Frame 61May 10, 2021

Gary LaPointe Jr.

Frame 61May 10, 2021

“I want my viewer to be able to hold onto something that is familiar as an entry point into the work, and at that same time let it dissolve into something unexpected.”

Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? Where did you study?

I was born in the early ’90s, named after my Father, and grew up in a small town in a rural part of New England. I received my BFA in 2013 from Lesley University College of Art and Design in Boston, studied a term at Central Saint Martins at UAL (2012), and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2013). Since 2014, I have been living and working in Chicago where I had received my MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2016).

You often change a found object through a physical process such as mirroring or reframing (thinking here about the rulers and the collages.) Where, for you, is the point where an object changes so much, it is no longer the thing you began work on, or do you think there even is such a point?

In developing a project, I actively seek to locate this point (or points) through the process of intervention and within the object itself. This moment is often when I consider the piece to be complete, and could occur right at the shift in context, but is usually discovered through a more laborious process of manipulation; such as polishing, casting, cutting, assembling, and layering. But, it all depends on the specific frameworks of the project. Past works that incorporate polished surfaces on utilitarian objects such as rulers, measuring tapes, and trash cans seem to unfold for longer. As polishing is a process of removal, it is also a process of refinement, that compromises yet reifies the object. These pieces not only perform through the reflection of the viewer and space but also actively oscillates between material and image. Yet, this notion overall becomes further complicated as I am currently interweaving more hand-made and studio fabricated elements into my work.

In your interview with Amanda Roach, you said, “…the transformation process happens as soon as we forget what we are looking at.” This really jumped out at me as a key insight into your work, could you tell me more about this statement in relation to materiality and queerness in your practice.

I think this statement is a useful one in regard to my sculptural work and process of making in general. It had come up through discussing and breaking down the ways in which I alter found objects, and how they could stand to function. For me, this fluid notion of transformation acts as a definitive question in relation to time, space, materiality, and representations of queerness and identity. As my projects often consist of manipulating readymade objects, there is a constant grabbling with materiality and the past; as forms of tethered value systems, collective meanings, material histories, and other narratives constantly define the objects in front of us. There is a direct one-to-one relationship that occurs through a shift in context. Yet, I am not only interested in these types of relations and how they are formed, but I am also invested in the process of jostling, editing, and layering these constructs that allow for new forms and definitions to surface. I want my viewer to be able to hold onto something that is familiar as an entry point into the work, and at that same time let it dissolve into something unexpected. What I mean here, is that everything is in a constant state of flux, as things shift, bend, break, repair, reconfigure, restructure, and so on, and I am interested in suspending the time when this is realized.

*(BACK BURNER) 2017 Randy Alexander Gallery*

*(rolled trash can, circle drawing) 2015*

*(Max, Denver, CO) 2019 altered American Bear Magazine from 1996*

You mentioned that part of your solar panel installation in (bad times all the time) came from a family of Doomsday preppers you had met on Craigslist and this altered their significance for you. To what extent does the method of sourcing objects play a part in your work and does that process ever lead to new ideas?

I think about the origins, histories, and collective narratives of the objects that I employ as much as I consider their materiality and formal properties. So the method of sourcing specificity is always at the forefront of my mind and is folded back into the meaning of the work in some way or another. However, objects tend to have a funny way of unveiling themselves if and when they do. The majority of the objects and materials that I use in projects are either stolen, borrowed, purchased, or fabricated while others are discovered and collected more by chance, and I like to maintain this type of balance and dichotomy in working.

In (idle engine, collection of 9 black solar panels) 2016, I knew I wanted to incorporate the solar panel as an object into a piece and larger project. I was originally interested in them as active units that convert energy from the sun and create a gridded power system; which is often applied to an existing form of architecture. I wanted to further complicate the solar panels by connecting them to one another in a horizontal line on an interior corner of a space, but not collect any energy that might be produced. The work changed once I met and purchased this set of panels from a family of Doomsday preppers who were selling and updating their equipment through Craigslist as they prepare for the New Madrid earthquake; a fault line that runs through the Midwestern and Southern United States. I like to think this work functions on a multitude of levels, from the recontextualization of an active utility object that is environmentally conscious, and in a way forward-looking in light of our current climate crisis; to the imbedded ideologies of their previous owners, and my role as enabling them to perpetuate their lifestyle and core beliefs; to the circulation of materiality; and to the visual formal density and weight, and how the piece reflects itself, the viewer, and space.

I believe that my thought process in general stems from working both directly with material and is in reference to the reality of the lived experience; my own, perceived, or otherwise. For me, the act of sourcing and altering objects opens up the potential for new poetic structures; both in terms of layering meaning and the spatial and material relations that collectively lead to new thoughts and ideas. Although, sometimes the thought just resides with the gesture, piece, or installation.

There is a strong element of framing in your work, from the margins of American Bear Magazines to the meticulous placing of objects within frames and gallery spaces, yet you found the pandemic forced you to look at other spaces outside galleries. I wondered how that shift had progressed as the pandemic continues and whether you had thought of other ways of framing your work in a time where the normal modes of artistic production are being altered.

Like many others, I shifted with the pandemic and began showing my work through virtual exhibitions. But, I think we all know that it is not the same viewing experience. However, I am still open to this format and these types of opportunities as Covid-19 remains as prevalent as it has been. However, back in the studio, I am making work to be shown in a physical gallery setting. I am also building models for larger projects, conceptualizing a printed publication, focusing sunlight as a tool for mark-making, and thinking more about developing a public and open-aired sculpture than I ever did before. I am still exploring these different forms of presenting my work and figuring out how they function. To an extent, my work leans on the frameworks that we construct collectively in spaces like the gallery as a way to leverage other conceptual concerns. In this type of relationship, my projects need the physical space and presence of the viewer, so I am looking at ways of reframing my work that still allows for these forms of interactions to occur, but more safely; while also look forward to the time that they may go totally unhindered.

What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?

My access to physical artwork has been limited over the past or so year due to the pandemic and I am just now starting to get back out there. But, someone recently drove their car through a deep patch of freshly poured concrete right outside of my apartment. Now, someone else had just attempted to fill the solidified void with bricks and other various items; it’s pretty good.

Is there anything new and exciting in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?

I currently have a number of new sculptures and drawings that I am working on in the studio which I feel good about. I am also in the process of developing a publication of collages, writings, and other works on paper that I hope to have drafted by the end of this summer. Between projects, I have been making these nightstand lamps out of used and discarded firework cylinders, hydrocal, and crome dipped lightbulbs and currently have a small run of them underway. I will also be included in a physical group exhibition here in Chicago, a printmaking-based portfolio and exhibition in Boston, and will be participating in an artist/writer exchange project; all later in 2021 - so keep an eye out!

Artist’s website

All images are courtesy of the artist
Date of publication: 20/05/21

Frame 61