Hasta La Ideas

Peek inside the artist’s mind to learn what motivated his latest film noir inspired paintings

As a young boy growing up in Queens, Travis Louie would roam the hallways of his friends’ houses gazing longingly at their vintage family photographs, realizing the lack of pictures of previous generations of his own Chinese-American family. Years later when Louie’s drawing career transitioned into painting characters inspired by film noir and German Expressionism, he realized that in some way he was creating his own virtual family history. Only this family, clad in Victorian and Edwardian garb, had all sorts of ogres, monsters and insects crawling and climbing about.

We spoke with Louie at his studio in upstate New York while he was painting a man with a giant Cane Toad on his head—an image that will soon be on view at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles, along with several other unique pet-and-owner portraits—and the artist revealed where his love of storytelling, surprise, and humor comes from.

When was the first time you remember getting a reaction for something you drew?

I was in the second grade. They gave me some crayons for some busy work while they were testing other kids. I started drawing. It wasn’t a great drawing, but it was what I drew that kind of freaked the teacher out. I drew my memories of a Senate hearing that I had seen on public TV Channel 13. It was film footage of the McCarthy era. What had compelled me to watch it was that so many of my grandfather’s favorite actors were in there. I drew the people at a table with a bunch of microphones. The teacher asked me, “What is that?” and I said, “That’s the Senate hearings.” Then she wanted to talk to my parents. The drawing did not look like McCarthy, Humphrey Bogart, Danny Kaye, Lauren Bacall or anyone else that was there. I did not know why the hearing was happening, it did not make any sense to me, but I wanted to know what it was all about.

Were you more of a “scared of everything” or “scared of nothing” kind of kid?

I was afraid of people. I remember one time I was on the subway with my mom. While the train was moving, she let go of my hand for a second and someone else grabbed my hand. That was always really creepy to me. My mother lit into this guy like you wouldn’t believe.

With so much of your work being influenced by German Expressionism, film noir, Victorian portraits, Edwardian times, side-shows, oddities and more, how did your style develop?

Growing up, I used to go to my friends’ and neighbors’ houses. Their families had these great old photographs. I thought, “What’s going on that they had these things?” The reason why we didn’t have any in our family was that Chinese people are very superstitious and did not like having their pictures taken, especially in the 1890s. I don’t know if many cameras were that available. I have not seen that many photos of older Chinese people from that era. I think there was a little bit of envy. So now with my work it’s almost like I am making my own ancestors. They just happen to be monsters.

I love the look of those old movies and am interested in cinematography. I love old German Expressionist films. I did not come across them until later. As a kid I watched whatever was on for the Movie of the Week on Channel 9, which were mostly gangster movies and noir pictures. As I got older, I noticed that the noir directors had been looking at the German Expressionist films. If you look at Citizen Kane there are a lot of shots that look like they came out of the movie Metropolis including the shots of the gigantic door. I started watching more old movies to see were they got the lighting from.

Can you talk about the materials you use and the process you go through to get to the point where it is hard to see any brush strokes?

I use kind of a weird watercolor technique with transparent layers of things, one on top of the other, [and I think about] how far back you can go and how dark it is possible to make something. There are transparent washes of acrylic paint over and over again. A lot of it is rubbed out. Underneath that there is a lot of graphite to create a very smooth, continuous tone. I learned to do that because I used to work for a photo re-toucher.

Your new paintings feature large-winged insects and spiders on the heads of your portrait subjects. Do you see these monsters, creatures and animals in your everyday life?

Sometimes I dream them up. This particular show was influenced from a photograph that I saw on the back of a book about how to care for tarantulas. I was in a pet store and I came across this book and I thought, that’s kind of odd. I have a pet tarantula at home. I am looking at this book and it’s pretty informative. I flip it over and see there’s an author photograph on the back. It is the weirdest author photograph I have ever seen. He’s dressed in a powder blue tuxedo, like the kind they are wearing in Carrie. Next to him is his pet tarantula in its enclosure with a prize-winning ribbon attached to it. I looked at it and thought, “That is the craziest thing.” There was a pet show with tarantulas in it? How do you judge that? What’s the criteria? That’s when I decided to do a series of paintings of people with unusual pets. The one I am painting right now is of a man with his Cane Toad. The toad is about the size of a small pig.

What else are you working on?

I also have a bust coming out by Shinbone. We will have one at the gallery during the show. It comes in a wood crate. From the back it looks like Beethoven and when you flip it around it’s my Uncle 6 Eyes.

Travis Louie’s show opens on 12 November and will be on view at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles until 10 December.

170 S. La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036

A GiltMAN editor weighs in on the things he can’t go without

Jonathan Evans has seen a lot of quality bags in his lifetime. As an associate editor at GiltMAN, he writes posts related to wardrobe and quality beers, as well as copy for the site’s flash sales—in other words, he has spent enough time with the variety of product the e-commerce giant features to be able to spot truly well-made and reliable goods.

“I can see when a bag is about to fall apart after a couple of uses, or a shirt is about to pop a seam,” says Evans. “Just the fact that now I’ve got my hands on so much nice stuff, it’s kind of second nature to be able to tell what’s well-made and what’s not well-made.”

Though Evans prefers bags made from canvas or waxed canvas, he notes that sturdy stitching and tough material are two important factors possessed by any great bag. Light and resilient tech materials like ballistic nylon also signify durability. “I’m looking for something that’s heavyweight enough for me to know things won’t tear through, and constructed sturdily enough for me to know that if the material’s not gonna give, the seams won’t either,” he explains.

Hardly ever spotted without a piece of handsome luggage in tow, Evans carries a good part of his life around with him. He’s never without a scarf, headphones or pens and paper, which he prefers over tablets and notepad apps. “I like that it’s really immediately physical, I don’t have to unlock anything or type anything up. I also like that I can tear it up and manipulate it.”

Writing things down also helps him to remember to do specific errands. Usually he’ll jot it down in his notebook, tear out the page, and stick it in his shirt pocket as a physical reminder. He also carries around an array of sartorial accessories for work purposes. “Any given day, I’ve got probably a stash of items I’ve been writing about, says Evans, reaching into his bag. “For instance I’ve been carrying three or four pocket squares with me for the last two or three weeks, because I’m working on a series about how to fold one.”

Next month, Evans will be traveling back down to his hometown in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving, and he already knows what he’ll pack in his Coach Crosby Leather Duffel Bag: “A couple of unstructured blazers, a couple of trousers, a pair of jeans, a pair of chinos so I can mix and match, a couple of button-down shirts, a T-shirt and a pair of shorts in case I want to work out; A pair of sneakers, a pair of proper dress shoes, and toiletries.”

Not only do the unstructured blazers travel well, but Evans thinks they’re a step up from a cardigan and just as versatile. “I was sitting at the kids’ table for way too long, and finally made the jump to the adults’ table— I gotta bring it at least a little bit,” he jokes. Dress shoes are also something he feels he needs to bring with him, and Evans divulges the details on the best pair to bring: “Brogues are never too fussy,” he says. “I pack socks and underwear inside them, and I put them inside shoe bags so they don’t get scratched or crushed, and pack them at the bottom of the bag.”

Another gentleman’s staple is a woven shirt that travels. “Oxford cloth button-downs are the standard,” proclaims Evans. “You can toss a blazer on over it, the collar stands, and it doesn’t do that weird ‘Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Eleven’ thing.” He’s a staunch believer in the versatility of the solid oxford shirt: “They can be worn casually too. It’s pretty much a go-anywhere shirt, and solids are easier on a trip, because you don’t have to worry about clashing.”

Evans often worries about packing a little too much on a trip, and offers this advice for soon-to-be travelers: “I try to tell everyone to pack a little less than they think they need. Realistically, that extra pair of pants you think you might wear that one day, you’re probably not gonna wear.” He also advises people to check the weather frequently prior to a trip, in order to ensure that the right kind of gear gets packed. “I usually start checking a week before the trip and then two days before. I recommend people also check the morning before leaving.”

The Carry On series is brought to you by Coach.

A Portland designer applies sculptural origami to women’s clothing

A first look at Liza Rietz designs does not immediately confirm if they’re clothes or sculptures. Even on the hanger, layers of silk, wool and linen flow out in broad planes, making soft points in the delicate fabric. On a model, the clothes seem to float above and around the body. “I’ve always been fascinated by the sculptural qualities of fabric,” Rietz told CH in an interview at her studio. “I suppose that’s why they look like origami. That’s the art of manipulating two dimensions into three dimensions.”

Despite her current career path, Rietz never studied design. Instead, the Washington native graduated with a degree in sociology and anthropology from Portland’s Lewis & Clark College in 2000. “Maybe it’s like learning how to paint,” she said. “If you get formal training, it’s easy to get stuck in a niche.” She bartended and waited tables before falling in with Holly Stalder and her vaunted former store Seaplane, which was a launchpad for many of Portland’s current crop of young clothing designers. “I brought in some skirts and a woman from Adidas bought one,” Rietz said. “It was great having that support in learning how to go from D.I.Y. to making something store-quality—to make designs that are applicable to a range of body types, in size runs that real women can wear.”

Rietz cites travel as a source of inspiration. A trip to China and Thailand in 2009 resulted in an architecture-inspired collection full of fins and batwing sleeves. Cross-pollination also seems to be a likely wellspring of ideas; she recently returned from Berlin, where in addition to showing at Berlin Fashion Week, she also toured as part of the Portland band Tu Fawning.

Small orders of Rietz’s designs can be found in places as far-flung as London and Washington, D.C. However, the best way to purchase her work would be at her Portland studio or on her Etsy page.

Dezeen Screen: in this interview filmed at Mint Gallery in London, Japanese designer Oki Sato of Nendo talks about Growing Vases, an installation of hand-blown glass lights with the blower’s pipe still attached. Watch the movie »

Dezeen Screen: British designer Tom Price talks about his Meltdown series of furniture while he melts a big ball of nylon rope into a chair in this movie from the Tales of the Hunt interview series made by Brussels gallerist Victor Hunt. Watch the movie »