5 questions to Andy
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Smartarea. You are both a musician and a painter. What was born first: the passion for music or the passion for painting? Andy. They were born at the same time, and I've always cultivated both of them. Smartarea. Where does your study on fluorescent colours and chromatic contrasts stem from? Andy. It's actually a passion of youth for what I would call "chromatic exhibitionism": I have always been attracted to fluorescent colours. Only later did I discover those famous artists who used the same kind of colours and the same contrasts. Smartarea. Your multifaceted artistic talent ranges from painting to music: so much so that it often results in an all-embracing performance. What kind of job would you have chosen if you had not become an artist? Andy. Probably I would have liked to be a doctor, specialised in Alternative Medicine. I'm quite sceptical of conventional medicine, and I am particularly interested in those medicine practices connected to China and the East in general.
Smartarea. No doubt your painting style in somehow reminiscent of rock&roll! Drawing a comparison between music and visual art, what do you think about art in Italy at the moment? Would you compare it to a progressive and stimulating rock or is it rather stuck in a stale reproduction of trite stereotypes? Andy. I think there's an increasing gap between the underground scene and the mainstream scene. The former would actually offer interesting artists, but the whole system is stuck because it keeps focusing on (and selling) works by artist who are already well-known or even dead for many years. Obviously this approach doesn't help unknown artists to emerge.
Smartarea. You are among the artists whose works are shown in the collective exhibition It's not only Rock&Roll, Baby!, dedicated to musicians who express themselves through visual arts as well, just as you do. What do you think about this peculiar approach?
Andy. First of all, I'm very happy to take part to this exhibition, I think it's a very important event which can also rely on a great curator. I also appreciate the idea of showing that a musician can be a painter as well. Unfortunately in our country there are still lots of prejudices against those artists who make use of different modalities to express themselves. So, if a famous sculptor starts painting he will be automatically considered a genius, whereas if a musician does the same, he's very likely to be thought quite mediocre.
19th August 2010 |
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