Interview of Alexandro Vasmoulakis a building art master in Athens, Greece.
C: Where are you from? What’s your background?
I was born in Greece and studied at the Athens school of fine arts.
FC: What was the interest in art and what lead you to create all those things?
It’s so very vague!! Sometimes i just see that things happen by themselves. Our real decisions seem to be quite weak!
FC: How would you define your work and what inspires you?
It could be defined as an attempt to link different aspects of our perceptions. Good sex and good sleep seem to be the great sources of inspiration!
FC: What kind of reaction do you want to evoke from your art?
The reaction is the point! Negative or positive it doesn’t really matter. And when there are quite different reactions for what you have done, you can start feeling happy! Ambiguity is always needed, wherever.
FC: How did you create your own characters?
The faces of my characters are made by fragments of other faces, usually from magazines’ photos. One mouth from here and two eyes from there come closer making a new face. Destroying in order to create..
FC: Sometimes I don’t know if they are sad or Happy, it’s like ” une mélancolie heureuse” (in french) a happy sadness or happy melancholy…
Your uncertainty is one of my goals! Most of the times i work on the same character in different moods and usually this is revealed in the end.
FC: How do you choose your images and where they are placed in the street?
I do love the dirty spots!! As dirty as possible, feel that there is an additional reason to do something…
FC: Some of your pieces are HUGE, how many time do you need to finish it?
It depends on the circumstances, you know, the weather, the height of the building, my mood, etc. Usually two or three weeks are required. I prefer to take my time!
FC: What the next challenge now? To Paint a whole hood? a whole city?
To make better and stronger pieces, their format is not the priority. My recent purpose is to divide myself and my work in two or even more main parts. It’s more than good to have an identity in your work, a style which is recognisable, but oftentimes that becomes a trap which prevents you from pushing your own boundaries.
FC: Tell us more about your street installations. It’s a different work.
All of them are made with found objects and garbage. I am interested in exploring what we get rid of… Dumps smell death but can reveal much about our lives.
FC: Name an artist (or many) whose work you respect and admire.
This list is always changing but
Fischli&Weiss and
Theo Jansen remain on top!
FC: Which media/support and tools do you prefer? Bombs, stencils, walls, ads, wheatpaste, wood, paper?
Whatever!
FC: If your style was a music band or a song? Which one would it be?
Something from 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. Maybe Boogie woogie!!
FC: Do you feel the work you are doing is something that should be preserved or stayed transcience?
Let it live and die free!!
FC: Are you in a crew, do you work with other artists?
Usually i do things with my friend Paris Koutsikos. Check out his website:
http://parisko.com/
FC: What do you think about the street art hype?
I am just curious to see its conclusion..
FC: How do you feel about the commercialization of street art in recent years?
Since we live in a capitalistic society the commercialization of every field is simply uncontrollable. Actually I don’t believe in the existence of the underground.. Once it appears, makes its first steps and comes to maturity then the market comes and swallows it with pleasure!
FC: What’s coming up in the next few months? Show, travels… etc…
Currently i work in Berlin preparing my first solo show. I couldn’t imagine how demanding a solo exhibition is! Future plans are pretty loose for the moment. We will see!
FC: What’s your real goal?
Still searching..
FC: Any words of wisdom?
Have fun.
Thank you Alexandros!
