JPAR interview. Brett

Interview With Brett Varga

1. So start us off with a brief bio, where you are from and how you got started?
Brett- I am from Virginia Beach, Virginia. I’ve always been into art, even when I was young, but in middle school that took a back seat, because the school didn’t provide certain electives. I got back into art my junior year in high school, my teachers realized I had some real talent and some room to grow so the next year I was taking ap. art. And that really got me back into it. After that I went to Utah State and from there my art has continued.

2. When did you decide you wanted to be an artist?
Brett- Pretty much when I was applying to Utah State. After I graduated high school I had a good amount of work. Once I got accepted into the art program it was pretty much solid. If they didn’t except my portfolio then I probably would have gone down a different path. So I would say around 08 was when I decided.

3. So what is your current JAPR idea? (Materials, Techniques, Content, Ect.)
Brett- My current JAPR idea is about disconnect, and how we deal with life through this disconnect. Ex. Lets say someone is explaining a story about how they were surfing this huge waves but in reality they were just sitting on the beach all day or the waves were a lot smaller then they say. So it is going in that manner… One-sided stories. And that what my JAPR is about. Pictures of kids doing stuff but I’m changing them so that the meaning changes as well. That’s were the idea of a video came in, a porno with all the sex and sexy parts taken out, in turn it becomes comical. This show is a venue that articulates how people propitiate an image of how they want to be perceived. It’s more like creating humor then being so serious, I feel when you’re able to laugh at something, it’s easier to talk about. So my project will deal with kids attending a fictional school, its not poking fun at SNC, and if so I can defend that, but it’s about a bad college that not good for your kids. Putting themselves out there like they are a great school. Like any huge company does today. Ex. Coke-cola, BP. When you’re only hearing one side of the fence your really not seeing the whole picture.

4. And what would you say your overall theme is for JAPR? (Just a Few Words)
Brett- How appropriation is created through not seeing the whole picture, and how that meaning changes drastically. So when your only seeing one side and “they” put a spin on it, the meaning is completely different from the true meaning.

5. What do you see yourself doing after JAPR?
Brett- I don’t think I’m going to go right into my BFA, I think I’m going to wait till my senior year. I think I’m going to take a break because I plan on doing something pretty big for my BFA. Something that has this interactive experience. I want every piece to be interactive in someway but it wouldn’t be so clear-cut. Ex. One idea I had was a picture frame on a clean wall with bubble wrap inside. Everyone wants to touch and pop bubble wrap. Or a fish tank with a fish and just enough water where he is flapping around and a glass of water next to the tank. Stuff like that, but also getting more comical. That’s what I’m trying to do, more so then just generic art. What about a piece that is extremely small and you have to use a magnifier glass to look at it. Just stuff like that.

6. Any influences or anyone you look up to when it comes to your work?
Brett- My one friend Alex Bernett, I look up to him a lot. He’s kind of an idiot but he has really good style. One of my favorite artists is Jackson Pollock, “spatter paint guy” I don’t really look up to him but his story just because it shows that the artist world is just full of shit. And lastly Stephen Chesley an artist from back east.
?
Brett- I am from Virginia Beach, Virginia. I’ve always been into art, even when I was young, but in middle school that took a back seat, because the school didn’t provide certain electives. I got back into art my junior year in high school, my teachers realized I had some real talent and some room to grow so the next year I was taking ap. art. And that really got me back into it. After that I went to Utah State and from there my art has continued.

2. When did you decide you wanted to be an artist?
Brett- Pretty much when I was applying to Utah State. After I graduated high school I had a good amount of work. Once I got accepted into the art program it was pretty much solid. If they didn’t except my portfolio then I probably would have gone down a different path. So I would say around 08 was when I decided.

3. So what is your current JAPR idea? (Materials, Techniques, Content, Ect.)
Brett- My current JAPR idea is about disconnect, and how we deal with life through this disconnect. Ex. Lets say someone is explaining a story about how they were surfing this huge waves but in reality they were just sitting on the beach all day or the waves were a lot smaller then they say. So it is going in that manner… One-sided stories. And that what my JAPR is about. Pictures of kids doing stuff but I’m changing them so that the meaning changes as well. That’s were the idea of a video came in, a porno with all the sex and sexy parts taken out, in turn it becomes comical. The whole show is a vehicle for a metaphor that people propitiates themselves to be better then they are. It’s more like creating humor then being so serious, I feel when your able to laugh at something, its easier to talk about. So my project will deal with kids attending a fictional school, its not poking fun at SNC, and if so I can defend that, but it’s about a bad college that not good for your kids. Putting themselves out there like they are a great school. Like any huge company does today. Ex. Coke-cola, BP. When you’re only hearing one side of the fence your really not seeing the whole picture.

4. And what would you say your overall theme is for JAPR? (Just a Few Words)
Brett- How appropriation is created through not seeing the whole picture, and how that meaning changes drastically. So when your only seeing one side and “they” put a spin on it, the meaning is completely different from the true meaning.

5. What do you see yourself doing after JAPR?
Brett- I don’t think I’m going to go right into my BFA, I think I’m going to wait till my senior year. I think I’m going to take a break because I plan on doing something pretty big for my BFA. Something that has this interactive experience. I want every piece to be interactive in someway but it wouldn’t be so clear-cut. Ex. One idea I had was a picture frame on a clean wall with bubble wrap inside. Everyone wants to touch and pop bubble wrap. Or a fish tank with a fish and just enough water where he is flapping around and a glass of water next to the tank. Stuff like that, but also getting more comical. That’s what I’m trying to do, more so then just generic art. What about a piece that is extremely small and you have to use a magnifier glass to look at it. Just stuff like that.

6. Any influences or anyone you look up to when it comes to your work?
Brett- My one friend Alex Bernett, I look up to him a lot. He’s kind of an idiot but he has really good style. One of my favorite artists is Jackson Pollock, “spatter paint guy” I don’t really look up to him but his story just because it shows that the artist world is just full of shit. And lastly Stephen Chesley an artist from back east.