Exclusive live interview with Joshua Krause. Brought to you by Antipoda
Latest Artwork by © Joshua Krause 2004. Watch these › one ·two  · More under USA.
American artist Joshua Krause believes in the possibilities of art – to capture, to communicate, and to beautify. We caught up to see how this illustrator / musician seeks out and explores new ideas and concepts through his work. Interview by Daniel Stevenson.
Q · Where do you live?
A · San Diego, California. I was born in New York, lived in Florida, went back to NYC, then ended up out here 1 1/2 yrs ago.
Q · Are the east and west coast of the USA any different in style regarding to art?, Is there any Mexican influence on your side?
A · A lot of the best illustration from the East Coast has a definite Jordan Isip influence...its the dark, Egyptian take on figurative art...California has more of the dual artist/illustrator feel. I moved to San Diego because So Call art is really appealing to me. It is a symbiosis of classical painting, street art and commercial overtones. Charles Glaubitz is a great example of a Mexican artist and illustrator bringing a cultural currency to the visual dialogue. There is tons of art internationally that makes me excited, such as the mural movements in Indonesia and the return to craft on the West Coast...but Mexico, especially the border towns, are the breading grounds for the next explosion...Case in point: I waited for Glaubitz for 2 hours at the border...he schleps across with over 60 paintings for my gallery. That is art.
Q · When you aren’t illustrating for income what is art for you - a Release? an expression of inner thoughts? statements about the world? about people? something else?
A · My work, be it for commercial use or for a gallery, is always telling a story, or at least touching on themes I'm interested in, like evolution, fallen cities, future myth, and the small place our existence plays in all of this. But I also think my stuff is funny and light-hearted, and I sometimes like to just make myself giggle. I try to juggle these obsessive ideas I have with these bouncy, dopey characters that are themselves, in a state of evolution.
Q · You collected bits and pieces off the streets when you were a kid using them to create collage works, do you still do this now? Was / is this a means of developing ideas?
A · I am always finding fragments, but am not as apt to throw them in my paintings recently. I'm really trying to develop as a painter, and these things don't always work. That isn't to say I don't use them in the collage, but they are piling up for another idea I have.
Q · What goes through your mind when you sit down in front of a blank piece of paper?
I am constantly working on art, so I just view a blank piece of wood as another shot at trying to solve the riddle. When illustrating, I go into it with some ideas or concepts from the art director or the article. I sketch and doodle a lot, and this often just let things unfold.
Q · You are a musician and an artist, have these pursuits grown as one or as two separate entities? Have they helped develop each other and how?
A · I used to do the music thing as much as the art. A few years ago I was juggling both, but was also consumed with a lot of other pursuits. I needed to shed a few things in order to really develop my art. I've recently started writing songs again, and rocking with some people, but it is only for fun and a break from running the gallery, illustrating, etc.
Q · How are the two related from a creative point of view?
A · I am constantly drawing parallels between art and music, especially when I talk with my best friend Pete from The Sems. When he was writing the first record, I played, produced and helped him pull off his vision, and when I'd make art, he'd kinda watch and we'd talk about harmonies or rhythm. It takes years and decades to be good at either, and I want to be an artist.
Q · Has there been any moment in your life when you doubted your abilities as an artist or a musician?
A · To do anything full time and with all your energy requires a certain commitment and sacrifice, but it also requires a strong sense of belief. I am constantly rattled, but part of becoming better is working through that. I've gone weeks churning out good stuff, and then I'll hit a day when nothing works and I realise I have A LOT more training to do.
Q · Tell us about the use of the human face (which features heavily) in your work.
A · You've got one, I've got one...The faces are really just abstractions, and they are progressively abstracting further. In terms of evolution, or our ideas of how we once looked and what we will eventually look like, you've always got a face. I stare at people a lot, but seem to paint these repetitive clones.
Q · You have said in a previous interview that you feel it’s your job to educate the world about visual possibilities. What are these possibilities - communication? stirring of emotion?
A · Well, you need to convince people and clients that art and graphics can be many different things, and the possibilities, applications, execution and implementation is infinite. Most graphics are terrible, illustration is used less and less, and stock photography solves too many problems. Environmentally, the world could look a lot lovelier than it does now. That doesn’t mean me and a few buddies should go paint the globe, but concrete and buildings and infrastructure can be a lot more hospitable. Think of how disenfranchised people feel, how absolutely alienating city life can be, how voiceless we are in our specific culture and our lack of interaction with the rest of the world. That’s one reason why graffiti, stencils and wheat-pasting have had such a boom--it is modern cave-painting, a stamp of existence. Most people don't even notice it, and have been brainwashed into thinking of this art as vandalism. But, when someone is break-dancing or doing graff on a TV commercial or in a print ad, then its OK because they are being sold something. Sorry for the mini-thesis.
Q · In fifty years what will people say about art in the early 2000’s? What will the period be called?
A · I don't know and don't care.
Q · In post-September 11 America has 9.11 and the subsequent war on terror provoked fresh cultural / artistic exploration? Has it influenced your work?
A · Yes, mostly bad art. We will see things so horrific in our lives, as we have in recent history, that art is one of those things that make people feel better. I am certain we are living in a return to art, though. I know Southern California is having a revival.
Q · For some artist finding an agent and concentrating on painting is an alternative. how important is self promotion for an artist nowadays, you know, building your own site, looking for group shows...
A · I am in tons of shows, on tons of web sites. I have an illustration agent, a publicist, and a gallery. Modern art is about marketing and about talent. I will send postcards and emails and paintings to anyone and I respond to all inquiries about my work. Art is a job, albeit a fun and exciting job, it is real work. The reason your favourite artists make it is because they work hard, meet good people, and promote. Guerrilla art is a one way, postcards are another, art shows are something else, too...I do them all because they all increase the frequency of your images spreading. The more people recognise what you do, the more you need to blow them away.
Q · How important do you think is getting out of the USA to be seen internationally?
A · It is paramount, essential and vital. I would find no greater joy than connecting with people across the globe through art. I am interested in going to work somewhere else for a while, to observe and assimilate into other ways of life. My work focuses on the abstract interpretations of innocence, childhood, immortality, the act of flying, etc...imagination isn't xenophobic. Art is a lot like math in its ability to articulate concepts over language barriers.
Q · Tell us about District Three, the gallery you just opened and the opening exhibition featuring 3 Antipoda members including yourself.
A · I am home from our first opening and realise I haven't really slept in about 3 weeks. But I am committed to bringing great art to San Diego and representing artists that get it. District 3 is a collaboration of a fine artist, a commercial artist, and a media whore. We have a space that shows the best of the best of emerging and established artists...everything else is up to chance. One of my favourite writers, Paul Auster, expounds on themes of luck and coincidence, and I think we banking on just that.
Q · If an aspiring artist / illustrator asked you for one piece of advice what would it be?
A · Stop making excuses and start training.