James Jessop
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Art Star No.33. CAPTAIN KONG, 2010. Oil and acrylic on denim.
Inspired by the seminal urban art book Subway Art, James Jessop started his career as a pre-teen graffiti artist, before going on to gain an MA from the Royal College of Art and exhibit as part of Charles Saatchi’s famous 2004 show, New Blood. Bringing the letter forms and backgrounds of the 1980s New York subway to expertly painted canvas, Jessop adds portrayals of old film posters and dirty novels from the 1960s, creating something that is entirely unique.
Questions & Answers
- " What kind of art do you make?"
In the studio I paint large oil paintings, inspired by crazy, spoof-horror B-movie posters, 60s sex/sleaze pulp fiction, the last 500 years of art history in painting, and 1980s New York subway graffiti. On the streets I am an artistic vandal, a prolific tagger; I’ve been hitting up my throw up symbol everywhere I go in London for more than ten years now. I am half the city. It’s a big city.
- " Where can I see it?"
The website for the gallery who represent me in Copenhagen is www.tomchristoffersen.dk. I just had a solo show, 'Beauty and the Beast', at High Roller Society, East London, until April 24 2010 (www.highrollersociety.co.uk). And also on North/East London streets; I always stay up!
- " How do you feel about Polo Jeans Co.'s ART STARS project?"
Really excited. I am loving painting on a star-shaped composition for the first time, and on denim instead of canvas. I’m painting on it every day at the moment, it’s a buzz.
- " Describe your finished ART STAR in a sentence?"
American Graffiti.
- " What did you think when it first arrived at your studio?"
Phatness, I’m ready to rock this denim beauty.
- "You were asked to use the Stars and Stripes for inspiration. How did you incorporate it into your star?"
The theme of Americana and Stars and Stripes all lent itself very naturally to what I normally do. I sampled imagery from Captain America for the first time, which has been inspiring: I’m rocking a funky Captain America graffiti piece in stars and stripes.
- " What else inspired you?"
Laying out and composing on a star instead of a rectangle was very refreshing, I used the angles of the star to lay the lettering and characters into the shape. Also, my love of King Kong film posters inspired me very much.
- " How did you find working with denim?"
I love it, it’s like back in the 1980s in New York, when the Subway writers did graffiti-style work directly onto jeans and denim jackets. Usually, I have clear raw canvas showing through in my paintings; having raw deep blue denim to work over for the first time is great.
- " What processes did you use to create your piece?"
My usual approach to canvas: sketching out ideas on paper before priming areas of the painting with a clear acrylic sealer. Then I sketch in acrylics, making a cartoon that I finally work over with dense, rich oil paint.
- " What are you most proud of about the result?"
Masicre, a 1990s London tube train graffiti artist, diggin’ my Captain America graffiti piece when he passed through my studio. He is a style master – a legend – so to get some props from him made me proud.
- " Describe your denim style…"
Cartoon painterly American pop funk.
- " Who else's star are you most looking forward to seeing and why?"
I am most looking forward to seeing Delta from Holland’s star because he is a genius. A king and pioneer of European graffiti style.
Profile
- Name: James Jessop
- Location: London, United Kingdom
Latest Video
JAMES JESSOP
Watch James Jessop giving his introduction to tagging and graffiti and explaining his devotion to the book Subway Art in the latest film in the gallery. "Like an urban art Rolf Harris but better."
