Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

My name is Henry Gunderson. I’m an artist in Red Hook, Brooklyn, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. I think of myself primarily as a painter, but my work can take on other forms. I try to avoid categorization.

What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on?

I’m working in the studio on a new body of work that will likely turn into a show at some point. I’m making a book with Zoe Brezsny and Façadomy of my most recent exhibition Bug Mobile at Gern en Regalia.

Can you speak on what you think it means for artists to have an online presence in this era? What does that mean for you and how do you situate yourself in the consumption of media?

I consume my share of digital media, but I try to keep a distance from things like social media. It’s not a way I like to engage with the world, and I don’t like what it does to my mind. I even carry around a dumb phone that only calls and texts. I think it keeps me clear and present. I did make an Instagram recently in an effort to be easier to find for people who look at Instagram, but I don’t like to engage with it. Instagram feels like kind of a dead platform. Everyone’s self conscious, the fun has stopped, but everyone’s addicted and can’t look away. There’s a lot of content suppression and amplification going on. I think the algorithm is a pretty bad thing that is ruining art and ruining society by guiding our attention in a very dumb direction. Especially when artists start pandering to the algorithm and doing things for likes. This leads nowhere interesting. I’m not that into the idea of computer algorithms deciding for us what is good and bad art. We’re supposed to program the computers not the computers program us.

You recently wrote a performance titled The Jerry Mahoney Success Seminar: Find What Animates You performed by Sophie Becker. What can you tell us about this happening?

Yes, the seminar was my first project with Sophie and was a performance that took place in a conference room at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. I’ve been watching Sophie revive the forgotten art form of ventriloquism for some time now and I’d had some ideas pertaining to it that build off of her previous routines with Jerry Mahoney the 1950s dummy. I wrote a success seminar given by Jerry where he shares a little bit of his history and keys to success along with some slideshow visuals. Sophie is very talented in many different ways than I am, so it makes for a good cross over and really took me out of my comfort zone creatively in a new and exciting way.

How does the conceptualization of certain characters become not only a fraction of yourself in your visual arts practice but a more forward commentary on social politics? Do you think this is true? Does it matter?

I guess I like art that’s universal and speaks broadly to the human experience. I think that’s why I paint in the first place because visual language is so universally potent. I can see myself mirrored in lots of different characters and their representations. They evoke something in me and I’m drawn to them for reasons I don’t always understand but feel pertinent. A social commentary might be imposed by the viewer, and I think it’s good when artwork can provoke thoughts about one’s place in society, but I generally don’t like work that’s overtly-political in an annoying didactic way that beats you over the head with social messaging. It’s insulting as a viewer. You see this tone in a lot of curation now, and it’s pretty tiresome.

What’s your connection to Water McBeer? Are you also in kahoots with the accompanying artists in his elusive collection/gallery?

It’s a long story that dates back to my years at the San Francisco Art Institute. But now that Water McBeer is retired, I think it’s ok to come out of the closet and say that I am Water McBeer. He is a persona and gallery project I created to exist exclusively online. Water McBeer held many diorama scale exhibitions over the years with many artists including myself.

What advice would you give to artists in their pursuit to exist on the Internet?

I’m probably not the best person to give internet advice. When you say exist on the internet, maybe you’re talking about internet as a means to promote ones art rather than a medium in itself. There’s many ways one can exist on the internet. There are people that use the internet in a very creative way and it’s exciting to see. I love a good artist website, but if you’re going to be an artist, exist how you want to. You don’t have to exist online. You don’t have to follow the formula. Let’s find interesting ways to exist. If you are going to exist online do it in an interesting way. Exploit the medium to the fullest, but remember to put art first. Otherwise you’re just a PR agent. Which is great if you can be both. Personal branding is an art form in itself. There’s no formula. The only requirement is that you do something interesting.

Is Henry Gunderson your real name?

Yes, I’ve never been asked that question.

How old are you in dog years?

In dog years I’m dead, according to a t-shirt my sister gave me

What’s your opinion on image appropriation in our current digital era?

It’s all fair game. I think it’s good to have an awareness of the images you’re appropriating and where they come from and use them in an intentional way. Albert Oehlen once printed a drawing that I made when I was 17 onto one of his canvases. I doubt he knew where it came from. My guess is he picked it off of tumblr. It didn’t bother me though, I was honored to be appropriated by Oehlen.

Is there a particular show that comes to mind that impacted you enough to continuously think about it to this day?

Speaking of Oehlen, I saw a show entitled The Ömen that featured Paul McCarthy’s installation The King, and I’ve had a hard time getting that out of my head.

Is there a specific process you go through when you first enter the studio?

No, just fighting off procrastination demons until I get into a groove.

How do you see your work evolving in parallel to things that are going on around you right now?

There’s a lot of fascinating content in the world right now that I’m sure will find its way into the work whether I like it or not.

 

Interview conducted and edited by Liam Owings