I have known Johnny Oxen for years but somehow never saw his artwork (my loss). So when he asked me to hand off some coffin shaped boards for an upcoming art show, I was a bit surprised. Needless to say I was floored by his work and the amount of detail and thought he puts into each piece. So, I felt it only appropriate to come back after a little hiatus by throwing some questions at him. He was kind enough to give some insights into his creative process and detail how Chuck Jones eventually influenced a show called Brain Cages.
- Why don’t we start off with a little introduction - who you are, talk a little about your background and what creative endeavors you're behind.
Well, my (artist) name is Johnny Oxen, my real name doesn't fit very well on canvas. I've been painting and drawing for roughly 35 years, so most of my life by now. I've been fortunate enough to have had my work involved in several group shows, jury selection shows and I'm now getting ready for my second solo show. I've been asked to come up with artwork or concept design for a few local music acts and bands. Unfortunately, like most smaller artists, I'm also responsible for drawing up a number of tattoos for people that will probably never get them.
- How did you start painting/drawing? What brought you into the creative world?
This is a huge question. Like most people, I was drawing as a little kid. I just never stopped. The idea of being able to make something up and create it out of essentially nothing is just a profound idea. I know that makes it sound like I have a God Complex! I suppose to a certain degree all artists might. That's where the first ideas were born though, cartoons. I always remember watching cartoons non-stop and as time went on, the animation got better and better, you know? Seeing the way Looney Toons went from Robert McKimson to Chuck Jones was something that must've really resonated with me because it made me want to get better and better at what I was doing. Not from a comparison standpoint, but knowing there was always someone out there that could do it better or saw it in a more creative way or had a sharper eye for art REALLY makes you want to sharpen your skills. I've been lucky enough to have been around some incredibly gifted artists, from art school all the way to present day. All of them have unknowingly pushed me to hone my craft or look at things with a bit more clarity or through a different lens.
- How would you describe your art/design style?
I guess I'd describe it as a sort of morbid surreality with a bite. Kind of like having drinks with H.P Lovecraft and Salvador Dali. Gothic Satire, if you can imagine that? I try to be clever in the composition; whether I succeed or not, I don't know. I put that together with the skulls and monsters and tentacles, and what comes out walks the line between weird and fantastical.
- How do you come up with new ideas or designs? What would you say is your creative process?
That has been something that has been consistent for as long as I can remember. I'll read or hear something that sounds really out there and try to put a visual to it. Most times no one ever bothers to put words into images, or when they do it doesn't match up to my idea at all. So, I guess I try to make the invisible...visible. Beyond that, elements kind of stick with me and I mix-and-match their usefulness over the span of a few pieces. Sometimes, I strike gold. Most times I don't and it goes back into the idea bank.
I collect interesting lines and phrases and words that don't usually go together. They put an image in mind and I just want to see how they'd look in the real world. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Making mistakes is part of the process. You find yourself forever walking the line between fixing or abandoning. I find myself painting over whole finished pieces because the idea just never gelled. On one hand, it adds a bit of texture to the next piece. On the other hand, it's as though I have to utterly obliterate a bad idea, excuse the hyperbole.
- I met you through music (going to shows), do you think this shaped your work and affected your creativity?
Oh, absolutely, man. Music has been the backbone of my art for as long as I've been painting. For my art school entrance portfolio, I painted the cover of Into Another's 'SEEMLESS' album. All my work now is either peppered with song lyrics in them or a piece will be titled after a song or a lyric. Just because it hits the right way, I'll sneak a Faith No More lyric into a piece or name a painting after a Daughters song. It's almost subliminal. I never tell anybody I do that either. My hope is that someone will see it and it'll either stick in their head or they'll pull out their phone to look it up and they'll maybe see a different level of a painting when they put the music to it. Like an unofficial soundtrack they didn't know was there. Maybe even an explanation as to how I came up with the concept, if they were inclined to dig that deep. When I'm painting I'll sometimes have the same song playing on a loop for hours, as though it's guiding the direction the piece is headed in. There are some incredible songwriters/lyricists out there and, as you know and we've seen, their live performance can be so memorable that I want a piece of that energy and emotion in my work. I've referenced anyone from Avail to Sade to Corrosion of Conformity and I consider it an homage to the idea that their music influences my art, almost like a 'thank you'.
- Does your artwork help you in dealing with life and the world?
Um, I guess like most artists I look at it as an outlet. It can also be a distraction. Almost like a conduit for all the things that are too heavy to just leave on your mind. A few years back, my family were all going through a big handful of tragedies. It was like we were drowning in grief. When we came out on the other side, I used the grief to push me to do more artistically. Either that, or the grief was working through me. The whole "unexpectedly things could disappear" is a real thing. I didn't want time to pass with pieces just piling up in the basement. I try not to let personal emotion seep into my work, even though at times it does. Without realizing it, I guess it's a form of escapism. Unlike watching Netflix, this has something to show for the time spent. As an outlet, I usually joke that when someone asks about where I came up with a particular idea, I tell them I have all these monsters in my head and I have to get them out. Yeah, it's juvenile, but it's actually more accurate than I care to admit.
- How do you think creativity can help the world today?
For starters, creativity is a better outlet for energy than complaining to or about other faceless people on the internet. Nobody really has an original thought to convey, so you get a lot of cyclical arguments going on. Having an actual creative outlet is a way better use of time, plus there's something to show for it in the end. There aren't many philosophers nowadays. I don't think we need more people to sit around thinking "deep thoughts" anymore. We've had enough of those, and unless they can channel it into a painting or a sculpture or an album, it's really just an opinion. I think it's safe to say no one really cares about anybody else's opinion. BUT, if someone insists on living their life like that, then creativity has the added benefit of maybe looking at something through a different filter. I was taught that if you aren't sure if a painting is coming out right, turn the canvas upside down. If it looks like garbage that way, then you have work to do. If it looks like the same painting just upside down, you're on the right path. Point is, you don't know until you change your perspective. I'd say we could do with a little more of that. No one said you had to like your opponent, but it would help to know where they're coming from. I don't like the work of every artist I see, but I can see what they had to do to get there. It sounds like a heavy-handed yet loosely connected metaphor, but I think all creative people HAVE to look at things from every angle in order to do what they do. If more people acted on that dormant creativity they might feel the same.
- Do you think being from NY and particularly Staten Island had a strong influence on you?
You know, at one point in time, I didn't think that it did. Everyone likes to think that their art is universal, you know? That everyone can and will understand it. The more you create, the more you realize that you really are the product of your environment and that distinction shows up all the time. Anyone that was born here in NYC will say the same thing, that it has a flavor all its own. And they're right, that flavor is more eclectic and that could be why you see so many different styles here.
In Staten Island it seems more concentrated in its very distinct style. You know as well as I do, SO many people will always talk about how they hate it here and the people suck and whatever else. Few people ever want to make the move. I'm not sure if people are just talking shit or they just love to be bitter about it here. I've grown to love being from here, man. I see it coming through my pieces. Gritty, raw, unrefined at times. It's not always pretty, but it always makes you look at it. Warts and all. We have about 100 parks, we once had the biggest landfill in the world you could see from space, we're loud and obnoxious...I like the idea of that showing through my work.
- What else influences you, where do you get inspiration from?
Aside from music, a metric ton of pop culture and literature, for starters. I have a close connection with movies, essentially being raised in video stores, then working in Blockbuster for many, many years. Video games too, which have come a long way since Super Mario Bros. and Excitebike. Games now have these deep story lines with complex themes and memorable dialogue, so they definitely stick in my mind. A line from Silent Hill 2 or Bioshock can resonate with me in such a way that a piece I could have done already now has a different meaning because a game character has this terrific monologue. Elements of books and philosophy show up too. Sometimes someone has the same thought I do, but they say it way better, so it also shapes my scope of work. Aside from those, other artists. From artists like Titian and Schiele to guys like KAWS, Skottie Young and Coop.
People laugh a little when I tell them honestly that my favorite artist was and still is Bob Ross. That man had a ton of insightful artistic philosophy. It's easy to look past them when you're waiting to hear him talk about happy trees and whatnot, but some of the methods he's explained I still use to this day. Man was a legend, and now there's this documentary that came out about him and his life...maybe people will start to give him the credit that he deserves.
- How would you pass on the lessons you learned to an aspiring artist?
Oh, man, so many things I'd want to tell an aspiring artist. I can boil it down to a few of the more important ones. First, and seriously the most important, you have to learn the rules before you can break them. Everybody wants to be the next Banksy, but he was the one that actually put it best: All artists are prepared to suffer for their art but so few are prepared to learn to draw. Despite what modern art looks like, just slapping paint on a canvas is not art. A bit of thought goes into all art and people can tell when you're faking it.
These paintings that are just lines, dots and splatters were all created by artists that spent years painting traditional paintings. They had to learn how to do it the correct way before being able to see art the way they got notoriety. Learn the right way, then bend and break whatever rules you need to. The second thing is to accept that mistakes are all part of art. Correct or cover-up, don't just leave a mistake in there because it's too much to undo. Half of artwork is "work". You have to put the work in. Finally, stay frosty. Work on your skill every single day, even if it's for a minute.
A friend of mine who hasn't an artistic bone in his body once gave me the most profound piece of advice. Everyday, do at least one thing that moves you forward. Whether it's starting something new, finishing something on the pile, sketching a new concept or admitting a piece isn't working and starting again. All these things are a step forward. And you will be better for it. I could go on for a long time giving advice on the mistakes I've made with art, but some things people will just find out on their own... another great learning tool.
- What is up next for you? Where do you want to see your art heading or taking you?
Well, right now I have a solo show at the Hop Shoppe on Staten Island coming up titled 'Brain Cages'. It's a series involving just skulls in different mediums, styles, concepts all revolving around a repeating theme. I subtitled the series "Because Everybody Has One." I thought that was clever. It took about two years to do from the first piece to now, so this is kind of a passion project I've had in mind for a while.
Also, rumor has it ChrisRWK (@chrisrwk or see previous interview) is starting up his group show again next year, so I'm looking to take part in that. Other than that, I'll be getting things up wherever and whenever I can, so if anyone is interested, just follow along!
- How can people find out more about you and your artwork?
I am only on Instagram now (@johnnyoxen), so that's really the only place you can see what I've been up to. With luck and some time, things will be a little more accessible. If you happen to see me anywhere out in the world, you can always just ask me and I can talk your ears off for hours on end. That's my superpower.