Zander Blom is a contemporary artist renowned for his adventurous abstract pieces which often feature experimental brush-work and mark-making. His work has been shown around the world, including Germany, Italy and the USA; in 2014, he won the third Jean-François Prat Prize for contemporary art in Paris. Born in 1982 in Pretoria, South Africa, he lives in Cape Town.
Q > What role does music play in your life?
A > I’m a fan, a curious novice and occasional hobbyist. Mostly I’m just appreciating music playing in the background while I’m painting, but from time to time the allure of making music draws me in. Then I find myself embarking on projects with other people or just sitting on my own trying to create a compelling composition. There are long stretches where I have no desire for it at all, but there are periods when music offers something creatively that I just can’t get in painting.
Q > Tell us about your most unconventional project (even if it did not materialise).
A > Over the years I’ve been involved in some exciting and fun projects. They all mostly came about because of chance encounters with interesting people. Most recently I’ve been collaborating with the art critic Sean O’Toole.
Sean wanted to meet to talk about music and art. Since Sean’s initial interest in art came via music, and he knew that I had dabbled in music before, he thought we might have an interesting conversation. So he came over to the studio and after long chats we started messing around with instruments and recording equipment. Sean had not made any music before, but it quickly became obvious that he had a wealth of weird and interesting things going on under the surface; I just needed to facilitate a space for that stuff to come out.
Before we knew it we were rolling around on the studio floor in face paint and makeshift costumes shooting ridiculous videos, and spending hours in a little room recording these long free-form improvised music sessions. Sean is the vocalist, of course, and I try to come up with musical forms in the moment that compliment whatever he’s ranting about on any particular day.
Sometimes it’s about art and the art world, sometimes it’s strange surrealistic stories about the South African experience, sometimes it’s just abstract and bizarre nonsense. The project is called The Bad Reviews. We’ve got a record out, some videos online, some art objects like hand-painted stage banners and drawings, and we’re busy working on a second album.
Q > Which things would you like to include more in your life / and less of?
A > I have a happy balance going on at the moment. My life is pretty much 85% studio time and 15% other stuff. It used to be more like 99 to 1. I recently woke up to the fact that I’m turning 37 and need to start doing some exercise, experience sunshine, and breathe fresh air from time to time if I want to be alive for a little while longer.
Q > What patterns, routines or rituals define or help to shape your life and its rhythms?
A > I mix paints, test materials, watch interviews with artists on YouTube, watch tutorials on painting techniques, exercise, make endless lists of things to do, listen to music, tinker with instruments, read artist biographies, work on paintings, listen to audio books, lectures and podcasts, drink loads of coffee, work on paintings, organise my archives and data, order canvas, visit art supply stores, order groceries, work on paintings, pay monthly bills, go for a hike, read the news, organise the studio, go jogging, work on paintings, go out for dinner or drinks, nap on the couch, check my email, look at other peoples work online, eat a snack, take out the trash, work on paintings, etc.
Nothing crazy, just doing my work, living life, and trying to keep things simple.
Q > What are you most ashamed of?
A > Not spending more time with my family.
Q > Sharing, connecting, posting. In a world of social media, does privacy matter to you? And if so, how do you protect it?
A > I’m not on any social media personally. With something like The Bad Reviews project there is an Instagram account but that’s Sean’s baby. I’ve never had a Facebook or Instagram account myself. I’m not against it per se, I just haven’t really needed to use it. I started working as an artist very early in my life, before social media became so necessary. By the time everybody started posting on Instagram and other platforms, to connect and promote themselves, I already had visibility through the galleries I work with. So I’m lucky in that I get to have a pretty quiet and private life as an artist. For the kind of artist I want to be, that suits me.
But if I had to start over from scratch today I would probably have to jump in. Or if I came up with some fun idea/project or approach that would work in that context I wouldn’t mind giving up some of my privacy. Although there is this nagging fear that I would end up spending so much time curating my digital self that I would neglect my real work. Right now, I can’t think of any reason to be on Twitter or Facebook, and it seems a bit silly to open an Instagram account to post pictures of the studio everyday. A big part of being in the studio for me is about being alone. I don’t know if I’ll continue to be a happy artist if I invite the world in to participate in my life in real time.
Q > The hardest thing you’ve ever done?
A > I don’t know. Life is full of hard stuff, but no one thing stands out above the rest. I’m generally suspicious of the stories I tell myself about my own past. And I don’t tend to hold on to or focus on the difficult stuff. It’s not like I’m super zen or anything.
My short term memory and ability to concentrate is quite terrible. So I’m always reframing things in a hazy and somewhat forgiving/disconnected way. This seems weirdly helpful when it comes to letting go of the past and living in the present.
Q > What rule do you break most often?
A > Don’t really have rules that get broken. Mostly I tend to work too much, lock myself up in the studio for too long, neglect friends and family, neglect my health, and forget how to communicate with other people. But I usually snap out of it reasonably quickly. Thankfully, my partner pulls me back to the world when I get a bit lost.
