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An Interview with Gaia
This artist and student of life really has started to leave his mark. Gaia is a young and unique artist who grew up in NYC. Over the past few years as he has been growing creatively he has truly begun to make a name for himself with in the street art community and has also stepped into the fine art community. His detail and earthy inspirations has separated him from the saturated walls of the city.
L.F.- Where were you born and raised?
Gaia- I was born and raised in New York City.
L.F.- What has inspired some of your favorite pieces of work?
Gaia- My emotional relationship with the important people within my life is what inspires the content of my work. My art is deeply personal and cathartic. I try to maintain an honest articulation of both my frustrations and felicity in each piece. Whether it is the celebration of a burgeoning young boy who I once babysat or the valediction of a person who lives in my past, I want to express a feeling that can be fundamentally understood by the viewer. I am very interested in communicating these passions on the street and in an attempt to relate to other people through the imagery.
L.F.- In your opinion, what's so great about street art?
Gaia- Because it is art that approached and received in a completely different context than that of the gallery. Street Art has the potential to become a fixture in someone's life, affairs and routine because it is in a space that we all share. There is less of a socioeconomic divide between the piece and the viewer when it is applied to a wall that is apart of the public sphere rather than a wall that is confined to a gallery. Street Art is accessible, and it is connecting, but it is conversely fleeting and has afforded me the truly enlightening awareness that nothing in that realm is precious.
L.F.- Is there anything about street art culture that upsets you or strikes a nerve?
Gaia- When I said that Street Art is apart of environment that we all share and that it is less of a socioeconomic divide that is only partly true
L.F.- Do you have any personal favorite new emerging street artists?
Gaia- I would say that vihls has been doing some very intriguing work, it also seems that he has been getting quite a lot of attention lately, which is really fantastic.
And while he has been in this game for quite a while now, other seems that he is finally just emerging as a powerful presence in everyone's street awareness. I love his work and must admit that I am a little envious of his imagination.
L.F.- Does your family know what you are doing with your time? How do they feel about it?
Gaia- Both my parents support my work wholeheartedly. I have gone out with my
father on numerous runs and even hit a rooftop spot with him.
L.F.- Is there someone who has been a mentor to you over the years?
Gaia- I feel as though I have been fairly alone interaction with the larger Street Art community. So I have not had a mentor per se, but of course, swoon remains a constant source of inspiration and has influenced my work greatly. I think it should be also noted that my career in this field has been brief thus so far in comparison to other artists who have preceded me. I have only been putting up work for about two years.
L.F.- Any last words?
Gaia- Street Art will not save anyone or solve anything. It is not a savior or a
messiah. I see it simply as a constant examination of ourselves and our
community. Street Art is another dialectic or more accurately a
representation of the our constant flux.
Links
Gaia on Flickr
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