Artist, Photographer, YouTuber, mischief maker, whistles in the shower, smells of fruit pastels, geneticly closer to milk than humans. -Jonny Love via Twitter
When did you first find a love for art?
In 2000, after the renovation of an old power station on Bankside, Tate Modern opened its doors to the intrigued population of London. I was fortunate enough to be there on its opening day and what I saw inside was both bewildering and bizarre. As a 13-year-old, the concept of “Modern Art” was lost on me and I left feeling confused as to what I saw and why it was art. Soon Tate Modern was seen as a “Cool” place to visit with its ever-changing exhibits of wonder and I found myself visiting more and more.
It wasn’t until my 4th/5th visit that something clicked in me. Perhaps it was the upside down Grand piano suspended in the middle of a vast room which intermittently spat out its keys with a loud thump of piano string noise (Concert for Anarchy by Rececca Horn) or the bare canvas with a single slash which commanded people to gather and speculate on its being (“Waiting” by Lucio Fontana). It dawned on me that art isn’t always a clear cut Mona Lisa masterpiece, it could be representational, surreal and obscure, metaphoric or even Satire. Modern art could challenge you to ask questions and think far outside the box. This is where my love of art came from and although my artwork is not as contemporary and perhaps “Original” as those in Tate Modern, The ideas and thoughts for my works have stemmed from these pieces.
Has the economic downturn affected your work?
I became a freelance artist a little over a year ago and in all honesty it has been a struggle. Although I have sold a fair amount of work, it has been hard to make ends meet. I have been forced to create commercial pieces which will sell well and cost little to produce. I have a note book full of ideas and plans of works which I would like to create to take me from humble South London Artist to an international stage. These ideas include half mile long ink drawings, a 100 meter tall tower marble run sculpture and impossible objects in bottles. But until I have money for materials and space to produce such things, they will be shelved.
Do you remember your first experience with the internet?
The dial up noise is nostalgic for me now, an electronic symphony of beeps, static, bongs and blips.
I have a vague memory of a cumbersome Windows 95 machine powering a frustratingly sluggish dial up modem. The dial up noise is nostalgic for me now, an electronic symphony of beeps, static, bongs and blips. I also remember websites being basic, unprofessional by today’s standards and the vast majority being hosted by Geocities and Angelfire. Remember them?
How do you use social networking to publicize your art?
The internet has become the perfect platform for publicizing to a worldwide audience. I use a number of social networking sites to promote and I am discovering more and more sites which do this efficiently. I am a novice when it comes to social networking and I have had varied success. YouTube is my most successful platform where I post time-lapse videos and video demonstrations of my work. In total I have achieved over 284,000 views on 32 videos. This number increases on average 1,500 views a day and is a real motivator.
I have also recently ventured into the world of video blogging. I have always wanted to video blog about life and my every day activities (art and non-art related activities – mainly non art related). As of yet I still haven’t found my voice on what I want to say or how to make the blog interesting, but its a learning curb and I’m sure I will get there eventually!
Twitter has been a very good way of connecting with people – I’m always amazed how far a picture or tweet travels and what contacts reveal themselves. Plus it’s always awesome when you tweet a celebrity and they reply! To date I have just over 20,000 followers which makes for a very noisy Twitter feed.
I decided this week that I am releasing enough blog/art/videos into the internet world to produce a blog hub. A place where all my exports are accumulated into one big blog mash-up. I chose Tumblr for this after I realized the vast amount of artists, photographers and hilarious picture blogs which can all be “Reblogged” – a very useful thing if you want work noticed!
In your mind, how can the web world become a better place?
Unfortunately the internet has become a breeding ground for bullies and bigots. I, along with many others expect criticism. I accept criticism on a daily basis. But a large amount of internet users attack viciously knowing there will not be any repercussions. I would love an internet where racists, homophobes and trolls would have their internet days numbered. Perhaps every site should have a comeuppance button next to every username which you could click and inact a good virtual beating. But that’s just fantasy of course and would probably make the internet a bit dull.
Also, wouldn’t it be nice to see a Facebook downfall? I’m pissed off with all the changes every month, all the downtime, the lack of help, the wasted time, Farmville and Restaurant city. Don’t say it will never happen – Remember Myspace? Once a juggernaut, now just a used tissue. Why not just stop using Facebook I hear you cry! I would if I could, but it’s like a drug habit which needs feeding daily, sometimes hourly
You have an hour of free time. What do you do?
An hour free gives me time to surf the net and catch up with events. I sometimes find myself limiting the time I spend on the net as I could easily go on for the whole day without realizing. Sometimes I stumble upon a website which is in a different language and it suddenly dawns on me just how vast it all is – I’d been poking around the English speaking sites forgetting there are a billion others from Japan, and a billion others from Germany etc. All the thousands of websites I frequent upon is just a molecule in an ocean. It truly is amazing!
Some of my favorite sites include Deviantart.com – A fantastic community of artists, photographers, poets and film makers. Tumblr.com – My daily injection of humor and Newgrounds.com to let off some steam with some crazy flash games.
Where do you want to take your career in art, film and photo?
In art I would love to be recognized as a great contemporary. I would love to produce works which everyone anticipates and admires. Then again I would settle for a piece to be exhibited in Tate Modern.
In photo I would love to follow in David Lachapelle’s footsteps and photograph the famous. His photos are very expressive and a complete visual adventure. I implore you all to check out his work.
I have many plans to produce very short independent films in the future. Perhaps not for financial gain, but more so for recognition. I am a great fan of director Chris Cunningham’s work who is a very big influence for me. He created the Video for Bjork’s “All is full of Love” and is the genius behind such adverts as Playstation mental wealth and Gucci Flora. A quick search for Chris Cunningham on YouTube should reveal most of his work.
Why is London so wonderful?
“If you’re bored of London, you’re bored of life.”
London is steeped in hundreds of years of History. From the Romans, to kings and queens, Fire, plague and serial killers (I make it sound so glamorous, don’t I?). It’s a mixture of rich and famous to the ordinary folk and poor. London’s buildings are a mixture of the ancient to very new with varying styles and uses. Throw in an extraordinary number of cultures then wrap it in an inception style maze of streets. London is Fascinating. Something is going on at all times, everywhere. It’s a city to loose yourself in.
I have walked along the shores of the Thames picking up washed up artifacts from the 1800’s which litter the banks in their thousands. Waved at the queen as she left Buckingham palace. Bumped into Hollywood stars and drank with singers in bars. I have stood outside Charles Dickens former residence and the prime ministers current. I have fed a thousand pigeons, watched pelicans in Hyde park and ridden lions in Trafalgar square. What’s most wonderful is i know i can never do everything London has to offer, there’s too much.
As the Saying goes “If you’re bored of London, you’re bored of life.”
What do you want written on your Gravestone?
I want it completely blank. And I want it painted bright yellow. I want no record of who is buried there. Imaging walking into a cemetery and far into the distance you see amongst the gray tomb stones and angels a blank yellow stone. Like a sneeze in a quiet cinema. I guarantee I will have more people looking at my grave stone than anyone else, even in 100 years time! Who was this person, and why is it yellow? And why am I standing here starring at it?
What are your upcoming works?
I have a problem when creating art. I start a piece then think of another and start that then think of another and start that one too! I have about 19 on the go at once and on the cusp of being finished. In May and November I open my studio up to the public for a 4 day weekend along with 140 other artists that share the same warehouse and these shows mark a deadline for me to get everything finished. These works include 3 giant ink drawings of London and 1 million blades of grass each drawn separately on a canvas.
About Jonny
My name is Jonny Love, I am one half of an artist duo called LoveJordan Art. I produce contemporary paintings, illustrations and sculptures from my studio in Wimbledon, London. Recently I have moved into the blogging world using Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube to promote my work and indulge in random ramblings and mischief with varying success.
