- Wooden Toy Features -

INTERVIEW WITH BRENDAN MONROE (FROM EDITION 4 - 2007) // Interview by Chris Meyer

Come inside the human body. Take a look around. Make yourself comfortable. Float through the vascular system using platelets for buoyancy. This is Brendan Monroe’s world where the unseen joins the seen.

As arresting to the eyes as this American artist and sculptor’s artwork is, you probably also feel that you have seen it somewhere before, but just can’t put a finger on it, right? Here’s betting you haven’t seen this exact work before, or these subjects in this context, but you do no doubt recognize some of the stars of the show from good ol’ biology class. Brendan’s work is a beautiful expose of the unseen; the inner workings; the organisms and life that lie just beneath our surface.

And, like a rabbit in the headlights, its hard not to stop, look and wonder about Brendan’s choice of subject matter. Its easy to forget that an entire microscopic world exists inside of us in essence to support our life. And what recognition do the poor little amoebas and friends get? - Gazillions of them work tirelessly, each having their coffees in the morning, attending team meetings and then heading off to do their part in the daily struggle of the human body. And you thought your job was hard; if they didn’t group the white blood cells and send them into battle with disease and push blood right down to the tip of your little toe who would? You going to handle that with those big clumsy fingers? Didn’t think so. OK. So lets follow B’s lead and respect the small things in life…

Now back to the big bad real world: As deft a hand at sculpting as he is at painting, Brendan’s artistic skills transfer to wood and 3D with equal panache. His characters work well with the added dimension, and would look every bit as comfortable surfing the waves of the vascular system as they would sitting on a coffee table.

We mined the mind of the brush and chisel wielder himself (This interview was also an attempt at breaking the Guinness book of records world’s longest questions record) to get you inside the insider:

Where are you from? (Brendan Monroe) Originally Santa Barbara, CA.

Tell us of your work and what you did before it sucked all of your time from you? Well, right now I seem to be fascinated with very small life. Maybe because it’s something that everyone is a part of and affects all of our lives, a lot of the time without many of us even acknowledging that it exists. So I like to draw from there and create my own scenarios and images. I’ve always drawn. Before I actually decided to go to art school I thought of being a biologist or a science teacher.

Your paintings reference microscopic matter - is there significance in your work including life-size elements at the same scale? I’ve always been interested in nature and animals and life in general. I think that comes from my parents; they had similar interests. People and other life-sized elements get thrown in to give a different perspective on things. I try to shed light into what it would be like if we were closer to those tiny things.

You show the inner workings of the human body outside the body at times and your characters are usually content and peaceful. Tell us about the world these people / creatures live in.. Most of the time I try to show people, things and creatures as they are going about their daily or normal business. I try to make out of the ordinary things seem usual and unsurprising in my world of images.

Tell us about soursightings.com I started it as a sort of experimental blog type thing for my toy, the Orange Sour. I wish others would contribute more, but that doesn’t always happen. Anyone?

You have done 3 episodes of the ‘Sour Leaves’ book - is this ongoing? They will likely not continue. I like leaving it as a trilogy. Each one sort of has it’s own different story and they seem to go well with the others. They are really just little short stories with a bizarre comic feel here and there.

You paint and sculpt and paint some of your sculptures. What is your preference? Pretty much everything comes from drawing. From my drawing will come my painting or my sculpture, or sculpture sometimes comes from a painting that first came from a drawing. I don’t really have a preference; I just feel I need to vary things a little so that I continue to get excited about making stuff.

Is wood your preferred medium for sculpture? Definitely, because it’s relatively easy to shape. I like the cutting away nature of shaping, rather than the building up feel that something like clay gives. I am also fascinated with the finish. My favourite part is putting the wood finish on and letting the depth in the wood grain come out. For some reason some wood grains really mesmerize me.

You have exhibited many times individually and in group shows – have solo or group shows worked better for you? The solo shows are the best. It’s really nice to be unlimited by what you can do. I guess, money and recourses do limit things to a degree but basically, within that, I get to do whatever I want. So with a solo show I get to show people my work the way I really want them to see it.

What is in your essential art toolkit? I guess paper, paint and paintbrushes. Then there’s a bunch after that like random collage elements, glue, tape. For a sculpture there’s saws, glues, sanders, clamps. There’s a bunch.

What part of your upbringing do you think made you imagine in this way? All parts I guess. I think all of us have our own imaginative ways when we are young. Lots of us sort of let that go or lose that, due to adult responsibilities. Others hold onto it for as long as we can.

Does art pay the bills? Yes. I’m fortunate on that one. Things have been going good since I finished school.

Ladies float in platelets in one of your paintings.. Yeah, they could be platelets, or another type of cellular organisms. She plainly and carefully exists in the current that is carrying her, and she in her own way cares for them; the cellular life forms.

Do you work out of a huge multi roomed goliath studio and drive a Chrysler? No driving for me. My car broke about a year ago and I haven’t bothered enough to get it fixed. Plus it’s a good excuse for me to do my part in saving our world from global warming. I share a studio with my girlfriend; we were lucky enough to happen upon a deal on a pretty cheap space. It’s maybe 18ft by14ft. I don’t know what that is in metres.

What part does a computer play in the production of your art? Not much. I have recently started with a little bit of Photoshop experimenting when it comes to commercial jobs here and there. But still mostly painting by hand.

Art Education - where did you get your skills? I went to Art Centre in Pasadena, CA.

Whose art would you buy first if you had loads of money? Hmm.. . I don’t know, maybe Margaret Kilgallen or Tim Hawkinson. . .then there's a bunch more. . I’d support my friends too because they all do amazing work in my eyes.

What do you collect? Why and tell us briefly about your collection... I have a small insect collection; mostly beetles. I also have a bunch of various wood scraps from hard wood flooring and collect books and shipping supplies like cardboard.

Do you / have you trade artwork? Yes, absolutely. I can’t really afford to buy a lot. In a way trading is sort of buying, but I feel like it’s much more satisfying. If a trade goes well then it’s just as good a feeling to give as it is to receive.

Where can people see / buy your work? I have representation in LA at Richard Heller Gallery (www.richardhellergallery.com). He usually has a few things in stock here and there. Then on my site I post various other shows that happen in other places www.brendanmonroe.com

Where and what next for you and your artwork? I would like to show more away from California. New York would be really nice and more international shows would be good too. Besides that it would be nice to make some public works, but I think that’s a little bit further away.
I want to use my work in a more socially relevant way, to promote being green as best I can. I know I sound hippie saying that but I think it’s really something we should all be concerned with.

Brendan says that he and his girlfriend are becoming one and the same. Decide for yourself @ www.potatohavetoes.com or check Brendan’s site www.brendanmonroe.com