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FAD Magazine covers contemporary art – News, Exhibitions and Interviews reported on from London

Hugo Wilson Answers FAD’s Questions

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1 When did you start to make art?
early, at around five years old i would become obsessesed with various projects, producing a comic book ; making whole worlds for soldiers (really complicated ones taking in the whole house etc), i really have the same feeling now at the beginning of a project that i did then, my father is the same and my mother reminded me of a time we spent putting a wargaming table together, we went for 48 hrs straight…….now projects can be a year or longer but the same single mindedness applies

2 How did you evolve into a professional artist?
nesessity, i went to live in italy to train under a painter , and i was renting an apartment etc, and the only way i could think to make any money was to make portraits of people, i think seventeen was very early to start making a living from making art (esp with the quality of seventeen yr old art!) but ten years on i suppose i have some experience now….

3 What drove you to make art as a professional vocation?
i am very bad at everything else

4 Explain your inspiration?
really anything, but particularly systems which govern us, or ones which we place on ourselves, (either physically or externally) , what they mean or can be made to mean.

5 In what way does your inspiration transform into ideas?
i think that it can be many things, but often finding a small, succict factor of a subject that represents the much bigger whole is a good place to start.

6 From Ideas to production of art – how? And why?
i often have several ways i want to make something, and several things i want to address, both lists added to and subtracted from daily, and the moment that i see the best way to say what i want is when i start to do it,

7 Could your ideas be portrayed in any other medium? If so which?
i think that the context of art making is a strange one, you are tackling large ideas you are trying to make them as clear as possible , whilst retaining as many levels as possible attached to the subject, in a single work , this is a peculiar problem. whilst in a book you can have many chapters and a long period of undivided attention from the viewer , this is not the case in a work. But yes i am sure my ideas could be done very well, perhaps better, in a variety of mediums, just not by me

8 Which artists would you most like to blatantly rip off?
anyone who does what i am trying to do but better…..

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9 Why is your art made?
as an attempt to avoid chaos (which is odd as alot of the things i am looking at, are about other peoples attempts to avoid chaos)

10 What does being an artists mean to you?
having time to filter and consider the information around you. As a job.

11 Are you happy with your reasons for making art? i.e Are there any trade offs that make life hard?
not completely , otherwise i wouldnt keep trying, of course there are moment when i cant pay bills etc and it is very hard to see the point in trying to consider “higher truths” when your cold and worried……the words “get a real job” float into your head. but i have done it all my life in one guise or another so i think that must speak for something

12 When does your art become successful?
when you have made somebody consider what it is you are addressing and then they have taken those thoughts on independantly

13 What is art?
in my case trying to make sense of what is going on around me

14 How do you start the process of making work?
sometimes i have the whole thing planned but more often than not i start one thing in one way and another in another and then swap and change things until they feel right, for example, i made a series of blueprints last year, and an idea i have now is far more relevent to that medium than the last one, so i am doing it .

15 Who prices your work? And how is the price decided upon?
often production time and cost seems to be the main governing factor at the moment as my work becomes more ambitious ….. it is something that feels fairly obvious at the moment

16 What is your next; move,project,show etc?
lots has just finished and whilst i have some very exciting offers of showes here and abroad, i actually am heading back to studio for a few months to make before taking any decisions.

17 What are the pros and cons of the art market?
sometimes you sell something sometimes you dont! although its easy to slate the current circus around art and artists, personally i think its amazing that so many people are interested and involved.

18 Which pieces would you like to be remembered for?
the last one i show

19 Any routine in making your artwork? If so what?
none it completely depends on what i am making, although when things get confusing for any long period, i find writing very helpful

20 What has been the biggest break in your career?

there have been a culmination of lots of little things to date but not one stand out……..

21 Who has been the biggest influence on you?

i think anyone who told me to be honest in my intentions, and some of the artists who i am showing with at the moment.

More info:www.hugowilson.com/
Catch Hugo at the Absolut Art Salon More Details Here

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