"Angry Ape"
Artist of the Week
Peter Kalyniuk
By Kerry Wright Zentner
Posted July 2nd, 2007
I hear Peter arrive, climbing the stairwell while I sit furiously jotting the last of my questions. I've known him since I was quite young, but even now it seems like there is a lot I want to ask him, many topics to cover, but I know it can't be done in such a short time. Of all the people I know Peter is one of the most attuned to the artistic aspects of life, concentrating his appreciations with beguiling affect into his vast portfolio. We decide to go for a short walk into the Annex to grab some iced coffees before starting the interview. We philosophize, consolidate ideas, analyze, joke, vocalize absurdly, and return home to get down to business. But before we begin we decide we must record nine minutes of fantastic improvised music. And then business. But first, let's have some toast, also! And more music! And then... business, right? If you want to call it that, yes.
It was as follows:
MONDO: Tell me about your background? What inspired you as a kid?
Peter Kalyniuk: My earliest inspiration to draw came roughly at the age of five. I saw my brother Gregory drawing a giant bloodshot eyeball at our dining room table and it looked fun so I tried it. Our mother used to draw pictures for us also. She was always a very creative person naturally, though she didn't consider herself an artist, she definitely is one. She would draw to entertain us, make funny faces to scare us, talk in crazy voices that would make us laugh, and most importantly encourage us to draw simply for the fun of the activity. I think my mother was as much the source of our creativity as she was our existence. My father was too. He was also a very creative person and had good taste. He would watch horror and science fiction movies with us that would inspire our imaginations. Growing up I obsessively drew hundreds of pictures of my favorite movie characters.
"Hollow Head"
MONDO: What is the process of drawing like for you? What sort of rituals do you employ? Do you listen to music, for instance?
PK: I almost always listen to music when I draw. I like to take long walks across the city and let some good music inspire me before sitting down to work. But the main ingredient for my creative process is solitude. I need to be alone for long periods of time to achieve the right state of mind. Music makes solitude more pleasant.
MONDO: How do you feel music relates to drawing? Is it important?
PK: To me it's very important. I think music stimulates not just the sense of hearing but all the senses, and it elevates the mind to a higher realm of reality. It stimulates my visual imagination somehow. It's one of the greatest joys in my life. So is drawing. So why not combine them? I have plans to create animations of my drawings some day. They'll be dancing along to my own compositions.
MONDO: Are there specific artists that interest or inspire you? Where does your artistic impulse come from?
"Excrucio"
PK: My approach to art is very much influenced by surrealism, visionary art, aboriginal art, outsider/na•ve art, abstract art of all sorts. I am also influenced by comic book art, film, cartoons, and, of course, music. But I would have to say that the art that inspires me the most is life itself. As a visual artist I consider myself an appreciator of all things visual. Everything I see is art to my eyes, and it all ends up filtered through my imagination and transformed into my own art.
MONDO: When talking about art that is more surreal or psychedelic rather than realistic and representational, the topic of drugs always seems to come up. How do you feel about the term psychedelic? How do you feel drugs affect the artistic process?
PK: I wouldn't disagree with someone if they described my work as psychedelic. I think it has that quality to it. I personally wouldn't use that word to describe my own work. As for drugs, I think drugs can be an easy way to bring out creativity that is already present, but I don't think an artist gains creativity from using drugs. I think that anything that can be achieved with drugs can be achieved in other ways. So I don't think it's necessary to take drugs.
MONDO: Your recent self-publication Totems of Tato is a compilation of images that you've been working on for several years. Is there any specific importance to these images? What do they mean to you?
PK: Totems of Tato is my most personal and most experimental work to date. It is the first body of work I have intentionally set about to create in solitude. It began six years ago during a very difficult time in my personal and family life. The cover image is based on a vision I had of my father who died four years ago. I drew it after I found out he had cancer. "Tato" is the Ukranian word for Dad. The characters in the book are supposed to be part of a family. They loosely represent my own family as well as friends of mine, and people I knew during that period of time. Each image has a story behind it that relates to the time it was drawn and different real life experiences I was going through. With the style of the art in this book I focused more on the technical process than ever before. I have collaged elements of almost every drawing in the book using various experimental methods. These methods relate to the subject matter of family, death and disease conceptually. But the methods aren't meant to be analyzed and it isn't necessary for the viewer to know about them. They're meant to contribute to the effect of the drawings subliminally.
"Mood Spectrum"
MONDO: Are there any other publications or projects in the works? What are you looking forward to?
PK: I have several projects currently on the go. I'll be releasing a book of comics called Stuntman William based on my pet hamster/imaginary friend from childhood. Willy was another source of inspiration for me and my brothers when we were growing up. When one of us would hold him and make his voice then the other two would listen and believe he was really talking. We would take turns and gradually his story and character would unfold. The book is actually a republishing of several smaller "zines" compiled into one that were done in the early nineties when I was a teenager. Other than that I'm planning to focus on music and painting more seriously. Eventually I'll put out another book of drawings too. That's about it.
If you'd like to get a closer look at some of Peter Kalyniuk's art, his recent publication Totems of Tato is available for purchase at Pages Books & Magazines, The Beguiling, and Freedom Clothing.