Alexander Kipsone | Cosmoscow 2022

We went to the workshop of Alexander Kipson and talked with him about the origin of graffiti culture in St. Petersburg, about where you can find inspiration and how to be relevant today.

Alexander Kipsone (b. 1989) is a contemporary St. Petersburg artist and photographer. He gives his work the name "Arteism", explaining this name as a complete denial of everything except the art of self-expression. Textures of street walls, graffiti and text in street space, appealing to a random viewer, buffing (random art of color “patches” from public utilities) are the phenomena that inspired the artist for complex, semi-abstract painting. The artist describes his method as intuitive, and his work as a kind of puzzle of impressions and thoughts about modern life, the history of avant-garde culture and the surrounding street space.

In 2021, Alexander Kipson had a personal exhibition at the St. Petersburg Central Exhibition Hall "Manezh" (Department of the Museum of Art of St. Petersburg of the XX-XXI centuries), and soon the artist's works can be seen at the DiDi Gallery stand (B7) at the contemporary art fair Cosmoscow.

Making content! We have different questions, including broad philosophical ones, but you can answer them however you like.

I remember how I got a job - they asked me strange questions on IQ and that's it.

We've already hired you, so there's nothing to lose (laugh). Please tell us how you started your creative path - a simple question.

This question is always very difficult. My first masterpiece was the wall of my house next to the garage. I had friends who were already painting with balloons. I thought: “It's cool to draw with balloons”, because before that I only did all sorts of sketches with markers. I was 14 years old, in St. Petersburg then the magazine "SPRAYIT" was published - it was the first graffiti magazine that I saw. It was made by SPP Crew (veterans of the St. Petersburg and Russian graffiti scene) - and I was like: “Wow, cool! What a move!" On Fontanka 32, in my opinion, there was a Renegade store. All sorts of stuff was sold there: markers, balloons, fashionable slippers. But there was no money, so we just went there with friends. The seller and part-time DJ played from the records, showed us different videos like Dirty Hands, Rolling Stars ... And we just stood there, talked, drew sketches and absorbed all this new culture for us. This is probably where it all started. And so - since childhood, of course, children's thin. schools.

The second question is about the history of this workshop. You said that before that you lived elsewhere.

Yes, I had a studio at the Vperyod plant on Vasilyevsky Island. It was fun there, we had a whole floor of artists and different marginal personalities. It was there that I got the idea to start customizing clothes, and at some point I even transformed the studio into a showroom where I sold my clothes. Now I am based in an art cluster on the embankment of the Pryazhka River. There is the coolest view from the window to the river and everything that you see around, we did it ourselves, all the repairs, etc. Now I don't often invite guests, as I am completely focused on creating works. Such a period, but you are glad! :)

There is a lot of text in your works, where do you draw themes and inspiration from. Is it most often some kind of books, audio books, or is there a common theme? In short, what are you looking for and where do you find it?

There is no common theme, everything works for me like this: either they advise me something, or I like something. And if I liked something, some author, for example, then I will find everything that he did! I usually listen to audio books in the studio, it's more convenient for me. For many artists, observation works - you observe something, note something - but for me it works with the text that I absorb, I conduct a dialogue with the author. And if something resonates with me, then I write it down in notes - some thoughts that come to me every minute. I already have over a thousand notes. When I start a new job, I leaf through them, I try to catch the mood and be inspired by what once hooked me.

I am now trying to move away from social agendas, I am very tired. Previously, even before all the peacekeeping and liberation actions, I just aesthetically liked the “riot movement”, street confrontation. And I thought: “Well, this is really true”, but now I understand that this does not solve anything and will not change. And only those people who will stop telling their children “don’t go there, there are all thieves” * (ed. note - into politics) * will change. When the guys study well, have good taste, travel and experience communicating with different people, they will come to those places