Max Dovey, Emotional Stockmarket (C) Art Catlin
1.If you weren’t an artist, what else would you be?
I’ve always wanted a train trolley selling snacks and hot drinks.
2. Can you tell us more about your work and what are the main ideas you would like to express?
I am interested in communicating about our relationship with technology, media and society. My works present social environments for our experience of technology to be changed. I produce live, time – based artworks that relate to current topics. My work often explores audience participation through new media in a live art context.
The common approaches in my work are predominantly social concerns about community and technology. Our interaction with systems and social networks ,the global potential and the individual result.
3. How do you start the process of making work?
I absorb media. I then put it into post it notes and I think about them when im cycling. Then I tell people when ive connected a few things and see what they think. I want to know how they would do it so I can make it more accessible. I then try and develop how it can happen. The practical things and the context. This all happens through dialogue. I then go into production, things become quite unsociable and then after the event I work out how the audience changed what happened. The way the audience interact with the work is the best indicator on how to develop it to make it better.
4. Do you consider the viewer, when making your work?
The audience is like my canvas. I don’t cover them in paint. But the audience determine how the art exists, as it occurs through exchange and experience in my work. I am constantly challenged to work out how the viewer will compose the artwork in their engagement.
5. Name 3 artists that have inspired your work?
Neville Gabie conducts incredible art with groups of communities and spaces.
Richard Layzell – was my tutor at college and taught me how fun you make art practise.
Jonathan Harris – ‘We Feel Fine’ project was innovative and really made me think about online emotional content.
6. Name 3 of your least favourite artists.
There’s too many to remember individual names.
7. What defines something as a work of art?
To change the perception or understanding of a subject for the viewer.
8. In times of austerity, do you think art has a moral obligation to respond topically?
Lavish lifestyles have become less visible in everyday culture. I don’t think art has any moral obligations, but there is responsibility for the artist to make their work relevant to audiences. My work directly responds to current affairs and I believe art should be relevant to contemporary culture. Artists have a responsibility to react to their context and the financial crash has affected everything. Artists are taking this into consideration in their work and are making relevant and challenging works.
9. Anytime, any place – which artist’s body would you most like to inhabit?
Luke Jerram when he flys above cities in hot air balloons conducting sky orchestra.
www.skyorchestra.co.uk/
10. What is your favourite ‘ism’?
I don’t have one. I saw a program where Ben Lewis attempted to make Relational Aesthetics the new ‘ism’.
11. Which artists would you most like to rip off, sorry, I mean appropriate as a critique of originality and authorship?
I don’t feel in a position to critique originality because id struggle to find anyone that was an absolute original pioneer. I am very interested in copyright and ownership. The ideals are wearing thin with digital media and web 2.0. There is a whole generation that see copyright as completely bizarre and there is not the same moral code a there once was. People who enforce copyright believe that young people feel guilty for downloading files, and that’s not the case. Laws like Protect IP & ACTA are all trying to keep a system of ownership in place that has expired. I perceive similar aspects of authorship and ownership in the art market and predict a similar difficulty. The economy is run around originals, editions and one off events and a sense of unique ownership and experience. For artists making video, sound, performance or media they protect their work from being transferred digitally. I am interested in a digital economy that supports artists and audiences in digital artworks.
12.Do you care what your art costs? State your reasons!
I self fund all my projects for now (unless it’s a commission). If the people are right then I will make work for next to nothing. I run with a huge network of people that would all rather donate a tenner than fill out funding bid. This has its limitations and is fruitful in youth. In the future I was hoping to be funded by public bodies, but theres not a lot of that left. How much a project costs is a small consideration when your developing a new project. I will spend like a maniac to get a project going, it would be great if one day I could make it back. If you care about the project you will do whatever to make it work.
13. What’s next for you?
Organising a large scale collaborative show with European artists. Every year we organize a show based on new collaborations between artists all over Europe. This year its happening in London.
6pm onwards SLAM afterparty with Bussey DJS 30th March | Bussey building, Peckham
www.mileskm.wordpress.com
Final Broadcast Collective present ‘The Last Day of TV – LIVE’ 4th April – 18th April
Russet Space @ Hackney Downs Studios, Amhurst Terrace
www.finalbroadcast.co.uk
Max Dovey has been shortlisted for the Catlin Prize 2012, the exhibition runs from 3rd-25th May at the Londonewcastle Project Space. www.artcatlin.com
Read Jonny Briggs Interview number ONE:www.fadwebsite.com/jonny-briggs
AND
Read interview number TWO Adeline de Monseignat :www.fadwebsite.com/adeline-de-monseignat
Read interview number FOUR Julia Vogl
