Artists Interview Artists: Zachary Stadel

Zachary Stadel, an artist from Los Angeles, participates in the Artists Interview Artists Project. Below Zachary responds to another artist's five questions (Walter Logeman from Christchurch, New Zealand). In order to participate, Zachary had to provide me with five questions for some other artist to answer. The assigning of questions to artists is completely random.

Carriage Return
acrylic, canvas and wood
17 1/2 x 7 1/2 x 6 inches
2005

1. What is your source of creativity. How much is it from without & how much from within?

The "from without" provides the context or standards against which deviations can be proposed. I suppose those deviations would come "from within."

2. Could you do art without an audience? How important is feedback?

No, art doesn't exist in a vacuum. I don't believe in ideal objects or convening with god or art as therapy (strictly, at least). Artists make objects and images to communicate with other people and you can't understand how that communication operates without feedback.

3. Is there an erotic element in your work? Or an avoidance of one?

No, right now eroticism isn't an intented subject in my work, though you could make a case for it in just about any work. Depends on which glasses you want to look at the world through.

4. Do you think your art is part of some school or movement? Is it of the moment or in an older tradition?

It's part of a movement only in so far as I'm making it at a particular place and time. I'm looking at what's come before and what's going on around me and trying to treat materials in new ways and construct forms that I haven't seen before. I think of art as visual research. Who wants to discover the wheel again? Like "modern art," however, I think the term "contemporary art" will be eventually be historicized and will be used to broadly describe work made from the end of the 20th century until some other word is inaugurated.

5. Is art in some way revolutionary, does your work play a part in social change for the better?

Artworks are powerful in that they construct visual regimes that determine how we are conditoned to see the world. Art can be used for ideological or political ends, but so can history or economics or science. Art is no more or less revolutionary then anything else people do, though I think there's a popular association between the two because artists have been stereotyped as being on the fringes of society. That perception exists because on the one hand, artists are trained to think critically, which threatens the status quo. That makes their occupation different from many others and makes them different from the majority of people, who do not think critically. That can be revoltuionary. But on the other hand, in art there's a confusion between vocation and avocation, so you frequently have people who are already on the social margins just declaring themselves to be artists and making paintings or whatever for the social cachet or to psychologically validate their marginality. But so many creative people just rehash what they've already seen. Objects and images that confirm what we already know aren't artworks, they're wall decoration, greeting cards, furniture, etc. That is not revolutionary.

Hag
acrylic and canvas on wood
30 x 16 x 12 inches
2006

Previous Interviews:
Juno Doran (questions by James W. Bailey)
Josh Feldman (questions by Joseph Barbaccia)
Lisa Stephenson (questions by Whitney Lynn)
Joseph Barbaccia (questions by Josh Feldman)
James W. Bailey (questions by Matt Hollis)
Matt Hollis (questions by Juno Doran)
Carol Es (questions by James Leonard)
Alexandra Silverthorne (questions by Ami Lahoff)
Christine Buckton Tillman (questions by Carol Es)
Douglas Witmer (questions by Alexandra Silverthorne)
Sky Pape (questions by Douglas Witmer)
Whitney Lynn (questions by Lisa Stephenson)
Heather Levy (questions by Joanne Greenbaum)
Heather Lowe (questions by Samantha Wolov)
Samantha Wolov (questions by Heather Levy)
Timothy McClellan (questions by Heather Lowe)
James Leonard (questions by Sky Pape)
Joanne Greenbaum (questions by Timothy McClellan)
Richard Kooyman (questions by Robert Walton)
Candy Keegan (questions by Warren Craghead)
Robert Walton (questions by Candy Keegan)
John M. Adams (questions by Richard Kooyman)
Prescott Moore Lassman (questions by Mary Addison Hackett)
Mary Addison Hackett (questions by Prescott Moore Lassman)
Andrew Wodzianski (questions by Nathan Manuel & D.Billy)
Nathan Manuel & D.Billy (questions by Andrew Wodzianski)
Michael Janis (questions by Scott Listfield)
Scott Listfield (questions by Michael Janis)
F. Lennox Campello (questions by Sean Hennessy)
Matt Andrade (questions by Adrian Parsons)
Sean Hennessy (questions by F. Lennox Campello)
George Wayne (questions by Michelle McAuliffe)
Eridanus Sellen (questions by Anabela Jevtovic)
Anabela Jevtovic (questions by Eridanus Sellen)
Marianela de la Hoz (questions by A.B. Miner)
Martin Henry (questions by Barbara Johnson-Gresser)
A.B. Miner (questions by George Wayne)
Barbara Johnson-Gresser (questions by Martin Henry)
Adrian Parsons (questions by Matt Andrade)
Heather Schmaedeke (questions by Patricia Hartnett)
Anthony Easton (questions by Melissa Kennedy)
Roz Leibowitz (questions by Anthony Easton)
Melissa Kennedy (questions by Tracy Lee)
Michelle McAuliffe (questions by Marianela de la Hoz)
Tim Folzenlogen (questions by Jason Hanasik)
Rob Willms (questions by Dott Schneider)
Marsha Stein (questions by Gregg Chadwick)
Jason Hanasik (questions by Tim Folzenlogen)
John LeKay (questions by Rosa Naparstek)
Brock Neilson (questions by Richard Vosseller)
Rosa Naparstek (questions by Howard Salmon)
Patricia Hartnett (questions by Verta Reyes)
William Andrews (questions by Bean Gilsdorf)
Howard Salmon (questions by John LeKay)
Corey Amaro (questions by Jason Dean and Matt Nash)
Michael Grayeagle (questions by Chris Ashley)
Marion Boddy-Evans (questions by Deborah Fisher)
Richard Vosseller (questions by Brock Neilson)
Deborah Fisher (questions by Corey Amaro)
Eileen Wold (questions by Michael Grayeagle)
Rob Myers (questions by William Andrews)
Gregg Chadwick (questions by Marsha Stein)
Chris Ashley (questions by Eileen Wold)
Verta Reyes (questions by Heather Schmaedeke)
Jason Dean & Matt Nash (questions by Rob Myers)
Mary Taitt (questions by Adriane Giberson)
Adriane Giberson (questions by Peter Ferko)
Peter Ferko (questions by Amethyst Begley)
Susan Schwake-Larochelle (questions by Jean Hutter)
Jean Hutter (questions by Mary Stebbins Taitt)
Amethyst Begley (questions by Kimberley Lindsley)
Kimberley Lindsley (questions by Susan Schwake-Larochelle)
Prem Singh (questions by Alison Rose)
Erin Antognoli (questions by Karen Winters)
Denis Peterson (questions by Andrea Pratt)
Jennifer Seymour (questions by Erin Antognoli)
Imants Ozers (questions by Denis Peterson)
Mark Malmgren (quesntions by Fiona Ross)
Remi Viger (questions by Brady Hegberg)
Fiona Ross (questions by Susan Constanse)
Susan Constanse (questions by Remi Viger)
Amie Oliver (questions by Christin Ciaccio Briggs)
Christin Ciaccio Briggs (questions by Dawn Whetzel)
Tara Krause (questions by Cathy Breslaw)
Dawn Whetzel (questions by Tara Krause)
Warren Craghead (questions by John M. Adams)
Dwayne Butcher (questions by Miguel Avila)

Comments

[Brock Neilson]

Hey J.T.
Another cool interview. I have missed your blog alot. Good to see that you are still working onward.

I remember you saying that you going to end the 'Artist interview Artist' Project. Did you change your mind. What is the state of the project currently?

Also, I thought it might be good for me to answer some of the questions artists have asked in your interviews on my own blog. Would that be ok with you, or not since you were toying with the idea of making a book out of the interviews? I don't want to get into a copyright mess or anything. I'm sure you understand.
Later!

[J.T. Kirkland]

Thanks Brock! Welcome back.

The AIA Project is complete at this point. Next steps are to make it into a book and hopefully a travelling exhibition. We'll see.

As for answering some of the questions on your blog, go for it. No worries on my end about copyright or anything. Just acknowledge the source and that's fine with me!

[Brock Neilson]

Thanks for getting back to me J.T.