As artists, we are always looking to be inspired, to inspire others, and to find exactly what it is about our art that makes us unique. We are forever on the lookout for those around us who seem to embody the creative self-assuredness necessary to stand out from the busy backdrop of this city. Over the summer, Giada and I were lucky enough to cross paths with just such an individual: Bobby Hill, a New York-based visual artist and leader in the self-dubbed Post Street Art movement.
We caught up with Hill one morning in his Ridgewood studio as he prepared for his upcoming show, “BHILLBOARDS”. Walking into his workspace was like walking into an artist’s playground; bright and busy, creativity at its most interesting midpoint, with a splash of chaos thrown in. Here is an artist who creates to the beat of his own drum, making art without any care about whether or not people will like it, buy it, or put it in a gallery. His current goal? Quantity. The “BHILLBOARDS ARTSHOW” would be his biggest feat yet, showcasing over 200 original pieces, as well as one 36-foot long painting composed of eight connecting canvases. He didn’t seem the least bit concerned about the approaching deadline. Rather, he was embracing the challenge and the freedom that it provided to simply create. He explained, “I want to make as much art as possible, so that when I’m not here anymore, people are like, ‘Alright, Bobby, he just got busy, he did his thing, and this is what he has to show for his time being here.’”I found myself wishing that I could do the same with my acting, and I suppose it is my ultimate goal in my work: to just put myself out there in my creative exploration over and over again and be excited by the process and the actual creation, rather than getting so caught up in the “Will they like me?” Unfortunately, it is far too easy to fall victim to this crippling question and, as I’m sure most artists are aware, it is a hard habit to break. Bobby admitted that he often doesn’t have a clear direction in which to travel with his next piece but this never stops him from moving forward. “I don’t know what it’s going to be exactly, but I know it’s going to be something.” It was this unrelenting faith in his work that struck me the most about our conversation because I know from experience how difficult it is to master and it seems to be this immense trust that led to his current state of success. Indeed, he became very passionate as he talked about the importance of having faith in one’s own work and unique ability, asserting that we all need to “create your own lane, so you don’t have to wait for nobody. Create your own stuff and put it out there and whoever is going to see it will see it, and then the doors open up.” Bobby exemplifies the necessary forward motion that we, as artists – regardless of our medium – require. We are our own propelling force, as it is with our own first step that creation begins, and it is by repeatedly trying and failing and trying again that we learn what our “lane” is, the mysterious thing that sets up apart.
What is Bobby’s lane? When talking about his process, one of the specifications was that his pieces couldn’t be too polished or neat. Often, he will even throw paint on his work to “bring it back”, to essentially mess it up just enough to keep it real. Whether our art is acting, painting, or music, we all need to be emboldened to throw paint on our own work, to not be afraid to be messy, because it is the “mess” that makes us interesting.
“Do for self,” Bobby concluded, again highlighting the importance of creating from the heart and making art that you, the artist, believe in. This ties in very nicely to some advice I just revisited from John Patrick Shanley. In the Author’s Note preceding his play The Big Funk, he writes: “Act from the depth of your feeling imagination. Act for celebration, for search, for grieving, for worship, to express that desolate sensation of wandering through the howling wilderness. Don’t worry about Art. Do these things and it will be Art.” As Bobby reiterated and demonstrated, “You should be an artist just to create art, to put it out. Whatever happens after that, happens.”
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Bobby Hill is a New York-based visual artist who has been behind the scenes for years and is now emerging in the mainstream with his current body of work, dubbed Post Street Art. His recent work combines a blend of pop imagery, aspects of street art/ graffiti and abstract expressionist elements that has the pulsating feel of NYC. His “BHILLBOARDS” show debuted for one night only in SOHO on September 11th to great reception and he is now preparing for “The Euro Tour”, the show’s international adventure beginning next June in Milan and concluding mid-August in Russia. You can find out more about this exceptional artist at http://www.resetuniverse.com/.
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