INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN CUZNER

April 2009


Steven Cuzner (b. 1975) is a Canadian-Swedish artist who lives and works in Stockholm. He is currently working on the larger project New Haiti that deals with exotification and history through a large scale plasticine installation. Haiti is both "The poorest country in the western hemisphere" and "The first black people's republic in the history of the world" and New Haiti is like a confused vision of what that country might have become. Steven also plays drums in the band SARALUNDEN feat. Steven Cuzner with Sara Lundén on vocals and synthesizers. He graduated from the Trondheim Art Academy in 2001.

Images to the left are from some past performance projects ("Moneycounter". "Performance Jukebox" and "Dan Graham Loves Covers" which was a series of performances, phone calls text and drawing surrounding Dan Graham's Performer/Audience/Mirror from 1977) and a current installation, which is a monument to moving in or out (an entire apartment is filled up with moving-boxes, made with Jenny Palén) and a recent poster called "Punkt Shop T-shirts".

1. Can you pinpoint the exact moment you get an idea? Do
you get ideas like that, like the stork with the baby?

Yeah, I actually get a feeling that ideas come flying, or falling. Not from nowhere of course, but the feeling is that they really just pop up like a surprise. And I treat the dropped baby like parents treat their kids generally. You know, in love with it but like ready to re-shape it. And for that stage I generally need help.

You kick it around a little bit and get to know it and negociate and try to raise it...

Yeah, I wouldn't say that I let it stay pure

"Keeping it pure" - a romantic approach?

It's not that I'm so afraid of it being romantic, but I can't help shoving ideas in other people's faces. I need to mould things. For the fun of it. You, know to really be able to check it out.

I like unpure.

Me too.

What inspires you – i.e. what do you listen to, read, think about, look at, surf, to get into the mood/jazz?

The mood, haha, that's a great question. Mood.. I would instinctively say that I don't work up moods, like consciously. But that's not true. I set up big time. Most of the time it's about food, drinks and snacks, if we're talking work habits.

3. What is your artistic fuel?

This is gonna be difficult, not because I don't know, but because I feel unfaithful to a very recent fuel by answering honestly for this exact moment. It's not so bad, I don't think my last fuel will sense hard feelings. Only a short while ago, I would've said my fuel was communication, which sounds so makeshift and general it almost hurts. But I sort of know that you know what I mean. However; i could explain, if that sounds at all interesting. Or just go straight ahead and talk about The New Fuel if you want to.

Communication, then uncommunication, then New Fuel. Things are happening!

I'm not breaking up with communication entirely. Just a new type of relationship. I'm not so pussy-whipped by communcation anymore. But I love her. My new fuel is the idea of the visionary. It's a really nasty thing to say, but it's a truth for sure. I'm really into the idea of the visionary.

You talk in codes my friend. Why not.

Ok, I totally got into the analogy about the baby and the stork

This leads neatly to 4. What is abstract art?

I haven't really thought about it so much. Not that exact word, other than for its already determined reputation within the historical field of expressionism.

What do you reckon the abstract painters were doing?

I reckon many of them would want to be entirely solitary about their idea of what they were doing. I listened to a pretty interesting lecture, or panel discussion about the Brazilian neo-concretist wave where the idea of the abstract was very political and not just the good old enemy of figurative art.

Interesting!

Yeah, I have a lot of respect for that crew, I think they were extremely good for their surroundings, breaking molds and all that. But I also get a pretty shitty association to the term abstract since I have been so connected to radio-art and "sound". I don't dislike abstract expressionism within sound art but it gets tiresome to constantly give "sound" more credit than just abstract expressionism. It's like "sight" or "look". Look-art.

Haha, it´s because many visual art people don´t get sound art so it´s safer to totally accept it. Look-art. That´s a good one.

Look-art should really start being used!

One more thing about abstract art - someone like my old hero Philip Guston was an abstract painter who turned figurative in a great way and he was very sick of abstract approaches within the art world. Now it seems a lot of young artists turn to abstract painting again. I wonder if it´s style and trend or if it´s political. I don´t know.

Would be interesting to hear someone defend it as political. I want to hear that statement.

5. How did you get the idea to be an artist?

I was really young. I was really into art even when I was a little kid. I don't have art parents or anything like that, but I was fairly exposed. I was totally inspired, haha, classic inspiration. I used to hang out in the library to check out art history. I seriously wanted to go see stuff all over the world. Like originals.

Wow! You knew!

Yeah! I guess! It was somewhat of a fluke. I wanted to be able to do stuff that was my own also. I was very much against the idea of working for someone else.

There you go!

Yup, it's all wrapped up in the art-bag. Perfect really.

7. How would you prefer to show, exhibit – a perfect setting for you to show your stuff in.

I like museums. I would like to take over an entire museum.

8. Tell me about the process of your biggest piece - I guess that IS the Tahiti one?

Yeah .. Haiti

Sorry. Minor big mistake.

Haha, it is TOO hard to tell those two apart. The process is SLOW in some way but I suppose that is only in relation to other stuff I do. I like being slow because it's always happening anyways.

Are you ok with talking about it even though its under production?

Yeah!

Ok: what´s the short intro to the Haiti piece?

It's like a fantasy piece in clay. It's pretty connected to Italo Calvino's book Invisible Cities, but only because I haven't read it. I want there to be circles of fantasies of what things are about.

Process= pick up on the book, think clay is the material, think fantasy about a place, and it´s rolling?

No, I stuck all that stuff - clay, a book, fantasy - into the piece quite late in the process. I was into what ideas people have of places. That was the beginning. I really like to go way too far with what people think about places. The place´s idea that is like a place's image or profile. A country or a region. And Haiti in particular is amazingly misunderstood and overlooked apart from the voodoo thing. But I am working with the mixed stigma between these two taglines: "The poorest country in the western hemisphere", and ..."The first black people's republic in the history of the world". Just to clarify though, those are two common taglines for Haiti as a country... the first more so than the second. But the second leads to really interesting information.

9. Do you look up to other artists or people who make culture? Who?

I look up to many artists, I look at what my friends do. Since I end up talking to them alot about what they do I get very engaged. And end up liking art by people I know the best, which might sound lame, or dangerous perhaps.

Or great and fun.

Exactly! I like Erik Bünger alot. He is really good. I look up to him, I would say.

10. Do you think your background as both Swedish and Canadian has any impact on you as an artist?

Some. There's always something with artists with dual nationalities, going on about nationality, haha. But more specifically...I was heavily exposed to Canadian animation as a kid. My dad would get super-8 copies from the Canadian embassy when we were living in Stockholm. He set up a projector in our living room every so often. A lot of animation was being made in Canada in the early 80s.

The famous Art Board of Canada or something like that, right? That they kind of invested in animation?

National Film Board of Canada, yeah! They invested it seems in alot of avant garde. Some really abstract stuff!

Yes, back to abstract art!

Yes!

11. Do you think that artists are required to stay updated about their peers?

I kind of do actually. But the more proper answer is: why not! What is there to lose? I guess it takes some effort...

12. Where do you want to live?

I can't really look into the future these days, like dream up life situations. And right now I got no other choice than to live in Stockholm (because of my kid), so I really work hard to think that this is the place I want to be.

13. What do you want to do?

I want to make ALOT of art.

14: What are you doing now?

I just finished a piece shown in an apartment in my old suburb.

Home show! I like that!

Yeah! I just figured out the exact connection here! I filled the apartment with moving boxes. It was only possible to move around along the walls. I made the piece with another artist, Jenny Palén. Otherwise I'm working on the Haiti piece and doing gigs with the band.

Thanks, Steven, for the interview!

Thank!


INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN CUZNER

April 2009


Steven Cuzner (b. 1975) is a Canadian-Swedish artist who lives and works in Stockholm. He is currently working on the larger project New Haiti that deals with exotification and history through a large scale plasticine installation. Haiti is both "The poorest country in the western hemisphere" and "The first black people's republic in the history of the world" and New Haiti is like a confused vision of what that country might have become. Steven also plays drums in the band SARALUNDEN feat. Steven Cuzner with Sara Lundén on vocals and synthesizers. He graduated from the Trondheim Art Academy in 2001.

Images to the left are from some past performance projects ("Moneycounter". "Performance Jukebox" and "Dan Graham Loves Covers" which was a series of performances, phone calls text and drawing surrounding Dan Graham's Performer/Audience/Mirror from 1977) and a current installation, which is a monument to moving in or out (an entire apartment is filled up with moving-boxes, made with Jenny Palén) and a recent poster called "Punkt Shop T-shirts".

1. Can you pinpoint the exact moment you get an idea? Do
you get ideas like that, like the stork with the baby?

Yeah, I actually get a feeling that ideas come flying, or falling. Not from nowhere of course, but the feeling is that they really just pop up like a surprise. And I treat the dropped baby like parents treat their kids generally. You know, in love with it but like ready to re-shape it. And for that stage I generally need help.

You kick it around a little bit and get to know it and negociate and try to raise it...

Yeah, I wouldn't say that I let it stay pure

"Keeping it pure" - a romantic approach?

It's not that I'm so afraid of it being romantic, but I can't help shoving ideas in other people's faces. I need to mould things. For the fun of it. You, know to really be able to check it out.

I like unpure.

Me too.

What inspires you – i.e. what do you listen to, read, think about, look at, surf, to get into the mood/jazz?

The mood, haha, that's a great question. Mood.. I would instinctively say that I don't work up moods, like consciously. But that's not true. I set up big time. Most of the time it's about food, drinks and snacks, if we're talking work habits.

3. What is your artistic fuel?

This is gonna be difficult, not because I don't know, but because I feel unfaithful to a very recent fuel by answering honestly for this exact moment. It's not so bad, I don't think my last fuel will sense hard feelings. Only a short while ago, I would've said my fuel was communication, which sounds so makeshift and general it almost hurts. But I sort of know that you know what I mean. However; i could explain, if that sounds at all interesting. Or just go straight ahead and talk about The New Fuel if you want to.

Communication, then uncommunication, then New Fuel. Things are happening!

I'm not breaking up with communication entirely. Just a new type of relationship. I'm not so pussy-whipped by communcation anymore. But I love her. My new fuel is the idea of the visionary. It's a really nasty thing to say, but it's a truth for sure. I'm really into the idea of the visionary.

You talk in codes my friend. Why not.

Ok, I totally got into the analogy about the baby and the stork

This leads neatly to 4. What is abstract art?

I haven't really thought about it so much. Not that exact word, other than for its already determined reputation within the historical field of expressionism.

What do you reckon the abstract painters were doing?

I reckon many of them would want to be entirely solitary about their idea of what they were doing. I listened to a pretty interesting lecture, or panel discussion about the Brazilian neo-concretist wave where the idea of the abstract was very political and not just the good old enemy of figurative art.

Interesting!

Yeah, I have a lot of respect for that crew, I think they were extremely good for their surroundings, breaking molds and all that. But I also get a pretty shitty association to the term abstract since I have been so connected to radio-art and "sound". I don't dislike abstract expressionism within sound art but it gets tiresome to constantly give "sound" more credit than just abstract expressionism. It's like "sight" or "look". Look-art.

Haha, it´s because many visual art people don´t get sound art so it´s safer to totally accept it. Look-art. That´s a good one.

Look-art should really start being used!

One more thing about abstract art - someone like my old hero Philip Guston was an abstract painter who turned figurative in a great way and he was very sick of abstract approaches within the art world. Now it seems a lot of young artists turn to abstract painting again. I wonder if it´s style and trend or if it´s political. I don´t know.

Would be interesting to hear someone defend it as political. I want to hear that statement.

5. How did you get the idea to be an artist?

I was really young. I was really into art even when I was a little kid. I don't have art parents or anything like that, but I was fairly exposed. I was totally inspired, haha, classic inspiration. I used to hang out in the library to check out art history. I seriously wanted to go see stuff all over the world. Like originals.

Wow! You knew!

Yeah! I guess! It was somewhat of a fluke. I wanted to be able to do stuff that was my own also. I was very much against the idea of working for someone else.

There you go!

Yup, it's all wrapped up in the art-bag. Perfect really.

7. How would you prefer to show, exhibit – a perfect setting for you to show your stuff in.

I like museums. I would like to take over an entire museum.

8. Tell me about the process of your biggest piece - I guess that IS the Tahiti one?

Yeah .. Haiti

Sorry. Minor big mistake.

Haha, it is TOO hard to tell those two apart. The process is SLOW in some way but I suppose that is only in relation to other stuff I do. I like being slow because it's always happening anyways.

Are you ok with talking about it even though its under production?

Yeah!

Ok: what´s the short intro to the Haiti piece?

It's like a fantasy piece in clay. It's pretty connected to Italo Calvino's book Invisible Cities, but only because I haven't read it. I want there to be circles of fantasies of what things are about.

Process= pick up on the book, think clay is the material, think fantasy about a place, and it´s rolling?

No, I stuck all that stuff - clay, a book, fantasy - into the piece quite late in the process. I was into what ideas people have of places. That was the beginning. I really like to go way too far with what people think about places. The place´s idea that is like a place's image or profile. A country or a region. And Haiti in particular is amazingly misunderstood and overlooked apart from the voodoo thing. But I am working with the mixed stigma between these two taglines: "The poorest country in the western hemisphere", and ..."The first black people's republic in the history of the world". Just to clarify though, those are two common taglines for Haiti as a country... the first more so than the second. But the second leads to really interesting information.

9. Do you look up to other artists or people who make culture? Who?

I look up to many artists, I look at what my friends do. Since I end up talking to them alot about what they do I get very engaged. And end up liking art by people I know the best, which might sound lame, or dangerous perhaps.

Or great and fun.

Exactly! I like Erik Bünger alot. He is really good. I look up to him, I would say.

10. Do you think your background as both Swedish and Canadian has any impact on you as an artist?

Some. There's always something with artists with dual nationalities, going on about nationality, haha. But more specifically...I was heavily exposed to Canadian animation as a kid. My dad would get super-8 copies from the Canadian embassy when we were living in Stockholm. He set up a projector in our living room every so often. A lot of animation was being made in Canada in the early 80s.

The famous Art Board of Canada or something like that, right? That they kind of invested in animation?

National Film Board of Canada, yeah! They invested it seems in alot of avant garde. Some really abstract stuff!

Yes, back to abstract art!

Yes!

11. Do you think that artists are required to stay updated about their peers?

I kind of do actually. But the more proper answer is: why not! What is there to lose? I guess it takes some effort...

12. Where do you want to live?

I can't really look into the future these days, like dream up life situations. And right now I got no other choice than to live in Stockholm (because of my kid), so I really work hard to think that this is the place I want to be.

13. What do you want to do?

I want to make ALOT of art.

14: What are you doing now?

I just finished a piece shown in an apartment in my old suburb.

Home show! I like that!

Yeah! I just figured out the exact connection here! I filled the apartment with moving boxes. It was only possible to move around along the walls. I made the piece with another artist, Jenny Palén. Otherwise I'm working on the Haiti piece and doing gigs with the band.

Thanks, Steven, for the interview!

Thank!