ARTIST INTERVIEW: LOUI JOVER

ARTIST INTERVIEW: LOUI JOVER

“Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”  Kafka

From: Europe

Current location: Australia

Current happiness levels out of 10: Can be anywhere from 1 to 10 depending on the day.

Favourite film: The Seventh Seal (among many others)

Favourite musician: Don’t have just one

Favourite artist: Can never have just one

Favourite book: How To Grow Herbs (among many others especially including the works of Franz Kafka)

Favourite colour: Black and White

Brief synopsis: I am a full time artist living in Queensland Australia with my partner (Fee) and daughter (Jazz). I draw most of the day in a modest studio I have on my property.

INTERVIEW

Is Loui Jover your real name..? Or your artist name. Sorry to ask.  

A -That’s fine for you to ask. Yes it is my real name, it is of Hungarian heritage.

You most enjoy working with ink and paper – why is that and what led you down that path? Do you choose relevant books as a platform?

A – Many years ago I used to make colorful oil paintings on stretched canvas to begin with however I grew frustrated with the progression of my drawing abilities so I deconstructed my creative method back to ink and paper and have enjoyed the journey so much that it has stuck. I choose books based on their quality and not their subject, I like the fact that the words are not obvious and that it is about the drawing this would be to much of a cliché for me, I rather enjoy the fact that the words and image may not unite giving the work a little edge and abstracted meaning.

Who are the women in the pictures?

A- they are women I find or make up or copy or know or meet.

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 16.51.34

And… why are they crying?

A – I am not sure why they are crying?….there may be a million reasons I leave this up to the viewer to decide, I do not draw stories…i just want to add an emotive aspect to the work however do not define the reason for the emotion.

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 16.52.05

I would describe your art – as quite romantic – would you agree? Or how would you describe it….

A – I do think many of my works are ‘romantic’ in notion (you are right to say so) I think deep down I have a romanticized view of life, reality is far to stark and frightening for me. Wherever you look humans are causing some kind of mischief, so I rather draw humanity in my own way or in a way that people who want a respite from the world may like to look at, to escape for a moment to a world where romance and introspection live large.

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Would you describe yourself as a romantic?

A – too much so. Not a romantic so much as in the Jane Austen sense but one whose inner being yearns at times for the freedom of the Gypsy (as a romantic would see it) or a life of a time when the artisan thrived, when things were not so mass produced, so much the slave to money or to war, a different romance that I think many actually yearn for but deny for the sake of reality and survival…….I like to stop and listen to the rain not just rush through it.

Is the ink stenciled on?

A – no all the drawing is hand done with brush and sumi-e ink

You are a full time self representing artist – have you found that a rough road – or did the path open naturally for you?

A – I do represent myself, I did have work in some galleries but found it hard going, the internet has made it easier to represent yourself, but in the end it is the work that speaks to people if they don’t want to buy it then nothing I can do will make them, if they do then am lucky and can make a living. I like representing myself it works for me.

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 16.51.15

You say you draw everyday – where do you find your inspiration?

A – It is a little bit of a youthism… there are some days I don’t get to draw but not too often, inspiration is never a problem really, just look around and there is a multitude of things that can effect ones creative juices, the secret I think is to not just look around but to ‘see’ then it is up to your ‘inner interest’ to process what you ‘see’ and make your personal need to express and create… ignite. In saying this I should clarify that I…  like everyone else on the planet do have flat days where I would rather lay around then make work, thankfully for my creativity these days are rare.

What is your daily regime – are you strict with yourself or does the self discipline of being an artist come naturally?

A – I do have the impulse to draw so working comes quite naturally to me, I am above all a dreamer (the romantics way of saying lazy) so I would just lay about reading poetry or watching films if I did not have this natural compulsion to draw, hopefully it lasts as it has all my life already.

Have you experienced a creative block/or black hole? If so.. how did you get yourself out of it?

A – I have but thankfully only in very short periods, there are times when the external world can overwhelm and creativity takes a back seat or suffers this void which, in turn can sap the creative inspiration and thought…you have to be somewhat selfish and insular to be an artist at times, you need to be able to ignore a lot around you and be greedy with your time. People who are not creative can at times see what you do as flippant and time wasting, it is hard to show ones worth when art is seen just as a fiscal issue which in truth is arts worst enemy.

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Your favourite current artists?

A – I recently went to an Ai Weiwie exhibition combined with Andy Warhol and enjoyed it. Overall I like a lot of work around that is very different form my approach, but overall I have no one favorite and I have little to do with the art world in general.

Your favourite writer is Kafka. What is it about Kafka that holds your attention? Would you describe yourself as a bit of a deep thinker?

A – I don’t think I am a deep thinker?…even though I try to think a lot (usually lying on the floor or lounge) and hope I am doing so deeply, yet I am not so sure what thinking deeply is in the first place and that’s why perhaps I do not think deeply, I feel my thoughts wander too easily so I skip over things I should be going in deeper about, so I will try and think deeply on this part of your question at a later date 🙂

I like to read Kafka for a number of reasons, (these may have nothing to do with deep thinking) I like his use of language (even though they are translated, I only read english). I think with writing of this calibre the magic of the writers language can cross barriers like original phraseology. I also like the ‘feeling’ his stories offer, a forboding, a deep emotional aspect that gels with me, there is a depth to his writing that takes work and effort to enter and can be engaging on many levels, I also like the fact that he himself was so fatalistic, in reality we are not meant to read anything he wrote, he specifically asked for it all to be destroyed on his death, yet it survived…there is a romantic notion there that is very enticing for me, a tragic element and one that defines the real artistic journey perfectly.Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 16.51.07

What is the most important thing in life?

A – understanding the reality and inevitability of death and making a kind of peace with this notion – otherwise you are just always frightened and turn to silly things like religion for a shallow solace.

What is the most beautiful thing about art for you?

A – influencing a young mind. I remember when I was young and first saw the work of Picasso, this magical world opened up for me, I still hold this feeling in check for I am yet to find that exact elation again so in turn it feeds my need to create…art is a deep pool so beautiful to swim in, one needs to tread water well and not sink into the abyss where the magic of art has drowned and has become an everyday thing…you need to keep art as dreaming otherwise it becomes just graphic art or craft or even worse pointless commercialism.

Were you not a fan of Damien Hirst’s diamond skull then?

A – Lol….I like something about Damien Hirst but I am not sure it is his artistic nature…I think I admire his business acumen and ability to fuck the philistine quarter of the art world…..he ended up representing himself and left the udder of the “art establishment”…I can’t but admire such audacity and self worth…bravo to him and his silly expensive skull… I always wonder who the poor sod was?…this skull he used is real so I wonder if the poor owner could ever fathom that he would end up being so rich…..eh eh

loui jover

If I should ever visit Australia – where should I go…?

A – I really like the alleyways of Melbourne and the street art they offer so free, so vibrant, so urine smelly but always inspiring. I also really think Tasmania (Hobart) is brilliant quality…estranged, a little cold, fresh and quite close to the end of the earth.

I see you’re also a fan of Charles Bukowski.. have you seen Tales of An Ordinary Madness.. that is one messed up film…

A – Lol…so is Barfly with Mickey Rouke …I like that this mess of a man could write like an angel at times…again in essence he was a romantic..deep under the armour and layers of everyday filth he could express his inner being this… is the sign of the real artist….. no matter what the circumstance they can still make beauty…..

Bluebird

There’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I’m not going
to let anybody see
you.
There’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the ****s and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he’s
in there.

There’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?
there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody’s asleep.
I say, I know that you’re there,
so don’t be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he’s singing a little
in there, I haven’t quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it’s nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don’t
weep, do
you?

 

That was so interesting. Thank you Loui!

From across the seas.. wishing you and your family a fruitful and full life.. *off to watch Barfly*..

Best, Becki Bx

LINKS:

Saatchi online portfolio

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2 Comments

  1. Maedi
    March 25, 2016 / 10:39 pm

    Great interview Loui!! Wonderful images. Always inspiring, in your uniquely, emotive style. xx

  2. Paris
    April 22, 2018 / 3:30 pm

    This was so lovely and inspiring! Loui Jover’s work truly is a phenomena.

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