On a lovely
breezy sunny afternoon in Athens, Georgia, Matt
Blanks and I met outside The Grit, a
location chosen because he’s been a line cook there for a little more than 4
years. We chatted for a while…
MB: Yeah, I’m
here a lot. If not here, I’m home painting, working, doing something arty.
Digital work I can do almost any time. Even if it’s only for 20 minutes,
then I’ve done something. If I don’t do anything, I feel bad.
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| Matt Blanks, photo by Daniel Donahue |
AHA:
Of the places you’ve been where would you like to return?
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| To Quietly MetaMeander by Matt Blanks |
AHA: Where have you been that you wish you hadn’t been?
MB: I got lost
in New Jersey once. I was driving to New York. I’d been warned about driving up
the east coast. Everyone told me not to drive, but I did anyway.
AHA: Okay,
here are some random interview questions: What 5 verbs define your daily life?
MB: Work. (He gestures because we were
sitting at The Grit, where he works.)
Indulge. I mean, this is Athens. That’s
what we do here.
Paint. I try to paint a little every day.
Dote. Yeah, I dote…on my dog…on my
boyfriend.
Eat.
AHA: What did you want to be when you
were a kid, and what did you do to be that?
MB: A Dentist. When I was a kid, I was
obsessed with money. I wanted nothing but to collect money. But as time when
on, I thought I’d be an actor. I wrote a play and directed it. It was terrible.
I tried to be an actor in my high school drama club. I didn’t want to move to a
big city though. I lost interest in acting after high school. I didn’t ever
think I’d do art for money. It would be nice to get a job in graphic design, to
sit in climate control, which I’ve never had.
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| Rainbow Birds by Matt Blanks |
AHA: Why do you make art?
MB: I started
and people responded positively so I kept going. I have no schooling, no
vocabulary, but as long as it is a joy to myself and to others, I will do it.
AHA: Which of your works has given you
the greatest personal satisfaction? Why? How?
MB: Nothing
immediately stands out to me from before moving here, but about a year after
moving here, I found a solid pace, a solid style, a personal style I can call
my own. Around 2000, 2001, I found my own unique voice. That’s pretty
satisfying. So maybe Christina at the End of the World would be important because it defined my style. At one point, I had
thought about text – adding text to that painting and I’m glad I didn’t. I
tried it on another painting and eventually I didn’t like it.
AHA: I notice
many of your works have two titles. Why is that?
MB: Ha! That’s
funny. I guess I’m indecisive. Some are puns. I used to think titles were
pretentious and I didn’t name anything, but now I see that they can be fun.
AHA: So, let’s imagine that you are
selected as an artist to be represented in the Earth Museum of Art by three of
your works, which would they be?
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| Christina at the End of the World by Matt Blanks |
MB: Christina at the End of the World. You know Christina (our mutual friend) well, that’s just how I
pictured her reaction to Armageddon, and it was one of my early works and
really the first one in which I can say I found my voice, my style; Portrait
of Galadriel. Lord of the Rings was my favorite
book; and Who Am I to Disagree?.
AHA: In that same museum, you are asked
to select works by the three most important Earth artists, whose work do you
choose?
MB: Andy
Cherewick, Lou Kregel and Terry Rowlett
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| Big Hands by Andy Cherewick |
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| Painting by Lou Kregel |
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| Mary & Child by Terry Rowlett |
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| Galadriel by Matt Blanks |
MB: Yeah. That’s
what I know. I don’t really know a lot of other artists. I mean I know some
Klimt and I could point out a Van Gogh, but we have some ridiculously talented
people here in Athens and they’ve had a lot of influence on me. Noah McCarthy,
Lawson Grice, James Greer, Dave Barnes, Toby Cole, Vernon Thornsberry….
AHA: Can you please describe the
conditions under which you like to create art…your surroundings, sound, etc.?
MB: I’ve never
had a studio. I like painting where I live. I like to be able to duck in and
work or just take a break. My work area is pretty self-contained. I have a
painting unit that I built that doesn’t take up a lot of space. I like the idea
of having everything together in one place, and that it could be portable. I
have an iPod with all my favorite music. Some people watch television, but I
can’t do that. It’s too distracting.
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| Who Am I to Disagree? (Bear) by Matt Blanks |
AHA: Most people probably don’t know
that you have an exceptionally beautiful singing voice – what is your
relationship to music?
MB: Oh, thank
you for saying that. I made a record years ago. I think it sold one copy on
iTunes. Lucas Jensen released it, produced it. It’s hard not to do something in
music when you live in Athens. Oddly, even with my history of acting, I have
crippling stage fright. I’d like to get over it, it seems like fun to perform.
I have recorded with some people. I have great respect for those who do perform.
AHA: What works have you created so far
in the course of your lifetime?
MB: Music,
acrylic paintings, digital media: hand-drawn scanned images that I then
manipulate via Photoshop. Ceramics, more decorative than functional. Collage,
meant to be funny. Puppets. When I was a teenager I thought up make-up and
costumes. I’m thinking of revisiting that. I have made horns. Each Halloween,
I’ve wanted to go as Matt Minotaur but the costume just hasn’t come together. I
get as far as the nose ring, and then…it’s hard, especially the nose with the
ring, but I’ll probably try again.
AHA: How often, or how much time, do you spend creating art?
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| Untitled 2013 by Matt Blanks |
MB: I try to do a little every day to feel
good about myself. If I've had a bad day or I'm upset by something, I can't make art. I don't like to put that energy into my work.
AHA: What do you like best about
yourself?
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| Misguided and Highly Dangerous by Matt Blanks |
MB: I’m pretty
resilient. I’ve been smacked around here and there, but I come from good folk
who know how to deal with things. I do my best to stay positive. Perspective.
I’m also willing to realize a new perspective by talking to others with
different views.
AHA: What would you change about
anything in the world?
MB: I would end
disease, or I would wish for understanding. Like, if something is not hurting
anyone, just let it be. Live and let live.
AHA: If you could live in any other time
and place when and where would it be?
MB: Nowhere. I
don’t know if it’s being a gay dude, but right here is where I want to be. We
live in a golden age.
AHA: Who would you say, among those whom
you’ve known, has most influenced your creativity
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| The Gunge Fairy, Matt Blanks, 2008 |
MB: Rebecca Wood. I worked in her studio for
about 7 years. It was a different kind of place where creativity was rewarded.
Rebecca loved to be surrounded by artists, young artists. It was a sweet little
hippie place. Another cool thing at R. Wood Studio was getting to know David
Leavitt. Andy Cherewick, I don’t know him very well and I hope he doesn’t
think I’m a stalker fan or something, but he’s kind of one of the most
influential painters to me. A local artist whose thick, chunky textures in his
painting blew my mind when I saw his work. I don’t know, I really liked it and
it sort of gave me permission to pursue my own quirky voice. Joe Havasy makes some mythical
anthropomorphic stuff. It gave me encouragement to be fun and silly. Mike Groves although he’s a tattoo
artist, it’s fun stuff; we did a Star Wars show at The Grit. Hannah Jones, too, who I also
met while working at R. Wood Studio. Also, Lou Kregel has had a big influence.
She is my opposite, neat and refined, but I once gave a speech on her for a
speech class so, I kind of studied her and I learned a lot. Athens actually has
a large percentage of impressive women artists.
AHA: Has your approach to art/creativity
been influenced by any significant life events?
MB: In 2005 my
little brother committed suicide. He was a huge supporter of my art. He used to
build frames for my work. The way that people responded after his death…it
solidified for me that this town, this community, Athens is where I wanted to
be. Up until that point, I had considered moving. I hadn’t really settled down.
But, the way people responded…I never felt more taken care of. After that, I
knew that I wanted to be part of this magical creative force. I realized that I
didn’t want to leave. It’s nice to be here, knowing people are looking out. I
personally like that people know my business. I decided I wanted to stay and
honor my brother’s faith in my art.
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| Teodor, Winged Rabbit by Matt Blanks |
AHA: Why is art important?
MB: I like doing
it. It makes me happy. It makes others happy, not that that has to be the only
reason, but …joy. Joy predominates. A model for me is Literacy Head. A lot of the work people
do for Literacy Head is unpaid, and helping people learn to read is more
important than being paid. So, for me, it’s more important to inspire joy than
to make money. I always try to give something to Nuçi’s
Space. A while ago, I gave all the proceeds of a show to Nuçi’s. I like my
art to benefit something humanitarian. I love Nuçi’s Space. I love to give to
them.
AHA: How do you define beauty?
MB: Whatever a person sees or feels that
elicits emotions of warmth and joy.
AHA: What are you afraid of?
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| Heart by Matt Blanks |
MB: My silly
answer would be sharks, deep water. Jaws broke
my childhood brain. No, but really, Oblivion, that my consciousness will
disappear. I don’t really know what happens after death but I’m afraid of
losing my consciousness. I’m a big fan of my consciousness and I don’t want to
lose it.
AHA: Well, I enjoyed your piece in the ATHICARDS show and I’m
super excited for your new works at Flicker.
MB: Me too. It’s
been 4 years since my last show. Flicker is my favorite place to have a show. I
needed a break. People liked my work, but I needed to step back. Now, I’d like
to keep up with an annual residency, like a show every August. After much
deliberation, I’m calling this show Hibernation.
My new works will be on display at Flicker Bar for the month of August. The
opening reception starts at 8pm, Thursday, August 1. Then at 10pm there’s music
by Four Eyes and Brothers.
AHA: Thank you, Matt. I'll see you at the show.
MB: Thank you. I hope to see you there.
You can see more of Matt Blanks's art at MattBlanksArt.com and on Facebook and Etsy.
His new works are on exhibit through August 2013 at
Flicker Bar (263 W. Washington Street, Athens, Georgia, USA, Earth).
