The Interview : D Young V

An interview with San Francisco based artist D Young V.  Photographs courtesy of Birdman, D Young V, The Tender, and Zombie. Click the jump for the full interview.

Neighborhood Watch : I was extremely excited when I first saw your name on the line up for the upcoming show "Friendly Fire" at the La Spec Gallery in Los Angeles.  Is it any more difficult to prepare for a show in Los Angeles, as opposed to preparing for a show in San Francisco?  Do you see many differences at all, regarding street art in general, between Los Angeles and San Francisco?

As far as preparing work for LA as opposed to SF, there is every little difference in process. Truthfully the upcoming show at Le Spec Gallery is a group show, so it requires less effort then preparing for a solo. The only real difference is shipping. In addition to that, I have little experience with showing in cities outside of SF. I am always curious how a new city will respond to my work.
       

In response to the second part of your question regarding the differences between LA and SF street art, I feel there are a series of differences between the two. The first difference is the number of people involved in street art. SF is a much smaller city then LA, so naturally there are less people doing it. As far as 'illegal' street art is concerned there seems to be a smaller percentage of people involved in it here then in LA. This would include illegal wheat pasting, stencils, installations, etc. As far as legal walls and community related projects that can be viewed on the street there is certainly no shortage of that. There is the Market Street Mural Project which has provided a large number of dope murals and installations throughout Market Street, the Art in Storefronts Project which has done much of the same. In addition to that we have had a number of national and international artist doing pieces throughout SF due to the hard work of White Walls Gallery and the owner of Space Gallery and Lopo Gallery. Outside of working with many local SF artists they have provided a number of walls for traveling artists such as Blek Le Rat, Eine, Gaia, Roa and many others.  As far as aesthetic and conceptual differences between the two cities I'm sure they're are a few. However, at this point (for a lack of a solid answer) I need to get more familiar with LA to answer that one accurately...sorry.

Neighborhood Watch : Any thoughts or comments on the other artists in the show?
 

In regards to the other artists show in 'Friendly Fire'. I have had the chance to work with both 2wenty and Zombie throughout the last year. They are both talented artists with strong ambition. I admire they're determination to get up as much as they do as well as they're enthusiasm to to their craft. I'm excited to show with them in a gallery setting.

Neighborhood Watch : I've heard some ramblings about a “Street Art Exchange Program".  A program designed for artists to send and trade art amongst one another. Is there any truth to this rumor?

The 'Street Art Exchange Program' is a program that I have been developing with Eddie Colla throughout the last year. Its still in its groundwork phase at this point, but we are working to further develop it. The rules of it are very simple. We exchange work with an artists(s) of a different city or town. We put up the work they send us, and they put up the work we send them. The way this generally works is that in each package I send out I will include work from different artists both here in the Bay Area as well as artists from other areas. For example I will collect some of the pieces from the LA artists I receive then ship they're work with ours to Texas, Chicago, wherever. That way the work is circulating outside of California. It affords the artists a chance to get up in places they may never even travel to, but also allows for a sense of community and networking. Every region, like every artist has a different perspective on things as well as something unique to offer. I feel that this program has the ability to offer something culturally enriching.  The only issue now is time, money and artists taking photos of what they put up.

Neighborhood Watch : Armor-plating seems to be a reoccurring theme in your work, i.e., metal plates with rivets. Is this for aesthetic purposes, or is there a hidden meaning to it? A good example of this is your 2009 show entitled “Neighborhood Watch” which features armor plated cars. Do you believe people should be preparing themselves for something?

Armour plating is very much a reoccurring them in my work. Outside of the aesthetic of it which I love, I believe that it provides an example of renewal. The basic premise of my work is display a society that is looking to both rebuild itself and rediscover it's past. The amour plated vehicles are an example of people taking the technology of the past (in this case military) and refashioning it with whatever resources are available in order to both defend themselves as well as develop a new order to their community. I believe that they're is a necessity to order in any society. That order can be changed, altered and amended, but there still must be an order to things so that a people may both co-exist and evolve together.  
As far as people preparing themselves for something, there is definitely a hint to that. I feel in many cases people have become very content and comfortable in their settings. Naturally that comfort can be taken away in second by a natural disaster, terrorist bombing, attack by a foreign nation or simple a chance occurrence. What makes me curious is not necessarily that particular event, but rather people's reactions to it. How does an individual or group of individuals respond to this event? How does this event and reaction to this event alter the individual and their society/community as a whole long after that event has taken place. I suppose two examples of this at when Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. This event not only nearly destroyed a city but provided a complete breakdown of that community in part to the hurricane but also in part to inappropriate and delayed government responses. I would here of mass stories of raping, people firing on aid workers and neighborhoods blockading themselves in and enforcing organized armed patrols to protect themselves. I believe that this was also the first time the government used privateering on US soil since the Revolutionary War. The second example of this would be the September 11th attacks in 2001. The rapid and multiple changes that occurred in this country were astounding. Even the idea of 'freedom' became reinterpreted. A sort of mass blind patriotism or nationalism arose as a result. In effect giving the government a permit to not only invade whoever they wanted at will, but also put a tighter reign on its own people. On one hand it lessened the faith that many individuals had in their government decisions and country as a whole. On the other hand it set a prime example of people are blindly willing to follow any propaganda set before them so long as it conflict with their daily comforts. In a sense it displayed the importance of monetary and corporate interests over individual  and cultural morality. Ironically enough it makes one wonder that in certain circumstances how potentially willing people as a whole could regress to the mentality that allowed the Nazis to come into power before the start of World War 2.
To answer your question more thoroughly, I am not necessarily communicating the idea of preparation to an event, but rather an increased awareness to the direction and motivations of an individual person and persons living in a society such as the one we live in.

Neighborhood Watch : What city do you believe acts as the best canvas for your work and why?

At this point my focus is San Francisco for multiple reasons. the urban landscape of this city is very tight. They're is great amount of people living in small areas. The neighborhoods are packed into each other and all walkable. Yet, the differences between neighborhoods are immediately apparent. The architecture, people, and culture can drastically change withing the span of a couple of blocks. I am fascinated by this. even the schools of art change from neighborhood to neighborhood, yet the actual distance is only minutes on foot. They're is a great deal of diversity available to you right outside your door. Outside of that I have a fascination with human contradictions. San Francisco has gained a reputation for its diversity, liberalism and open mindedness on one hand, yet on the other it can provide a certain lust for money. This city has a number of benefits for the poor which include heath care Section 8 housing, amongst a range of other things. However, in the eight years I've lived here cost of living here has gone up tremendously, in turn pushing people out and making it harder to survive here as a whole. Like anything else gentrification has its pros and cons. I completely understand the need for money and safety, but what makes me curious is that in a city like San Francisco, does that supersede culture and ethnic diversity? That aspect is something that has left me in contemplation as both an artist and a resident of this city.

Neighborhood Watch : If you could get your art up on one building, any building in the on the planet, what building would it be?

Maybe not a building, but a piece taking over a section of the Golden Gate bridge as you enter SF from Marin County.

Neighborhood Watch : If you could change one thing about the world, what would that be?

Stupidity, how fucking vague is that?

Neighborhood Watch : What is your favorite color?

Process Cyan