schmoozing via skype

The most recent and invigorating exchange I have had in the art world was with Johnny Hogglund, a Scandinavian artist who is based in London. Johnny and I were both selected to be a part of a group show/magazine for the organization A-No. Although the two of us work in very different ways, we have similar concerns in our work. A part of the publication is an interview with the artists, and as the two of us have conceptual similarities, the A-No team asked if we would like to do an interview together through Skype. I gladly accepted and had a pleasant exchange with an artist whom I feel is much more seasoned than I am--in the way he approaches a canvas, speaks about his work, and absorbs information from the world. We talked about the history of art, politics, and society. From Jacques Louis David and Basquiat, to Jean Baudrillard and Gurminder Bhambra. The bulk of our conversation dealt with western hegemony and what this has meant for art, representation, empathy, war, and thought. It was only within the last twenty minutes that we began rounding our conversation out with a discussion of how our paintings work individually, and, in the context of a group show, together. We discussed content, context, taboos, reality, and the distortions in form that occur as a result of each of these unique interactions. We ended our conversation with a laugh, a smile, and a virtual handshake.