Charles is discussing the many project ideas he and Guerin had, that they’ve had to edit down and prepare for future Banker’s Block Collective events. “We wanted some video of illegal street art, and we have some footage now-” Page says.
Jen goes on: “So you’ll see that at the second Banker’s Block Collective. We’re gonna do this about every three months. That’s what we’re hoping for right now. We really want to get it where it’s something like Kettner Nights and Ray At Night, but we don’t wanna do it that frequently because we want to have a bigger body of work.”
Charles agrees. “We want it to be really organic. We want people who come to this neighborhood already to have an excuse to come out and get drunk together.”
Jen laughs and finishes: “I think really, again, to see the diversity of the block, and to see that this block is starting to happen for people.”
Charles says, “I felt that it was missing something when I added the color, the gray butterflies are the bridge between actual life/want from life/the beauty from life, and what you actually see. No matter what happens to you, you think about it [in a different way from its reality]. There’s a sort of romance, I think, in the atrocities of life. You know, you could have the worst things in life happen to you and people would still say: you know what? I’m glad, I’m stronger, I’m better [because of those things]. Essentially, the [relationship between the colored butterflies and the gray butterflies] represent perception of reality. I think from a more [technical compositional] standpoint, it really brings the painting together."
“Do you think, then, that these child soldiers are still innocents, in spite of what they’re doing?” I ask.
“What I’m toying with here is just the facts. It’s a fact that they are killing people. But it’s also a fact that they are little kids. So it’s hard to say whether they are still innocent. It’s a really interesting question. I first got into this topic by books I’ve read, their memoirs. They’re running around, twelve years old, naming themselves Captain Lord of Death. So they’re just little kids playing war, but they’re actually killing people. When I was a little kid running around, I called myself Captain America, and ran around pretending I was playing war. They’re doing the same thing, except, they’re not playing. When we talk about loss of innocence, it’s through no choice of their own. They’re kidnapped. So what is innocence? The things that you do, or the decision to do those things?”
“My mom’s from Mexico, so I’m Mexican-American, and I grew up with these. It is an experiment in discovering myself and who I am. It’s a series of personal identity. An exploration of me through the tools I have in art. We’ll see what comes out of it. These [pieces] are just happening on their own.”
Jennifer points out that “It’s interesting because when we first met, we talked about the Lotteria. It’s a reading tool. And I’ve always collected them as well.”
Charles goes on: “Jen and I have been collaborating on her pieces. I’ve been doing some of the backgrounds and Jen is using the Dick and Jane series. So the theme is children in this show. We’re also collaborating on some of these graffiti-inspired pieces on which she’s doing her encaustic work.”
“Why the chandelier,” I ask, “as opposed to other pieces of furniture?”
Jen says “I’m an interior designer, and one of the things I like to do is use toys – things that you wouldn’t normally see [used] in design. The more that you have something in a collection, it can actually look pretty neat. When you look at them in the chandelier, you can’t at first tell they’re even soldiers, so you’re actually seeing these toys in something that’s decorative.
We’re also doing tee shirts. Mine will be Lotería tee shirts…”
And Charles says “I’m doing some that say ‘the bees knees,’ ‘the bomb shizzy,’ ‘the cat’s meow,’ and ‘lovekill.’ I just think it’s funny, I’m taking those from the bio I wrote on my site. I’m gonna do some lotteria shirts too, like La Mascara would be a tee shirt.”
Jen replies that “They’re still going. Charles and I work very differently. He starts and finishes [a single painting at a time] pretty much. I actually, when I went to fine art college, have them all have the same look and finish them up around the same time, because otherwise they can be different for me. The translucency is so that you can see the graffiti and the drips, you see the deterioration, is what I want. Charles is very opaque, mine will have translucency.
“The other thing is the homeless bodies sculptures that we’re actually going to have in the front window. This one we’re working on is me wrapped up in Saran wrap and duct tape, which is pretty scary to be cut out of when we’ve had a few beers – but it’s a brilliant idea. We’re going to be dressing them and they’ll be holding signs. That was actually Charles’ idea, so it’s pretty powerful to bring in how big the homeless situation is.
“I’m actually friendly with a lot of the homeless in the neighborhood and you can see that their downfall was probably either drugs or mental illness.”
“Do you think these Dick and Jane cards,” I ask, “were intended to be innocent because it was developed in a time we wouldn’t ‘go there’? Or is it subversive on purpose, somewhat?”
Jen nods. “Yeah… It’s almost like, you know, Disney movies that have a little bit of adult humor. My favorite one is this one where she’s doing a cartwheel. It took me awhile to realize that her dress was completely open to everyone standing behind her. Granted, that happens when you’re a kid and don’t care… but at the same token, the composition could have been done differently. The Dick and Jane series is actually done very beautifully, the colors, the how it portrays the innocence of the family center. They still make them through Scholastic. They’ve never updated them: they kept the vintage drawings and the simple text so that children could learn how to read.”
Outside, a homeless person bangs on a drum bucket, drawing our attention for a moment. The sun has finally begun to set behind the tall buildings of downtown, and the light in JG Color Studios changes, turning deeper amber. “This is very politically-charged work, which is awesome,” I point out. “Do these themes have anything to do with Banker’s Hill?”
Jen thinks about it. “No, our particular art has nothing to do with Banker’s Hill… In future Banker’s Blocks we do have more pieces that have to do with [the identity of this area]. But for this event we just wanted to do something from our hearts, and pour our hearts out.”
Jennifer Guerin's website // JG Color Studios website // Page Studios website // Charles Page's Brooklyn-based Arts Collective "Discover My Essence"
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