ASVP - an interview

ASVP: the Interview by JAK 2012

Walk around any major NYC street and you'll encounter a tag by outfit ASVP. I've long been a fan of their stylized hand printed pieces, and I wanted to know more. Here's the interview plus links at the bottom. 

how many people are in your outfit? 

Two.

given that 99% of the public likely don’t notice your work, why do you do it?

It’s more about sharing and acknowledging that we all have a voice, and we shouldn’t shy away from using it. We do it with the idea that the next time you ask the same question you’ll say, “Given that 89% of the public likely don’t notice your work, why do you do it?”

do you cluster in certain areas? if so, why's that? 

Yes. Not so much by design but more because we respect that certain areas lend themselves to the work more than others. We’re interested in collaborating with other artists, and connecting with people who are interested in this kind of work. Certain areas are better for that than others. Additionally, the work stands to last longer in a places that are more supportive of it.

a lot of Street Artists seem to pimp their work outside of major galleries as opposed to projects, low-profile public spaces and slum neighborhoods. is this hypocritical? or do you think the artists are simply making a statement? 

There’s something for everyone and everyone has their own reasons. We say, do whatever works for you. Personally, we’re certainly not interested placing our work in a context that presents it as “just outside” of where it could be or where it hopes to be someday. Feeling like you’re walking against the wind is one thing---lots of artists have to deal with that. Spitting into that wind is another thing entirely.

name your top 5 contemporary street artists in NYC, do you guys hang out and socialize?

There are a lot of great artists that we respect. Faile QRST and Skewville are among them.

what do you think of Banksy? 

What can I say, he’s like a brother to me. I love him.

do you consider Street Art a movement? 

Nope. Movements usually consist of common themes and/or aims. Sure, all street art is drawn together by the outdoor application, but that’s been going on since The Stone Age. For better or worse, sometimes work from multiple artists winds up huddled together, but this in the end often winds up looking more like a food fight rather than an organized front.

do you think Street Art is an expression of pure democracy or subject to the same albeit inverted elitist sensibilities of Fine Art?

That’s completely contingent on the artist’s intentions and considerations. On the surface, the street is a free, unadulterated democratic theater. It’s also wide open enough to offer a variety of its own nooses to artistically hang yourself with if you’re not focused on what you’re doing. All artwork is “subject” to something or someone, in some way, anyone that says theirs isn’t, is either lying or in denial.

Did you grow up in an artistic family?

One of us did. We were both artistic from young ages though and were both encouraged to pursue something creative by our families.

Where did you first begin to create your public art?

The very first public piece I did was a burner on a racquetball court at my high school. That was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

How long does an average piece take you?

Nearly every piece we create is completely hand drawn first, and this can take time. For example, The Balaclava (mask with halo) was totally hand drawn, all of the “knitting” in the mask took quite a while to draw. An original illustration can take anywhere from 1 week of intense work to months depending on complexity. There’s also a lot of research that goes into developing concepts and making the selections for what we ultimately produce. There are many parts to the process. To answer the question directly, from start to finish the original artwork for any given piece probably takes an average of 2-3 months. After that, every poster we make is hand screened and/or hand painted, nothing of ours ever comes out of any kind of printer.

Do you think NYC could use a museum dedicated to Street Art?

In theory it’s seems like a great idea but we’re actually not into it for a number of reasons. As soon as the work enters a museum it becomes something different. It’s no longer public, even if the general public can go and view it. For us, what makes the work just that, is the ungoverned environment that it exists in as well as the guts it takes to get-up and stay up. Placing the work in a controlled environment does just that, it controls the surrounding circumstances that the work exists in and takes the integral aspect of the street completely out of the equation. It’s kind  of like seeing a lion in the wild vs. one in a cage, sure, it’s entertaining to look at, but ultimately there’s something forced and sort of fake about it.

Then there’s the entirely different problem about who’s in and who’s not. It’s a no win situation. This was proven with the Art in the Streets exhibit that took place at MOCA earlier this year. With that show being the most visited exhibition in the museum’s history, yes, it can be seen in many ways as a success for the entire culture, but in the end, as soon as you encapsulate and/or monetize the viewing of the work---it just changes it. For the better? We’re not so sure.

where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

12 years into the future.

http://asvpart.com/portfolio/north-america/

Are you a street artist and want to be interviewed? Contact me on FB under BUCK WABBIT.  http://www.facebook.com/BUCKWABBIT