diamonds in taiwan.

taiwanese arts and design-magazine DPI features a 6 page long interview with Alex. well, it's all in taiwanese, so you better get your dictionary ready ... or you continue reading this entry (below) for a translation of the interview with dpi-editor jasmin cheng ...

more diamonds in this issue: the current dpi-magazine also features interviews with moki and lily ...

view the full article over at heliumcowboy.com >>>

or continue reading for the translated version below ...

DPI-Magazine 08/2006
Interview by Jasmin Cheng

1. Please introduce yourself to our readers in Taiwan.
a. Cultural & educational background.
b. Working experience from past to present
c. Things you likes (music, book, food, hobbies)
d. Your role models (who have influence on your art creations)
e. Clients you have cooperated with.

One part of being Alex Diamond is not to reveal any backgrounds, because the primary influence on what Alex Diamond stands for is life itself. It is rather an artistic statement, with the luxury of defining the artists persona depending upon the subject of my exhibitions.

I have been doing art ever since, but 2004 saw the “birth” of Alex Diamond with the large first show “Alex Dimaomd’s Strange Sofa” at the Galerie heliumcowboy artspace in Hamburg. Then last year followed the even bigger show, “Gold, Kinder!” at heliumcowboy artspace, featuring a live concert by Russian Punk/Avantgarde-Band Barabass.

But the creation of Alex Diamnond was a progress over many years! It builds upon the experiences of his creator, which was successful in fine arts for a long time but then ceased to exist with the incarnation of me. But of course there are some outlines: Alex Diamond is European, a sleepless worker, doesn’t know pain or suffering, and exists only through his art.

2. Alex Diamond, have anyone ever asked you about your last name “Diamond”? Does it have some special meanings to you too? Do you wish to make your life shine as bright as a real diamond?

The name Alex Diamond has got nothing to with my life, or with wanting to shine extra bright. It blends the dynamics of pop-culture with fine art traditions, and can be used as starting point for an interpretation/meaning: Diamonds are timeless and unbreakable, they are girls best friends, they are rare and precious, but for non-jewellers it is almost impossible to distinguish between a fake and a real stone.

In the same way as my art, the name plays tricks with the mind: yes, a diamond is precious, and shiny, and worth a lot, but once you’ve gone down that way a bit, you may come across the thought that Alex Diamond could also be - the name of a Porn Star, as one example. So it is shiny and dirty at the same time…

3. When and how did you start doing art? What kind of material & technique you use?

As mentioned above, I was born to do art. And that’s basically when it all started: when Alex Diamond was created and entered the stage of the fine arts world for the first time. Coming from an "upringing" in the streets and working primarily on surfaces such as concrete and bricks, painting and illustrating came first. But that phase was just for training purposes. Today I am using the materials and techniques necessary for visualizing my ideas best. It can be anything, really.

4. Since you have flexible ways of doing art, how will you define the style of your work?

Nothing is defined. Everything is possible. There are no limits, except to the eye of the “consumer”. However, at this stage it is pretty figurative because themain subjects revolve around people: Alex Diamond mirrors life and our constant fight for possession, superiority, survival and love.

5. From creating different characters for each exhibition, where do you gather the ideas? How’s your working process?

Ideas are floating aound. They come from what I see, what I experience, what I feel and what influences my existence. At one point, ideas start to battle in my head, then in my sketchbook. I draw everything down, rough and basic. Then there is always one idea or concept that is stronger than the others. And that one is then taken in to the studio and worked out to the fullest.

I don’t allow myself the luxury of taking everything I do into public, only ONE idea can survive at a time. The work process is hard. It starts with research, sketches, drawings, models, photoshootings – whatever is needed. It is very analytical and theoretical at first. There is no sleep, no rest until everything is put down on the choosen surface.

Of course, in the end there is always more you can do, but there is only one chance in life to take. So I take it as if it would be my last.

6. “I am what I choose to be or what the subject of my current artwork requests me to be.” How do you define your roles in different situation? If you are not an artist, what else option you will make for your life? What will you choose to be?

There is no other option for Alex Diamond. It is art or death.

7. From some of your works, it seems to have some depression embedded within the work. What kind of message you try to express thru your work?

Depression is probably not the word I would choose. But for example in my last series, “Gold, Kinder!”, it is a play with the german expression, “Goldkind” , which stands for a really happy and carefree kid. I combined this happy topic with lively colours, and cute characters, to lure the viewer into a comfortable scenario. But the kids or girls or men on the images aren’t happy. They are mean, or sad, or angry., or desillusioned. And the cute characters are rather nightmarish. Look behind the beauty, the first impression. If the spectator allows for the time to do this – then welcome to the world of Alex Diamond.

8. There are characters holding guns toward others? What message are you trying to transfer? Where do you get this idea?

The kids are real. They are taken from photos of american shooting ranges. In the originals, their proud Daddys are standing beside them, showing them how to hold real guns. These kids are 10, 12 years old! I have taken away the backgrounds and the Daddys. And let the kids stand for themselves, alone.

In an earlier project, the “strange Sofa”-series, I did a similar thing with images from porn shoots: I painted the actors without partners or “toys” they were engaged with. Clothed them nicely. Blended them with other people without porn background, and arranged all of them as circles of friends or individuals around a recurring sofa on 10 large tableaus. This way, people looked at them in a totally different way. Until they got the “full picture”: besides the images, there was a small slide viewer, allowing to see the original photo-collage, but only through a small screen. So as soon as the viewers looked “behind” the comfort setting, there was no way back!

It is a reversion of the reality. It is a nightmare entered on a beam of floodlights.

9. Continue from last question, what does other elements represent form the same work? (fluid kind of drawing, little creatures standing behind, etc.)

The creatures are the phantoms of our minds. They are part of the nightmare. You may think they are cute, and small, and cuddly, but you don’t want to be around to many of them. They only play a small role in my works, unlike with so many other artists these day that create unique and singular characters for graffiti or comics. Mine just come as they are needed.

The main focus will always be the “real” people in my paintings. That’s what it is all about. Everything else is just using what is popular today or helps to convey the subject. There are no limitations to what I may draw or paint!

10. From all the works you have done, which ones do you think can best represent your styles? Why?

For me, all of them are important. But I like the large works more, they are far more intense – in what they show as well in their genesis. The big ones contain all the elements of the concept, they are, if you allow for the expression, “self contained”. If I could, I would solely work in extremely huge sizes. As a result, one large work would be enough for one exhibition, for one subject to explore.

11. Which works you like the most? Which one took more time than the other?

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12. What’s your future plan? Is there any adventure you plan to take in the near future?

The next series of paintings will come out for the art fairs the Galerie heliumcowboy artspace is taking me to this year: Cologne, Miami, maybe Berlin. They will be huge works for big cities and big heads. They will cost as much as a car and are not easy to consume. Currently I am still defining the persona of Alex Diamond for this series. Look out for it, cos this time, it will be very glamourous ….