When Jonene asked me to write a Blog Post for NoName Gallery I was like yeah that's easy, I'm a writer. But it wasn't. I’m always writing for other people. Telling their stories for them. It’s really foreign to me to actually write something about myself that I didn’t get briefed on. I’m used to having a box to work within. Even the birch wood panels I paint on are basically boxes. There’s only so much ground I can cover. But a Google Doc is endless. So to keep things contained, I’m writing two short memories about two containers that shaped me as an artist.
Vinyl Record Crates
I was 13 and living in Elkhart, Indiana. The music I was exposed to was limited to the contents of my brother’s 8-track collection. REO Speedwagon. Journey. Led Zeppelin. Aerosmith. AC/DC. Kansas. Triumph. Foreigner. Van Halen. Steve Miller Band. Styx. Queen. It was all accessible music you could hear when you switched on the radio. My brother was 6 years older than me and had just gone off to college. We shared a room. When we were younger we slept in bunk beds. Eventually, we took the beds apart and slept on opposite sides of the room. We’d laugh a lot. Make jokes at night and laugh till my dad pounded on the wall. My parents’ room was right next to ours. So, I missed him. When he came home for his first winter break, I was happy to see him, but what he brought home would change me forever. Turns out his roommate was a DJ in California. He didn’t want to bring all his vinyl home so he asked my brother if he would keep it at our house. We only lived about 45 minutes from where he went to school. I spent two weeks sitting on the floor of my bedroom playing every record in the 7 crates that filled our bedroom, each full of records by artists I’d never heard of before. The Smiths. The Cocteau Twins. Depeche Mode. Bauhaus. The Specials. This Mortal Coil. Pattie Smith. Young Marble Giants. Ronny. The Cure. A Certain Ratio. Joy Division. New Order. Gang of Four. Orange Juice. The Birthday Present. I became obsessed with the album cover art created by legendary designers like Vaughn Oliver and Peter Saville. Obsessed with the liner notes and the lyric sheets filled by poets with stories to tell. I’m pretty sure it’s why I prefer painting on square panels. I like to think I’m making album covers. Maybe someday I will. And as a writer, I’ll always attribute my love of short form storytelling to the artists who penned those lyrics.
Wallpaper Sample Books
Back in the 70’s wallpaper stores were filled with long rows of wallpaper sample books. It was much like looking through vinyl records at the record store. You’d move down the row looking in each sample book, the smell of dust on your fingers grew stronger with each book you looked through. My mom loved going to the wallpaper store and I loved going with her. We would spend a good hour or more flipping through the sample books and I’d hang on the turn of every page. It was a tactile experience. The vinyl feel of the smooth surface and the much tackier feel of the back of the sample between your thumb and forefinger was sublime. While most kids might have kicked and screamed to leave, she’d have to drag me out of the place. And the best part was getting to take the samples home. We’d hold them up to the wall and talk about what kind of carpet and furniture might go with them. I don’t believe we ever got new wallpaper the 18 years I lived in that house. But I got something better than the wallpaper itself. I acquired a love for color combinations and patterns. I’m not sure designs from any other decade but the 70’s would have made the same impression on my work.
So there you have it, a couple of inspiring containers that set my creativity free.
Christian's works are available for purchase online here
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