ARTIST OF THE MONTH INTERVIEW: Alex Lukas
Alex Lukas By Night...
This month, Art In The Age features Alex Lukas, a Massachusetts-born, Philadelphia-immigrated artist. Lukas is quite the prolific printmaker/painter. Not to mention, a 'zine "publisher" extraordinaire! Get the details, courtesy of Ben Woodward...
Ben Woodward: Who are you and where do you come from?
Alex Lukas: I'm Alex Lukas. I'm from Cambridge, Massachusetts. After living in a few other cities over a few years, I moved here to Philadelphia mostly because a space opened up at 1026 and my buddy Will invited me to fill it.
Tell me a little about the "New" England now that you live in Philadelphia. What is the hardest thing to get used to?
Well, I have only been here since October, so I haven't experienced the Philadelphia summers yet, and so far I'm not too happy about the humidity. We get it bad back in Boston too, and every summer I forget how much I hate it, but this year I get to blame it on how far south Philadelphia is. But somewhat more seriously, people in Cambridge, Boston, and New England as a whole take a great deal of pride in being "a local." If you're not from there, you never really will be, or it takes a good 15 years to feel like you know the place and belong. I get the sense that Philadelphia is similar, it is a "locals town." Only I'm not from here, and I'm still very conscious of that.
for Art in the Age - Throwin' Down Like Thoreau (a fellow New England Local!)
'Zines make up a lot of what you do. How did you get started? Do you remember the first 'zine you made or any funny titles?
I guess the first one I remember making was a single page xerox comic I handed out in fifth grade. I got my mom to bring me to Kinkos in Harvard Square to copy it. I made 25, one for each kid in the class. I had an ego, too. I insisted that I sign each one before I gave it away. I started making 'zines "for real" in college, but to this day I never really know what to title them. I hate titling things, I'm really bad at it. One title that sticks out as especially bad was Examining Mundacity, or: The Increasingly Boring Life of Alex Lukas. I made it one summer when I was working at a movie theater and not really doing much. It wasn't really a 'zine to remember. I don't even think "mundacity" is a word.
The Successor - 2008, 22" x 30", two-color screen print on off-white 250 gsm archival Stonehenge paper (available on Art In The Age)
What made you decide to start your own publishing company?
"Publishing company" is a loose title to apply to what I do. I started Cantab Publishing about seven and a half years ago, basically as a name to put on 'zines I made of my own drawings, photographs, or comics. I thought it would add an appearance of legitimacy, but basically it was half a step above a vanity press. Since then, I have released a few titles featuring other peoples work, all friends and family so far, alongside my own 'zines . It isn't quite a functioning business, but so far it hasn't lost too much money, and I have put out some titles I am really proud of.
The Successor (detail)
The Successor (detail)
The Successor (detail)
Most everything is just xerox and silkscreen. Publishing handmade books is a funny thing, because as soon as one title catches on and word gets out, the copies are gone. The next obvious step would be to make more. The other option, having titles offset, is still financially prohibitive, and then you have 1000 or 2000 copies sitting around. Distributing 100 or 200 is a lot more manageable. In the past few months, I have started selling prints through Cantab. I'm still astounded at the perceived value people put on a print over a 'zine. I don't want this to sound like a devaluation of the prints because I am proud of them, but I'm amazed at the the discrepancy between what people spend for something that hangs on their wall versus something that goes on a bookshelf.
The Successor (detail)
Tell me a little about the technical side of your paintings.
I put a lot of stuff into the drawings I do. I call them "drawings" but I understand that is a loaded term today. I use a combination of watercolor, gouache, acrylic, ink (applied with both pens and brushes), silkscreen and spray paint. There is a decent amount of chance with the spray paint and silkscreen; the unwieldy nature of those things interests me, even more so when coupled with a tighter handling of the other materials in the same drawing. I also appropriate old book pages, generally images of American cities from the air, and paint out sections using sign painters enamel (One-shot) and spray paint. On a technical level, the interaction of the supper glossy enamel with the dull painted page and ultra flat spray paint is very attractive to me.
Clockwise from Top Left: Hand painted film positative for silk screening, Screen burnt with grass patern, Test prints using color variations and transparent overlays, Final drawing with pattern
Untitled, 2008. Ink, Watercolor, Gouache, Acrylic, Spraypaint and Silkscreen on Paper. Diptych, Left: 50" x 70"; Right: 50" x 70"
The subject of this series of drawings is largely inspired by contemporary Hollywood and media imagery and some of the fear and anxiety it has inspired in me. I could go on, but I'm not that articulate about it. I end up talking in circles and referencing a lot of loaded subjects that I don't want to reference. I think that the end of America is a national fascination these days, and I hope that people find the work visually appealing.
Installation view of Feudal Echo, 2008, Park Life, San Francisco, CA
What is a typical day in the life of Mr. Lukas?
We just got the Internet and cable at our house, and I think that might change some things, I can picture myself watching a lot of CNN. When I first moved here, I would get to my studio at 1026 around 10 or 11 am and stay till about midnight, seven days a week, but that really isn't healthy. I am trying to spend less time in the studio, but make it count for more. I still get there about 10, but I have been trying to clock out by about 8 or so these days. I like to work on a lot of things at once, so generally I have a 'zine or two that I am working on alongside a print and a drawing or three. I bounce back and forth between projects, which means it takes a while to get any one thing completed, but it is the way I work. Also, there are constant interruptions, be it something involving the gallery space here or a printing job that comes up. Basically, I try to keep busy.
Lukas' studio at Space 1026
How do you like South Philadelphia?
So far so good. The Pretzel spot on Washington and 8th is great.
What's coming up next for you?
I am planning on releasing three new 'zines hopefully by the end of June. First: the second issue of May Lay, a 'zine featuring some interviews with my friends. Second: a short preview 'zine of Underneath Providence: A History of the East Side Railroad Tunnel. It is a project that I have been working on for about five years. Finally, I have a set of silk screened masks based on Jack Kirby's Celestials that I'm finishing up. Also, a second printing of Matt Leines' Sketchbook is now done and the 'zines are for sale again from the Cantab website.
Spreads from Melee, Cantab Publishing, 2007
A preview of Celestials Coming, Cantab Publishing, 2008. This 5 color silkscreen on gold paper is the going to be the cover.
Old snapshot of the west entrance to The RISD Tunnel in Providence, RI
Other than that, I think have a solo show coming up at the end of October at Iceberger in San Francisco. That will be more drawings of disasters, and hopefully a sculpture. Also, the second issue of Apenest just came out. It is a nice art book put out by some friends of mine from Boston; I contributed three short interviews and an article on some of the myths surrounding the aforementioned railroad tunnel. Everyone should order a copy.
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If what you just saw and read looks and sounds good...then it's your lucky day! Until the end of the month, take 10% off all Alex Lukas goods for Art In The Age in celebration (and homage!).
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