Conversation about staging dragon

With artist Tony Brown

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AS AN ARTIST AND HOW IT INFLUENCED YOUR APPROACH TO THIS PROJECT?

I grew up in some very unconventional environments like communes in Louisiana and Colorado in the early 70’s.  Both parents were from rural farm families and most work was performed with the hands.  Inside this experience there were moments of searing beauty or esthetic experience that I was unable to articulate even to myself until many years later.  The random and sometimes chaotic nature I was exposed to as a kid let  me to find great satisfaction in adaptation.

Any environment has a number of really great possible activations.  The home is one of the most important!  The weirder the space, the wall, the nook - the more likely something great can come to that location.  If not, it’s the fault of the artist, not the space.

HOW DID IT FEEL TO SEE YOUR PIECE IN A SPACE LIKE THIS?

Very good.  I built a new piece out of an existing one in order to adapt to the environment.

HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE FOR THIS STAGING PROJECT?

Good, I love making art and I love esthetic problem solving.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING ARTISTS:

Pursue you interests regardless what others say, the process is organic and you keep figuring it out and its wonderful.  Don’t get discouraged, artists make art, keep doing it!

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THIS PROJECT?

I find it difficult to pull out different parts of the project as favorite since I really like all of it, from visualizing all the potential a space has to support art to collecting the materials to creating the work to seeing the work finalized and installed in the space - I like all of it!

DO YOU HAVE ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS OR COLLABORATIONS THAT EXCITE YOU?

I have more ideas than time and so many things I want to make.

HOW WILL THIS EXPERIENCE INFLUENCE YOUR FUTURE WORK?

It is part of a continuum, all experiences influence all the work if one is paying attention.

HOW HAS THIS EXPERIENCE INFLUENCED YOUR ARTISTIC APPROACH OR PERSPECTIVE?

No change.  I want to keep making and reacting to environments.

WHAT IMPACT DO YOU FEEL YOUR ARTWORK HAS ON THE OVERALL ATMOSPHERE OF THE HOUSE?

From a design perspective I feel like the work activates the space in a way that is interesting and elegant.  For the few people that need to go deeper there is plenty to consider.

With artist Joe Davidson