An Interview with Jeff Kilpatrick aka "Kingdom"

By Lauri Apple in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 1, 2008 8:40PM

Artist, musician, fashion designer, and documentarian -- Jeff Kilpatrick has been all of the above during his 20-year-plus artistic career, and in speaking to him one gets the sense that he's not going to stop experimenting with different artistic formats anytime soon. Tonight Kilpatrick has a piece in "The Open Door Theory," an exhibit at 54b Studio that features works by 37 artists. Kilpatrick and the others have painted doors that will be used in a labyrinth. This is 54b's grand opening, so don't miss it.

6 p.m. - 11 p.m., 2128 S. Halsted

Chicagoist: You started as a tagger/graffiti artist in the mid-1980s. Looking back, what about that era stays with you and influences your art today?

Jeff Kilpatrick: Back in 1984, some friends and I were taking the Diversey bus to Brickyard shopping mall to go pick up girls, and we witnessed [tagger] Rip 66 bomb the inside of our bus in broad daylight. It blew our minds at the style of his tag and at how brazen he was. The bus wasn't packed, but there were people on it. We followed him off the bus, asked what kind of marker that was. He was very cool and told us where we could buy one. Next day we all had Magnum markers and we bombed some unfortunate person’s garage. What I took away from this event was: Do your art, and damn the consequences.

C: What do you think is different about tagging/graffiti today, compared to when you were starting out?

JK: What I think is different is that then you were happy just to meet another tagger. There was camaraderie because there were so few of us. In the 90s, the number of graffiti crews increased exponentially and they became more like gangs -- very provincial with turf war rivalries, like North Side against South Side. Nowadays, I hear a lot of people talking about what is and isn't graffiti. Everyone has this litany of rules. And I don't think graffiti should have rules.

Luckily, with the advent of street art becoming more mainstream and the popularity of artists like Shepard Fairey and Banksy, other forms of expression like stencils and wheat-pasting are becoming more acceptable.

C: In these chaotic political and economic times, do you find current events influencing your creativity?

JK: Well, I try to steer away from making any kind of socio/political statements in my art - at least consciously. Although tempting, I believe it can date your work.

C: As a teen, you were involved in the Keith Haring mural project. Tell us about that project, and your thoughts about it now.

JK: In high school, around 1986, my best friend and fellow graffiti artist Erik DeBat -- aka Risk -- bought a book called Art After Midnight: The East Village Scene by Steven Hager. It chronicled CBGB's punk scene, artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf and Keith Haring. This book had a huge impact on both of us. Because Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat both started as graffiti artists who branched out to the galleries, it opened up our eyes to new possibilities. We'd spend hours reading and re-reading it. And then to be picked to participate in the mural project with our hero Keith Haring was unbelievable.

The project was held in Grant Park in 1989. A huge wall was constructed of wood, masonite and painted white. He drew his characters on the wall in black paint and then let hundreds of Chicago public high school students paint inside the lines. It was a blast, and he was so nice, generous and accessible -- not at all what you'd think an internationally famous artist would be like. I mean, it was like painting with our generation’s Picasso. It also taught me to lose the attitude. The bigger the attitude, the less the talent. One year later, he died of AIDS.

It's a shame the city doesn't host more events of this magnitude because I'm sure it was an extremely positive moment in a lot of kids’ lives. I know it was in mine.

C: In addition to art you've also done music and film. One of your projects is a documentary on Wesley Willis. How did you come to meet Wesley, and decide to make the video? What did you want to say with it?

JK: Around 1992, Wesley had made Genesis Art Supply over on Western Ave. his main base for hawking his drawings. My friends worked there and were like, "you gotta see this dude’s art! He's schizophrenic, weighs like 300 lbs, and just sits in the store all day and makes these cool line drawings."

So a couple of weeks go by, and I finally get a chance to meet the man. Upon first meeting Wesley, I was a bit stupefied. I mean, when you meet him, he's very in-your-face. And the next thing you notice, after that first head bump, is that his reality has just become your reality. That in itself is a pretty amazing gift. Then you see his art. So simple, it's brilliant. Immediately, I was like, ‘this guy may be insane, but watch out, cuz he's fuckin' intelligent.’
His style was so unique, I was jealous. But you really had to admire how he could manipulate a situation. If he was just a little less crazy, he could have been the world's greatest salesman.
Well, I needed to find out more about this guy. So I made him the subject of my final project for a video class at Columbia College. The next couple of months I'm on him like glue. I went everywhere with him. Met his roommate, his band and his insane amount of friends. He didn't mind because now he had his own personal valet driver. And little by little he opened up. I even got him to show me all the places he lived when he was growing up.

C: You recently posted the documentary to YouTube. What do you hope viewers will come away with? What does that video mean to you now?

JK: After all that is said and done, I just wanted to make a documentary that answered all of my questions regarding this enigma Wesley Willis. I believed that this man was a true Chicago original who needed to be documented for future generations. I really felt against the clock to get that time and place right, because I didn't know how long he'd be around. He may have been lucid most of the time but there were days where you could see the struggle was getting to him. Long stays in the hospital were common. And watching it now, I'm surprised at how accurately I captured the feel of those years.

C: For a while, you did a clothing line but got "bored," as you once put it. What about the industry turned you off? Do you think you'll ever pursue another fashion project?

JK: It takes along time to make a clothing line -- too long. Everyone knows that now because of Project Runway, but back in 1995 I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And when NAFTA hit, it was apparent from the beginning that running a clothing line from the Midwest was going to be next-to-impossible. And also, that industry is pretty much filled with snakes and liars and is no place for an honest man to make a living. Periodically, I do get tempted to maybe do something again, but thankfully that passes.

C: What's been inspiring you lately? What themes or concepts have been on your mind?

JK: I've been netflixing a lot of British cinema from the 1950s. Two of the best are The Third Man and The Small Back Room; I could take any still shot from either of those two movies and turn it into an awesome painting. They're black and white and all the lighting is very expressionist.

As for books, I just read Louis-Ferdinand Celine's Journey to the End of the Night. I actually stole a quote from this book to put on my piece that's in the "Open Door" show. God, there's a million great quotes in this book. It's no wonder that Hunter S. Thompson ripped off Celine's schtick.

Lastly, It's Alway's Sunny In Philadelphia, Season Three, kicks ass.

C: What will your piece for the upcoming exhibit be like?

JK: My piece for the "Open Door" show is gonna be sexy. I've been working on it in my buddy Erik DeBat's garage for the last week. As for painting on canvas or other materials, it always comes down to what can I afford.

C: Do you prefer to paint outside or inside?

JK:When using spray paint I always prefer working outside. Especially, when painting with Montana spray paint, because the fumes from that stuff fucks you up more than any other paint. Even more than Rustoleum's industrial grade paint. I probably have permanent brain and nervous system damage, but I guess ya gotta pay your dues.

C: What's coming up for you, besides the Nov. 1 show?

JK: I've got a couple of commission pieces I got to get working on. I'm painting my William S. Burroughs stencil on an old antique table that will be mounted on a wall for a client. And after that I've got to do a portrait of a client's dog.

"Safe", a portrait of William S. Burroughs pictured above, by Jeff Kilpatrick