Interview

Carlen Altman
Age: 25. Hometown: New York. Currently resides: Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. My mom also lives there, as do a lot of kooky elderly people. Medium: I work in comedy and on jewelry, and I have a blog: carlenaltman.blogspot.com. I just finished a talking Moses ring for my jewelry line, Jewish Rosaries. What’s your dream project? To go on a show like In LivingColor, or to be on TV in a comedic way, like on Saturday Night Live. Artist hero: My mom is an artist. Her name is Suzy Friedman. She’s a hermit in the way that real artists can be hermits. You know, maybe if Henry Darger had hung out at the Beatrice Inn, he would have beena big star during his lifetime . . . My mom does a lot of religious art, which influenced me on my jewelry line. She just made a jellyfish out of yarmulkes with tzitzit as the tentacles. What else are you working on? I’m cohosting a public access show called Weird Days on BCAT—Brooklyn Community Access Television. If you could change one thing about the art world, what would it be? I feel like a lot of art doesn’t have a sense of humor. I don’t like going to museums because they are so sterile and not fun. They should play rap music. Fill in the blank: The young New York art scene is smoky. I just mean that when you stand outside a gallery, it’s very smoky. But that works on a lot of levels.

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Devin Kyle Cuthbertson
Age: 25. Hometown: I grew up in the Bronx, and then my mother moved to Bushwick,Brooklyn. That’s where I still live. Medium: Drawing, painting, video, writing, and performing. What’s your studio like? It’s my bedroom in my mother’s house. I’ve got a table from Kmart, and it’s really messy right now. Artist hero: I like characters from books. I like James Baldwin’s main character from Another Country, Rufus. The name is interesting because Rufus spelled backwards is sufur—like, “suffer.” Favorite younger artist: I like what rappers are doing, like T.I. or Lil Wayne. I also like Maurizio Bianchi for his album Symphony for a Genocide. Past shows: I was in a group show, “New Deal,” curated by Kyle Thurman and Matthew Moravec. It was my first show, really. Day job: I got kicked out of school. Then I had to work under extreme poverty and homelessness—that was shitty. So I guess that influences my outlook on jobs. If you could change one thing about the art world, what would it be? Change it more toward blackness. Fill in the blank: The young New York art scene is rich. That doesn’t need any explanation. I don’t want to make any enemies.

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Dylan Kawahara

Age: 22. Hometown: I was born in L.A. and moved to the Valley in high school. Currently resides: East Village. Medium: Fashion, graphic design, product design. I’m working on my thesis collection at Parsons—a Fall/Wintercollection inspired by murder. It uses a lot of3D elements with graphic prints. As for product design, I haven’t made a crazy toothbrush, but I have ideas for them. What’s your dream project? To do a collaboration with Muji. I like that they’re making office products beautiful again. What’s your studio like? I go to school and work in a converted classroom; it’s a long table with an industrial sewing machine. Artist hero: Louise Bourgeois. She’s been working forever and has a consistent style. Her career is immortal. I love her textiles and quilting pieces. Favorite younger artist: Casey Kresler, my roommate when I was in Paris, who’s a designer and artist. Favorite gallery: Gagosian. The last show I saw there—the Manzoni show—was so great. I felt so turned on by it. If you could change one thing about the art world, what would it be? Less competition and more collaboration. Fill in the blank: The young New York art scene is really in right now. It’s really trendy at this point.

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