{"id":11181,"date":"2016-10-05T17:03:58","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T17:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artzealous.com\/?p=11181"},"modified":"2016-10-05T20:27:10","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T20:27:10","slug":"death-taxidermy-with-artist-joseph-grazi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/death-taxidermy-with-artist-joseph-grazi\/","title":{"rendered":"Death + Taxidermy with Artist Joseph Grazi"},"content":{"rendered":"
Brooklyn-born Joseph Grazi is an artist who has a penchant for death and tax..idermy. In his latest show, titled\u00a0Cecil: A Love Story, Grazi<\/span> uses a variety of media including drawing and taxidermy to examine the public moral compass and perceived aesthetic value via the public debate surrounding the Zimbabwean icon Cecil the Lion<\/a>, who was killed last year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Art Zealous caught up with Grazi to discuss his background, lions, and of course taxidermy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Art Zealous: What’s a typical day for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n Joseph Grazi<\/strong>: Every day is its own adventure, but for the most part I wake up in the late morning (I don’t go to bed till 4 or\u00a05 am), have a stare down with my cat, then feed her, then pretty much start chugging coffee and drawing till the days done, and it’s time to go to bed and do it again the next day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ: Coffee or tea?<\/strong><\/p>\n JG:<\/strong> Coffee. All day long. Although if it’s a dinner I prefer tea.\u00a0 My family is big on tea.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:\u00a0Drink of choice?<\/strong><\/p>\n JG:<\/strong> I’m powered by NYC tap water but when I can I like to chug down a cold Sunkist soda in a can (it’s not the same from a plastic bottle). They’re my secret to getting through an NYC summer. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:\u00a0If you were an animal, what would you be?<\/strong><\/p>\n JG:<\/strong> I’d love to be reincarnated one day as a rich person’s house cat. I can’t think of a better an easier life then non-stop food and endless couches fifty times your size.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:\u00a0Tell us about your background in art and what led you here?<\/strong><\/p>\n JG:<\/strong> I grew up drawing constantly. I struggled a lot as a child and drawing seemed to keep me sane and more importantly occupied and out of trouble.\u00a0 The more I drew, the better I got and I kind of just kept going. I never planned or decided to become a career artist, it kind of just happened and seemed like the natural progression for who I was and who I was supposed to be. \u00a0 Oh, and Batman. Specifically, the 90s animated : “Batman the Animated Series.” That show was everything to me growing up and induced both my obsession with bats and the darker side of life and my love for art and drawing. I even studied animation at the School of Visual Arts because of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n AZ:\u00a0You tend use taxidermic animals, can you explain that technical process? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n JG<\/strong>: The bats are very delicate and getting good at mounting them takes a great deal of trial and error. The butterflies are even more delicate and need to be rehydrated and spread before they can be mounted.\u00a0 Both processes are extremely time consuming, but if you rush the process you’re going to damage things. I value each bat and butterfly in a quasi-religious way. I know they were once alive and I try and be as respectful to their bodies as possible. So if one breaks or tears during the process and can no longer be used in the art it definitely weighs on me emotionally. I bury all taxidermy that can’t be used in my work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n