artbask

BASK in your thought crime The art work of BASK

Interview by REDEFINE MAGAZINE

You use a lot of commercial references in your work. Why? What does this have to do with growing up and noticing the
similarities between communistic propaganda vs. commercial icons?
I use commercial images as metaphors or symbols of contradiction in scenarios playing out in my work. The other purpose they serve is as bait
to viewers who identify with a particular icon being used. I use the power of familiarity and twist them to deliver a message of my own. As for the
communist and commercial comparison? They both use very similar tactics using images to promote a way of life. In capitalism, you have
choices, but each individual brand pushes their product the same way a totalitarian regime pushes propaganda.

When did you first find a correlation between communistic propaganda and commercial icons?
When I first started incorporating brand icons into my work, I started to notice how people would react to certain paintings of mine. That’s when I
saw a very specific relationship between commercial images and regular folks. I started to recognize the power of “the brand,” and their collective
messages to consume, consume, consume. In the Communist regime I grew up in, the message was different, but the way propaganda was
relentlessly promoted through the media was very similar.

Do you consider yourself a political person?
I think “conscious” would be more accurate than political. A political person, to me, is someone active in anything from protesting to running for
office. Although many of my paintings are political, most of my work deals with more personal and social issues.

What advice can you give artists who are trying to get their work out independently?
I’ve never taken a crash course in art promotions, and have kind of worked on intuition. The secret formula is to be consistently productive in all
things involved with your art, and don’t be lazy. The other advice I would give is: make your own opportunities, instead of waiting for them to find
you.

What was the first art piece you remember doing that people took notice of?
I think when I used to make little handmade holiday cards for my family as a child. The satisfaction I got after presenting my toiled mess to
someone and making them smile was the best feeling ever.

Your works definitely use a lot of textures. Is the love for textures something you’ve always had? Did it emerge naturally from
being a street artist first?
Doing street art definitely shaped my approach my art, which would include how textured my work is. Aside from how appealing textured surfaces
are to me, what I really enjoy is the challenge of painting on them. It makes it look more like art to me, rather some manufactured promotion.

What is the message behind your street art, and what do you think of random graffiti that does not put forth a message?
The Bask In Your Thoughtcrimes campaign promotes free-thinking and the separation from the status quo. The word “thoughtcrime,” as you may
well know, was first coined by George Orwell in the book 1984. I found this word very fitting and appropriate to the message I was trying to put
forth. As for other graffiti, I love it. I love all forms of street art, be it a commissioned mural or a tag on a dumpster. The art is the message when it
comes to street art and graffiti, and to me, there is no higher art then it.

Can you pick one of your pieces and explain it?
I made [“Harvey’s Cafe”] from a panel I took from a coffee shop that went under in Miami. I don’t live in Miami, so I never had a chance to visit this
place. Now, I’ll never get the chance. From what I could gather, though, it was as mom and pop as you can get, and had been there for years
before closing. At the time, I didn’t give it any further thought beyond [the fact that] I just found a great panel to paint on. A few months later, I
returned to Miami and saw that a brand new Starbucks had opened in the old Harveys location. We all have heard and seen examples of large
corporate chains pushing out the little guy, but this case hit home with me, and I didn’t really know why. Maybe it was the change of guard
switching out one humble little coffee shop for the bigger, better new one, or maybe it was the fact I actually had a piece of Harvey’s in my studio
like an old fossil, [as] proof that it once stood.

REDEFINE stands for a lot of the things that your “bask in your thoughtcrimes” mentality does. That being said, it seems similar to
your mentality of non-conformity. Want to give our readers a message of sorts in your own vein?
I guess I would quote slogan coined by Joseph Campbell and tell your readers to “follow your bliss.” Non-conformity is a state of mind, so as long
as you wake up every morning and love what you do, then, in my opinion, you’re winning the game of life. Not everybody can play a guitar or
paint a picture, but everybody has individual hopes and dreams that can be achieved if pursued.