GAYLETTER

Before I spoke to Ted Sterchi, the artist behind Grindr Illustrated, I didn’t know what to make of his illustrations. Honestly I didn’t even know if he was an actual he, since, as we all know, there are some freaky girls out there. From one perspective the artist presents these quaint paintings—of Grindr profile pictures from the notorious gay app—as if they were created to appear on greeting cards at a cutesy book store in the West Village. In another sense however, they’re almost a comical and voyeuristic view of one man’s sexual escapades via the infamous app. Either way, I wasn’t prepared for a conversation with a good natured, self-proclaimed “lapsed romantic” American ginger, living and working in London.

Born in upstate New York, Ted Sterchi studied new media design at Rochester Institute of Technology. He then made his way to London to pursue a relationship with an Australian man. Although they’re no longer together, Ted remains abroad. When I ask about the origins of the project, Ted tells me that he’s always gone back and forth with Grindr. He told me that he and his boyfriend were both on Grindr while they were together, “just to see who was around.” Single Ted now uses the app for more or less what it was intended for.

“I had this unofficial new years resolution just to be more creative” Ted tells me over Skype one evening. “I felt like I wasn’t really inspired last year, I wasn’t doing much creatively.”  …

I spoke with Connecticut-born artist Sam McKinniss about everything from iPhones in bed, to Sade, to existential rave moments, to dish soap. His work is featured in the 2013 MFA Thesis Exhibition at NYU’s 80WSE gallery which runs until April 13.

Sam where are you from? How did you end up in New York? I’m from Connecticut. That’s where I grew up. I moved to New York a little bit ago to get my MFA at NYU. Before that I was living in Boston and around New England. But I came here to go to school and also because it’s probably just time that I live here.

What is your favorite New England town? Provincetown.

When did you start making art? Most kids make art but I thought that it was a good idea to keep doing it in high school. I’ve tried working, I’ve tried having a job. I’ve been painting seriously for a few years now. I think I was always making art as a kid and then I grew up and there’s not really much you can do and still keep yourself from boredom, keep yourself from going nuts and being swallowed into some kind of day job paradigm. That’s just not really my style. I think my priority is to stay fresh, stay inspired, stay relevant, stay in touch with things. Painting is the way that I think about pictures. I think that’s always been my style really, just looking at pictures intensely. Being intense. …

I mean honestly, how can you resist a show called ‘Hooray for Gay’? It’s an extraordinary exhibition of pre-Stonewall gay and gay-themed imagery from the collection of Harry Weintraub. We attended the opening, a very “buttoned up” affair (which makes sense considering it’s presented in conjunction with Cornell University Library, who is also celebrating the 25th anniversary of it’s Human Sexuality Collection). All the alumni that came were wearing very impressive looking name tags with the year they graduated on them. They served a delicious prosecco, and of all things, fresh cream puffs…a nice touch—we shared one.

Abi and I chatted briefly with Harry the collector, a jolly, 50-something man, who has been amassing his collection for over 3 decades (he owns over 20,000 items.) He promised us an interview but we never got one.

“Spanning half a century but focusing on the 1940’s through the 1970’s this collection reveals a world that was still almost entirely subterranean illegal, persecuted, despised.” The photos, magazine covers and artifacts are gorgeous as objects but also function as windows into a world, and a counter culture, that has yet to be fully explored. I say hats off to Harry for championing such a worthwhile cause. His obsessive need to create this collection and leave a trail of imagery that tells the story of our people’s plight to live their lives “…in total defiance of everything that they have been told” is truly inspiring.

B. Bubba. “I’d Rather Fight Than Swish” b/w “I’d Rather Swish Than Fight.”  …

Parker chatted with the Canadian artist about his influences, witches, being a perfectionist and making a living from art.

Hey Kris, how are you? Hey Parker, I am well thanks, and you?

Good thanks. Thanks for doing this for us. So basic stuff first, where are you from? I was born in Windsor, Canada and grew up in a bunch on unromantic small farming towns in the province of Ontario. I moved to Toronto for art school and have been here ever since.

And when did you start making art? And what made you start making art? I have always loved drawing. I’d much rather sit on the floor and draw than play with other kids outside.  When others noticed that I could draw all of my Christmas and birthday presents became art supplies, so in some way I think I was groomed to be an artist.

So going off of that: what Christmas/birthday presents do you remember drawing? And parenthetically, do you have siblings? I think after age 5, all of my presents were art supplies, then as I got older they became more complicated art supplies.  I have to admit that I got sick of the art supplies but I’m thankful for them now. Yes I do have three siblings.

And it would be just too meta to be drawing your own art supplies you received as gifts, right? I have done a lot of boring still lives back in the day, so yes, I probably did a painting of my palette before, at least in art school, but so did everyone. …