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THE PROOF is a weekly roundup showcasing local creatives. A column for creatives to share their story and work, in a unique, concise format: each creative shows 8 pictures and answers 8 questions. Past participants include Bob Kronbauer, Omer Arbel, Carson Ting, Lizzy Karp, Branislav Henselmann, Hannah Georgas, Douglas Haddow - all living in Vancouver. |
Despite our vanity, Andy and I crave a kind of exile from ourselves. He uses paint and I use words, and with these devices, it is an easy enough thing to manufacture convenient worlds to live inside, comfortable characters in which to masquerade. For there is no denying the biology of our cowardice: we are men of doubt, delay and disguise, as if these were our only evolutionary tools. I very seriously doubt we would ever find the world of action were it not for a desire – derived from the sorts of pictures and books we happen to admire – for unknown lives.
But recognizing this since our first conversation, Andy and I have been compelling each other toward the bolder act, the brighter colour, the stronger word and stranger thought. In this gadfly function is the joy of knowing each other. Over the years, I've watched Andy push both his art and life into territory of which he is, I believe, organically fearful. And from that confrontation – which is not some therapeutic voyage of self-discovery, but rather a kind of impractical and sometimes disastrous experiment with life – comes the dark power of his art as well as the simple honesty of his person. His friendship is one of the enduring stories of my life.
Michael LaPointe
THE PROOF
1. I say a lot of films are my favourite, but this one might actually be the one. I just got this poster all framed up and I"m loving it.
2. This cigarette case embroidered with my initials was a birthday gift from a good friend. I don't smoke except to celebrate when I sell a painting. And even then I don't think I do it right.
3. What I'm currently reading. Every sentence in Young Girls is impeccable, with many interrupters, all perfectly balanced. I'm reading it veeeery slowly.
4. This is how I start my mornings. "Mornings" defined only as the time of day in which I wake up, not in relation to where the sun sits in the sky.
5. I'm a sucker for life's finer things. Even the shitty stuff.
6. Ties. I used to be a punk kid but somewhere along the way I started dressing like the bad guy from any John Hughes film. Just part of the journey.
7. A new painting, Purple Still Life, 2014.
8. My studio.
THE QUESTIONS
1. What neighborhood do you live in?
I live in the Fraser & King Ed area but my studio, where I spend the bulk of my waking time, is on Main & Kingsway
2. What do you do and where?
I'm a painter, which I do in my studio here in Vancouver mostly.
3. What are you working on?
I am working on new pieces for a solo show at Wally Workman in Austin, Texas in May, as well as a few upcoming art fairs with my new gallery, Rebecca Hossack, which is based out of London and New York. There will be a solo show in London following as well.
4. Where can we find your work?
The best place to see it all is on my website, andydixon.net or come by the studio for a glass of wine.
5. Who are your role models?
Édouard Manet and Kanye West.
6. What keeps you going in this industry?
Momentum. That, and the self awareness to recognize that I blow at doing just about everything else.
7. If you had a chance to start your career all over again, how would you do it differently?
I'm not sure how one could possibly know such a thing without a time-machine and a life-fullfillment-o-meter to compare. I'm pretty happy with how things are going in this reality.
8. What advice do you wish someone would have given you when you were young?
Don't wear those pants.
If you were going to recommend a creative to VIA, who would it be?
Lindsey Hampton and Michael LaPointe, of course.
