Nightlife: Kill Myself on Monday is something in the atmospheric

Kill Myself On Monday

5.21.04

Arts: One man's trash … is this man's art form

Interview by Pam Cowan
Photos by Lisa Carp

Eric "the" Taylor is an artist like no other. What many see as garbage, he sees as building blocks for future projects.

Take, for example, the old laundry detergent jugs he's collected from the side of the road and the recycling plant. Combined with tons of PVC tubing, Taylor, 33, has used them to create his latest outdoor installation, "The Lakeside Swamp," on display in the grassy area behind ARTISANworks, 565 Blossom Road, Suite L.

The Rochester resident admits that many don't understand his work — or him for that matter — but it doesn't bother him.
As long as he can continue producing it, he'll be happy.

Taylor met with insider to talk about what makes him unique.

How did you get started doing this?
Have you always been interested in art?

It's, um, genetic. My grandfather on my father's side was an artist and so I've really, literally, been doing this before I even knew
what it was. … I think back and I remember just constructing large objectives, visually, without knowing as to where it came from or where it was going. I mean, in the basement like when I was
9, 10 years old.

Did you go to school for this?

No.

Where do your ideas come from?
I mean, it seems so easy but conceptually it seems hard.

I have no explanation for that.

What is the most unusual material you've ever used?

It's called Great Stuff. It's this crack filler. … One time I used it to make fake milkshakes in a display case. …
That's just goofy stuff to work with.

What do people say about your work?

I stay away from them 'cause generally it's not that well
understood. Little children love it, but they don't need to
understand it. … The hippies and the alternative freaks really
enjoy the work, but you get into the middle class, you know,
the John Smiths of our community, and it's just not understood;
in fact, oftentimes hated. But that's a strong emotion I enjoy.

How do you feel about someone hating your work?

The point for me is that they're spending a lot of time thinking
about what it is I've achieved. What they pull out of it is definitely what they're going to pull out of it, but to give that sort of strong effort of thought is probably all I need to provoke in them anyway.

What have you achieved?

Visually I'm new. (He's only in his fourth year of publicly
displaying his visual work.) … Most of my achievements are
in music. … I took everything that I learned musically and applied it into a visual aspect. Even this piece ("The Lakeside Swamp" )
comes with a soundtrack of crickets that I built,
having recorded through guitar.

How have your projects been funded?

These are all grant-funded through the state.

So really this is just the beginning.
Would you say you're just scraping the surface here?

Yeah, and already there's interest, publicly. … I'm almost embarrassed when true artists approach me who've got
30 years under their belts and they're like,
well, how did you do this?

Why are you embarrassed about that?

Because I feel like …
I shouldn't be telling a master how work is done.

But maybe they just want to know your technique.

Maybe, but it's like the technique hasn't even really
developed to that degree where I should be telling anybody.
It's embarrassing. It's showing so much of yourself.

Do you not consider yourself a true artist?

I think I have true artist within me.
I think it will take years to achieve it.

What does "the" stand for?

"The" was given to me by my friend, Jim LaPietra,
who used to front the band Empty Grave, a progressive
alternative act that I played drums and keyboard for
back in the day.

Why did he give that title to you?

I'm not really sure. I just began doing some strange things in … recording studios like strange procedures and some musical experimentation and so I needed sort of a lab title.

Some of your other interests?

Basically, this is it. Unfortunately, between running the two
(Abbott's Frozen Custard) stores and having the time
to build these large installations, I don't have that much (time).

(After sharing a few stories with me,
Taylor told me what other media projects he has in the works.)

When I say I'm into visuals right now, I'm into all aspects of it.
I'm into painting, photography, video.

Where can I see this stuff?

A lot of it is here, of course … at ARTISANworks.

Do you feel lucky to have the time to do these projects?

Absolutely. Like, really lucky. And that makes me a better person, actually, which is real nice because as I get to be better and more accepted, it's humbling and it's stripping me of my egotism,
which is real nice.

Eric "the" Taylor

Age: 33

Residence: Rochester

Jobs: Artist, musician and manager of two
Abbott's Frozen Custards
(which his parents own).

Artistic influences: Brian Eno. "He's best known for producing
Talking Heads and U2 records, but he also is very successful in
the visual arts. Specifically, large installations like this. They're
found in airports and so forth around the world."

A popular public installation: The Piano Garden:
Possible Musics Through Environmental Decomposition once
located at Atlantic and University avenues. "I left a piano out
to basically rot in the four seasons." At different points of
decomposition, Taylor says there were "sounds," although not
audible, from the piano. "A lot of my (public) work is deconstructive,
which means it doesn't have a long life." The "sounds" from the
piano were the different stages the instrument
was going through, he says.