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KISS Frontman Rocks The Gallery SceneFrom: TheSundayPaper.com Posted: October 13, 2007 Anyone familiar with PAUL STANLEY's day job with KISS won't be shocked to learn that he's long nurtured an artistic streak. From the band's elaborate costumes and makeup to concert stages and album covers, his visual creativity has played a huge role in the band's long-running success. But that doesn't make Stanley's side gig as an abstract painter any less of a surprise. What started as a means of working through a painful divorce eight years ago has blossomed into a second career for the motivated rocker, who recently talked with The Sunday Paper about his background, his inspiration and the differences between rock crowds and gallery patrons. Q: You were an art major; you graduated from the High School of Music and Art. Was abstract art your focus back then? A: Never. I was much more intent on trying to make everything look as realistic as possible. And what I realized in the last eight years is, I'd much rather connect with something on an emotional level. The beauty of abstract art and expressionist art is … it's less based on an intellectual as opposed to an emotional response. I'd rather have something hit you instinctively. I try to paint emotion. Q: How have you found the crowds at gallery shows to be different from rock audiences? A: Interesting question. There certainly is a certain amount of crossover, but they both stand on their own. I'd have to say there are people buying paintings and other art that have never been to a KISS concert, and vice versa. I think it's great for both. The fact that people will initially come into a gallery and be drawn to some of my work without knowing who did it is very satisfying. And also knowing that some people [will come] who've never been to an art gallery, because I think the intimidation that pretty much is initiated by art critics keeps people away. The art critic would like you to believe your opinion isn't valid because it's not educated like his is. The truth of the matter is that it is valid. Q: Do you think you've been well received by the art world? A: I couldn't care less about the art world. I'm not interested in the snobbery that goes with any field. I'm only interested in people who connect because they love something or they love the work. I'd rather think of people as art lovers and collectors, and those people certainly have come in big numbers, because there are quite a lot of originals that sell, and to be blunt about it, they're not cheap. The sales in the last year are staggering, and I'm thrilled that something I initially did as a very personal means of expression and release has become something that other people relate to. Q: What, if anything, are you looking to convey when you sit down to paint? A: I learned a long time ago that part of your job is to create inspiration. I'm not someone who's going to sit around and wait. I'm someone who would rather dig and find it. There's no denying that as people started to acquire the art and the shows became more and more successful, it spurs me on to work more. Of course you create for yourself, but anyone who says they create only for themselves has never sold anything. No artist ever starved by choice. Q: How is this creative process different from working with KISS? A: This is unique in that it's purely my own. There's no collaboration and there's no opinions I have to deal with. That's always the ideal situation for me. I'm not really interested in anyone else's input on opinion when I'm creating a song or a painting. I'm certainly interested in what you think afterward. But the first person I have to please is me, and if I'm not pleased I dont care if anyone else is. |
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