Please, introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about you.
My name is Maxime and I am a 25-year-old French art student based in Valenciennes, France. My interests includes a lot of music, especially rock prog music, movies , design stuff, and FC Bayern Munchen Football Team.
Recent, current or future projects you are involved in that you would like to share with us?
Yes, I’m a lot involved in musical artworks projects, lot of new stuff to come.
Right now I work on a big project with a french artist, I can’t say anymore for now, but I can say that I’m really focused on sleeves design, booklet design and it’s really exciting.
Here some artist artwork stuff I made (all french):
https://lonelyband.bandcamp.com
https://beatxchangers.bandcamp.com/album/space-time-body-and-soul http://nowadaysrecords.com/album/reflexxions-series/
What kind of things do influence your work?
I’m really inspiring by music I listen. It’s really important in my work, and I insist, I really invite people to listen the track I notice when you look my pieces, because it means a lot to me.
I’m a fan of 70’s rock prog music, and artworks (hipgnosis) vintage music with most of the time pieces of 15-20 min, sends me in a long ambiance and atmosphere where I found most of my inspiration.
I’m influenced by movies also, especially Stanley Kubrick and Harmony Korine.
How is your normal process of collaging? (idea or commission, where do you get your materials or find your images, which is your cutting technique, best way you have found to paste, where do you work and how, and very important: what do you do with your scraps)
Generally I start working by simply through a book or magazine and watching the images it contains. When something catches my eye I cut it and start thinking of what I could do with it. There is two different ways:
When I make a collage, it’s simple, cut and glue, on my desk at home.
When it’s for a sleeve artwork or booklet design, I worked a lot on Photoshop but only with images I scanned before, or photographs I take.
And of course, listening music.
Wich is your latest discovery in the collage world? What advice can you give to a collage beginner?
My last discovery is a french artist called Jacques Villéglé, awesome work, try to go in this way for booklet stuff.
My advice, listen a lot of music, drink red wine, watch movies, and free your mind.
What do say your friends/family about your collage work? And, what do you do when you are not working on art?
My friends and family love my work, most of them have one of my piece in their home, and I’m really happy, it’s very important to have people, especially friends behind you.
I listen a lot of music when I’m not working on art, drink red wine or beer with friends and composing ambient music.
Here is my band (alone): https://jareva.bandcamp.com
Would you like to ask anything to John Baldessarri? Shoot.
Glass of wine John?
