these activities is a physical one where you do a lot of “cross over” exercises, I coupled this with a mirroring and matching exercise build around building rapport. The end result after a few goes is a fantastic mix of the whole lot that had innovation classes with people taking the exercises to a new level and it became very 3D! (think twister with a twist.)
Oh and don’t forget the handyman stuff… problem solving all the time.
Thanks for your time Steve, Your welcome Steve, now how about a beer? Is that recorder still on? (click…)
“Hey here’s a photo of me as a kid, Interested?” No Steve it’s not professional… “Oh go on!” Oh okay if you insist.
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8 Responses to “Steve Gray”
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Clearly a person with a lot to say. Good depth to the questions and I sense a wry sense of humor. EM - NM an interesting thought, but isn’t that the case anyway? The harm series looks very cool, you kick some good goals with that, are they big, they should be big?
Steve, great interview! Did you exhibit the Harm Series? I’m curious about the smaller work you mentioned…. is it the smaller working space that has inspired you or has something else?
I just don’t know where you get the time to do so much (and then paint). Kez
Hi Kez, no the Harm series has not been exhibited yet… what does one do with something so specific it needs a smallish space, but things are booked out for 18 months or so.
Smaller works, well the situation of the small workspace is one aspect and the smaller works on paper like pen and ink type works are also a chance to explore some ideas and much easier to store.
Time to do so much… not sure, but I often have to say “Who stole my afternoon?” (or morning.)
I took a look at the pen and ink works, did they take long? I can see the connection to your other works and dude they really show some working out. I want to see the end result, like a painting or something.
Hi Eamon, the pen and ink works did not take long an afternoon or so of pushing and pulling ideas, saying what if… and doing it. exhausting mentally but worth it. the great thing is having the chance to go back and look at them later and see how I perceive them again. Then from that I can get a feel for how they work in the bigger picture.
I do have a painting in mind, but it might have to be after a bit more exploring of concepts.
Steve, I really enjoyed your interview. You are a philosopher and a generous soul. I now understand your conceptual work so much better. Your creativity, your drive and your energy helps us all. I eagerly look forward to your next exhibition.
Cheers
Ursula
[...] While an exhibition Steve Gray is part of (Regionalis), is set for mid August 09, it doesn’t stop him from working! Here you can see some of what Steve has been up to, as he logs a journal with pics of where he’s at now. Take a look. You may recall he was interviewed here earlier… [...]
[...] interview Steve Gray June 4, 2010 | Filed Under Art in [...]