One of the things on my to-do list was chatting with artist Jeffrey Teuton about the exhibition of his work opening at Jen Bekman on February 9th so that I can write the press materials. Since I love you, I decided to conduct it as an interview over IM and share it with you here.
Lauren Cerand: The title of your upcoming solo show at jen bekman is "heart of gold and other expensive things." You also recently moved back to New York after almost a year in Los Angeles. Did that experience inform the work in the exhibition?
Jeffrey Teuton: Very much so. My work always reflects my surroundings. I take in everything around me, place, weather, clothing, ads, celebrity gossip. I sort of suck it all in and it gets processed somewhere in my mind. I write things down in a little notebook and then when the mood is right- and the wine, I spit it all out in the form of paintings. I comment on what is around me. I poke fun in my work but it is commentary on what I am going through. The title is actually a phrase someone used to describe me once a few years back and it has stuck with me ever since. I find it a terribly amusing take on the old phrase "heart of gold."
LC: Are you a Neil Young fan?
JT: Not really, but I appreciate his work.
LC: Your work offers a wry, nuanced take on contemporary culture...how did you settle on painting as the best expression for a pop critique?
JT: For a long time I was focused on prints and the idea of the multiple. It went so hand in hand with our culture of consumerism- of which i am very much a part- very Warholian. I use a lot of text and it created great ways to make work that was very graphic and paralleled ads. In moving around so much I fell out of that and switched to painting in a way to make things easier- as it is hard to find a print studio, but also I work so quickly that painting allowed me to have an idea and no matter the time nor the place i could find some paper or canvas and not lose the essence and spirit of what i wanted by having to put it on a screen, and print it. Plus you can be a bit messier. I was never so good at keeping all my prints in a proper edition. Never.
LC: I love that you mention Warhol! I can definitely see some similarities between your perspective and his, although your work is more original. Mostly I love the idea of coming from somewhere else to make your mark as an artist on New York. Jeffrey, tell me about Indiana.
JT: I love Indiana. When you tell people that you are from there they get that look like they just ate a lemon. I love it though. I had a wonderful time growing up. Got to do all the very stereotypical things kids do. Without that who knows how fucked up I would be. I go back as often as I can. We have a large farm there and there is nothing better than a night by the fire, playing cards, and drinking wine with good friends. It is heaven. I dream of starting a garden and living out there running an organic produce market. But then where do you get good shoes in Southern Indiana?
LC: True story! I love that your work is "a fusion of pop culture, architecture, icons, fame, power, money, sex, and consumer culture" and "a place where fantasy, reality, sadness, and ego can all blend together". How do you feel about the perceived increasing importance of branding in the arts, and crossover between the fine arts and fashion/entertainment worlds? I am thinking of things like Takashi Murakami for Louis Vuitton, some of Marcel Dzama's recent forays into commercially-commissioned design, etc.... Hot or not?
JT: It really depends. Vuitton has been working with artists for a while, the multicolor is so overplayed, but the cherries are nice. Who was the guy who did the spray paint bags for them? [ed. Stephen Sprouse] I think branding can often go really bad just because there are so many facets and people involved. I cannot imagine having a board approve the things I do. They would not approve of all the blood and guns I am sure. Rarely do you get that exposure and backing offered by branding where you are allowed to stay true. Although Murakami did curate a nice little exhibit this past year that was about male action figurines. I can't remember. I killed my short term memory way too long ago. There were also these wonderful little dolls at kid robot that were all designer inspired. I guess the jury is still out on hot or not.
LC: If your work were a celebrity, living or dead, who would it be?
JT: Courtney Love- who else can do that crazy shit, plus I think Kurt could have been good in bed- in that hate fuck kind of way. Sorry, that was a bit crude. I do have a foul mouth; blame my mom.
LC: I can strike it from the record if you like.
JT: No need.
LC: Or leave it in. I think it's funny. Who or what influenced this particular show the most? I know it's very pop, but I'm curious to hear about what music, books, experiences may have struck a chord for inspiration as well...
JT: So I was in LA very alone- and venturing into a very dark world- think very Hollywood people in Rolls Royces's and the like. Hollywood Hills and sleazy men and the aftermath of falling in to something you don't really want to be in. Like falling into a hole wearing a nice Gucci outfit and trying to claw your way out holding a glass of champagne. So I was in this crazy place and then coming home and feeling alone, isolated, listening to the birds, and sitting up in Runyon Canyon Park watching the sun rise, listening to the band Stars, and a lot of Tori Amos. So it was really up and down. I love the tabloids and was getting in to this one quarterly magazine called Cabinet that is amazing. Let's just say I spent a lot of time alone having lunch by the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel listening to sad music.
LC: And yet you make it sound so glamourous!
JT: I am good at faking it. I do a good facade. I tend to keep people at bay through good stories and glamour.
LC: I know you have some special things planned for this show, in addition to the paintings on display. Want to discuss them?
JT: Yes, I do. I write these little ditties. I don't like to call them poems, but I write. I am putting out a book with the same name as the show. I think it helps to really give the work a story and some context. I also had some fortune cookies made with sayings from the show. People don't expect a fortune that may be unpleasant to them. Oh, and a poster, cause who doesn't want a poster of their very own?
LC: There's a lot of symbolism in your work, isn't there? Is that an aspect that developed out of your background in printmaking?
JT: I think it developed more out of my intense reading of magazines and observance of advertising and trends in pop culture. The idea of what makes someone famous or important- the black card, the prices on clothes in magazine- the symbols so many of us have come to covet. What symbolizes money, taste, greed, happiness, value, intelligence, etc?
LC: You tell me!
JT: I also love that the symbols often are cardboard in a way. They are cut outs and what is behind a nice car and nice clothes is just a rotten apple. But I am a pepper. Are you a pepper too? Sorry, I had to say that.
LC: Haha. Naturally. Who do you consider your peers? Or artists excavating the same sphere of social consciousness in their approach?
JT: Oh my that is tough. I can say that I relate to people but I have always had a hard time placing myself with people- maybe because I don't want to assume and raise myself to a level I am not. I put myself with people that do work based on their life and their experience- and do it with some humor, the people who love a touch of humor even in their sad tales.
LC: We know you already have a heart of gold. What sort of other expensive things are you coveting at the moment?
JT: I love my video iPod- in black, of course. Watching some Law & Order on the go is priceless. I also just found out the luxury of keeping a car in the city. So nice to be able to get out whenever you feel like it. And nothing better than doing it in a Range Rover. I bought into the Hollywood mentality and bought a big ol' SUV. And I found a lovely pair of Ostrich boots while driving that tank cross country.
LC: Well, you can't beat that.
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