NAME: Ian Stevenson
AGE: 34
WHAT YOU DO: Art
WHERE YOU FROM/ LIVE? London
WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY TO HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE: Learn from people and then listen to yourself.
TELL US ABOUT REALLY SHIT, WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND IT: I was invited by Dutch visual communications studio Trapped in Suburbia to put on a solo show at its Ship of Fools gallery in The Hague in The Netherlands.
WHATS THE MESSAGE BEHIND REALLY SHIT: I wanted to highlight the negative side of life today and make people think about the reality of modern living and then use this as the selling point. The main piece of the show is a canvas featuring the words Really Shit, the truth behind many of the messages that fill our lives. Another piece “It’s Just Art” features a paint brush shape that would resemble most peoples perception of art but without the bullshit and aims to include the viewer not patronise it. My piece “I Could Do That” is a common phrase said in art galleries but the fact is they didn’t do it and that’s the point. As a by-product of drawing after getting the pens started some other pieces of work were created and I thought they deserved to be included just as much as everything else. Some of the packaging used to transport the work was also exhibited. The very people who don’t understand this exhibition or my work are the very ones who could get the most from it.
HOW DID YOU CONCEIVE THIS CONCEPT: I was thinking about advertising and how brands manipulate us.
I SEE A LOT OF TYPE IN YOUR ART, HOW DOES TYPOGRAPHY PLAY A PART IN YOUR LIFE: It helps me to read things. In my work it enables me to be more specific about what I am wanting to communicate.
TELL US THE INSPIRATIONS BEHIND YOUR WORK: I like to react to what I’m seeing in the world today.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TODAY’S CONTEMPORARY ART SCENE: What I’ve always enjoyed about art is that it becomes much more than the work on display. Style doesn’t matter and it’s how it makes you think and feel that’s the point. Some of it on the other hand is just really shit and it’s more about who you know.
WHAT DRIVES YOU: A distant force but I am unaware of it’s origin.
ART TO YOU IS LIKE… A way to help me understand things.
SHOW US SOME LINKS, STUFF YOU THINK IS REALLY DOPE:
Hovering Art Directors – Trying to take credit for something they didn’t do. – link
Photoshop Disasters. – link
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO:
ANY COOL FILMS WE CAN LOOK OUT FOR:
Magic Hole from Ian Stevenson on Vimeo.
Check out Ian’s website.
