Shawn Smith is a Texas based sculptor who represents pixilated animals and objects of nature through his sculptures. He received his MFA in Sculpture from the California College of Arts in San Francisco in 2005. He has also received Clare Hart DeGolyer grant from the Dallas Museum of Art. His work has been exhibited through out the United States that includes some top of the art museums and art centers.

"My work investigates the slippery intersection between the digital world and reality. For the past few years, I have been creating a series of "Re-things". I build my "Re-Things" pixel by pixel to understand how each pixel plays a crucial role in the identity of an object", shares the artist on his website.

We contacted him for a small interview and he has been very kind to spare some time for us. Catch his interview below:

Shawn, please introduce yourself to E-junkies.

I am a sculptor living in Austin, Texas. I make sculptures out of wood, plastics, and metal of volumetrically pixilated objects of nature. I have been making this work since 2003. I am very interested in the abstraction and alterations these forms undergo through being translated into little bits of information.

What materials do you use to create such masterpieces?

I primarily use wood but,I sometimes use plastics and stainless steel. For the color, I use layers of acrylic paint, ink, spray paints, and varnish.

By what process do your sculptures go through? Is there any uniform one?

My process is a very important element part of the sculpture's identity. I start each project by doing a series of drawings to figure out scale, proportions, and elevations-similar to architectural/engineering schematics. After planning, I select my material and mill it down to my desired sizes. Next, I spend some time sorting the sizes into like piles by size. At this point, I start to hand dye the individual pieces according to what I am trying to make.I build my objects pixel by pixel. I really enjoy the labor and duration of focus.

When did you realise that you're an artist? When and what was your first creation?

When I was young, I wanted to be either an astronaut, scientist, or and architect. I enjoyed trying to solve defined tasks and have always been quite curious as to how things work. I first realized I wanted to be an artist when a neighbor and family friend (a painter) encouraged me to set up my own tasks and to solve them in my own way and with as many answers as possible. She illustrated to me that an artist can invent their own questions and come up with interesting answers.

My first creation was probably making large detailed cities of dirt as a child (6 or 7 years old). I would recreate buildings, factories, airports, cemeteries, roads, etc. out of wet mud and let them bake in the hot Texas sun. When the infrastructure was completed, I would build the inner workings of each building. They were almost like mud dioramas.

Each of your creation is a treat to one's eyes. What influences your artwork? Is there an particular subject you like to work on?

I have a wide range of things I look to for influence. When I am conceptually planning a piece, I tend to create a "soupy" equation" to work with. I say "soupy" because some of the ingredients may or may not be related to one another. In the end, the smaller ingredients make up a collective flavor.

As for what those ingredients have been as of late, I will tell you in a list: Neutron star gravity, parasites, viruses, predator/prey relationships, The Twilight Zone, root structures, swarms, birds, the writings of Carl Zimmer, insects, nature as a whole, cooking, video games, candy, and decay.

I loved your 'Peafile' and 'Rekindling' works. I am keen to learn more about them.

Peafile was one of the first attempts at making a slightly larger pixilated work. I also incorporated holes, for the first time, to try and give the plumage more of a lacey quality. I was drawn to the peacock as a subject simply because the male of the species is so full of adornment vs. the female. I read a lot of about the different biological and reproductive ideas at play here and wanted to play with them using a digital bird.

Rekindling

Tell us about your 'Swarm' project. How is it done?

Swarm was a bit of a departure from the pixel works. I am part of SculptCAD Rapid Artists in Dallas. SculptCAD is a group of artists using rapid prototyping techniques to create art.In my current work, I use small pieces to create larger objects of nature but with Swarm, I used small objects of natureto create a larger object. For the process,I built small flies with digital clay, assembled them with a 3D software, and three dimensionally printed the object in a plastic/nylon material called Duraform. I was really inspired by watching swarms of grackles flying around near my studio. I did some research on Swarm theory to learn more about this very interesting phenomenon.

Which creation by you is closest to your heart and why? 

As for which creation is the closet to my heart that is tough. I would have to say the first pixilated piece I made (a deer head). I say this because it was weeks of trying to figure out the form, wondering if it would work, and the problem solving that seemed to never end. I loved the challenge as well as solving it the way I wanted to.

Share one best compliment you've ever received for your artwork.

The best compliment I have received about my work would have to be “You had alot of fun making this didn’t you? It makes me want to go build something."

Many of our readers would draw inspiration from you. What message do you have for them?

I would say find your own questions, your own answers, and remain curious. Take another look at things you don’t like, that is where the good stuff is.

Shawn, thanks for a wonderful interview. It was a pleasure talking to you. We wish you all the very best!

Check out his website for more awesome sculptures by Shawn.

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