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Mike Riley’s creates art in an unrefined and cartoon-like style that is rarely seen in high art; but even more interesting is what inspires him and just how deep these seemingly simple cartoons are. Riley uses a drawing style and portrays ideas that are interesting to him, but what does he get from other artists and thinkers? What kind of people influence him? In a conversation, he reveals some interesting facts about what inspires him and what he enjoys seeing in the work of other artists. His interests in art include a variety of different ideas and backgrounds, he doesn’t discount any type of art or ideas and even goes as far as to allow himself and his work to be inspired by thinkers and creators who aren’t actually considered artists. Mike’s interests do have one common theme. Riley is inspired by people who are different and don’t follow the popular trends. Moreover he has a great inspiration and admiration for artist and thinkers who follow their own ideas and pursue and create things based on their own ideas and interest’s; despite the expectations of others. Riley claims that art, in essence, is a reinterpretation of what’s real; not a literal representation of what is seen, but thoughts and aspects of life captured in a work. The following interview further shows how the artist perceives other art and how that influences his own.
Colin Brown: Before, you said that the people who inspire you like thinkers, writers, and comedians represent a pinnacle of human creativity that artists you know don’t. Could you elaborate more?
Mike Riley: I was thinking about this earlier today. There’s an art analogy that if you’re drawing from a photograph versus drawing from an actual model, the drawing from the model will be more successful because you see things like movement and time, things that aren’t present in the picture. So basically I find real things to be more interesting because I think that art, in its essence is a reinterpretation of what’s real. Everything that’s artistic is drawn from that person’s experience. If they draw from a much wider range of experience, there’s much more inspiration. I think that should be a goal for artists. If you draw from other artists, it becomes a rehash of other people’s work and it gets boring.
CB: You’ve said that you like pop-culture and Americana. What do you like about this style so much? How do you go about showing this style in your own work?
MR: I guess it’s just having grown up on it. My parents didn’t care if the TV was on all day and I defiantly absorbed a lot of that as far as color and lines. I think people trash American culture a lot and put it down because it’s so new and doesn’t have the hundreds of years of history. But I personally like it and it’s what inspires me; I still love comic books and cartoons. To me, it’s just as interesting as some master drawings and things like that.
CB: Why do you think it is important for artist (and others) to try things that are different and not follow trends? How do you go about doing this in your own work?
MR: In the cartoons that I’ve been doing, I’ve boiled it down to its essence so it’s just the idea. There’s an element in art that’s an exercise in skill; where you’re rendering what you see. I’ve done that fairly well. I have done portraits that I’m pretty proud off because it shows my skill in that area, but I know I’m not the best at that. For me there’s the skill and then there’s the idea; just looking at what’s going on in the world, questioning it, looking at it in a different angle. So there’s the skill and the thought. There’s nothing unique if you’re just looking at other people’s work rather than exploring new thoughts.
CB: What is it you like most about Alan Moore’s use of the Americana style? What other aspects about his way of thinking do you like?
MR: Comic books at the time seemed very cookie-cutter in subject matter. It was always a superhero in a brightly colored costume doing the same thing over and over again. Alan Moore really added depth and tried to make it more realistic. I watch cartoons now versus cartoons I use to watch in the late 80’s. They’re much more adult now. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, probably bad in some way, but it’s more entertaining to me. Alan Moore did the same thing with the comic book genre and I think he’s the prime example of that. He’s not my favorite, but I think he had a lot to do with that direction. I’m interested more in his ideas and when he talks about what influences his work.
CB: You said you admire Andy Kaufman for being different in his work. How does this inspire you or how do you go about doing something similar in your own work?
MR: I’ve mentioned how people should do what comes naturally and not be influenced by criticism. There’s constructive criticism and things you can learn from, but when it comes to the essence of your art, you just do what comes naturally. A lot of times, that is frightening. There’s a level of bravery that comes with forgetting those expectations. Especially with what Kaufman did where he performs on stage. There’s the whole conce of seeking to entertain and make the audience happy. For him to just shake that off and make people angry by not doing a comedy routine or whatever they were expecting, Idon’t think anybody’s done that ever since.
CB: You’ve said that you’re not really inspired by other artists. Why not? How does your opinion of them differ from what you strive for as an artist?
MR: I think it’s going to be different for everybody and it should be different for everybody. I know what works for me and what allows me to be productive, but I imagine that’s very different for other people. The only thing I don’t like is snobbery, like I’ve said before. Tome, that’s other artist trying to tell other people how to do what they do or what other people should be doing. I would just take the opposite stand on that. Like people who do commercial or graphic design, if that’s what they feel comfortable with, it doesn’t interest me, but I still say it’s good for them. I’m not against any way of working; I’m just against telling other people how they should work. There’s lots of ideas and art out therethat I like and find interesting from people who work very differently than I do.
Link to Mike Riley’s fliker http://www.flickr.com/photos/riley23/sets
Link to Mike Riley’s comic, itastesound, and website:
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