Fire and Chaos
Interview with Kal Spelletich of SEEMEN
- So is this the first SEEMEN U.S. tour?
No, we have done 2 other smaller ones, but this is our biggest so far.
- How's the tour running --interactions with "the man..."
[police]
OK, he's always pretty confused when he shows up, kinda funny
really. Kinda stressful!
- Upset landlords?
Not so bad.
- Female companionship?
OK. New friends and "dates?" in every city, tough on loved ones back in SF.
- Any audience participation related incidents?
Had some nakedness in Denver with the fireshower, guys takin off their shirts, lots of children volunteering in KC and the all ages show in St. Louis, some drunk guy mounted the El Toro/BULLFIGHT machine, didn't know what he wanted to do on top of it, boys will be boys with bulls i guess. People in general have stampeded to run things. It has felt really really good with the audiences, people definitely need a release and want to run stuff that challenges there reality and there safety. This black woman full on threw down and PERFORMED with the fireball shootin strap on, just fantastic moves, in KC.
- So... any large financial carrots dangled in front of your
face lately? Inquiring minds want the dirt.....
Too much, nothing i want to give away my shit for though, I don't build my machines for other people to have so , nah, not ready to get rid of stuff. I'm broke but happy. Funny how that works. No wonder rich people are such assholes.
- How are you funding your work these days?
A wing and a prayer and lotsa odd jobs. A few visiting artists gigs at colleges.
- So how many people are working on the Seemen work right
now?
20ish.
- OK... Suspend your disbelief here... If you knew only 5
things 10 years ago that you know now (building your work,
putting on shows, financial, ethical, whatever... ) what do you
wish they were.
- BE PATIENT! good ideas and skills take years to develop.
- Ignore the trends and media.
- Forget "laws" and insurance.
- I've wasted a lot of time with rich fuckers asking me to submit budgets for their lame festivals/lollapalooza/rock concert crap and then they chicken out.
- Follow your heart.
- So what's the "great motivator."
To change peoples' reality or their preconceived notions of what reality is/what art can be. To go somewhere with my work that I don't even really understand. To keep myself interested in the journey, not the prize.
- So where's your work headed... What's got your attention
these days...
My version of carnival rides, machines people climb in or on and operate. To give the audience an experience so far out of their norm they are left stupified, or at least i aspire to this. That and food, beer, my garden, and women.
- As a related question... There must be one "granddaddy"
piece you have in mind that just kind of hangs out in your mind
and teases you with the notion of constructing it.
Yeah, I wanna do like 200 versions of my whirling dervish all running at once with 200 people operating them.
- Say you were starting with a totally clean slate for tools
and materials. And you had 500 bucks in your wallet to spend on
these items. What would they be? and, of course, why?
The same stuff I already have for about the same amount of money, a welder, drill press, some hand tools, you don't need much, machine shop tools are way over rated-- a real wanker crowd that tool hoarding scene.
- So San Francisco has been known to be the hot bed of
machine/tech art for quite some time now. Is it still holding
up to it's title? it's fading fast. Who's keeping the flame
burning out there? Who?
Me i reckon. I'm the only one who tours and shows all the time. I kinda work in a vacuum. Matt Heckertt is pretty damn brilliant and inspirational. We are able to keep it pure cuz there isn't a big commercial market of evil scum trying to buy their way into our world. Let NY and LA have that.
- So this whole internet boom thing has caused one heck of a
population wave into San Francisco (and most other urban
areas). This is turning, I would assume, most cool warehouse
spaces and scrapyards into yuppified "loft" spaces... Any
thoughts on how or if that's affecting folks, such as yourself,
who live in those areas.
I will have to move soon, SF sucks these days, its like a giant frat party when you go out, no more artists moving there, just cyber-idiots, everyone old- school hates them. Oh well, everything changes. Its OK. Life's a journey, who knows where it will take me. I don't wanna know. I shouldn't have a preconceived notion of how my life should be. It costs a fortune to rent a place, only an idiot would pay those prices they are getting.
- So how's that weird shit that was in my fridge but is now
in your stomach doing? (Kal ate the weird stuff in paper bags
on the bottom shelf of my fridge. The stuff had to be like,
poisonous it was so old...)
Seems to be digesting. I still have an iron tummy I guess. Its the vitamins and a positive outlook. Editors Note. Kal has about 100 bucks worth of vitamins and elixirs with him on tour.
- So... a topic among a lot of "surplus technology"
artists... Granted few people are ever totally one way or the
other but.... Do you go out to the scrapyard, find something
really cool, and make a piece out of it.
Rarely, but occasionally. 5%.
-
or..... do you have this idea for a piece and go out to find
what will work to implement it.
95%
- So do you have a current "favorite" machine?
STRETCH feeding on the crawlin YUPPIE
- Do you ever revisit a work. I mean like "It would be better
if I did this with it" as opposed to general maintenance
or do you just run with the original concept as it stands when
its complete and concentrate your efforts on newer stuff?
Sure, not often but sometimes.
- I think that's it.
THANKS A TON for the interview. Much appreciated.
No prob, good questions.
See the Video of Kal's Show and Interview Here
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