Interview

Jun 22

Ravell Robinson
(RavellXIV)

RavellXIV is a painter from Jackson, Louisiana, USA.

Although creativity was ingrained in him from an early age, he only began painting at the age of 27. However, in less than 2 weeks he knew he wanted to be a painter and has been creating ever since.

The paintings that RavellXIV creates give the illusion that he is not from Louisiana, but in reality, he is the part of Louisiana that most people never see.

Solitude plays an important role in his life, allowing him to find peace and creativity.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I’m an African American, self-taught artist from Louisiana, and I don’t think I ever had an official entrance into the art world. I think I just wandered into it and then it became my journey. Generally, though, I would say that my interest in art started at around 2 years old.
I had a speech impediment when I was young, so no one understood what I was saying. I started scribbling, and over time that became my way of communication. Growing up, I continued with the scribbling, even though my speaking was getting better. I feel comfortable communicating through drawing.”

What inspires you most?

“My third cousin was a college football coach, the great Eddie Robinson Sr, and he inspired me to also be great. More generally, the world as a whole inspires me. I like to be able to see the world from another person’s perspective. That way, it’s almost like living inside another person’s head. Sometimes, I look up at the stars and just wonder what someone else across the world is doing at that same exact time. That’s just how I think. My mind works just a little bit differently because I’m an artist with Asperger’s Syndrome.
I am also inspired by social activism. I am inspired by the things that matter. I feel that what’s going on in today’s society is truly detrimental to our planet’s survival and our social well-being. There’s a mass murder every day in the United States of America. After a while, they stop becoming incidents and start becoming routine.”

“My political paintings are bold and in your face, and they are that way for a reason. Most people look away from things that they’re trying to avoid. My art forces you to face that truth.
The threats to our democracy must be faced head on. Racial injustice, gender oppression, gun violence, climate abuse and apathy—these are routines we must break.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“I don’t really pursue any themes, but I do have certain points that I try to put across in my works. I want people to be able to look deep into the painting, and so I always add a little symbolism that relates to the story of each piece. If you take the painting at face value, then you are going to miss out. Every painting is almost like a storybook. I feel that as a society, we’ve lost the one thing that keeps us wanting to progress forward: imagination.
I love dinosaurs and I’m starting to feature them a lot more in my artwork. I painted a dragon on a red background, and the cool thing is that it kind of fades into the background (shown below). I mention that painting because the head of the dragon is based on a Gorgonops of the Permian Period. It looks like a dinosaur but it isn’t. Ironically, it lived at the same time as the Dimetrodon.
There’s also another piece, The Bullfighter, painted the last time I was in Colorado. It shows a matador going up against what he must have thought was a bull, but is actually a Carnotaurus.”

How would you describe your work?

“My art can be whimsical, like this piece I painted called the Sea Goddess, which takes place in the ocean. There’s a mermaid emerging from the sea, but you can’t see her tail because below her is a Narwhal. And below the Narwhal is an octopus hunting a Nautilus. When I did that, I was initially inspired by the pelagic zone of the sea.”

Which artists influence you most?

“I have to start with Jean-Michel Basquiat. He paved the way for me to be where I am now. Before him, people didn’t think that a black artist would be successful in visual fine arts.
At the time of writing, Ms Francoise Gilot is still alive, and she is truly one of my favorite women. She is the only one to make the matador submit, a.k.a Pablo Picasso. But she is also an artist in her own right, and I believe she was just as talented as Pablo.
I cannot forget Pablo Picasso. Not only does he inspire me, but I feel like in many ways I have his spirit inside of me. From where we come from, to the bizarre link between his death and my life, I almost feel like his spirit was reincarnated in my body. I was literally born 14 years after his death to the day. And another crazy thing is that his sister died when he was 14. While she was sick, he swore that if she got better he would never create again, but he did and she died. When I was 13, I stopped creating for a long time, and I didn’t start painting until I was 27.
Because I love creating original characters, one person who inspires me in that aspect is Keith Haring. And finally, my best friend Sharon is a constant inspiration. She’s been with me since the beginning of my journey as a painter. She creates some of the most surreal anatomically correct paintings.”

What is your creative process like?

“I don’t really have a creative process; everything comes to me as I go along. I never go into a painting with an idea. But the more I paint, the more the picture constructs itself subconsciously in my mind.
I play video games sometimes, and this actually helps me focus more because I think about the game as I paint. Whether or not the game contributes to the painting is not really in my control, although it has on a couple of occasions. In a way, sometimes I feel like Link from the legend of Zelda. My brush is my Master sword, and my canvas is my Hyrulian shield. Art is my Part of the Tri-Force.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“An artist’s role in society is that of the record keeper. As the world grows more chaotic, words will start to have less of an effect. Soon, people will always want proof of some sort. That is where art factors in. Who can capture the details of any situation better than an artist? I would even go on to say that after money has lost its value, art may very well be the most valuable stock on the planet—the one thing that could help infrastructure rebuild itself.
Art is a vital part of our future.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“The one exhibition that stands out most is my first art show out of state. It was held in Los Angeles, California on October 13th 2016. This was the show that made me realize that art is a very realistic future for me, as long as I stay committed to my practice. It was a part of the RAW brand.
Another one that comes to mind is the Guerilla Crusade Artshow, which was my second show. It made a bigger impression on me than the first because it felt like everybody here was trying to direct where their journey was trying to take them. I felt that they all really wanted a way to progress to the destination of their journey, and they were willing to work to get there. You need that kind of passion in this industry.”