Jason Jägel Interview
The first time I saw Jason Jägel’s work was at the inaugural Bay Area Now show at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts back in 1997. His large narrative drawings were some of my favorite works in that show, which is saying a lot considering fellow participating artists included Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, Chris Johanson and Rigo.
Jason’s paintings have a story telling quality to them. His works on paper combine text, flat color, shapes, and images to create a narrative that exists in the present. September is a busy month for Jason, as he has shows opening back to back in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as the book launch of “73 Funshine”.
Here’s a short interview with Jason. Enjoy.
Reading and Writing, 2007. Gouache, Blo-Pen, ink & pencil on paper, 60 x 88” (152.5 x 223.5 cm)
Tell us a little bit about your upcoming shows in L.A. and San Francisco, as well as your forthcoming book “73 Funshine”
The shows are at Richard Heller in Santa Monica (sept. 6th) and Electric Works in SF (sept. 12th). The book is a monograph, 12 x 14 inches, 208-pages and comes with a 10″ vinyl record with three jazz songs by Madlib.
Where did the book title come from?
It’s nonsense. It makes me think of nothing definite but a few things at once and it changes, slippery-like. There’s an essay in the book that says a bit more.
Spy Vs. Spy, 2008. Gouache and pencil on paper, 39 ½ x 27 ¾” (100 x 70.5 cm)
What kind of influence does music have on your work?
Huge. I think I’ve always wanted to make art that had the feeling of the songs I was listening to whether that was Public Enemy, Minor Threat, Will Oldham, Old Time music, Curtis Mayfield, Thelonious Monk, MF DOOM or any of Madlib’s projects. One of the things that’s so fascinating about music / record history is that it feels like a bottomless amount of material, much of which is relatively unknown either in this country or due to it not being written into history by commercial interests, which we now know as corporate empire. I get energized looking for information about music that I don’t know about and there always seems to be a lot of music that people do for the passion & expression of it, rather than for the “look” or the visibility. When I started listening to Madlib / Quasimoto / Lootpack and DOOM / KMD / MF Grimm in 2000 I was blown completely away. I was an immediate fan to the point that, in my drawing / painting, I created these weird, unholy combinations of them and me as characters and actions . They’re all heavily narrative driven artists in very different (literary vs cinematic- or something) but from such similar desires. Hip hop is really storytelling anyway, found even in the most basic ‘get the party up’ styles, yet doom and madlib have this aura of fictional autobiography that’s both way out there and deeply sincere, even candid. So that’s a big part of what attracts me to them and influences my artmaking.
Tribute to Olé / JWJ, 2007 gouache and pencil on record jacket and paper 12 ¼ x 21 ¼” (31 x 54 cm)
What are some of your favorite bands?
all good music. all old records. with things like Jazz or Reggae or Soul or Funk it’s hard to say “bands” because the music was made by such a wild and shifting mix of characters, some never credited and some in countless combinations over and again. Even all the genres get slippery - R&B into Ska, jazz into funk / blues / soul / “fusion,” rock into psyche / folk / prog. These days hip hop and electro and dance and latin are all mixed up. A couple favorite records lately are the reissues Galwad Y Mynydd 1972 Welsh Folk/Psyche masterpiece on Finders Keepers; the Wax Poetics reissue Rhythm & Blues by Melvyn Price; Herbie Hancock “the Prisioner” 1969; for Madlib stuff the recent Jackson Conti - collaboration with mamao conti of azymuth and then his stuff with Karriem Riggins, Supreme Team and the jazz stuff. What Madlib does with the people around him, how he and Stones Throw attract people is a very inspiring model. Another great record of late is DJ Lengua, artist Eamon Ore-Giron’s sample-based Cumbia joints. And then Nate Denver’s Neck, my man Nate, is at the highest of my list too, sincere as anything and like nothing else out there. He’s a real storyteller.
Read This on Wax, 2008. Pencil on paper, 19 x 17” (48 x 43 cm)
Your father was a painter. What kind of artistic influence did he have on you?
Loads. He was an amazing drawer from life as well as cartoonist / doodler, then he had a great eye for the rhythm of composition and the feeling of color. Plus his studio, the smell and the books. Me and my brother and our friends drew a lot. Going to his studio as a kid are some of my favorite memories. He was really into music, jazz and classical mostly, and he’d crank it way up so he could hear everything that was happening.
The Favela, 2007. Gouache, Blo-Pen, ink & pencil on paper, 30 x 22” (76 x 56 cm)
What’s your process for creating art?
Like something between practicing an instrument and writing a book but with brushes, pencil and color. I like to experiment and try new things. No planning or sketches most of the time.
How would you explain your art?
As products of a sublimated desire to be a comic artist / novelist / filmaker / musician
What inspires you?
all of life
Say, “Ah!”, 2008. Gouache on record jacket and paper, 12 ¼ x 21 ¼” (31 x 54 cm)
What goes on in a normal day for you?
I’ve got two kids so there’s a lot of routine, but it changes from day to day and season to season since my wife and I both teach. One day I might be with my kids all day, the other chained to the computer for one thing or another, the next in the studio all day. Lots of cooking and cleaning and being involved with the family. Read, stretch or watch some program, ideally something like the Wire or Deadwood.
Favorite artists?
those mentioned above. Chester Brown, CF, Haruki Murakami, Winsor Mckay, Isaac LIn, Vikram Chandra, Kota Ezawa, Bob Linder
Wayward Missive, 2007. Gouache & pencil on paper, 22 x 17” (56 x 43 cm)
You recently collaborated with Andrew Schoultz on a sign for Park Life. How was that experience?
It was fun to be on -or above- Clement Street up on a four-tier scaffolding in the wind and fog of the richmond for days. Best when the earbuds pushed music in / kept sound out. Me and Andrew had a good time I think. I had broken my leg so I got to the sign a while after he had already done a lot of painting, so reacting to the stuff he had done was interesting - what came out of me was much different than anything I had thought about doing beforehand.
To see more of Jason Jägel’s work visit jasonjagel.com
Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles
Hope Gangloff / Jason Jägel
September 6th, 2008 - October 4th, 2008
Opening Reception: Sat, Sept 6, 5-7 pm
Electric Works, San Francisco
Jason Jägel
73 Funshine, Exhibition & Book Release
September 12th, 2008 - October 18th, 2008
Opening Reception: Fri, Sept 12, 6-8 PM
3 Comments, Comment or Ping
Beth Goolsby
Thanks for the great interview Mike!
Sep 5th, 2008
Nate Williams
amazing work!
Sep 10th, 2008
Design for Mankind
WONDERFUL INTERVIEW— love your blog, dear!
Sep 10th, 2008
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