Artist Profile: William Goodman Explores Pop Culture and The Grammy's Approve!

Earlier this year while strolling the New York City art fairs I was introduced to mixed media artist William Goodman by another fellow artist friend, the acclaimed Robert Mars.  We spoke for a while and I heard their possible, upcoming collaborations then quickly sought out Goodman's work.  Being a fan of the how artists portray pop culture, like Mars, I quickly found my favorite (Bowie, of course), and many more then became a fan of his work.  I'm thrilled to do a feature on Goodman highlighting his recent works and a new three-print collaboration with House Of Roulx.

William Goodman

Goodman who resides in Jackson, Mississippi has a pulse on the new contemporary art scene and pop culture icons, including a portrait of Beyonce that was featured a few days ago on the Grammy's Instagram, @thegrammys.

Have a look at his recent works, the print collaboration and insight to what inspires the artist...

When did you first begin perusing art?

I have been a full-time artist since 1999, but I grew up with a family who encouraged my creativity from an early age. My grandmother was a watercolorist who helped me develop some of the abstract qualities of my work. One of my early memories is drawing creatures on my homework pages instead of completing the assignments, and surprisingly my mother encouraged me rather than telling me to stop. She saved a lot of my early drawings and my first art show was at her house. Her friends still proudly tell me that they bought some of my earliest paintings for $25 apiece.

What are your medium(s)?

I’m a mixed media artist. I use acrylic-based products and spray paint. I incorporate photo transfers, collage, and paper into my pieces. I work on canvases and wood panels. I’ve recently begun painting on leather as well. I do a lot of digital design work as the foundation for my paintings. My paintings for House of Roulx began as hand collages that I cut out from vintage Playboy magazines. Then I scanned the collages, manipulated them digitally, and hand-painted them onto wood panels using a light projector.

Who were your favorite or most influential artists?  Who is your favorite or most influential artist(s) of all time?

Rauschenberg, Basquiat, Warhol, Pollack, David Carson, Hannah Hoch, Alessandro Michele, and Nicola Formichetti.

Did you study art is school or college, what is your training, or self-taught?

I did one year of art school at North Carolina School for the Arts. Otherwise, I am self-taught. I’ve also had several mentors along the way and been lucky enough to collaborate with other artists who have taught me new techniques.

From where do you draw inspiration?

Music and movies. Travel, especially to Paris, New York, and Miami. Old towns in the Mississippi Delta. Abandoned buildings. Graffiti artists. My beautiful wife. My creative friends.

Have you always incorporated pop culture?

Yes and no. It’s only been in the past year or two that I have actively begun painting pop culture icons. It’s a fun twist on my mixed-media work that I have really enjoyed. However, I’ve always been deeply inspired by music. I listen to music all day in the studio, mostly rock and hip hop—I keep up with the latest hip hop artists and always have. But then in the car I listen to one of those Top 40 radio stations. With the rise of social media, I’ve become a lot more plugged into the pop culture world. I’m just now getting acquainted with the world of reality television and to be honest I hate it. I sat through an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians just so I would know who they all were before I did a collaboration with Estee Lauder (Kendall Jenner is the face of their brand). I love a good 1980’s throwback as well—1980’s technology was the best. There is a part of me that really misses listening to cassette tapes on my Walkman and making trips to places like Radio Shack and Blockbuster video. Movies have always been a huge part of my life. Growing up, there was a great movie rental place in my hometown called Video Library and they had a deal where you could rent 5 movies for 5 days for 5 dollars. They called it the 5 for 5 for 5 deal. The problem was, I had trouble finding 5 movies in the store that I had not already seen.

Some of my favorites are your pop icons of Bowie and Prince, I believe you said you did a series on musicians who passed?  Can you tell us more about that?  Will you continue this series?

I’ve painted quite a few musicians this year: Beyonce, Taylor Swift, David Bowie, Prince, and Madonna to name a few. I think painting musicians came naturally to me because I’ve always been so influenced by music. When I was young I could watch MTV for hours. This was when MTV actually played music videos. I’m hoping one day MTV will wake the fuck up and do that again.

We are starting to lose some of the great musicians that I grew up with—Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie, Lou Reed—and I feel very inspired to capture their spirit in my artwork. I definitely see musicians being recurring figures in my work.

You did a series on motorcycles, have you done other big commission style bodies of work like this and do you enjoy it?  Will you do more?

Motorcycles are something I’ve incorporated into my work from time to time. I recently did a privately commissioned painting of a motorcycle for a couple that are both are really into that world, and I played around with some designs that incorporated motorcycles.

I have done big commissioned bodies of work for clients before and I always love that experience.

What contributes to your choosing a project or collaboration?
I think that the project chooses the artist. I believe in fate. Nothing happens by chance. What is meant to be will be. Collaboration is an organic thing, and if you are meant to collaborate then it is naturally going to happen. You can't force collaboration. 

Can you tell us about your latest three-print project series with House of Roulx?  Hard to pick a favorite, but I love The Actor. What was the inspiration behind this and each piece?

These paintings for House of Roulx explore themes that reveal a darker side of fame. They are sexy, powerful, trippy noir. Each painting has a seductive element like a circus gone wrong. When I was painting them I was thinking about David Lynch films and the gritty underworld of 1980s cinema. The Actor is about money and power, but also losing yourself in the destructive bends of life. These pieces explore identity and tell stories about characters that we find in ourselves.

The three-print series with House of Roulx

Who and what is House of Roulx:

From the House of Roulx:  "We are a visual arts brand and imprint of parent company JG Autographs. Our focus at Roulx is to work on collaborative, premium, art projects and limited edition print series representing International artists from a multitude of disciplines. We kicked of our operation in early 2015 and have since been adding to our vast array of artists we work with and are proud to call collaborators. As artists ourselves we understand the importance of true collaboration and hope to not only provide artists with the opportunity to reach a larger audience but also hope to serve as a supportive resource."

"We approached William with the idea to put together a collaborative print series after working on a collection with his friend, collaborator and renowned artist Robert Mars. 

You can view the original paintings and prints from that are available now from William as well as all our unique artist offerings at http://www.houseofroulx.com."

What do you want people to understand or take away from your art in general?

I want to create pieces that people can look at over and over again and see something new each time. I am not trying to convey any one particular message; I want leave the viewer with something to think about.

What is / was your MOST FAVORITE piece completed to date?

The piece that I go back to again and again is the mural that I created at the Mississippi Museum of Art. At that point it was the largest mural I had ever worked on. I painted it late at night making it up as I went along. One night two local hip-hop stars named Dirty A and Inner G showed up and asked to film a music video there while I painted in the background. I took their picture and ended up incorporating them into the mural. I had complete freedom to paint whatever I wanted, and it was a glorious experience.

What are your thoughts on social media as an artist?
I think social media is changing the art world. Now it is easier than ever to have your 15 minutes of fame. I love social media and keeping up with my colleagues around the world and connecting with my followers. But, you cannot judge your work based on social media fans. What really matters in the long run is not having a lot of followers, it is about having great art. 

If you could collaborate with one or two other artists – ANYONE in the world for a painting or two, who would they be?  Why?

I absolutely love to collaborate with other artists. I’ve already collaborated with one of my favorite contemporary artists, Robert Mars, who I had dreamed of collaborating with for five or six years. We are now best friends.

I would love to collaborate with Tristan Eaton and Josè Parlà. With each of these amazing individuals, I think our styles would totally mesh together and I could see tremendous energy coming from our work.

As an artist you can see a vision in your mind of how your style would work with someone else’s who you admire, and the process of collaborating is the best part about it: watching the pieces come alive as you create them.

What are your ideal upcoming plans for your art in years to come?  Gallery shows, commissioned projects, enjoy the process and sell?

All of the above. I really enjoy commission projects and I have had the privilege of working for some truly innovative companies already, which I hope to continue doing and expanding in that direction. I would love to collaborate with a fashion and/or clothing line. Gallery shows are always great, and I hope to be a part of a group show next year. I have not been part of a group show in a while, and I really miss that interaction and excitement.

What type of music do u listen to while creating?

See above questions, but this week alone I’ve listened to: Pusha T, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Kills, A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, NIN, M83, Sigur Ros, Silversun Pickups, The Black Angels, The Dead Weather, Fetty Wap, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, The Weekend…I could go. Music is a huge part of my creative process.

If you could have dinner with one or two people, dead or alive who would they be and why?

I loved the television series Breaking Bad. Bryan Cranston is such a talented actor. My wife and I met him briefly in New Orleans a few years ago. I would love to sit down to dinner with him and continue the conversation.

To keep up with Goodman visit @williamgoodmanart on Instagram, his website http://williamgoodmanart.com and House of Roulx @houseoffoulx and www.houseofroulx.com.