Interview: Burton Machen [Vue Privee September Artist of the Month]
New York and Los Angeles based street artist and photographer Burton Machen is probably what Charles Darwin would be if he hung out in the city ever so often.
Focusing on the evolution of street art, Burton creates pieces in his Urban Evolution series that purports an ever changing form within a given artwork. Exploring the theory that permanency does not exist in art, Burton opens his individual expression to be re-expressed by others. Leaving his works on the walls across the city, artists and surrounding elements gather to give the piece its defining touch, marrying individualism and collectivism into one.
I spoke to the down to earth artist as he unravels his notions and ideas of our urban landscape.
Welcome to Singapore Burton, how has things been since you’ve touched down so far?
It is my first time in Singapore and also my first time in Asia. I love it, Singapore has been great. I’ve been around a bit and have hit the high points, there’s definitely a lot to see in a week.
Heard you ran away from your hometown of Alabama as a teenager. What were you looking for?
Actually I ran away from Georgia where my family had just moved which is near Alabama. I headed to Washington DC and then to New York. I guess I was just looking to find myself and just to be myself because I never really fit in in Alabama.
You were a hairdresser when you first started out in New York.
Yes, that was how I started, and it has definitely opened a lot of doors. I’ve been in and around the hair industry for 20 plus years now and has definitely made a lot of connections that carried over into the art world.
How was that transition like?
Well my focus on street art really started when I first moved to New York. I lived in the lower east side of Manhattan, and it was a very vibrant scene back in the late 80s. So I noticed street art everywhere I went.
But it wasn’t really for quite a few years that I started photographing the works I saw evolving on the streets.I started photographing that and then eventually started about talking about it with various clients in the salon and that’s where it led to one of my clients saying that she would like to introduce me to a friend who owns a gallery, and that was where it all started. Then meeting this woman and having my first show and it just went from there.
How was your first ever show?
How was it? It was kind of crazy! Usually people with their first show have only a piece in the show. But I had this amazing opportunity with the gallery in New York. It was about 8,000 square feet of space and I already had a big collection from my Urban Evolution series, so it was about 25 pieces, and it was pretty overwhelming. Probably a little too much for a first show, but I tend to do that (laughs). And the reaction was amazing!
What drew you into street art?
First of all it’s just very raw, but the part of street art that really amazes me the most is how all the different artists sort of intermingle and they work independently but yet they are creating something collectively. I think it speaks a lot to the unconscious nature of people and how we are always creating whether it’s consciously or unconsciously. In this case most artists are consciously putting something on the wall but the collaboration is of an unconscious nature.
And there are artists who stay in their own bubble I supposed.
Well, I think even if they are in their own bubble and if they are putting something on the streets, they are taking part in something bigger whether it’s intentional or not.
Are there artists that have stimulated your senses?
As far as classic artists, Mark Rothko and Paul Jackson have always been two of my favorites because their work is very provocative and it’s all about emotions, you know? That’s kind of how I feel when I stand in front of some of the pieces on the streets and on walls, and I look at this kind of tapestry of work and speaks to me the same way.
Perceptions and appreciation of works would differ based on cultures in different countries wouldn’t it?
I think it’s very different even within the same country from New York to Los Angeles or New Orleans. I think every city has its own personality and it comes through in some of the colors and specific details of the images.
And now you jut between New York and Los Angeles.
I am permanently in those cities. I go from here on Monday morning to Los Angeles and immediately to New York in less than 24 hours (laughs).
Having brought your style to Singapore, what does your current exhibition at Vue Privee represents?
This is an exhibition of portraits because as I said I have for years shot for Urban Evolution, but it wasn’t until about 3 years ago that I was inspired to start putting portraits of people out; just to see how the artists and people on the streets would react to specific personalities.
It started with somebody asking me for a commission and that’s how I came up with the whole portrait idea and from there it went into pieces that you will see in the show here. More celebrities and recognizable individuals.
What’s your relation with the concept of celebrities like?
I think they have certainly influence us and have the ability to do so. Pop culture have very much become a way of life in many countries, and I know it has in the US and it seems that in Asia and Singapore it is also very prevalent. So I think it’s just a common denominator that we all can connect to.
For those who have never been in the experience of your work, what do you think art-goers can expect?
I don’t really know what people can expect, but I hope they are intrigue as I am about what evolves on the streets and how all of these are created.
Your Urban Evolution series have certainly progressed, what’s the next step going to be like?
I started playing with the idea of putting words and phrases up and seeing if that elicits the same type of response.
Experience the Urban Evolution of Vue Privee’s Artist of the Month from now through Sep 30.
