Max Rieser
What is it that you create?
I make drawings and prints mainly right now with a little bit of painting mixed in every once in a while. All of my work is driven by my stream of consciousness with very little thought about meaning until I finish working. I work like this for a few reasons, the first one being that I have ADHD so if I try and focus on one specific thing while I work it's going absolutely nowhere. The second reason is the influence of my favorite artist Zio Ziegler, I was drawn into his style when I first saw his murals pop up in my hometown but then as I grew older I studied the way he worked and the thought behind his process and I realized that I had developed a very similar ideology behind my artwork.
Why create this?
I create this because I have to. Creating artwork has become apart of me and is really the way I can communicate my thoughts and feelings to the world. I’m not a big talker by any means so the ability to create visual communication with others is a very important part of my work.
How long have you been doing it?
I’ve been making artwork for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a very creative family so pretty much the second I could put a pen in my hand I was drawing. The way my art has transformed is really just an extension of constantly drawing. When I look through my notebooks, sketchbooks and final projects it becomes pretty apparent as there is a fluid transformation of my art to the stage it has reached today.
What is it that you create?
I make drawings and prints mainly right now with a little bit of painting mixed in every once in a while. All of my work is driven by my stream of consciousness with very little thought about meaning until I finish working. I work like this for a few reasons, the first one being that I have ADHD so if I try and focus on one specific thing while I work it's going absolutely nowhere. The second reason is the influence of my favorite artist Zio Ziegler, I was drawn into his style when I first saw his murals pop up in my hometown but then as I grew older I studied the way he worked and the thought behind his process and I realized that I had developed a very similar ideology behind my artwork.
Why create this?
I create this because I have to. Creating artwork has become apart of me and is really the way I can communicate my thoughts and feelings to the world. I’m not a big talker by any means so the ability to create visual communication with others is a very important part of my work.
How long have you been doing it?
I’ve been making artwork for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a very creative family so pretty much the second I could put a pen in my hand I was drawing. The way my art has transformed is really just an extension of constantly drawing. When I look through my notebooks, sketchbooks and final projects it becomes pretty apparent as there is a fluid transformation of my art to the stage it has reached today.
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How did you find this?
Art is something that has always been in my life so it’s really hard to pinpoint how my style has developed and how I found it. I think I just found it through brute force almost, I just drew and drew until I found my aesthetic.
Who or what inspires you the most?
As far as artists go I am most inspired by Zio Ziegler. His bold style really draws people in and is visually impressive. His work also is ambiguous enough that it allows people to connect to it on a very personal level which I think is the most interesting part of his work. In a much broader sense I am inspired by whatever around me, I try to keep an open mind at all times to the way things look when they interact with the environment and try to internalize and use that in my own work.
What is the hardest part of being an artist?
There is an enormous amount of self doubt that comes with being an artist. It’s a constant battle with myself to create things that look aesthetically pleasing to me and sometimes other people will disagree with my opinion and create doubt in my abili- ties. I think the most important thing I’ve learned from art is to just not give a fuck about what anybody thinks, I create art for myself and stay true to my style. It’s not always the easiest thing to do but I think it’s the most important thing you can do as an artist.
What scares you the most about being an artist?
Because my artwork is driven by my stream of consciousness and emotions it can be scary to look within myself and ad- dress things that are not necessarily good. Things like depression and bad memories have helped me to create my best work but also have been some of the hardest pieces to make and reflect on because they represent moments in my life that aren’t very pleasant.
What form of art do you admire?
The art I admire most is art that is visually stimulating. I respect the ideas and process behind conceptual artwork that is more subdued but I find it almost impossible to relate with in any way. When art is bolder and impressive just to look at without having to dig deeper for meaning it invites a larger demographic of people to view it and it ultimately impacts more people. This shows up in street and skate art a lot so I’ve always been drawn to those forms of art and drawn a lot of inspiration from that style of artist.
Art is something that has always been in my life so it’s really hard to pinpoint how my style has developed and how I found it. I think I just found it through brute force almost, I just drew and drew until I found my aesthetic.
Who or what inspires you the most?
As far as artists go I am most inspired by Zio Ziegler. His bold style really draws people in and is visually impressive. His work also is ambiguous enough that it allows people to connect to it on a very personal level which I think is the most interesting part of his work. In a much broader sense I am inspired by whatever around me, I try to keep an open mind at all times to the way things look when they interact with the environment and try to internalize and use that in my own work.
What is the hardest part of being an artist?
There is an enormous amount of self doubt that comes with being an artist. It’s a constant battle with myself to create things that look aesthetically pleasing to me and sometimes other people will disagree with my opinion and create doubt in my abili- ties. I think the most important thing I’ve learned from art is to just not give a fuck about what anybody thinks, I create art for myself and stay true to my style. It’s not always the easiest thing to do but I think it’s the most important thing you can do as an artist.
What scares you the most about being an artist?
Because my artwork is driven by my stream of consciousness and emotions it can be scary to look within myself and ad- dress things that are not necessarily good. Things like depression and bad memories have helped me to create my best work but also have been some of the hardest pieces to make and reflect on because they represent moments in my life that aren’t very pleasant.
What form of art do you admire?
The art I admire most is art that is visually stimulating. I respect the ideas and process behind conceptual artwork that is more subdued but I find it almost impossible to relate with in any way. When art is bolder and impressive just to look at without having to dig deeper for meaning it invites a larger demographic of people to view it and it ultimately impacts more people. This shows up in street and skate art a lot so I’ve always been drawn to those forms of art and drawn a lot of inspiration from that style of artist.
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN ISSUE ONE
MAX RIESER
