15 Questions About Art :: Dan Monick
Dan Monick grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and now lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
His work has been commissioned by and featured in numerous publications including Interview, Paper, Swindle, enRoute, ESPN, Dwell, XXL, Out, Rolling Stone, Foam, The Journal, Arkitip, and Fortune. His commercial clients include American Standard, Clearwire, Dell, Virgin Mobile, Target, Stussy, and Activision.
In addition to being a widely sought after editorial and fine art photographer, he is currently an administrative member of the gallery and community-based arts center THIS: Los Angeles as well as co-founder of the independent music publication LA RECORD.
His first book of photography is set to be published by Gingko Press this year.
***
What is your earliest art-related memory?
Scribbling on the mean baby sitters dress when she wasn’t looking
Who has had the greatest influence on your work?
Nan Goldin, Richard Avedon, William Eggelston
What are the main tools of your craft?
Spastic energy
Is a formal education important?
Yes
What is the biggest misconception about art?
That you do it alone
Which is more important in art - concept or execution?
Execution. By far
What theme or aesthetic are you most drawn too?
Loose
What is your favorite piece of art in your home?
My sisters photo of a parking lot
If you could collaborate with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Steve Rubell
Which emerging artist do you think more people should know about?
Jesse Spears
What has been your greatest achievement to date?
Doing what I love, which happens to be the only thing I know how to do.
What has been your biggest roadblock?
Me
How do you define success?
Never being jealous, never being scared
What will be the name of your autobiography?
Heavy
What is the best piece of (art-related) advice you’ve ever been given?
You better love what you do.
***
15 Questions about Art is an ongoing series in which we ask our collective favorite artists, writers, musicians, sleepy dreamers and object makers from across the creative spectrum to give us a glimpse into how they perceive art through a standard set of questions.
Please click here for the archives and check back next week for a fresh perspective.
