{"id":9495,"date":"2012-07-04T12:42:11","date_gmt":"2012-07-04T12:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/?p=9495"},"modified":"2012-07-24T10:22:22","modified_gmt":"2012-07-24T10:22:22","slug":"emerging-nicholas-arehart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/2012\/07\/04\/emerging-nicholas-arehart\/","title":{"rendered":"EMERGING: Nicholas Arehart"},"content":{"rendered":"
LA-based artist Nicholas Arehart<\/a> channels his youthful punk roots into pointed critiques of capitalism and authority. Wonderland talks to him about his sculpture and video installation, and why he thinks IKEA furniture can work in art.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You’re from Florida but reside in LA. Why the move?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, my fianc\u00e9e, Tatiana Vahan, and I came out here on vacation about 2 years ago and we were enthralled by the city and its experiences. We knew we wanted to come back and live here. But what really pushed us to make the move was my acceptance into CalArts.<\/p>\n What’s the art scene like in LA?<\/strong><\/p>\n It has so many faces it’s hard to succinctly characterize it. There are the notorious galleries, important contemporary art museums, young start-up spaces, non-profit organizations, student-run spaces, the plethora of art schools and their openings and events, and the list goes on. I guess if I had to pick one thing that defines it would be its openness. Its not uncommon to see art students having conversations with well-known artists at gallery openings. <\/p>\n Can you share some highlights of your career to date?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the most memorable experiences I had was my solo show at the Christopher Miro gallery<\/a> in Miami. It felt like Chris was really shaping a new facet of the Miami art scene at the time and it was incredibly exciting to be a part of it. <\/p>\n Your art investigates the hidden and the marginalized rather than the obvious and mainstream. What prompted you to do explore this?<\/strong><\/p>\n I’ve always adhered to a rebellious, anti-authoritarian position; I attribute this to my fascination with punk music when I was younger. Bands like Crass and Dead Kennedys all sang about the questioning of authority in its various modes and I really related to this. I saw these issues they were addressing as not just fodder for song lyrics but as real world injustices being inflicted upon oppressed people. As I got older and began reading the work of authors like Marx, Proudhon, Bakunin, and Kropotkin that thinking just got reinforced. All of these influences just naturally emerged in my work at the beginning of my practice. Once I recognized it, I knew it would be dishonest to do anything else.<\/p>\n