Interview with Even Oldridgeinterviewed by Giorgio Vaselli on December 29, 2008 The work of Even Oldridge exhibits absolute realism within the infinite realm of abstract flow. Idealism, sacred geometry, or symmetry are the tools of a symbolist. Mandelbrot sets, spirals, or curves, don’t occur in the real fractalline realm, only in the idealistic one. His purpose is likely to stay truer to the reality of abstraction. He generally focuses on a single element in his vista, dissects his vision, and transfers it to the canvas. But his vision doesn’t live only in space dimensions, as he himself doesn’t, it is highly dependent on time, intertwined with it. Like a Turing machine reading artistic inspiration and intuition, he reads the small portion of divine imagination granted to him, as his improvisation evolves, grows, and diversifies. Lately, mainly in his Baroque-en-heart series, he has combined his visions of abstract flow with portraits of people, perhaps in an attempt to realistically depict the flow of energy all around us. Once the young painter explores further the darker vistas as well, he will come even closer to achieving greater honesty and a wider spectrum in his visions. For now, I believe his snapshots of his journey so far, do you? How long have you been creating artwork? My entry into the world of art was through photography. Perhaps 10 years ago, during my undergraduate degree (in electrical engineering) I bought my first digital camera and began exploring the world around me with an artistic eye. Taking advantage of the fact that digital was free I became quite prolific, shooting up to 12000 photos in a single year. After finishing my Masters and graduating during the dot-com bubble bursting, this led to me working as a professional photographer for about a year. Around that same time I became quite interested in photoshop and began working on simple manipulations in an attempt to contribute to the visionary art movement, having become friends with Luke Brown. Five years ago, through somewhat of a fluke I began photographing paint as it was being mixed and was instantly captivated by the patterns that would emerge from the mixing paint. In the beginning I only used these photographs of paintings in my digital work, combining them with portraiture to create the divine reflections series. After a year of that, at my first major solo show I unveiled my remix of the Mona Lisa, and the baroquenheart series was born. Only last year did I start treating these pieces as works of art on their own, and they’ve rapidly become my favourite. What media/genre/style have you created in before, and for how long? Photography (1998-present) Visionary (2002-2007) How much of what you know in art, did you study in school? Did you attend university or any courses to learn art? I’m almost entirely self taught. Digital photography is at the root of my art, and definitely still shapes the way I approach work today. I’ve picked up a number of tips and tricks over the years from various artists, particularly Luke Brown early on, and Aaron Rix who took my digital work to whole new levels with a few days of instruction. Lately I’ve been working with David Heskin and Aloria Weaver to learn some more traditional painting techniques. Did you have any major influence(s) which inspired you to begin creating? Early on the beauty of the world around me was enough to get me out with my camera almost every day, and that same reverence for nature keeps me coming back to paint or photograph at least once every two weeks. It’s been incredible exploring a medium that I have all to myself because I have noone to tell me how the work should be done or how it should look. It’s taken years to learn colour theory, and Do you like exploring other artists’ work? Who are your idols if any? I love exploring the work created by other artists. Many of my friends are also artists, particularly abroad, and so when I travel I tend to immerse myself into their world both physically and artistically. I’ve got several artistic idols who’s work is so stunning it makes me weak in my knees. On the visionary side of things both Robert Venosa and Andrew Gonzalez are my personal favourites. Robert’s gem filled worlds are so organic and visually appealing to me, and Andrew’s goddesses are just so smooth and soft. On the Abstract side Darren Waterston is probably my favourite living artist, but Jackson Pollack is my all time idol. I’ve sat in front of his works in MOMA from open till close just immersed in the visual field that he creates. It’s a lofty goal, but I hope to one day find my work compared to his. I also have a bit of a popsurreal fetish, and although she’s not specifically an artist, Kirsten Anderson of Roq la Rue gallery has definitely influenced me artistically with her blog Right Some Good. What qualities do you admire in an artwork? I tend to like more organic work. Good flow within the piece. I’m a virgo and tend towards the perfectionist side of things, so I’ve got pretty exacting standards, particularly in what hangs on my walls. What does it mean for you to create? What motivates or inspires you? The creation process for me is a direct connection to the divine. Watching the paint move and flow, and seeing whole worlds emerge and disappear before my eyes is truly sublime. All of my cares fade away and it’s just me and the paint, and usually eventually just the paint. It’s more powerful that any meditation I’ve ever done, and as calming as a walk in the forest. As far as motivation, the creation of these works isn’t really a choice. Part of me genuinely has to create. What do you wish to achieve in your work? Although sharing the work with people is an incredibly rewarding process, I’d like to develop my art to the point where I can comfortably make a living at it. I have many artistic ideas that I’d love to explore more deeply, but it all takes time and money. What are some criteria or standards you set for yourself? My work is process based, so it’s more a matter of witnessing the forms that are emerging and capturing them as best I can. As mentioned the process is very meditative, so it’s more a matter of clearing my mind rather than filling it with limitations. During the review process though I get very demanding about what I want in a piece that i’m going to be sharing with the world. I literally have over thirty thousand photos of paint, but I choose to share less than one hundred of them. That comes from my photographic roots; the secret to good photography has always been to take a thousand photos and show the world one. What are you methods of learning? Is your development conscious? As far as the process based work goes, it’s usually a process of trial and error. It took me almost two years to realize why my pieces from the summer were much more successful than those created in the winter; the temperature of the paint plays a huge role in both viscosity and in how the pigment sits in the solvent. I sometimes forget the lessons i’ve learned and have to relearn to get back on track, but I’m at a place where I can usually influence the process to get the style of piece that i’m after. What qualities do you need to improve in your work? I’d really love to learn more traditional techniqes of painting. Believe it or not I can barely pick up a brush an paint a stick figure. After having seen what other artists are able to create using my work as an underpainting, I’d love to be able to take a canvas print of one of my pieces and flesh it out even further. I’m also really interested in the field of interactive art, and I’m looking into a opportunities there. What are some of your own favorite pieces, and why are you satisfied with them? It’s really hard for me to have favourites, particularly given how prolific I can be. I tend to be enraptured by my newest pieces, but there are a few that have stood the test of time for me. Probably most notable would be ‘the muse’ from my divine reflections series, which hangs on my studio wall. It was the first piece in the series, and my first to be accepted into an exhibition. How does your work reach the public? Each of the series has different availability. My oldest series, divine reflections, is in a number of shops and galleries on permanent exhibition. I’m currently looking for a publisher for the baroquenheart series, because I think the remixing of iconic paintings should have mass appeal. The flowformed work is what I now consider to be my fine are, and is available in limited editions through the website. I’ve exhibited it once, but I’m looking for the right venue. I’ve also got another secret series in the works with a more environmental theme in mind, and i’m working on a book and print How do you feel about being a member of our movement? I’m curious to see where the energy art movement will go. I’m definitely drawn to contribute; I feel a strong correlation between the movement artists’ work and my own, so it will be interesting to see what the future holds. Having been a member of the visionary art movement for five years and exhibited internationally under that banner I’m not holding my breath that the movement will bring more patrons my way, but I am excited to meet other artists and work with them to build a cohesive movement. Do you create art full-time? What else do you do or enjoy doing? I’m currently in school, doing my PhD in computational photography, so art is part time for me. It will likely become a bigger part of my life when I graduate, but for now I’m limited to one or two days a week. I’m in the final push, with graduation set for sometime this summer, and after that the opportunities are endless. What are some of your plans for the future regarding your art/life? After school there are a number of options, but I’m seriously considering an MFA in Interactive art, assuming I can find the right program. I definitely see art and learning both as lifelong processes and I’m looking forward to deepening my knowledge on the artistic side.  |
