Friday April 8, Derek Schiller will be displaying his art inspired by Madison at the Project Lodge. The Janesville native has only recently begun his art career, starting off three years ago in Chicago, but now he is looking to keep things rolling independently. I had a chance to ask him some questions about the show and himself before its opening.
The political climate has been volatile to say the least since February, and this was not lost on Derek, when I asked about his political involvement he said ""I've always had a problem with directly sharing my opinion when it comes to politics. However, recently, I feel it's becoming more important to speak out and show where you stand.""
""I had basically just wanted to try something different. I had been working on surreal sketches and portraits for the past few years and wanted to shift to something that was relevant today,"" Schiller said, when I asked why he chose the protests. ""The protesting has made such an impact on the lives of Madison residents, especially the younger generations who are experiencing a grassroots movement for the first time.""
Schiller's sentiments have been echoed across campus, and his art looks to be a good representation of the energy that went into the mass protesting in February and March.
""I'm inspired by most artists,"" Schiller said, when I asked him if there were any specific artists that inspired him. ""It's the process of creating something that is inspiring to me, not the end result of the project. That might be a bad way to evaluate art, I'm not sure.""
I'm pretty sure there isn't a wrong way to evaluate art though, and I think Schiller is on to something with that statement. Art is expression, and expression is important. Even kids need to express themselves, which inspired my next set of questions, ""When you were a kid were you big on coloring? Like, with crayons? How many crayons were in your box?""
Schiller took this question, and the lighthearted end to the interview in stride, responding simply ""I loved coloring with crayons as a kid. I still love coloring with crayons. I have crayons everywhere.""
The show starts at 6:30 p.m. at The Project Lodge (817 E. Johnson St.). Visit the lodge any time between April 1 and 20 to see the artwork.
