The DAMMIT! Interview: Up Close and Lovin' It !

He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack...
Didja miss me????

Today a treat (so don't say I never give ya anything!)...Instead of given' ya a boring, ol' fashioned Bio of sorts...I thought you creative types reading this fine, fine literature would enjoy an interview I just did with the Mighty JLG365.COM...a great site that much like yours truly knows that the only important culture is PoP Culture!!! Read it here...then head on over to the REAL thing, 'cus it will actually look good, thus, making me seem much more articulate than I really am. So...Enuff self-deprecation....Ladies & Gentleman I give ya the Joey DAMMIT! Interview!!!

JLG365.COM

Let's take a ride back in time. Tell me about your childhood. Where were you born?

Well, on my first bio that I used to send out to the media, I was born in
the jungles of deepest darkest Africa, and raised by a family of
chimps...until I was adopted by The DAMMIT!'s, a family who had made their
vast fortune in the sex-toy industry. But....in reality, I was born in
Madeira, Portugal (island in the Atlantic, actually closer to Casablanca
than Portugal...and that just sounds much more romantic anyway), and
immigrated to the lovely metropolis of Toronto when I was 4 years old. Not a
weird childhood or anything....well...I really was an altar boy, was very
much into the Catholic religion and it's theatrics, and had every intension
of going into the priesthood....then came a lil' something called puberty.Oh
well...

At what age did you become interested in the arts? Why?

I get asked that a lot and the answer is...I was born an artist, and I'd be
really surprised if most "artists" don't feel the same way. I mean I was
drawing from the word go. My mom says the first thing she noticed of mine
and thought, "hey, the little fucker just may have a talent after all", was
a drawing of Samson knocking down the pillars, that I had drawn on the
inside of my Sunday school text book. Then it was superheroes, sports stars,
KISS...nude girls, and so on up the food chain. Why? I honestly don't think
I ever had a choice really. I think it has all to do with being in the
spotlight and creating. I mean think about it...altar boy, to rock singer,
to "fine" (I hate that term) artist. I was always on stage in one form or another.

When did you know that being an artist was your "true calling"?

In the middle of the night, in bed, in a manic episode, while drinking my
third large bottle of Diet Coke and writing at super speed in my journal. It
was the summer of 1993. I mean I had always known I was a good drawer, had
already made a bit o' a name as a cartoonist around town and all, but Joey
DAMMIT! was certainly born that night. The name, the Manic Montage style,
the self-promo...all that night in bed!

Who were some of your early influences?
As far as artists went , in the beginning it was comic book artists,
especially Bill Sienkiwicz and Frank Frazetta and his larger than life Conan
(and more) paintings. Then I found myself not only being influenced by
Robert Rauschenberg, Warhol and Basquiat...but even more by the genius of
Dave McKean and his graphic novel covers, Nick Bantock and his art in the
Griffin & Sabine trilogy... MOVIES!!! Like the manic-film stocks of Natural
Born Killers, and the opening credits and mood of David Fincher's
SE7EN. Brilliant!

Tell me about your artistic style ("Manic Montage"). How long does it take
you to create a single piece of work? Do you ever work on more than one
thing at a time?

The Manic Montage, as I mentioned earlier came from a very long manic
episode...seemed to fit my mood, and the mad, frenzied look of what I was
creating. Where in the beginning I could do a piece in a day or two, now it
can take a week to two or three weeks...a lot depends on my mood, how much
time I have to work, the size of the piece, etc. And, yeah...most of the
time I'm working on two separate pieces at the same time....I'll work on a
canvas until I can't go any further because the paint, or the glues have to
dry. I'll put that one aside, and continue where I had left off on the other
one. I once had this deadline to meet, and worked on four at the same
time...you wanna talk manic!

It is obvious pop culture, especially music, is prevalent in a lot of your
pieces. What is your favorite type of music as well as your favorite
musicians?

Yes, very influenced by music, but influenced by film I'd say just as much.
My musical tastes run the gamut in the same way my art is ... mixed
genres/ mixed media. I'm one of those people that get bored very, very fast...so I have
these mixed tapes (actually CDs now) that I make, called "RadioDAMMIT!" (I'm up to vol.#42...and have even sold a few to people and clubs), and
it's like sitting in a car, constantly changing the station...it can start
with Nine Inch Nails, next Tony Bennett, next Waylon Jennings, next the
Pistols and 15 songs later it ends with the theme song from Shaft or Twin
Peaks. I do have to admit I am very much a gigantic fan of Trent Reznor....notice
what he did with the Natural Born Killers soundtrack...Dylan, Patsy Cline,
NIN and Leonard Cohen back to back...that's what got me started on doing my
mixed CDs I guess. Also love the eclectic sounds of Jane's Addiction. So, it
was a helluva treat to see Jane's and NIN playing together this last summer.

Although I love all your pieces, there are a few from your galleries in
particular that I am dying for the "inside scoop" on. Will you kindly take
me and my readers through what went on in your mind when you created these
pieces:

"JAYNE MANSFIELD: HEAD" (My personal fave)

HEAD was actually a life changer literally....I had not painted or even
doodled in over a year and a half. I was going through a very long, horrible bout of depression, and
I had even told my shrink that I was done as an artist. Then an artist
friend of mine, Nancy, phoned me up and asked if I'd be interested in doing a group
show; the theme being cars, in one way or another. I actually sighed and
groaned out loud when she asked. I had absolutely no interest in doing art,
never mind about automobiles, something I have no interest in... and told
her so. So she snaps at me and says, "DAMMIT JOEY!!!...it's right up your
ally!!!!"..."In what fucking way?", I asked..."Look ...Jayne Mansfield, how'd she die
Joey???"...I said ..."decapitated in a car accident!"....SHIT! I put down
the phone, grabbed the book Hollywood Babylon, and right there, as I
had imagined, was a 2 page black n' white shot of the gruesome accident scene! I
sketched the full painting in 5 minutes, with the word "HEAD" repeated over
and over behind her...I mean the sexual connotation and all made it that
much better...it was done in a week...and I swear I have never gone longer
than a week, since that night, with out working on a painting!!! GOD! Ask a
single, easy question, and I give ya a novel. Sorry...that shan't happen
again.

"ROBERT SMITH: OLD PAINTED DOLL IN THE THROES OF DANCE"

It was for a Halloween/birthday show (yes, I was born on October 31st.
kids)...and I'm a big fan of Smith and the Cure....and I wanted to create
"CREEPY"....perfect subject matter...love the color's and mood of that
piece.

"CIRCUS CIRCUS"

Because I am so fascinated with clowns...like so many people I've met. I
think it's that they're suppose to be funny, but I see them as scary and
creepy (there's that word again)...I mean, hello...JOHN WAYNE
GACY!!!...'nuff said!

"THE BETTY BOX"

Simple...I love Betty (or Bettie, whichever you prefer, I've seen it spelled both ways), and it gave me a
chance to play around with some 3-d work....I love doing stuff in tangerine
crates!

"JESUS VS. SUPERMAN (WHO WOULD WIN?)"

OH! Did I ever get in trouble with the Christian Right over that piece!!! A
small group of them actually picketed the exhibition that painting first
appeared in. I was in full anti-Christian mode at that period of my life,
and I loved the idea and title...based on when we were young boys reading
superhero comics...you know, "Who would win in a fight if The Hulk fought
The Thing???"...that's all it was. The best part, and I swear this is a true
story, I had a group of friends around me as witnesses...One of these
bible thumpers asked me, "OK...who WOULD win???"...and with out a seconds
hesitation, I mean, it just came into my head just like that...I answered,
"neither...they're both fictional characters." Guess there may be a God
after all and he hates these idiots as much as I do.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

Don't even have to think about that one. Beating horrible, horrible 18 years of Depression, and just turn around
and do the best work of my career, and see that career take off by leaps and
bounds all in a little more than a year. Believe me...nothing else even
comes close!

What advice would you give to the struggling artist?

Don't for one second think that being a starving artist is in any way
romantic or cool. Might have been in Paris in the 20's...but now...DO NOT BE
AFRAID TO MARKET YOURSELF!!! PROMOTE YOURSELF AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN!!!! There
is no shame in that, and if someone tells you otherwise, laugh in their
face, and lend them a few coins.

Are all your pieces for sale? Do you do commissioned work? If so, how can
my readers contact you?

All my pieces are for sale. A lot on my web site are sold, so look for the red sold star. I've been very lucky, I do a ton o'
commissions...in fact right now I'm freakin' out 'cus I can't keep up...but
I love doing them. You can contact me by going to said
site...www.joeydammit.com ...take a look around then hit the contact link,
and send me an e-mail. And, we're putting up ALL of my my 2009 work and
commissions before the end of November...by far the best stuff I've ever
done!

Finally, if you could describe how you see the world in one word, what
would it be?

"INTERFUCKINESTING!"