The minute we saw Alim Smith’s surrealist campaign for season three of Atlanta, I booked this interview. His unique stylization and processing of pop culture twists icons into new, immortalized moments. He’s hit several sweet spots this year, holding it down in Delaware, where the quiet life gives him space for ambitious endeavors.
Kristin Farr: What’s Wilmington like?
Alim Smith: It's a very plain place, just a bunch of parks. It closes down at about seven o’clock. It’s a great space for starting and building my family and exploring the imagination because there's literally nothing to do.
When did you start painting?
I’ve been drawing my entire life and painting since 2015. Instagram was getting popular and friends and nephews were sending me pictures of different artists’ work. I didn’t know if they wanted me to enjoy it, or they were trying to troll me because I was super competitive, since I went to art school. So I thought, oh, you think I can’t do this? I can do this! I started to go full in because I thought my friends and family didn’t believe in me as an artist. [laughs]
How did the Atlanta project come up?
It was summertime, August. A month before, I had been talking to a friend about how I felt I hadn’t been using my talents at all. I let Covid just suck me dry, and I felt the world was gonna end, so I just didn’t do anything creative. I was crying to her, and really going through it. After that little episode, like two weeks later, I got an email saying,
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Fall 2022 من JUXTAPOZ.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Fall 2022 من JUXTAPOZ.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
George Condo - The Artificial Realist
In the comfort of his bedroom, New Hampshire-born artist George Condo contemplated his place and personal perspective on art criticism and history.
Ever Velasquez – The Chingona of Chinatown
Today, Velasquez manages the gallery that’s become ground zero for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ exhibitions and artist representation in Los Angeles. We sat down for a punk rock lunch at Toi in West Hollywood and chatted about her strong influence in the Los Angeles art scene.
Mike Lee - The Privilege of Innocence
“Go west, young man!” An iconic phrase that drove America’s westward expansion—a call to citizens and immigrants alike, to embrace Manifest Destiny and seek new lands, prosperity, and freedom.
Art and Science in Bloom
Laguna College of Art + Design Teams with UCI School of Medicine
Women Dressing Women
The Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute celebrates women designers
Shepard Fairey - The Iconic Icon
As I enter Shepard Fairey’s Los Angeles studio on a sunny October afternoon, a considerably large painting of Andy Warhol sits on an easel, eyes focused and looming directly over the shoulder of Fairey as he adds watercolor touches to a series of works on paper.
April Bey - A Trip To Atlantica
Drawing from her own experiences in Bahamian and American cultures, April Bey’s work as both an artist and educator critically explores themes of race, identity, supremacy, and colonialism.
A Guide for Quitting Your Job and Crossing Europe
Copenhagen, Paris, and Sweet Sweet Sarajevo
Sarah Lee - At Moonlight
When was the last time you sat in stillness? Turned off your phone? Closed your eyes and allowed your brain to neutralize and excavate an instinct deep inside, opening the senses to risk and exposure? Likely not recently.
Lola Gil - Through Her Looking Glass
It's not surprising that a very young Lola Gil spent unhurried hours among her grandmother's collection of small, humble figures and objects.
