Creator Matt Deterior is not catering to an audience and fitting into someone’s little box will never be his goal, but this man is dripping with talent and the world needs to know about it.
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You call yourself a creator, and on your website you say you have been a creator since day one. At what age did you actually begin to create art and define yourself as an artist?
I tend to stay clear of the term “artist” for two reasons. First, labeling myself as such comes along with a lot of assumptions and expectations, both of which I care very little about, I don’t like silly games. Second, anyone can call themselves an artist, someone can mess around in photoshop for a few hours and there you go! I want very little to do with “artists” and their ilk.
Creator just seems authentic to me, no masks or bells & whistles – This is me, worship it or ignore it. It is all for myself anyway. For me creating starts with not being satisfied with what is available. I hold on to the fact that no one else is going to do things for me or change my situation. Creation is empowerment, it’s self love. I am God and what I create is the pure interaction with that point in time. The process is everything, the product is secondary at best, no contest.
Did you attend college to study art and if so, where and what was your major?
I have a Bachelors degree is Business Management, sadly, that is not a joke.
My art education comes from getting my hands dirty, communicating with other creators, and reading. Experience is worth so more than a silly piece of paper, While “earning” my business degree I found that most schooling is paying (taking out loans) to have someone read to you, our education system is pathetic. Credentials? Seriously? Society is stuck in the dark ages where titles are used to define who we are or are not. WAKE UP! EVOLVE! I don’t need anyone to validate what I do, what I produce speaks for itself.
Many of your pictures depict ethereal beings, demons, otherworldly beings. Have you ever had any type of encounter with these type beings? If so, tell me about it and, if not, what sparks your interest in them?
Yes, they do. That’s just what I see, the images are a freeze-frame of that point in time from my vantage point, sometimes I go back and detail them, sometimes I go back and destroy them. I rarely have a plan of “what” I am going to create, I just allow it to happen, and those ethereal demons, as you call them, seem to be an essential piece of me. Everything/Anything I have encountered in life has been a product of my own devices or my interpretation of something that was orchestrated or programmed by an outer source.
I don’t believe in gods, apparitions, ghouls, saviors, the Easter bunny, or the swine flu. Perhaps these creatures embody the fear that I witness in our society daily or my reaction to it. Fear is a driving force in our society, it is why people worship money, it’s why they have faith, it’s why they spend their lives building up a facade that screams “I am normal” and “special” all the while pissing their years away and never truly experiencing life itself. It’s all wasted on building up a lie because they are afraid of having an opinion, a question, a lust. I am giving this answer now and I am comfortable knowing that I might not believe it tomorrow. If you don’t want to learn or experience you may as well be dead. Question everything.
Who are some of your favorite artists, living or dead, who inspired you to want to become an artist?
No one inspired me to be Matt Deterior, it was instinct. Before I began showing my work in 2003 I would not have been able to name more than half a dozen artists and most of them would have been Ninja Turtles! I happened upon artists I enjoy primarily through people critiquing my work and saying things like, “Oh! That reminds me of so-and-so… blah blah blah.” So I would check out so-and-so and the movement so-and-so was involved with. Art is like a web, everyone is connected somehow and when you are an information sponge like I am you just bathe in it.
Inspiring artists off the top of my head: Genesis P-Orridge (life is his art), David Lynch, Paul Klee, Willem de Kooning, Henri Matisse, Cy Twombly, Clive Barker, Henry Darger (for his proliferation), and Ricky Boscarino (for physically manifesting his own universe, Luna Parc).
I am also intrigued by the street art/graffiti movement as I see artists like Shepard Fairey, Kid Robot, Banksy, and KR creating their empires. It’s a far cry from beat poets and expressionism but it’s what this generation has contributed. Perhaps it’s not that different at all really, well besides the commercialism.
Tell me a little about Submerged Clothing and what sparked the transition from painting to designing clothing.
Screen printing shirts and creating art have always gone hand in hand for me. I released my first shirt design the same night as the opening of my first group show. Basically I just print shirts that I want to wear. I never really understood why anyone would want the name of a brand or store to represent them as a being. Think of what you are advertising. I mean, I wear band shirts all the time but to me those are artists I support, the shirts are bought straight from them at shows opposed to a “graphic tee” from Express that was designed by an intern with photoshop in 10 minutes or a huge “HOLLISTER” across my chest.
Submerged Clothing is a company that I am starting that is still very much in its planning phase. Eventually it will be a clothing design entity that brings together designs by artists that I know personally and have come to respect for their vision. I am working closely with Sara Smith and we expect to have our 1st full year of releases set for 2011, including t shirts, hoodies, dresses, bags, and so on…
I can see a punk influence in your t-shirt designs. What are some of your favorite bands?
Iggy Pop, the Queers, Joe Buck Yourself, Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Evil Mothers, Ramones, Psychic TV, Hank III/Assjack, Melvins, the Cramps, Alien Sex Fiend, Skinny Puppy, Dead Boys/Stiv Bators, Johnny Thunders, Pigface, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper, Richard Hell, Jeff Dahl, Plow United, Swans, the Kills, Black Halos.
Since one of your t-shirts is entitled “God-Andy Warhol,” do you aspire to be the next Andy Warhol-like artist?
There will never be another Warhol. Warhol made it possible for ANYONE to be an artist, Pop styled duplications broke down the walls of fine art, disciplined technique, and even the definition of art. Everyone one is Warhol, they just have to turn off their TV and actually do something.
I see that you write children books as well. Can you tell me what the children books are about and if you plan on writing more in the future?
I have three different stories in the works and I have come to a standstill of sorts with each of them. I work on several projects at once so things get lost in the shuffle and unfortunately these books are a prime example of that. Honestly, I just set unattainable expectations for myself and I am forced to pick and choose between ideas. I do have a feeling that the children book project will be pulled to a front burner in the not too distant future as I am expecting the birth of my 1st child early next year! Each of the books is very different where characters and plot is concerned, though the foundation of all of them is pretty much the same. Essentially these are designed to encourage children to ask questions, speak their minds, and to have pride in themselves.
Another reason that I sidelined the books was because during the writing process I came up with several ideas that were not ideal for a children’s book, these ideas spawned even more writing projects all in different stages of incompleteness. These include: comic books, screenplays, poems/lyrics, a “romance” novel, performance art pieces, and even a soap opera. Some I expect to complete next year while others will never be finished.
What are you currently working on?
MD10 is going to be HUGE!
My official website is finally going back up, I am working on a few music projects, a solo project called “Programmed to Fail” and a interactive group project entitled, “The Infidel Collective”.
I am unleashing the first wave of my mail art project made up of 40 screen printed envelopes, each containing a frame of a comic and other goodies. The goal is interaction, “CONTACT. REACT. INTERACT.” These will be sent out December 31st and I will just roll with the process from there on in.
There are also several new shirt ideas in the works, an autobiographical comic-book, live body painting (and eventually a body painting book), and collaboration paintings with a slew of different artist like Cher Schafer, David Gerbstadt, Mark May, David Archer, Rsin, Dan McEwen (Drawing Blanks), Mister Scoops and many more!
That’s just off the top of my head, I have several pots simmering at once and when one comes to a boil I push forward with it.
What advice would you give to the struggling artist?
Get used to it! It is all about trusting your instincts, don’t let others tell you what to create, I don’t care if they are your boss, a big time artist, a collector, galley director, a millionaire – whatever… I have seen so many artists fall into the trap of wanting to be accepted, which leads to them changing their vision to something that is not theirs in order to sell it. Just because something sells does not make it good art and burying the faith you hold in yourself will make you worthless no mater how many pieces you sell. I am in lust and love with my process and the works that are produced from it, there is nothing else. I would also recommend being wary of practically everyone, learn from your mistakes, collaborate with other creators, never hold back or water down your vision.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
The constant evolution of Matt Deterior.
Do you do commissioned work? If so, how can my readers contact you?
If I wanted to paint landscapes and still life paintings I would have gone to art school, I don’t do “home décor”. With that being said I am open for pretty much anything, I am currently designing a few tattoos, a CD cover, and mural. Feel free to reach me at MattDeterior [at] gmail [dot] com we can discuss what you are looking for.
Finally, if you could describe how you see the world in one word, what would it be?
Domesticated.
Told you this dude was dripping with talent! Thanks again for the interview, Matt. Don’t ever change.
NOTE: Keep up to date with MD on MattDeterior.com, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and AIM (MattDeterior). Buy some MD art at: SWEET MABEL in Narberth, PA and HELLO BLUEBIRD in West Reading, PA. Buy MD shirts, buttons and gear on ETSY and at MAIN STREET JUKEBOX in Stroudsburg, PA. Also, keep an eye out for MD’s latest sow which will be at the JUKEBOX this year!
