DOWNTIME w/ John Whitlock

1) Location? Brooklyn, NY 🇺🇸

2) Years collaging? As long as I can remember, but in terms of my current practice probably 8-10 years.

3) What do you love and hate about collage? I love how fast and easy it is to make collages–it’s become a primary means of sketching other ideas for me. I hate the idea of collage as some sort of unifying genre.

4) Biggest influences? Some current, some old reliables: Kurt Schwitters, Sophie Tauber-Arp (and all the usual dadaists), Richard Hamilton, Stan Brakhage, Hollis Frampton, Bruce Conner, Mal Waldron, Tomoo Gokita, James Rosenquist, William S. Burroughs, Severed Heads, Jorge Luis Borges, Stanley Kubrick, Tom Wesselmann, Chris Marker, Ikko Tanaka, Tadanori Yokoo, Neo Rauch, Kerry James Marshall, This Heat and always, Jack Kirby.

5) Analog Vs Digital? For personal physical art (as opposed to say, video art), I work in analog. I might scan and reprint images via computer, or digitally project images onto the wall for drawings/enlarging, but that’s about it. For commissioned work, I sometimes work digitally, especially for a client that is going to require a lot of changes quickly… like the New York Times. I’ve learned my lessons.

6) How do you spend your downtime? Relaxing with my wife Kari, our Dachshund and our two cats. I also play in a band.

7) Three tips for someone starting out in collage? Just one: Try and think of collage as a technique or approach, not a genre. I’m getting tired of seeing so many collages that look the same.

8) Up and coming shows or projects we should know about? I have some prints in a show that opens this week at the International Print Center of NY in Chelsea, and I just got invited to The Weird Show: London later this Winter.

Links:

Instagram: @johndwhitloc
Web: http://www.johnwhitlock.tv

Artworks (top to bottom)
'Untitled' Analogue collage
'Untitled' Analogue collage
'Beginning Of The End' spread - Zine
'Beginning Of The End' spread 2 - Zine
'Earth Shrine' Analogue collage
'Substance' Analogue collage
'Untitled' Analogue collage
'Untitled' Analogue collage