Get To Know Soo's Exhibiting Artists

In the spirit of the Proust Questionnaire...we decided to ask our own questions of current exhibiting artists to get to know them better and maybe why they do what they do. Soo Blog Questionnaire #1- All About You (R. Justin Stewart)

First up is R. Justin Stewart ...here is what he had to say:

1. What is your first art related childhood memory?

I remember taking an art class when I was in 1st grade. We had to draw geometric shapes and fill them in with a different pattern in each shape.

2. As an artist, who is your biggest influence?
The two artists that most excite my are Sarah Sze and Robert Irwin, but I draw most of my influence from the books that I read. Reading allows me to bring new ideas into my brain. It is not as if I read a book and then go make a piece about it, but more that each books offers hundreds of new ideas and a couple of them will stick around. Then as I keep making my work, trying to push myself forward, I see things that I’ve read start to manifest in it. Sometimes they’re ideas from books that I read two or three years ago. Other times, a book that I’ve recently read provides a new lens in order to view past work in a new way which will help advance my current process. Each book seems to either nudge me in a new direction or allow me to understand my past work in a new light.

3. What did you listen to in the studio while creating this show?
The kind of work I am doing really drives what I listen to. When I am doing work that does not really take much thinking (e.g. drilling holes into thousands of half-inch wooden spheres) I tend to listen to NPR. When I am doing work that takes thinking (e.g. trying to figure out how to construct a 3 Dimensional form using zip ties and plastic o-rings) I tend to listen to music. Currently the bands played most are Fun., The Hold Steady, and Band Of Horses.

4. Name three unexpected items one would find in your studio?

Electric carving knife, 3 lbs of Japanese Sencha Green Tea, a Green Bay Packers 2010-2011 Schedule.

5. What is your least favorite famous work of art?

The Mona Lisa.

6. What art do you have hanging on your walls?
In my home, I have work by a lot of different people, but one of my current favorites is a piece by Seth Koen. ( http://sethkoen.com/ )

7. What are you working on now?

My current project is a large map-based installation depicting the
transformation of the idea of the Messiah and how it has shifted over time.

8. What will the title of your retrospective at MOMA be?
The things I thought about.

Thanks Justin!
For more on Systematics, now exhibiting Justin's work visit HERE
For more on R. Justin Stewart visit HERE