What does a day in your art practice look like? My process is a journey. A story being written in real time and most times even I don’t know the what the ending will be. Then again I like to call myself the never ending story, ha. I often don’t even start with certain ideas or themes. Through time, they present themselves and once I see the vision I work towards it and the puzzle forms together until it is a cohesive story.
What would life be like without art? Death.
What inspires you? I find a crack in the sidewalk to be inspiring; a daisy rising from it stretching towards the sun. Trampled and dirty, but alive.
What advice would you give your younger self? Do it again.
Who would you most like to collaborate with? Why? Jimi Hendrix because he is so effortlessly cool and talented.
What is the best advice you’ve been given? Don’t surround yourself with people who aren’t smarter than you.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work? Deadlines. Working under pressure leaves less time for thinking, therefore all you have to do is do it.
If you had the chance to live during a different artistic movement other than now, which one would you choose? and why? Dadaism. I love the wit and performance aspect of it. Duchamp’s “Fountain” is widely seen as the most influential artwork of the 20th century. Genius.
How has personal experience influenced your creativity? My surroundings often influence my art; materials, locale and mental state often find their way into my work.
What do you wish to accomplish with your art? Being plugged into our collective unconscious and having the ability to add to it.
What are your words of wisdom for someone starting out in your field? If you want more respect as an artist in general, move to Europe.
How do you make the leap from an idea in your head to the action you produce? Depends on if I’m designing clothes, making art or film because you must rely on a team to produce certain things but when it’s just me I usually get an idea, write it down and then it’s just a matter of time before the magic begins.
Victor Wilde has a solo show opening at REN Gallery in DTLA May 20th.
“Wilde America” is a wild ride through Wilde’s eyes. America is many things to many people. The land of opportunity. Fame. Glitz and glamour. Power. Diversity. Freedom. We all know though, that freedom isn’t free. Wilde explores what it means and what it is to be an American. Where we are and where we come from. Celebrating the absurdity of life in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Wilde America is made exclusively with found objects and fabric remnants from his studio in the historic core. Utilizing destruction as creation Wilde produced a large body of bricolage. Sculptures, paintings, drawings, prints, and a collection of weaponized art he calls, “Wilde Things”. Wilde America will debut documentary excerpts of United We Stand. Wilde’s cross country journey as a street performer two weeks after 9/11.
