12 Apr Chris Louie Interview Part 2
hey friends,
hope you enjoyed the first part of my interview with Chris Louie…here is the conclusion!
—[start part 2]—
LG: Going back to your personal work, do you have any other artwork or music that you turn to if you get stuck or in a rut?
CL: Definitely music inspires me the most. I’ve been thinking about how I really want to start making music again. I found that last year I wasn’t listening to as much new and fresh music as previously and it was one of my slowest years. So this year I’m correcting that and am all up on the newest music.
LG: So what’s on your playlist right now?
CL: I really got into Lykke Li, I’m a little late – but I’m super into her.
LG: Cool, she’s great. So, what sort of music did you make? I didn’t know you were a musician.
CL: I just made weird electronic music with my brother. Weird stuff. I can send you a song and you could post it.
LG: Oh yeah, that’d be cool.
CL: Yeah, I did a whole song with my brother just laughing over the track.
LG: Actually Dennis is a good topic for us. You have your brother in a lot of your work and I can tell that you guys are really close. Can you talk about your relationship and how that plays out in your art?
CL: Wow, I’ve never actually thought about that. I’m just really close with him. Having grown up with him and having the different perspective of having him in my life has definitely changed me. It’s definitely shaped who I am in a way that’s unique from other people’s upbringings.
He’s just a really magical person. He’s got an infinite amount of love and compassion and I think that has really taught me a lot. And seeing how he’s had such limited abilities – but that it hasn’t limited anything he’s ever done. He does long distance running in the Special Olympics – he’s like the Energizer bunny and he’ll go for like, forever. And he’s been working at McDonald’s for like, 12 years. He’s on time everyday, never gets in trouble. He’s been a huge inspiration for me.
[Chris & Dennis]
He and I have been really close in part because he kinda raised me. My parents’ worked a lot and he raised me when I was younger – and then the roles kind of shifted at a certain point. So we have a really close, kinda strange relationship. I’m not really sure why I started using him, probably just by proximity at first.
Cause when I was making music, I didn’t like my singing voice – so I just used him.
LG: And your sister is a musician also, right?
CL: Yeah.
LG: Have you guys collaborated on any artistic ventures?
CL: I made a song for our parents for a Christmas video. I captured a bunch of family videos and then I cut together a montage for it. But she was a bum. She flaked out half way thru the process and only recorded the drums. But I’m going to make a video for her obviously, it just hasn’t come about yet. Not enough time. But I already have the concept. We are going to San Francisco, so we will probably start shooting it there.
LG: Cool, any other art projects you want to mention?
CL: Well we are doing the cardboard gun project.
LG: Uh huh, tell me a little more about that.
CL: That really funny, it’s the start of the Mojowski project. So one day Bill had a bunch of cardboard in the studio and he just made this dumb little gun. You know, with tape all around it and he’s going around like a little kid and he was like “I’m going to make one of these every day for a week” [both laugh] and I told him “Ok, go for it” not really paying attention, working on the computer working. And he goes around “shooting” it and gives it to me and I start playing with it and I was like “let’s film something.” And we ended up putting together this 70’s leisure suit detective character out of that [LG laughs] and it just slowly grew from there.
The cardboard guns got bigger, the character got bigger, and it turned into the Mojowski thing. That was like two years ago. And now the script is almost done and the art project has had an art show and one of the machine guns was at the MOCA in the Banksy Room.
LG: Yeah, I saw that there.
CL: And then we did the spray cans for the show in London with Banksy. It’s funny, it wasn’t premeditated, it all just started with this dumb little gun that Bill made.
LG: Are those going to show anywhere else?
CL: Ah yes, we are doing a show at Bergamot Station in September or November, that’s going to be a big one. So we are going to be working all summer on that. Again, balancing duties as we do it.
LG: Are you going to have new pieces besides the guns? Are you going to do any characters or is all going to “objects?”
CL: Yeah – did you go to the show? Or wait, you were out of town?
LG: Yeah I was headed to France.
CL: That’s right, you were going to Cannes for your short film.
LG: Yeah.
CL: We had a deer at that one. There will be some characters, planes, it’s definitely expanding.
LG: So do you have a favorite The Real Luke episode?
CL: I like any of the videos when you go home, cause you always look so happy. [LG laughs] It’s obvious cause you are at home.
LG: Where can be see more of your work?
CL: At walterrobot.com or youtube.com/walterrobot
LG: Thing else you want to add before I shut this baby down?
CL: Santorum 2012. [both laugh]
[/end interview]
well, that’s it folks. hope you’ve enjoyed learning a bit about Chris. make sure to check out his website, lots more projects to watch there!
-Luke
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