Every week, The State Press Magazine features an artist by interviewing him or her, explaining his or her craft and challenging that person to spontaneously create. The artist, who can be an actor, painter, sculptor, dancer or musician, will be given a goody bag of random materials and asked to make something out of them or use them in a creative way. This week's materials include old photos, nail polish, a bike pedal and gold stars. Read how Tempe resident Sterling Bartlett braves this installment of "Create this."
Sterling Bartlett is a neat freak -- at least when it comes to his art.
Although the 23-year-old Tempe resident looks every bit the part of a wild artist with his shaggy red hair, thick-rimmed glasses and an overall relaxed demeanor, he paints in rubber gloves.
"Making a mess is a natural extension of being an artist, but I paint with rubber gloves on," he says. "I can't have shit on the floor in order for me to work."
As he rummages through SPM's goody bag of art materials, Bartlett looks perplexed by the odd mixture of items. He raises an eyebrow as he exhumes a tampon from the treasure trove. In the relaxed afternoon glow of Flip Flops, evidence of his obsession with cleanliness is apparent as he organizes each item on the table before he starts creating. He leaves nothing in the bag.
"The thing about my art is I am just ridiculously anal," he says.
Satisfied with a glossy 8-by-10 promotional photo of the band Unwritten Law, he smoothes out the picture and runs a few stripes of deodorant down the right side of it. Attaching blank paper and covering the musicians' faces in blue permanent marker, Bartlett scans quickly and intensely at the remaining items, pulling a few sparkly glue pens from their place on the table.
Although his art began by drawing "Jesus Fish" as a kid in San Angelo, Texas, these are clearly not the items to which Bartlett is accustomed. His list is more specific.
"I will not paint without a belt sander," he says. "Definitely a belt sander."
Although it is hard not to laugh at the immediate image of belt-sander-on-canvas, he is completely serious. "It gives you the ability to fix what other things cannot," he says.
Bartlett has been painting seriously since 2000. His work is predominately gallery and fine art, though he has recently begun experimenting with graphic design editorial illustrations.
"I am really inspired by storefronts right now, displays within displays and creating products that give no benefit to the consumer," he says, using his Red Stripe beer as a part of the piece. "It's the idea of consumerism without reward."
Currently, Bartlett is working on a series of 3D wall sculptures to express the "empty happiness" of material items. The boxes are made of Plexiglass and are partially painted, with half left unpainted to expose items such as Fruit Loops and children's alphabet toys.
But don't let the art fool you; he likes his stuff, too.
"It's about a love-hate relationship with consumerism," he says. "But I like to purchase things."
More important than the message of his current project, he says, is that art shouldn't always have an underlying commentary.
"Art should rarely have a message," he says. "Art should be whatever the fuck you want it to be."
By now, the unseasonably warm weather has caused Bartlett to shed his green sweater for his much cooler white undershirt. He throws a gold beaded chain around his neck and continues creating, running nail polish on the side of the paper and adding texture to the piece.
"That didn't really work out the way I wanted it to," he mumbles, looking anxious as he often is when working on more serious projects, some of which have been shown at galleries around the Valley, including Wet Paint Art Supply and Gallery, Holgas, Three Car Pile Up and Monarchy. His graphic design pieces have been featured in Shade Magazine, and he is currently working on designs for Modest Proposal, another magazine.
Next month, Bartlett's paintings will be shown at Spindle Design Company in San Francisco. Some of his work is currently posted online at www.artish.org, a locally run forum for artists to display their work.
"I like my imagery to be really accessible to people, like a product," he says.
As he finishes the product before him, he leaves the ultimate mark by making himself a part of his work. He writes, "I AM A M...ONSTER" on his white undershirt. With that finishing touch, he puts down the blue permanent marker, breathes a quick sigh of relief and takes a rewarding sip of Red Stripe.
Keeping with his philosophy that art doesn't need to say anything, he has little to say about his finished product and more about the process.
"There is no social commentary, I just created a little."
Reach the reporter at jenna.eckenrode@asu.edu.
