“So, why do you do what you do?”

I get asked this question a lot and I generally give some sort of vague answer that what I do appeals to my tastes and that I simply love what I do. More often than not that’s satisfactory but occasionally the question is redirected to something like, “I mean, why do you copy stuff?”. Well, that’s a bit harder to answer… I was raised to believe that anything I saw or heard was part of a collection of ideas that contribute to the world as I understand it. I could draw, or color, or cut up, or collage and it was always met with encouragement regardless of where the source of my inspiration came from. I guess it had as much to do with being a product of the 70’s, creative thinking was all the rage and I was the child of creative professionals… I believe this kinda thing just sort of happens.
Now, nearly 40 years later we’ve become one of the most creatively hampered cultures on the planet… and I can only think this is the reason I get asked what seems to me to be a pretty ridiculous question. I mean it’s a shame to think that the whole idea of reinvention through manipulation of our cultural past is not seen as standard. It’s simply seen as copyright infringement… have we forgot history?

“That’s how society moves forward, it doesn’t just invent new things it evolves through taking old things and changing them.” -Tom Silverman (CEO Tommy Boy Records)

The quote is from “Copyright Criminals” a documentary primarily about sampling but that really hits the message home. We are constantly recombining the “cultural DNA” of our forefathers in order to move our culture forward. This is basically what I’m doing,  each time I’m asked this question I’m obligated to give a free lesson in art history. I’m simply making the best of what I have at my disposal and I think I’m pretty good at it. I should also mention “Rip!: A Remix Manifesto“, “Good Copy Bad Copy“, and Craig Baldwin’s seminal documentary “Sonic Outlaws“. Each of these examples deals with 20th/21st Century’s inability to allow for creative usage of appropriated materials. The latter delves into the story of Negativland and the lawsuit over their 1991 release “U2“. Some of you may not know but I studied film, video, and audio production while in college (I solely painted graffiti). I was a huge fan of Negativland and witnessed how devastating this lawsuit was to them, so I was acutely aware of Baldwin’s project exposing the story behind the story.

It was at this point I became aware of the issue of fair use and how it applies to making artwork in modern times. It’s fair use that protects (sometimes barely) what I do as an artist. I recombine elements of what I see as part of my history into something that is both commentary on the elements and the culture itself. It’s simply art making as a form of culture jamming and I’m continually explaining this when the “So, why do you do what you do?” question comes up. Oh yeah, and I really do love it too!