Just last week I was fortunate to have a cybersitdown with LA based designer Scott Massey. He’s the main man behind the RRR Project; a collection of recycled art featuring the likes of Mike Perry (co-publisher), Kelly Lynn Jones, Anna Wolf, Deke Smith, Steven Harrington, and many more.
Look around your environment, see what you can save, pick it up, turn it over, and look at it in a different way.
After the jump, find out more about RRR, Point Break, and Scott himself.
Was RRR initiated solely by you?
Yes & definitely No. I had the idea for a while but without the help of a few great people it never would have left my brain. Friends that really helped make it happen were: (in order of appearance) Jonathan Sandridge, Mark Kane, Matt Lindauer, Carlo van de Roer, Charles Adler, Mary Dunlap, and Mike Perry (co–published it with me). Each one helped at different stages from start to finish and I still rely on them today to help make it better.
Did you have a particular realization to start a project with a solid concept? or did it just sneak up on you one day?
I should first probably apologize to all the artists and contributors that I asked to help on the first book and show, I am definitely grateful for all the work that was so generously contributed in such a small amount of time (max 2 weeks, min 4 days before press). Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson.
But again, I’d say it was a combination of the two. I had been thinking about this concept for awhile and definitely wanted to collaborate with other artists on a project like this, but had stored it deep inside my brain in order to fulfill my obligations as a full time designer. One night while talking with Jonathan Sandridge about another zine concept, I mentioned the idea and was surprised when he didn’t laugh at me. After that, we were in full scramble mode.
The list of contributing artists is really impressive. How did it start to unfold? (was there one contact that sparked everyone’s interest or were you just sending ultra successful smoke signals?
I don’t think Jonathan or I expected to have so many great artists involved, we knew the deadline was really tight and in a lot of cases it deterred friends & family from getting involved. The work that was shown in RRR.001 really came from people that wanted to be involved and were able to turn around great work in a small time frame. I don’t think it was the smoke signal, in fact I think the original email was probably a bit confusing or misleading because I wrote it (rambled on). In all honesty, I think we were lucky because creative people today really want to collaborate on great projects and a lot of times this has to happen outside of work. Our jobs don’t always allow us to do this or even use our full creative potential, but what they do provide us with are great circles of people and networks to make these types of projects happen. Rely on your friends & family to spread the word.
It seems that each creative uses programs in their own workflow and the slightest things can become confusing when taking on large collaborative projects. Did you have any issues dealing with so many files?
The main issue with this project was color conversion. The original brief asked for 2 color artwork, but the deadline was so short that we had to accept and react to whatever the artists could provide. For the ezine, it made sense to leave the art as is because we wanted to concentrate more on layout design than production, a link to the free downloadable version of RRR was emailed to friends & family two days after receiving the last file (this document is hidden on oursite). For the book, I wanted to focus more on unity between spreads, artwork, and an overall tone of the piece. Converting 2/3rd’s of the book to 2 color allowed this to happen quiet nicely but it required some time to mess around with the pagination and figure out which pieces could stay CMYK. To insure that 2 color designs stayed true to the artists’ original piece, a lot of time was spent separating files the same way you would for screen printing. I’m by no means a production specialist but it was a great learning experience and a process that I found rewarding (many thanks to Paul D’Elia for some pointers).
Which do you prefer “Point Break” or “Roadhouse”?
Point Break. Just some classic surf scenes and lines in there that will never get old. Surf stoked bank robbers, what could be better.
Would you share a little about your background as an artist/designer?
One of my favorite drawings ever was made in the basement of our old house and probably no longer exists because we moved. I was angry at my mom, so I walked halfway down the stairs, sharpened my pencil and made a deep mark on the bright white wall till my pencil tip was dull. I kept doing that until there was a 3 foot drawing of an angry lady yelling on the wall. When questioned about the drawing, I denied that I drew it and later denied that it was my mom. It couldn’t be erased, I wish I had it now. Drawing for me was always an escape, it was never seen as an opportunity to make a living. It took me a really long time to get past that, but in a sense as a designer I guess it still is in my mindset. I enjoy being a designer, you get to use your brain and hands to work on projects that will effect (or try to effect) others in a positive way. I’ve been lucky to work for a number of great studios in NY & CA, but have always felt like I had to make my own mark outside of work to be happy. I also really like working on projects with like–minded people, collaboration is a great way to work when everyone is on the same level and not fighting. The process can be enjoyable and extremely rewarding even when you have to pay for it yourself, financially.
What’s current and what’s next?
Current, freelancing with my old art director from Roxy, Matt Lindauer, at Rent Control and looking for more great opportunities under the moniker (Nohawk). Next for RRR, a group show in California at the Surf Gallery in Laguna on Saturday, March 13th and a couple more to schedule on both coasts for 2010. In the process of collecting art for RRR.002. If anyone wants to get involved, please check out the RRR site for info or join our flickr group. Feel free to add your artwork and photos because they may end up in the next issue. Future, trying to develop a collaborative project with my old school that focuses on the museum goers experience, questions artwork reproduction / inspiration and copyright infringement. That’s it for now, thanks.
