The Dissection of New York Artist Michael Alan

Come Back Come Back Come Back (Courtesy of Gasser Grunert Gallery)

I live and paint to tell. I’ll stop when I’m dead.

An Interview with acclaimed New York artist Michael Alan

There are few artists whose art has truly captivated me to the point where I lose track of time and fail to realize how many hours have passed since I first stepped into the exhibit. And there is an even fewer number of artists from that group that are still alive. Only one in fact: Michael Alan. His recent solo exhibition at Eastern District Gallery “Blurred/Reformed/Dissected” garnered the deserved attention of a large crowd of admirers who were unable to just take a casual glance at his pieces. But instead were forced to take several strolls around the gallery to be able to absorb the complexity of this new collection of drawings and paintings. Many artists toss around words like depth, movement, and dichotomy when describing their work as if they were dirty diapers; apprehensive and unsure where to dump these phrases but attaching them to their work because it sounds good. And in the end, it still stinks. But after a few moments with paintings like Come Back (pictured above) and  Walking Along the Edge, it became apparent to me that Alan was well-acquainted with the meaning of these words.

Critics who dare categorize Michael Alan’s work might want to double-check their notes, and might expect to be dismissed and corrected by Alan; an artist who refuses to be type-caste and rather cunningly uses each succeeding canvas to readjust and reaffirm his perceptions of himself and the world around him. Within the same show, as my eye jumped from one image to the next, left to right, I could see these depictions of that evolution. And the phases of this evolution became clearer and clearer with each limb, line, and blossoming color that exploded from the surface. Fine trails of ink blend with delicate shades of watercolor. Nothing is wasted.

Walking Along the Edge (Courtesy of Gasser Grunert Gallery)

Alan’s line work is some of the best I have ever seen, surprising twists and turns take the eye everywhere, yet are not random, but rather intuitive. In what can only be described as a controlled chaos, Alan creates compositions that don’t need a fixed focal point to be relevant. It’s all about the journey and not the destination. And anyone who questions this process should  actually watch him draw and see the intensity he pours into his work. There is a deliberate love affair with the concept of duality in his work, the expansion and contraction of space and ideas. There is also a constant conversation, a blinding back and forth that Alan has been able to slow down long enough for us to pick out what we need. Some might see a figure, others a face, others an animal, or all of these at once, in bursting layers as thick and thin as the levels that make up our selves.

Michael Alan’s work has been featured in 6 New York solo shows and over 200 group shows and has been discussed in over 200 publications, books and media sources, including the New York Times, NBC’s Today Show, Marie Claire Italia, The New York Post, Fox Channel 5, the Village Voice’s Best in Show,Time Out New York, and the New York Press.

And now, it is my honor to give my lovely readers a rare glimpse into the mind of a man possessed by the compulsion to create. A taste of a unique, remarkable madness that many artists would relish (myself included). In the following interview, we take a look at the motivation behind Michael Alan’s art, his view of the current state of the art world and a handful of his pet peeves.  Now let’s get on with the nitty gritty and dissection of one of the greatest artists you should know.

Try

Tell me about your process? Do you have any specific routine or ritual that you use to prepare?

My process, in short, is to make my art move and change every time you look at it. I want you to find something new at every pass. I suggest movement-which is life. In order to capture this, I work with tedious layers, mixed with multiple marks. I primarily work with two opposing forces: light and dark. Rather then just picking one feeling, I choose to depict multiple sensations. But the trick is to combine the many sides of reality. As for routines-I work everyday. I rarely take a day off. My obsession is the work, and I push as hard as I can.

Are there any artists (old masters or contemporary) that have influenced you?

Many ground breakers, legends, but at this moment I want to focus on my first influence. My childhood best friend, who passed last year: Odin, a great graffiti artist, who always found new materials and made something out of nothing. He was my greatest friend, my first influence, and the only artist I knew until I was 20. He was supportive and pushed me to go for this. Since then, a few others are Jan Svankmajer, Schiele, Giacometti, Hans Bellmer, Romare Bearden, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf (who I’m glad to call my friend!), as well as many others.

Tell me about your “breakthrough” in 2007/2008. The pieces from this period are busier and your line work nearly covers the entire surface, leaving little negative space. Your new series appears chaotic, yet more controlled and deliberate; it’s in stark contrast to paintings like “Same Day” and “The World According to Gart.”

Everything changes, my latest piece, “Nuclear Winter”, covers the entire image, it’s pushed back and it jumps forward. In ’07 or today, I don’t see chaos in my work, it’s more of an elaborate mathematical equation dealing with surface, change and layers with many alternative pictorial solutions. I have an army of images, light, strong, meek, anxious, and I try to cover the bases. My real breakthrough period was when I was a kid painting pictures everywhere. That was all I did. I just made pictures, everyday, of everything and everyone. I didn’t know about any artists, or art schools. I was just a New York City kid and this helped me find myself. I recently looked through my parents’ attic and the work you talk about started then, and evolved, thankfully….

Prostitution

How do the experiences of your upbringing and your adult life influence your perceptions of creation, destruction and ultimately, your artwork?

My greatest moments working are when I can focus and understand that nothing matters. Death may come the next day. So tonight I will go as hard and as honest as I can, and celebrate my talents. It comes from growing up in New York City. A lot has changed since I was a kid. It was a dangerous place, and you really felt the mortality. I keep this with me and am thankful that I am alive and making work. I miss many of my old friends, but they give me strength to realize what is true and when its time to push the creative stakes higher. Now the city changes so fast-life is speeding, and I am working with that also. Think of Otto Dix in the trenches. Use what you got, or stop.

Is your artwork a product of your personal psychological journey, or would you say it is more a representation of your reaction to the world around you?

My work talks about change, physical, mental, literal, human, animal, world. Everything at the same time…moving. I am a part of this. These aren’t journal entries. It’s how I see the world around me; the line-work is my flow and signature. It carries from every piece.

White

Why do you use the mediums you have chosen? Do you prefer them over others?

I am not prejudiced to any material. I use all materials. I especially want to push simple materials to their broadest range-simple science. I love to test the range and endurance of these materials. They feel the most natural to me and the effect is uncommon. I naturally want to avoid what most people use, or find a way to reuse it, mixed with a dash of ? Part of the artist’s job is to take the material and change it.

You have been featured in several well-known periodicals including the New York Times and New York Post. Do you believe you have achieved a level of success and notoriety that your are content with? Or is it just more motivation for you to push yourself to be greater and gain even more recognition for your work?

Contentment is gratitude and without gratitude you have nothing. The more you need the less you will have. Whatever comes my way, papers, accidents, fear, love, it will always push me to make more. Motivation comes naturally to me, and I never stop making. That is the key to my success. If you hang around me, it will be hard to have me not draw. I live and paint to tell. I’ll stop when I’m dead.

Still from the Displayed Window with Nora McKelvey (Photo: Garry Boake)

You are well-known for pioneering and orchestrating the “Living Installation”. What is it and how did this project come about?

I do all types of  projects and each one is different. People seem to get confused and say he does this, or he’s known for that. Ask anyone: I draw and paint all day and do Art Activism on the side. I do living installations and public art to be around people, create a place. I love to catch people off-guard in windows, mangling a beautiful person into a living sculpture and sparking live social commentary. I do this  because it’s necessary to put things into the world that are not part of the regular flow. In return, my drawings come to life and get a chance to have lungs. This is a great way to make a statement, and actually be able to say hello.

When you’re not creating new work, how do you spend your free time?

Answering questions, emails, catching up on sleep, the gym, good conversations.I don’t have much free time, so the time that I do have I spend drawing my friends while we talk.

You seem to be a collected, humble guy. What makes Michael Alan angry?

War, police, rules, ideals, superstitions, wasted talent, dead friends, bad art in good spots, negativity, quitters, flakes.

How do you feel about the current state of the art world? Where do you see things heading?

History repeats itself. Museums are responsible for keeping the look, galleries have bills to pay, people copy. There is a ‘style. Everyone does it. Maybe even 4 styles: wallpaper, decorations, slave-labor apprentice art, sexy art and then boom!

Trompe L'Oeil

To view more of Michael Alan’s drawings, paintings, and read about the Living Installation Project visit his website here:

Michael Alan Art

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