Alex ab Barrera

Ab, our featured artists for the month, blew us away when our paths crossed earlier this year on the big old Internet, and it wasn't long before we arranged a full blown feature to spotlight some of his artwork. For more on Ab you can track him down at his official site here.

VOLTCASE ALEX AB BARRERA INTERVIEW:

Welcome to Voltcase, Alex, how are things?

Great, thanks for having me.

So, how would you describe yourself to a stranger in three words?

Well, if I've only got three i guess... Quick witted realist would have to do it.

Now, “nudity, violence and controversy” are a few words you’ve used to describe your own work. Do you feel compelled to dwell on these subject matters, or are they just subjects that interest you?

I’m always growing, not only as an artist but as a person...so my views are going to change, but for now I'm concentrating on subject matter that tends to steer more towards our “prurient” tendencies and exposing hypocrisy. Although not many people want to adorn there living rooms with half naked women riding motorcycles and wielding bombs or blades, I do what i love no matter what...even if it often provides me with less than universally shared praise.
Most people are content with creating artwork that appeals to the masses and creating marketable characters who are cute but don’t leave lasting impressions... I’m more interested in bringing people back to a time when art was controversial, racy and raw... financial returns be damned!!! Life is too short to create useless crap!!!

Can you tell us a bit about your influences at all? Are there any less obvious ones that we wouldn’t immediately think of when viewing your work?

I’m a huge fan of Coop, which i think is one of the most obvious in my work, but I'm influenced by so many. James Jean, Gil Elvgren, Armando Huerta, Jim Phillips, Jason Goad, Derek Hess, Andrew Bawidamann, Lorenzo Sperlonga, Ricky Carralero and of course..the man, the myth, the legend... Hajime Sorayama.

There seems to be a strong, independent feel to your artwork, and clearly the already mentioned subjects of nudity and violence aren’t issues for you, but do you find this limits your audience at all? And if so, does that matter to you at all?

I feel it greatly limits my audience..yes, absolutely...but that’s ok by me. There are so many artists these days..all very hard-working, most talented and some very skilled... I'm just trying to find my place. What I've noticed is that most of the work out there is typically the same... quirky little characters, minimal lines and vague or no subject matter or point to them... there is nothing worse than art that is pointless or quirky for the sake of being quirky...As far as I'm concerned... I’d rather speak loudly to a few, than create work that no one will remember.

How do you find the Internet as a promotional tool for your artwork? Is it a good way of exposing your stuff, or is it just a way for people to steal your images online without you knowing?

That’s a good question, the internet is a double-edged sword. First of all, I only keep low res images online, so if anyone wants to use my work as a screensaver..have at it, but a high quality print of my work you will not find.
You hope that people still maintain some kind of morality when i comes to stealing work, but with the way music, programs, etc are downloaded on a daily basis, who are we kidding...that’s not going to happen...so I just try and protect myself as much as i can, cross my fingers and hope that I don’t come across any of my work promoting anything i haven’t licensed..

You’ve produced artwork for rock bands in the past, are there any that you fancy name-dropping for us? And talking about music, are there any bands that influence your art at all, or do you work in perfect silence?

I’m a huge fan of music. I listen to rock, punk, emo and some hip hop but not alot... band's like Rage Against the Machine, Kaiser Chiefs, Justice, The SugarCubes, The Adicts, Atari Teenage Riot, Beastie Boys, Gotye, M.I.A., MGMT, Radiohead, and Muse to name a few.
As far as rock band work I'm always trying to get more work and trying to get into doing rock posters..old school, elaborate rock posters, like back in the 60’s when band posters depicted the bands like gods...not the mass produced, quick turnaround studio shot posters of today. I’ve actually just finished a poster for an independent film “ and on the 7th day God Rocked”, which has been well received by audiences...both the poster and the film.
The bands I’ve done work for are not fancy enough now to name drop..but they’re the ones who are still hungry for fame and let you create great work... which i really enjoy.

If you were interviewing yourself, what question would you ask yourself? And what would the answer be?

Why be an artist? Few make enough to live by. Its just something I have to do in order to stay sane... whether its for profit for personal gain... I need to do it.

So, what are your plans for the rest of the year?

I’ve got my work in several galleries, record stores, etc..not to mention online, but I'm working on some new ideas and quite possibly working on an animated feature and writing a book... totally unrelated to my artwork...so I'm excited to see what the future holds.

And finally, the question that we ask everyone that appears in Voltcase - what does the word ‘Voltcase’ mean to you?

Voltcase makes me think of a shot of electricity coursing through a contained space... a “lightning in a bottle” if you will. That’s what i think Voltcase does..it harnesses power and delivers with a bang!!!