Jason Glasser on “Sky Says Get Drunk”
Caroline Marie, Fashion Design class of 2023, caught up with First Year instructor Jason Glasser to hear about his new exhibit Sky Says Get Drunk.
SKY SAYS GETS DRUNK
November 21 – December 30, 2019
Supereditions, 113 rue de Turenne 75003 Paris
Your exhibit is called « Sky Says Get Drunk », could you explain the title?
I once saw this phrase written on a cactus in Austin, in fact, someone took a knife to write “Sky says get drunk” on it, and as you can see, the cactus plays a dominant role in this exhibition. I liked the poetic but at the same time rock n roll feeling of that phrase. The meaning is just for me but I thought it was a great title for this artwork.
How would you describe your artwork?
Something to do with poetry and music.. I would also describe it as semi abstract work; it balances between abstraction and reality.
What was your inspiration behind the work?
The pieces in this show were very much inspired by living in the South of the United States, in Texas, where it’s warm and sunny all year long. I loved it! And a lot of things correspond to American mythology, for example, cowboys, horses and cactus are a big part of this show.
What types of materials do you work with?
I work with a lot of different materials but I’m mainly a painter. I work a lot with color. The types of materials I use vary. In this current show it is gouache painted on paper and constructed into a collage so it’s similar to Matisse’s technique of painting on paper, then cutting off the paper in order to create interesting compositions. I’ve also painted on net, ceramics, canvas and other materials in the past.
Can you tell us about your creative process?
The first step is drawing my ideas in my sketchbook. This allows me to put all my ideas into one place and then sort them out. Once I’m back in my studio, I choose which ideas are best to work on and explore more in depth.
Then, I experiment with different techniques. I create multiple series allowing me to choose the best ones. Finally, I edit my work!
What would you like to achieve when creating art ?
I love when I no longer own the painting, when it has a life of its own. A lot of the pieces in this new show have a salon style scale. I’ve had people buy my work and when I come back and see my work at their place, I realize that it’s part of another person’s life and I have nothing more to do with it. That’s a nice feeling!
In your work, the ocean and the earth come up often as a subject. Could you explain why?
I am very interested in making optimistic spaces. I’m not the type of artist who makes images of people. I love to create imaginary spaces.You could also see it as a window to spaces that feel good.
Nature spaces like the ocean, the sky or the forest come to my mind when thinking about optimistic atmospheres.
What is it like to be an American artist in Paris?
American artists have been coming to Paris for a long time. Before the middle of the 20th century, Paris was the place to go to come in contact with European art. Now things have changed. It’s still a great place for culture but you are outside of American culture. Sometimes I feel a little bit disconnected from American culture even though French people definitely see me as an American.
It can be an advantage because people might invite you to show your work as they feel it’s an opening to American culture but it can also be a disadvantage because France has its own point of view and sometimes it’s hard to access that.
Finally, what is your definition of art?
Art is another type of language to express other realities than just words or photographs. For me, it’s very much about an activity, a space to understand your experiences, a space for reflection.
Thank you Jason!