No matter who you voted for on November, 8th, it would be hard to deny that the results of the election have been controversial and deeply emotional for many Americans. It’s nearly impossible to escape the highly charged feelings that are dividing our nation right now. And with so much of our collective attention focused on the consequences of a Donald Trump presidency, artists from all over the country are feeling the pressure to create art and protest pieces that express their own emotions and political views.
Street artist, Gabriel “Specter” Reese, knows all about that pressure. He’s compelled to create art that speaks to the election results — even though he wishes he didn’t have to. To bring these conversations to the forefront, Specter creates beautiful abstract, 3-D paintings, which he places in spots normally reserved for selling you products (billboards, etc.). His work is often socially motivated, as he tackles subjects of homelessness and gentrification, and, of course, our current political situation. No elephant in the room gets ignored.
Street art isn’t about fame for Gabriel. It’s about the rush of adrenaline he gets when creating and putting up new art. It’s about the journey and process. And it’s about integrating a piece to a neighborhood, no matter how temporary. His art infuses color and passion into otherwise dreary urban landscapes and it speaks to the people who see it.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Gabriel recently about how politics is hijacking his current body of work and how we should all try to do what we think is impossible.
I was wondering just to start off with what got you started into street art?
Good question. I don’t even know really. I guess it was my path to getting involved in art. I guess just as soon as I started doing art, so probably would’ve been 15 years ago, 20 years ago, something like that. It was just the idea of doing something you’re not supposed to do that really appealed to me.
That’s a lot of what the art form is about, it’s really that idea of being rebellious or the non-status quo. You’re in between the lines, and it’s gray area that you’re playing in.
When you were doing illegal art, did you ever get caught?
Yeah, I think that’s always the risk of doing it. I have been. A long time ago, not recently, but, you always have that risk. It’s always a possibility so you just accept the fate of it. That it may happen, and that it will be a hassle, but you just move on.
What are you working on these days?
A lot of different stuff. Really been doing a lot of videos recently. At this point, they’re really very much about myself. I’ll film myself doing actions that are just unnormal and illegal at the same time. For instance, I would throw a bike over a fence, climb over the fence, cut the lock open and then ride the bike outside of the fence. In the video, it’s just this ridiculous … You can check my Instagram. I have some of those up on there.
What is the symbolism behind that?
It’s about this whole idea of creating work in an outdoor atmosphere and an atmosphere that’s just as much about you deciding you want to do it. And those pieces just reflect those actions. They talk about … It’s the beginning of when an artist decides that they’re going to go out, risk their freedom in some sense to put up a piece of artwork or some type of creative outlet. It’s that decision, it’s that moment. A lot of them are about capturing that kind of idea but without necessarily having a product at the end. It’s more just the essence of what it actually is. Just the elements.
Sort of giving people the emotional experience of how you feel when you create art?
Yes, in a way. The art itself is the action. The artwork, it looks great when it’s done but what makes it so different, and interesting is that someone actually went out and planned this, risked their own money and freedom. You know, just decided to do something that really they weren’t supposed to.
I’m trying to capture those little ideas, those little moments, and then video the fun on Instagram or these platforms that people look at every day now. Sure, you know, you paint a huge wall, it’s cool but you’re really just seeing it on a small little phone. It can be an impressive photo but it’s not what it is. Video can be a little more fun because it’s more interactive on the device.
I realized just how people are viewing this stuff and that that’s why it doesn’t always matter if you leave a painting or not or whatever. It can just be the actions of you. Just going through the motions. At least with me, I’m making up my own motions but it’s still, it ties on that idea of you climbed up that thing to put a tag, you know?
I read in an interview that you moved from Canada and that you waited to move until after the Bush administration because of the politics going on at the time. I guess I’m wondering, we had these eight years with President Obama and now we’re moving into a new administration, how are you feeling about that and how do you think that’s going to affect your art?
Yeah, unfortunately I guess. I sort of like to stay out of that stuff but I have a real talent for being able to stick it to people. I’m good at slogans and coming up with stuff. I just feel like I sort of have to. Coming up, me and a couple of my friends who are also artists, we’re collaborating on some protests here of the inauguration. So basically where we’re setting up some installations and stuff to take place during the protest.
It’s awesome that everybody goes out there and does it but when you have artists who really understand how to communicate with people, who’ve been doing it for so long — when you join in something like that, you just make it stronger. We’re going to just make tons of signs, hand them out. We’ve got interventions that are going to happen.
There’s always been so many problems in the country with politics and with the ruling class who are ruling over everybody else. But definitely now it’s sort of so in your face that it’s like we have to, I feel like in some ways you have to sort of draw a line in the sand. For now, I think definitely I have some ideas other than after this protest, what we’re going to do together. I want to continue. I think people have to get more engaged because if we just continue down this path, it’s just not going to be good.
Do you have some examples of some slogans that you’re going to be handing out?
Oh for sure. This one’s one of my favorites. “Greed Trumps Democracy.” Also “Political Theater Just Got Real.” What else? “This Is What Happens When You Binge Watch Netflix.” I’ve got tons more too. They’re all similar scrawl. Sometimes what I’ll do is I’ll write 15 of the same variation then choose the best one.
We’ll have a bunch. Then we’re going to do some bigger stuff. Got all kinds of ideas. I mean, it’s really just timing. We sort of just came up with it really last minute. It would be better if it was something that we would’ve in advance tried to organize actually with the actual organizations.
It’s hard. I feel like in a lot of ways we’re, not burying our heads in the sand per se, but like, I’m going to one of the protests in LA and it’s like it came up so suddenly. I think a lot of us were like, “Oh, it’s not happening.” Then all of a sudden it was like, oh, I’ve got to figure this out.
Yeah, I think so. I’m trying to, not shame people because that never works, but at least I let them understand that the indifference, the feeling of “I can’t do anything.” It’s not really true. There’s this idea that we can’t criticize our country because it’s unpatriotic. That kind of idea. It’s so archaic. It couldn’t involve any free thinking. It’s just not a good … I think the way we’re trying to polarize each other now just doesn’t make sense and that’s what’s happening. You have people who are drinking the Kool-Aid and then people who aren’t. Really, there’s just so much distraction. Everything is made that way. It’s a really simple thing but it’s really hard for most people to get their head around it because they’re so involved in their actual lives and all the things and all the drama and stresses and whatever that we create for ourselves.
When you’re so involved in what you wear and what you do and all this kind of stuff, you forget about the things that actually matter which are the people around you and the people who have less than you.
What’s funny is that we have a country that’s based around God but then we don’t even want to give money to people who are less fortunate than us. Or help them in some way. It just seems so obvious to me that that’s the direction we should move. I think most people feel it deep down, it’s just they haven’t told themselves the truth. They’ve just been caught up with … even the election itself catches people at the end. It’s just a distraction. Many distractions. Sorry, we’ve been talking about this forever.
It’s on everybody’s mind! Other than the election, what social issues affect your art and what’s inspiring you right now?
Definitely the election, because it’s unstoppable, but other than that I think just really sort of looking at other artists and really getting into the medium of video. I just saw this interactive experience where Cate Blanchette plays several different characters and in those characters, one’s like a homeless man, one’s like a conservative mother, one’s a puppeteer, one’s a scientists, blah, blah, blah. Each one, she’s reciting manifestos from different artists and philosophers. They’re all about eight minutes and they all play simultaneously. It’s just this amazing experience and she’s a fantastic actress, which helps.
Just the whole thing. It’s just that way that video is just, it’s really capturing. I’ve just been like, I’ve just recently I found myself, going into galleries to see how their stuff worked. Generally I would take a walk and go outside and stay outside and just get inspired from elements that I see or I can play off of objects. I look at an object and I can figure out what I can do with it. Lately I’ve been going to a lot of shows and museums and whatnot and especially with just seeing a lot of great video stuff, just getting super inspired by it.
So a lot of my inspiration lately also is just that, just pulling some semblance between what’s happening on the street and what I’m doing and what’s happening in other spaces. Because inevitably my work, it’s not just in the streets. I think the street is everything and everything is the street. Outside and inside are the same in some ways. Outside is more tangible, with the more unpredictable elements but generally they’re both spaces that have a certain construction that can be played off of.
It’s just nice to see what some of the big budget stuff that is going on and it just helps you as an artist who’s in the beginning or the mid of his career. You want to see who the most successful artists in the world are doing, you know?
Yeah. Of course. If you had to pick a manifesto like you were describing in the Cate Blanchett movie, what would your manifesto be?
I think my manifesto would be about actions. About people taking things into their own hands and just creating stuff. It doesn’t have to be through art. It should be in life. Like for instance, I’ve done some billboards that are huge, like a massive billboard that’s 20 feet by 40 feet or something like that. Totally illegally, just with one other person. It’s just about the planning and then you go out and do it. The way you attack it, it’s really like a dream. You’re just wanting to do it so you figure out a way to do it. I think my manifesto is about telling people in life sometimes, no matter what it is that sometimes you’ve just got to will yourself to go that extra mile or that extra inning. Just do it no matter what the consequences.
Yeah, I think in a lot of ways what you do seems impossible. I mean, doing a giant billboard in the middle of the street completely illegally seems impossible but you do it.
Yeah, exactly. You just find a way and you just use your street smarts and your intelligence to do it right. But inevitably you just got to do it and then whatever happens, happens I think. That’s part of the allure. That would be part of the manifesto. Just trying to inspire anyone, just to really will themselves to do the things that they need to do. So you can feel good about having done that thing that you thought you couldn’t have.
