“We are meant to reflect life’s experiences. Ideally, I think we can only hope to create objects that facilitate new pathways of thought in the viewer’s minds. For me, that involves pushing at painting’s ability to seduce.”
-Aaron Smith
Inspired by the Shaman of the Mentawai tribe in Indonesia, Victorian and Edwardian dandies, and Swiss modernists; Aaron Smith is truly the inspiration. His artwork tells the story of a by-gone era and his own narrative delves into the complexities of his work. It was Oscar Wilde who said, “One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.” Although this may be true in some instances, we believe that Aaron embodies his art, giving his work that much more meaning and character.
Aaron, if you don’t mind me asking, what meaning do the ‘arrow’ tattoos on your arm have for you and are they ‘arrows’?
The tattoos that run down my arms are inspired by the one’s worn by the Shaman of the Mentawai tribe in Indonesia. They actually represent plant forms, but I feel like they’re arrows directed toward my hands. The designs on my forearms are from Borneo. I grew up in a family that collected artwork from indigenous cultures. I guess it rubbed off.
What is your allure with ‘Bearded Blokes’ and what relevance do the names of the paintings have to the actual works themselves?
I’m interested in making paintings that deal with the idea that masculinity is a pliable, and largely constructed idea. As you might expect, I have something of a beard fetish. The beard is such a universal male signifier, loaded with ideas of virility, and status. Depending on context, the beard can signal either conformity or rebellion.
The titles of the paintings are bits of Victorian and Edwardian street slang. They often have sexual, or criminal meanings. I want the names to lend a humorous tone, and to create a sense of duality. Much of human behavior, including grooming and self-adornment, is coded by, and inherited from, layers of culture. Words are similarly imprinted with multiple meanings.
Victorian and Edwardian dandyism is the main focus of your newer work … What about this time period is so fascinating to you?
Well first of all, those were pretty awesome times for man-style; so much care, so much ritual. Those eras were also filled with incredible changes. Technologies and industries brought societal upheaval. Art was becoming more intimate and increasingly radical. Late dandyism, particularly in England, was seen as pretty subversive. It was about a kind of rupture of the traditional notions of class and gender. We, of course, are in the midst of huge cultural changes right now, and dandyism has surfaced again.
I recently just watched a documentary called Black, Grey + White, about Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe. I learned that Wagstaff was an avid collector of photographs in his life. Why are you so interested in collecting photographs, especially antique or vintage photographs from an era long gone?
I guess I’ve always found myself identifying with figures from the past. I have a strong obsession with how people were represented throughout the history of art. Early photographs are the oldest images of people unmediated by artists. They display a wonderfully odd mixture of immediacy and distance. I’m interested in inhabiting that gap. I have a compulsion to imbue the stoic poses of the men in the photographs I collect with new vitality, using vibrant color and aggressive brushwork.
You said that, “Swiss modernists like Ferdinand Hodler and Cuno Amiet as well as the Nabi painters of France inspire me with their color and clarity of design.” What in particular about these masters inspire your work?
Hodler’s monumental compositions conveyed national pride to the Swiss, but to me they radiate an archetypal masculinity. All of the artists I mentioned also used decorative color, pattern, and stylization to give images of nature and daily life a mystical aura. Besides, their color and mark making are simply gorgeous.
I noticed that there are many sculptures in your studio. Are you a sculptor as well, or are these sculptures just part of your collection?
Those are sculptures I’ve collected. There is a lot of folk sculpture, as well as objects from Borneo. I have a small 18th century polychrome sculpture of Jesus from Latin America. Sculpture is looming large as a practice for me very soon. They’ll definitely be painted sculptures.
Your work under Mucksnipes has some biblical references. Do you consider yourself spiritual?
For that series I was painting images of polychrome figures of saints found in museums. I took a humanist, and occasionally an erotic stance with those figures. The bible for me is a way of framing most of western art history. Am I spiritual? At the risk of sounding pretty pretentious, painting is the closest thing to a spiritual practice I will ever find.
I came across this quote the other day and wanted to know what you think: ”If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live on after he’s dead, then maybe he was a great man.”
If by “great man” one means good, I think that’s half right. I guess it depends on whether the legacy one leaves is positive. There have been some pretty despicable characters that lived beyond death.
It’s naïve to think that as artists we could, or are here to save the world. We are meant to reflect life’s experiences. Ideally, I think we can only hope to create objects that facilitate new pathways of thought in the viewer’s minds. For me, that involves pushing at painting’s ability to seduce.
