Artist Decoded by Yoshino

Brian Shevlin is the owner and founder of The Con Artist Collective which is an artist community, creative co-working space and gallery founded in early 2010. The collective is located in The Lower East Side in New York City. They are an active community of creatives, curating group shows & social events, encouraging collaboration & inspiring imagination.

Interviewer for this episode is photographer and podcaster, Michael Donovan.

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Ben Quilty was born in Sydney, Australia in 1973. He has an Honorary Doctorate from Western Sydney University, a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, a Bachelor of Visual Communication from the School of Design at the University of Western Sydney and certificate level studies in Aboriginal History and Culture from Monash University. Widely known for his thick, gestural oil paintings Quilty has explored a range of themes throughout his career. From the dangerous coming of age rituals of young Australian men, to the complex social history of our country, he is constantly critiquing notions of identity, patriotism and belonging.

He won the 2002 Brett Whitely Traveling Art Scholarship, the 2007 National Self Portrait Prize, the 2009 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the 2011 Archibald Prize and most recently the Prudential Eye Award for Contemporary Art in Singapore.

His work is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of South Australia, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, QAGOMA and the Museum of Contemporary Art along with numerous regional and private collections.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Making work about who you are
• Writer's block being a fallacy. How there's no shortage of things to talk about in your artwork.
• Curating your artistic vision
• His trip to Lebanon and following the Syrian border to view refugee camps
• Using writing as a creative medium while traveling
• His love and interest in human rights
• Myuran Sukumaran's story and Ben's involvement with teaching him how to paint while Myuran was imprisoned in Indonesia for drug trafficking. Myuran was later executed by firing squad for the charges.
• The debauchery of young masculinity
• Western cultures lacking rites of passage ceremonies
• The economic rationalization of education
• Contemporary trends in the art market
• Dissection of the survival and / or death of painting
• David Hockney's iPad art
• Spending time with his children
• Australian Frontier Wars
• Larrikinism
• Vincent Namatjira

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Born December 21st, 1990; Matthew Ryan Herget is an emerging self-taught artist from Miami, FL. After attending University for two years, Herget opted to leave formal education to pursue his personal calling in life; to live as a contemporary explorer. Herget's work is what he calls, a "constant collaboration" between himself at all points in his life. The evolution of his work mimics the evolution of his own self - a student of life, the mind, nature, and spirituality; Herget continues to explore anew without losing the childlike confidence that propelled him to the person he is today. Earlier paintings consist of juxtapositions of visual metaphors that tend to represent overcoming personal fears and limitations. These juxtapositions mix serious tones with playful imagery: an ode to finding who he is while at the same time never forgetting where he was. Newer paintings jump in and out of the boundaries of form and abstraction. Occasionally paintings are figurative while others take the shape of full on abstraction: a reflection of where Matthew is currently in his personal journey. Matthew's process in the studio is that of high-energy and adventure. Paintings usually begin with no set concept and evolve into a dialogue of mark-making and feeling between the painter and painting. Dozens of paintings are often worked on at the same time and rotated throughout the studio. His painting style relies heavily on instinct, risk, and uncertainty. Things that are learned today may be dropped tomorrow in an effort to consistently keep oneself open to change and discovery. Herget's main focus is making the process the reward, and to allowing that process and inner voice to mold and evolve what comes of the process, as it pleases. "Each piece is a journey in-and-of itself. I'm constantly trying to take it somewhere that I haven't been before. The way I paint is kind of a metaphor for who I am, and why I'm here. It's not about taking it to a point where you can see something; it's about bringing it to a place where you can feel something. We all have a space suit on; whether it sits in the closet or goes to the moon is a choice we get to make. It's a constant mission of finding ourselves. I think that pursuit is nurtured by consistently pushing ourselves further than we did yesterday. That's how we change, grow, and evolve. That's what these paintings are about. It's pretty simple, but means a lot to me." Matthew Ryan Herget currently works out of Los Angeles, CA.

Show Notes:

• 0:00:00 - Introduction
• 0:00:47 - Live in Art Basel
• 0:06:08 - Trusting In More Abstract Work
• 0:10:17 - Psychedelics in Dog Parks
• 0:15:31 - Psychedelics Opening Mental Portals
• 0:18:21 - Plants, Shamans, and Community
• 0:21:06 - Different Mental Access Points Through Psychedelics
• 0:24:37 - Tie-Dye Shirt Trip
• 0:25:37 - Artistic Process With Psychedelics
• 0:27:17 - Social Conditioning and Growing Up
• 0:32:28 - Dropping Out of College and Manifesting Art Career
• 0:39:10 - Generational Curses, Eckhart Tolle, and Letting Go
• 0:47:16 - Manifestation of God
• 0:48:11 - Time at Artist For Peace and Justice
• 0:58:33 - Traveling and Experiencing Life
• 1:02:57 - Advice to Artists
• 1:05:27 - Wrap Up

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Born during his parents' flight from Cambodia in the wake of the Khmer Rogue genocide, Andrew Hem grew up poised in the balance between two cultures - the rural animistic society of his Khmer ancestors, and the dynamic urban arts of the tough Los Angeles neighborhood where his family eventually came to rest. Fascinated by graffiti at an early age, he honed his skills with graphics and composition on the walls of the city before following a passion for figure drawing to a degree in illustration from Art Center College of Design. Working in gouache, oil and acrylic, he weaves atmospheric, richly textured narratives in a vivid palette of twilight blues enlivened by swaths of deep red and splashes of golden light. His haunting impressions of culture and landscape evoke the life of the spirit through the visionary manifestation of memories and dreams.

Over the six years since his graduation from Art Center with a B.F.A. in Illustration, Andrew Hem has exhibited in venues worldwide, from Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York and the Portsmouth Museum of Art in New Hampshire to solo and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Nashville, Miami, Toronto, Zurich and Leece, Italy. He has lectured at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. His personal work has been featured in Beyond Illustration, the Society of Illustrators annual, Communication Arts, Spectrum, American Illustration, 3x3, Swallow and Hi-Fructose, among others, and his illustration clients have included The Atlantic, New Scientist, the Los Angeles Times, the Fort Worth Opera, Adidas and Lucky Brand Jeans. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

Show Notes:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 03:18 - Art Center Stories
• 08:10 - Getting Into Art, Graffiti, and 90s Gangsters
• 14:48 - Fleeing Genocide as a Baby
• 16:04 - Cambodia Hand in Hand with Donut Shop
• 17:52 - Mom on Instagram and Acting
• 21:55 - Geek in the Day, Tagger by Night
• 24:03 - Getting Arrested and Quitting Tagging Cold Turkey
• 26:08 - Santa Monica College
• 27:01 - Color, Figure Painting, Street Art, and Landscapes
• 28:45 - Artists Influences
• 30:54 - Journey From Art Center to the White House
• 33:41 - Traveling Doing Murals
• 43:45 - What's Coming Up Next
• 46:27 - Wrap Up

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Paul Jung is a New York based artist, born in Taiwan, grew up in Australia, and educated in Italy. Jung received his BFA in graphic design in Milan, Italy, from the Istituto Europeo di Design in 2009, and his MFA from School of Visual Arts for Fashion Photography in 2013. Currently he works on an ongoing collaboration with fashion designer Melitta Baumeister. Jung has currently two published photographic books, and explores hyperreal environment in photography and film.

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Eddie Bravo is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Jean Jacques Machado. Bravo made his mark in competitive Jiu Jitsu by submitting Royler Gracie at ADCC Championship (2003), after which he launched his 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu program which became widely publicized and gathered a huge following in the grappling and MMA circuits. Eddie's views on grappling, heavily reliant on positions such as "the rubber guard", "the twister" and "the lock down", caught the eye of several MMA fighers who sought Bravo to learn the system, fighters such as Alan Belcher, Matt Horwich, and Vinny Magalhaes.

Hosted by: Yoshino X Hannah Vandermolen

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Olivia Bee (born in Portland, Oregon, 1994) is photographer based in Brooklyn, NY, and Los Angeles, CA. After the recognition received for her photographs on social media. Converse commissioned Bee, at the age of fifteen, to shoot her first ad. She has since gone on to shoot campaigns for brands such as Hermes, Levi's, and editorial features for publications such as Vogue, New York, the New York Times, and Le Monde. Her photography has been featured in three solo shows at Agnes B. New York, Apeture, New York, and Bernal Espacio, Madrid. She is intrigued by the beauty of everyday life and how the beauty of memories (real or imagined) touches us.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Passion
• Combining talent, drive, and passion
• Her thoughts on failing and the importance of it
• Being intentional while at the same time leaving room for spontaneous occurrences to happen
• Her narrative character studies
• Her love for Neil Young's vulnerability and honesty
• Pouring your heart and soul into your process
• Exploring fear and going down the rabbit hole
• Recognizing all things that make you human
• Listening to your instincts

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Duke Johnson is a graduate of NYC and the American Film Institute. Anomalisa, which Duke directed alongside Charlie Kaufman, is his first feature film and was nominated for an Academy Award in the Animated Feature Film category. Duke's previous credits include the Adult Swim shows Moral Orel, Mary Shelley's Frankenhole and Beforel Orel. He directed the Emmy Award winning episode of NBC's Community: Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Spirituality
• How he met collaborative partner Dino Stamatopoulos
• Collaborating with Charlie Kaufman
• A film being a metaphor
• Approaching film from a visual standpoint
• Necessity being the mother of creativity
• The gap between your taste level and your ability

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Saman Kesh is an Iranian-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California, United States. He is known for his narrative music video work for notable artists such as Basement Jaxx, Calvin Harris, Kygo, Placebo, !!! (chk chk chk), Vitalic, Apparat and Porter Robinson.

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Tunde Adebimpe is a musician, actor, director, and visual artist best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed band TV On The Radio.

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