Whose Streets?

I interviewed street artist Give 'em Hell, aka James Wolanin, for London-based online culture mag, Ammo City. Excerpt:

ammo city: so much of the traditional new york gallery scene is about connections and money, and i see new art now as subverting some of those really tired constructs. still, our capitalist society in the u.s. makes it extraordinarily difficult for artists to get by except for the few artists that embrace that ethos. is that something you deal with in your work or personal life, giving away paintings for free? how do you view your relationship to that idea of the art world and is your perspective changing as you participate in more shows?

james wolanin: i don’t think so. alright, say i was to get into the whitney biennial next year. i think i would put paintings out front, for people to take them during the opening right before it. and i think they would freak about that because there’s always somebody sitting behind a desk wanting to make money off you. i feel like [the process through which i distribute my work] is giving back something for everyone.

It was a stimulating, provocative conversation about art (and its related economic and political aspects) and is well worth a read, here.