Billy's art has hung in MOMA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney in NYC, LACMA and The Broad in Los Angeles. GRAFFENCRAPPEN Interview
Art Magazine Interview April 2016
Berlin, Germany
Interviewer: Hans Ettenschek
Interviewee: Billy
PART ONE
Hans: Hello, Billy. Hans: Billy, who are your artistic influences? Billy: I would say, most of all, the great American realist, Andrew Wyeth. Hans
: Really? Interesting. I am surprised. Billy: You look surprised. Hans: Your work looks absolutely nothing like Mr. B: I know. That is what is depressing. H: I would think it would be. B: It is. H: You work is changing as of late? B: Yes. When I began I was painting like a 1st or 2nd grader. I had a breakthrough and began to paint like a semi-talented 6th grader. H: You write words on your paintings sometimes. I do. H: Why? B: I like the way it looks. I like to read things. And if you read it over and over, it might have a different meaning later on. H: What are you painting now? B: I just did a series called My Dad Painted this. But, it came out horrible, so I painted over it. Great, slashing black brush strokes. It looked much better. But, then I kept painting. Too many strokes and I ended up covering the entire painting in black. I should have stopped sooner. That is the trick. Knowing when to stop. H: Did you study art in school? B: Are you serious? H: Yes. B: No. I did not. H: Your work has hung at MOMA, The Whitney, The Metropolitan, The Broad, The Getty and LACMA in Los Angeles. But, only for a very short time. Every single piece was stolen. H: Does that bother you? Not in the least. H: Your work has also been in the gift shops of some of these museums. B: Yes, those were also all stolen
H: You recently painted a painting on stage in 3 minutes and then immediately auctioned it off. B: Yes, I did. H: Should that be considered performance art? Was that your intent? H: What was your intention? B: To paint very quickly and then sell it very quickly. I accomplished these two goals. H: You almost always paint yourself? You noticed. H: It’s hard not to. Why is that? B: It’s really the only thing I can really paint. H: All self-portraits. H: Your new work is very different. And better. I think. H: What is new? B: I recently left a painting out in the rain. H: Really? On purpose? And no. It turned out quite beautiful, but I mustn’t take all the credit. The rain is what made it beautiful. H: What made you do that? B: Jimmy Webb. H: On Christmas Eve, 2015, you left several paintings in different spots in Los Angeles, free for the taking. That was fun. I did it with my brother. H: Is he an artist, too? Maybe. I don’t know. H: Like Bansky? Banksy does graffiti. I don’t paint on things that are not my property. Or deface things. B: It rubs me the wrong way. I like Banksy. A lot. But, I couldn’t deface anyone’s property. H: Even for art? B: Even for art. H: I’m not lying. H: You have sold your cars from a SUV and a pop-up gallery in a UHaul Truck. I have. H: You also exhibited in a Women’s Restroom in Los Angeles. H: Did you sell anything? Sadly. But, I don’t think people really knew it was in there. And it was only women. Some men snuck in. H: You have also painted on objects people put out in their trash. B: Yes, The Trash Series. I did a door, a bed frame and some panels. H: Anything else? B: I left a painting in the rain. H: You mentioned that. B: Sorry. B: I also did some very dark, disturbing pieces. I don’t know if I can sell then. I want to get them out of my house. It’s a series. Very dark. More like the pieces in my theater show. I may exhibit them under a different name. I may sell them on Ebay as a set. H: I’m intrigued. H: You have sold on eBay before? H: (chuckles)
B: I left a door painting at LACMA. There was a story on the back. The person who took it later returned it to the same spot. On Easter. H: Why do you paint? B: I don’t know. END OF PART ONE
