‘Not all the Pirates are in the same place, we’re working hard on our latest project so I (Jimi Crayon)
will do my best to answer on behalf of the group! Apologies for the answers, I am currently off my head on spraypaint fumes, not in an illegal way.’
1. If you weren’t artists, what else would you be?
A fireman, an Astronaut, a surgeon, a bus/train driver and a magician, a vet, a tree surgeon, an acrobat and a Traffic warden.
2. Name 3 of your least favourite artists.
Rolf Harris, Tony Hart and Neil Bucannon, they really sold out on the whole ‘T.V’ front
3. Anytime, any place – which artist’s body would you most like to inhabit?
Angelina Jolie or Megan Fox, they’re artists aren’t they?
The girls in Pirates arent gonna like that answer are they! sorry Anna and Lauren x
4. What is your favourite ‘ism’?
Gansterism, this taxi driver said to me once that the road ahead was closed due to ‘all the gansterism’, we all laughed because
we thought he just made it up, he didnt speak very good English, but turns out its a real word… he was a legend.
5. What was the most intelligent thing that someone said or wrote about your work?
This was a Youtube comment for our time-lapse piece we did for our amazing Reps CIA, we started with a black wall, painted some super colourful
crazyiness, and then blacked it out at the end….
“one of my favourite videos on youtube.
sadly they paint this piece of art black at the end,? but there’s meaning to it, like Buddhists and their mandalas.
they paint over it to show impermanence, and the fact that everything can be done again. great meaning, art is unbelievable.
unreal…”
I didn’t have the heart to tell them that we had to return the wall back to black as part of the deal as it was being painted again the next day.
6. And the dumbest?
“Argh me hearties!!!” Or something like that most probably.
7. Which artists would you most like to rip off, sorry, I mean appropriate as a critique of originality and authorship?
We already do, cant you tell! We just make sure we pick the right people to copy rather than the rubbish ones.
8 Do you care what your art costs? State your reasons!
I don’t think we do! We don’t really attempt to sell our creations, usually because they are huge sets in warehouse or 30ft tall and on the side of a building.
9. What are the three big ideas that you would like your work to express?
Well we are constantly evolving so theres no golden rules every project must contain.
But I guess as a group we want to convey positivety, fun and having a larger than life, anythings possible attitude… that last one was like two big ideas
stitched together and subtly passed off as one wasnt it? sorry, is that allowed?
10. Are you a political artist?
No, well not overtly. There’s plenty of other people that are unpatronisingly informing us that coca cola is bad and that George Bush was naughty and
that capitalists have lots of money! I think we’ll just stick to the pretty pictures for now.
11. How do you start the process of making work?
Find the nearest pub, all sit down together and come up with an idea, then we all add our own thoughts and try and agree on what will work and what wont.
Then start the next day with… hangover.
12. What next?
Talk to our agent.
13. If Moma and the Tate and the Pompidou wanted to acquire one of your works each, which would you want them to have?
I think we would want to do something site specific in each place, as a group we don’t really make art to sell, we create spaces and environments for people
to enjoy. Why do you ask, have they been enquiring? Could you get them to give me a ring?
14 Complete the following sentence “Blessed art the artists, for they shall……”
Probably make no money but are still quite fun to have at parties.
15. Complete the following sentence “Blessed are the curators, for they shall…”
point at walls and perhaps take a little more credit than is due, but always know where the alcohol is kept.
16. Complete the following sentence “Blessed are the art critics, for they shall….”
use words to describe pictures even though a picture speaks a thousand words so should probably take up drawing instead.
17. What is your favourite cheese?
Has to be good old English farmhouse cheddar, its so versatile, grate it, slice it, melt it, put it on a cocktail stick with a piece of pineapple… classy!
18. What’s next for you?
Music videos!!! And a little trip to NYCity!! and everything else in between which could be quite a lot as the two are unrelated, lets just wait and see!
Pirates Open a Bar !! read more here
