Interview with the innately talented, Jason Scuderi
We sat down with our latest artist for an interview to learn more about what makes him tick. We learned some unexpected and surprising things about how his childhood influenced his career and life, read on below.
How long have you been an artist?
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in art, but at an early age, it was more about imagining scenarios rather than specifically, focused pieces. I would create scenes from films like Star Wars as a reenactment or simply make up my own stories with the characters.
When did you know that art was your life calling?
I had an older cousin who used to babysit my sister and me when we lived in Texas. To pass the time, she would bring a few rock albums over and choose one to draw and paint. She was fantastic and I was absolutely enamored as I watched her magically produce the cover with watercolors. In my adolescent years, I attempted to emulate that feeling and experimented with different mediums, especially comic book style pencils, and ink being influenced by the likes of Frank Miller, Moebius, Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee and any anime I could get my hands-on like Akira, Fist of the North Star, Wicked City, and more. During high school, my perception of art drastically changed when I began to attend raves and clubs in the mid-90s in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington DC. I was introduced to graphic design via RAVE FLYERS and fell in love with the hypnotic representation of events. The flyers were an explosion of energy utilizing a barrage of styles and techniques. I ended up moving to Brooklyn and began seriously focusing on design for Reebok, Nike, various record labels and companies at a design studio in Manhattan where I was able to fuse all of the things dear to me; storytelling, art, and design.
You have a number of very distinct styles that are all striking at first glance but clearly have a deeper meaning. Is there a method to understanding your pieces you would like people to know?
I’m fascinated by technology and have an almost cinematic view of visual representation. When I create pieces, I visualize a kind of story in my mind. Besides art, illustration, and collages, I have a deep attachment to film and animation. Going back to my childhood, my father and my uncle would take me to see mostly science fiction films. Through those stories, there was always a connection between humanity and technology which I believe is very prevalent in the work I produce. My hope for viewers is to imagine a story themselves and yearn for more, either on a personal level or possibly a wider scope such as societal connections — how we relate to one another and the technology we build and use.
Lines, geometry, and the tight use of space is the first thing we noticed as a parallel in nearly all your works. Is there something about patterns and symmetry that you would like your audience to know, or come to understand about your work?
My first love was drawing, but I eventually began working with computers. I believe the intricate nature of the machine has definitely influenced my execution as a challenging attempt to stay within a certain format or style. For the past couple of years, I’ve veered towards symmetrical pieces with small hints of grain or varied brushstrokes, for instance, to add a minuscule touch of warmth. Most of the more illustrative pieces utilize a certain pen that allows varied pressure. From afar, the line-work may appear to be intricate and refined. Upon closer inspection, some strokes are incomplete or not exactly straight. I stray from perfection as a way to add humanity to the digitally created work.
As far as special use, many of the current works are definitely tight with additional layers behind the main subject hinting at a bigger world. This coincides with the idea of a larger story going on beyond the focal point. It could potentially be compared to how music used to fade out, as if the song didn’t really end, but continued on into infinity.
What other professions have you studied?
Besides art and design, I very much appreciate the film and animation direction. Being able to mix various tools and techniques in moving form is absolutely fascinating, and I hope to focus on larger-scale projects in the very near future.
What other jobs have you done that you feel added to your experience as an artist?
As a creator, I try to infuse art in everything I do. As far as my career path goes, I had few odd jobs as a teenager, but after high school, I was honored to dive right into creative exploration and lucky enough to work with companies that welcomed my ideas.
On average, how long does it take you to create a piece using your various design and photo editing tools?
Every piece is different. For the more illustrative work such as the “Bits and Pieces” and “Lovecraft” series, I work very rapidly in an attempt to retain the energy once I have a visual in my mind. I always begin with the black outlines and try not to sketch too much, really laying down the solid picture or base, then work through colored layers.
Regarding the more photogenic, 3D or textural pieces, the timing is always varied. They could take a day or a week depending on the intricacy of the work. As an example, some of the 3D rendering time could take a full day or two for a large format. It depends on the textures or style of rendering I choose to utilize.
If you could expose your work to a new city anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Currently, I live in Tokyo, Japan, so more exposure here would be a dream come true. The city is full of energy and tradition which in some way is similar to my work in regard to understanding humanity and technology as they intertwine.
Do you have a very large piece, sculpture, or installation that you’ve always dreamed of doing if funding was no object?
I would absolutely jump at the chance to execute an installation or cinematic film experience. Regarding either, I have some concepts brewing in my mind ready to be materialized!
Originally published on ATOGallery.com
