An Interview with Stark Minus – Chicago based Artist

Chicago based artist Stark Minus has been creating art since 1975.

Over the last couple of years he has switched from traditional paper and canvas to the digital platform. Stark Minus’s evolution into the digital realm has allowed him to further explore a new world of mediums when bringing his work to life. Stark Minus believes that every work of art should tell a story, whether it be a single work or a set of pictures. Concept and meaning are essential to his work. With each stroke being carefully thought out to further the emotional impact of each piece.

Stark’s ability to evoke emotions through his work serves only to add to the depth of each composition.

When did you begin painting and how did you get started?

Stark Minus: First off I would like to say thank you for this wonderful opportunity! I grew up very poor in the industrial city of Gary, Indiana. I remember my father getting laid off of work at the steel mill a lot and my mother finding work sewing and doing craft shows to make ends meet, so I didn’t have much in the way of toys. I remember I was probably 5 or 6 at the time being dropped off at my grandmother’s house, she painted China and landscapes and the occasional portrait one of which was me. she had bought me one of those cheap watercolor sets the kind in the plastic tray with one brush and a set of charcoal pencils,  she told me you may not have much but you can paint and draw the world you want to live in, and with that, she gave me a stack of paper a cup of water and told me to have at it now at. this time in my life all my world consisted of was arguing parents, back alleys, steel mills, drunks, and junkies. so my first works were of cars and trucks escaping down the road and I drew and painted my way out of my reality.

What made you transition from traditional paper and canvas to the digital platform, and is there any connection regarding your older work?

Stark Minus: My transition from traditional paper and canvas consisted of both curiosity of the digital medium and the cost of the material. I would have to spend so much to create a work, then in order to at least break even would have to pass that cost on my customer. I firmly believe that all art should be first and foremost, available to everyone but more importantly affordable to everyone. so I found that using the digital platform not only was every medium available to me, now but it didn’t cost me anything to use through free apps and software so it was a way to not only expand my own horizons but not have to pass that cost on to a customer the connection between the two comes in the form of. I created Stark Minus when I switched over to be able to direct all of my focus into one entity, everything I created was created as a means to cope with whatever was going on in my life. at that time the darker my days the more I created to escape. I didn’t want to live that way anymore so I saw this as an opportunity to encompass the dark into one corner of my mind no more scattered paper. no more scribbled ideas lying in piles all over my studio one place one focus and I found by doing this my creativity soared.

You said concept and meaning are essential for your work, where do you “find” your ideas?

Stark Minus: I look at my work as snapshots of a story being told. when people take snaps of their lives it’s because something meaningful was happening that made you take the time to take a picture or make note of that moment in time. so I believe every picture should tell a story the perception of what happened here, why did this happen? a beginning, middle, and end. I have done quite a few pieces where there are multiple pictures that when combined make one story. I come from a place mostly of isolation and that feeling of never belonging. so I tend to take to the darker sides of the human condition loneliness, heartbreak, solitude. for my ideas I want the person who is looking at my work to feel something more than just “oh that’s a cool picture or love the colors.” I want you to feel emotion, like that time you took that snap to remember that feeling you had at that one moment in time.

What is the message you are trying to give with your art?

Stark Minus: The message I try to convey with my art is emotion. Pure unadulterated emotion. I’ve had many people tell me after looking at one my works, that’s how I feel inside, I feel like that guy on the bench sitting there watching pieces of themselves dissolving and fade away in the wind. I feel today as people, we are so open but yet we still never face our inner selves that after all this time we still fear to let go. I want everyone to know we all end up on a bench with our heads down watching ourselves dissolve at one time or another and that it’s okay because the sun will rise and a new day begins.

What artists influenced you the most and why?

Stark Minus: So many artists over the years have influenced me everyone from Bacon to Hopper to HR Geiger and all points in between. but my go-to artists the most influential to me will always be Van Gogh and David Lynch. Van Gogh pure genius. in stroke of brush, and in the way he poured his soul into every aspect of his work, you look at the letters he wrote to Theo the sketches his words the way he dealt with his own inner demons. to me one of two pure genius artists that ever lived. the other being David Lynch, the modern-day master of all things living on the dark side of the mind. the way he looks and portrays the human condition and all of our faults and dark desires we carry within ourselves through his art, movies,and music we can see the other us staring back, and let’s face it, the man doesn’t explain what he does he just does what he wants and it’s up to you to fill in your own blanks. and in that way as with my work I want the person to feel that stare and be able to fill in their own blanks.

How does creating art make you feel?

Stark Minus: For a long time, art for me was a coping mechanism. the darker the day the more I felt the need to escape reality, but after finally standing up to myself and creating Stark Minus it gave me the power to create without the feeling of wanting to escape, but the desire to explore the dark to work through it to express myself the way I hadn’t been able to before so now it’s an enlightening experience.

How has your art evolved over the years?

Stark Minus: My art has evolved in so many ways over the past few years. just in the wide array of mediums I have at my fingertips which gives me the opportunity to create work in a certain style, then move forward and work in another style. a big fear of mine is to be pigeonholed into one style and only be known for that. this way people have a choice of many mediums. I’ve worked in also freeing my mind and focusing all of my work into one direction has been a huge help in enhancing my creativity.

What have you found to be the best way of getting your art noticed by buyers?

Stark Minus: The best way to get noticed is the old fashioned way. knock on a door, maybe it will open maybe it will get slammed in your face, but I feel my work deserves my best foot forward. and I want to show I’m willing to go that extra mile for it also, of course, Instagram @starkminusart (my shameless plug.) Facebook all the social media platforms get your work out there around the world but to be able to talk to someone face to face and to be able to explain your vision it’s a lost art form.

Are there any upcoming shows or workshops we should know about (or canceled due to this covid19 situation)?

Stark Minus: Funny you ask! I currently have two shows going right now, at a Cafe on the square where I live. and at a Gallery in Michigan City, Indiana called Rising Phoenix gallery. which started right at the beginning of all this we had the opening then the next week shutdown. I’m calling them the great unseen shows of 2020. the future is uncertain no one is making any plans so unfortunately future shows are at a standstill but as with anything that comes our way we shall overcome in the great words of Martin Luther King.

Do you see your art as serving a purpose beyond art?

Stark Minus: My hope for my art serving a purpose beyond art, is that if someone can look at one my works and say to themselves- “I remember being there I remember feeling that way.” whether it be a happy or sad feeling. but for that one second you feel in this cold world we tend to lose that and if I can help someone just feel for a second I’ve done my job as an artist.

Do you have any advice for the upcoming artists?

Stark Minus: My advice to the upcoming artists is the same as my Grandmother gave me. you can paint your own world and in that, you can create your own world. Never give up. There will always be haters but those are the people you paint out of your way. always keep moving forward and keep your focus it’s your world make it what you want.

What are your plans for the future?

Stark Minus: My plans for the future are to keep creating. I’m really delving into my photography at this moment I’m doing a major photo project which I hope to unveil in the near future called, ‘Woman Pissed’ hoping to finish it when everything gets back to normal. and just to keep moving forward and be the artist I want to be.

 

To find out more about Stark Minus and his work, please check his