Interview with July Feature Artist Atticus Allen
Our July Feature Artist is Atticus Allen, a designer, illustrator, and active musical artist based in Rhode Island. His showcase consists of a variety of surrealistic city and townscapes comprised of pen, ink, and Crayola watercolor.
In an interview with us, Atticus talks inspiration behind his pieces, creative influences, and preparing for his opening night (on July 6th!).
What prompted you to create this distinctive and dream-like series on real estate? Did you pick the mediums on a whim or was working with Crayola an intentional choice?
This is a style of drawing I've had for many years. I remember an Intaglio professor likening it to outsider art — quite the compliment. After acting on the suggestion of a friend to pair the "stream of consciousness" micron drawings with an elementary school printmaking technique utilizing Crayola markers, aluminum foil and water, the elements really began to engage with one another. The low-control, fast-result printmaking provided a new stage for improvisational drawing.
The real estate angle developed as life gave context to the art.
In August of last year, my childhood home was sold out from under my family after we rented it for thirty years, which sent me into an unintended spiral of real estate self-education, cynicism, loss of identity, betrayal and a tremendous feeling of failure. Calling this project Real Estate points out the fickle and ostentatious nature I feel the industry has.
It may seem like a laughable idea to some, but no kidding. Once I gather some eccentricity in my personality, I plan to develop an appropriate platform and purchasing system to mortgage out each of these pieces or "properties,” so I, as the developer, can benefit off my art not on a one-time fee of $20-$60, but instead gather a down payment and a and thirty-year mortgage at the current interest rate for each piece — subscription art with all the cold hurdles of real estate.
I truly think that's a concept: utilizing the real estate model to sell art.
Given your background, would you say that music and design has shaped your work, and if so, in what ways?
Absolutely. These improvisational drawings have a loose structure much like the live performance of a song, only I can hang my work on a wall after completion instead of losing it into the stale air of a crowded bar room. These pieces could be considered more decoration than design, but my affinity towards minimalist principles comes through in the lack of detail and iconography used throughout the work.
What other artists and musicians inspire you most?
Keith Jarrett comes to mind. So does Cy Twombly and Bill Frisell. All seem like they had a part in these illustrations of mine.
How did you learn about The Collaborative and what have you learned in the process of preparing for your opening?
I've been drawn to The Collaborative logo since I saw it on a window while passing through Warren. I enjoy the work of my friend Matt Deleo who further drew me in, and the Small Works Show got the ball rolling for me and gave me the confidence to do my own.
If you could bottle the mental flow and state that these illustrations put me in, we could give Pfizer a run for their money.
