NEW YORK STREET ARTIST GAIA IN CONVERSATION WITH EDDIE ALFARO
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Gaia is a street artist born in New York City. His distinct black and white linoleum prints can be seen all over Manhattan, and the surrounding boroughs. His images range from the innocent faces of small children, to different animals like large roaring bears.
EDDIE ALFARO: What does the word Gaia mean to you?
GAIA: My primary reason for choosing the name was the personification of earth, like a mother. It is also a theory that earth is a living organism, and humans are some sort of disease or virus. That we have reached a point of no return, so much so that we can't go back, that earth will kill us.
EA: How did you start doing what you do?
G: I've always been interested in drawing, I made the decision that I wanted to be an artist. I met a street artist names Cheekz, he was able to introduce me to everything that I know about street art. I was writing a little bit, some graffiti, i really didn't have a style or anything. I did this piece on a rooftop at my friends house, Cheekz got in touch with me and we started talking about street art. He introduced me to the work of Swoon, and Elbow toe, and what the Wooster Collective actually was. From there I began trying to find out more. He opened up my awareness. That was the beginning. I started putting things up in my neighborhood of Murray Hill and downtown Manhattan. Then I felt I really had to start doing something. The artist swoon really inspired me, with the linoleum woodcuts and the print-making process.
EA: What is your process for developing your images?
G: I take a lot of photos. I usually come up with an idea sort of on a whim. Every new image that I create, I'm searching for something that I want. Something that correlates with the rest of my work, but also something new. Every piece is a new experimentation. What i do i will find people that are in my life, or things I really love about nature. I think of a concept, be it a child I baby sat, like Sebastian the inspiration for one of my drawings, or an animal. I compose the image on Adobe Photoshop and see where it goes. I draw from the photographs.
EA: Do you consider yourself a street artist or an artist?
G: Well, there are those two worlds, I would consider myself both. I have no problem being labeled a street artist, my most powerful work is on the street. The compositions are completed by their interaction with the public, the world. The fact that is free and what other people do with it. That is one part of what I do. I love seeing peoples reaction to the work, that people are actually paying attention.
EA: How do think street art should be presented in an art gallery, how do you capture the outdoor quality in a closed space?
G: A lot of artists will take that personality of the streets, a lot of street artists in their gallery work will show a direct connection to the street. They make it very visible that they work on the street, that it is essentially their medium, their vehicle. So many different artists explore that, like Elbow toe and more, they bring those different aspects.
Gaia's flickr.com page is a great way to check out his work, the URL is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pisacane/
Eddie Alfaro is a New York artist. His website is www.eddiealfaro.com.
