There’s no such thing as coincidence. It also happens to be the week of Halloween and we were granted the opportunity to have a quick chat with John Rogers the prolific artist behind Ghoulorama (cue The Munsters theme music.) Below is a brief pick of John’s beautiful brain about art life, process and inspiration for creating pieces which elicit a visceral response until thoughts invade the feeling party and the mind attempts to wrap its tentacles around them.
How’d you arrive in your current place of creativity? What have been some remarkable moments for you thus far regarding art as a father, husband and purveyor of Ghoulorama.
When I was younger I really wanted to be a writer. All the time I spent at bookstores, libraries, and poetry readings exposed me to art. I played with collage for a few years, and when I was 20 I decided to try painting. There was an immediacy I enjoyed about it and I was hooked. Almost overnight I was painting and drawing on a daily basis. I started buying and stealing art supplies and my mom gave me a ton of arts and craft stuff she had since the 90s when she was a Girl Scout troop leader. My skills have improved over the years and I'm even more prolific. I'm much more focused than I was when I was younger and much more confident in my abilities. (I turn 40 next month.)
I've had too many amazing moments as a husband and a father to count. As the purveyor of the entity "Ghoulorama"... (I really just prefer "John" but friends have been calling me "ghoul" for 20 years now), I think the most remarkable thing is that other artists buy my work. Many artists I respect and admire, who's work I love, have bought work from me and it's hanging in their home or studio.
Incorporating text in art pieces hasn’t always been accepted and or recognized as ‘legitimate’ in Art. Why’d you choose this means of expression? What comes first, the text or the image when you’re conjuring up new pieces?
I never really thought about the "legitimacy" of using text in a painting that much. When I started making art, I dedicated myself to studying it as well. No one was around to say "do this, don't do that". I saw text in cubism, pop art, conceptual art, and all over the art of the 80s and onward so I just figured it was fine. The text was very natural to me because I started as a writer. Some people think of my paintings as memes, and some are literally just memes I painted, but much of the time it's like a footnote. The text that accompanies a plate in a book, or handwriting at the bottom of a Polaroid. Sometimes it's my own words, sometimes they're from a song or a book. Sometimes the text comes first, sometimes the image.
Why do you create multiple iterations of the same painting? Has this action much affected your creative process outside of these works?
It started out as an exercise, just to see if I could do it. I always liked the idea of replication and repetition. My dad was a copier repair technician for a long time. Some of my favorite artists also have painted multiples of their work and have a strong work ethic, and I'm inspired by that. Andy Warhol and Steve Keene both come to mind. Different methods, different price scale, but hard working and no qualms about painting multiples.
To be honest, I also like selling ten paintings instead of one. I know I could make prints, but I would much rather sell you a painting. I can stand behind the quality of it and I think it's much more special. There's too much mass produced stuff, I'd rather sell you something handmade.
Is there something you’re interested in doing or plan to do you’ve not done artistically yet?
I physically can't think that far ahead. I take care of my kids during the day and paint at night. I'm kind of fried when it comes to long-term plans for art.
Is Halloween everyday for you Ghoulorama?
No. I'm pretty normal looking. If I had to describe my clothes, I'd say it probably looks like I'm about to go hiking most of the time. I don't have any tattoos. Except for our two menacing black cats (and my studio in the basement), our house is fairly normal. My wife and I watch a lot of scary movies, and I have since I was a little kid, but that's about as Halloweeny as we get.
Do you have one piece which was difficult to part with? What is your relationship with your work post creation?
Honestly, no. I can't think of one. I'm glad they live somewhere else where someone can enjoy them. My relationship with the work? I paint it. I let it dry. Touch it up if necessary. Take a picture of it. Varnish it. Let that dry. Bag it up and put it on a shelf. I need the room on my drying rack (i.e radiator pipes) for the next wet paintings.
What knowledge from your experience would you share with any artist reading this text?
Don't quit your day job. I didn't come from money and I had to have a decent full-time job that I didn't particularly enjoy until my art could even come close to supporting me. And even when I quit my job, it was a gamble. It still is.
Will you continue to paint till you cannot paint any longer?
That's the plan.
Add a original piece of John Rogers to your collection today.
You're welcome.
