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April Interview: Susie Ghahremani of Boygirlparty
Remember IM-based interviews? Here we go again! As promised, here is part one of the two-part interview with Susie of boygirlparty -- musician, illustrator and crafter extraordinaire!
Part two of Susie's interview will be a Q&A in which Susie answers questions from the SamplerSampler Community. If you'd like to ask Susie a question, please post it here.
Hello, Susie. How are you this morning?
whoa, you just turned on the caps. I Am Fine, Thank You. I'm not 100% awake yet, so you're going to have to take that into consideration, in case you try to get me to do a complex math problem or something.
I will take that into consideration, but it will only make me more inclined to give you a complex math problem. A little birdie told me that you are a mathematical genius. true?
not anymore, but once upon a time, i invented math.
are you the whiz behind zero?
yes, and the abacus.
what's your favorite sort of math, smarty pants?
programming "59009" on a calculator and turning it upside down to read "boobs" i actually have a problem with being ok at math, because people have such strong theories on right-minded, left-minded-ness. math is indicative of no creativity?
is it, indeed?
either way. if you're eating a meal with me, hand me the check and i'll figure out the tip in, like, no time at all.
so, mathmaster
ew, don't call me that. it sounds dirty.
so, mathlete
that's ok. at least it reminds me of the 80s, freaks and geeks, an obscure pop band in illinois, etc.
then the name is yours! How has math prepared you for adult life?
math class is definitely where i learned to doodle, so in that way, math has had a tremendous impact on my life. ..and has prepared me by teaching me that most situations in life call for being bored and writing bizarre things in your public school text books.
now you doodle as a full time job!
it's true. full time time-waster.
fantastic. except that your wastes of time fill me with an unbelievable urge to buy buy buy, and then make me smile and be happy, which is strange and gross (my smiling and being happy)
does not compute.
you hate me.
aw, that's sweet. i'm glad i help you repulse yourself.
could you be considered an artist if you did anything less?
it's really almost more of a performance piece. so, when do we get to talk about 90210 like you promised me?
so, susie. did you ever watch this show 90210?
no. you?
no. but, let's talk about it. it was this show in the 90s and all these teenagers were played by 30 year olds
i think it was in the 80s too?
really?
their early hairstyles scream 80s.
but their big dresses with boots say 90s to me
ah, good call. i forgot about donna's ever present baby doll dresses.
indeed
ew, how did she end up with david silver anyway? they were the couple that got together because they couldn't possibly imagine anyone else giving them a shot.
ha! I have no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds juicy!
really? i actually did watch 90210, i have fond memories of the drama that ensued. i love awful tv.
you lied to me, susie. I ... don't know...how... to feel... just now
again, loving awful tv somehow means you're a bad person. the combination of loving awful tv and being good at math means i don't belong in the creative world DEFINITELY. or, does the combo cancel itself out? a double negative, to use a math term.
you are making me think so hard for so early in the morning
ew, i just annoyed myself
HA! now we must talk about susie and talk about how susie is so susie.
pick one: cat or dog?
cat
lemon or lime?
lime
sugar or flour
sugar
rain or shine?
rain
mess or fuss?
mess
susie, given that the show 90210 represented teenagers going through the trials and tribulations of teenage life, but utilized adult actors who had long since past those trials, how does math inform your artwork? also, can you express this in the form of a haiku?
brenda hates kelly / talking shit at the peach pit / kelly hates brenda
I love you, susie
we're in love.
our wedding will have TV playing in the background and we will wear baby doll dresses and cowboy boots
is the reverend shannen doherty in the house?
nuh-uh, susie, hiz-ouse. ...my hair will be taller than the tallest tree
i will climb that tree and build a treehouse and live there.
speaking of trees, you paint things and I like them
thanks, dude.
why must you paint so many things that I like? also, why is gouache so hard to work with? gouache said to me: never touch me again, marie. or else
gouache? i love gouache. everyone has a paint that works right for them, and they get a feel for it. gouache is my paint. gouache told me it thinks you're a bitch.
gouache can bite my ass, then
that said, if anyone out there has gouache they don't want, please send it to me: susie ghahremani, 77 knowles st., providence, RI 02906. it's expensive, and i am poor.
susie, you have a very distinct and easily recognizable style of illustration and painting... Now I'm going somewhere with this.. I am a bit of a weirdo: sometimes I imagine that when susie closes her eyes everything appears just like in your illustrations. please tell me this is so
when i close my eyes, i go to sleep. sometimes when i'm sleeping, i'll imagine a combination of images that when i wake up, i know i have to make. this was the case when i started the owl paintings back in 2003. i still see owls when i sleep sometimes.
please tell me that when you go to the mall, and of course you go to the mall, people look like they do in your illustrations. this would fill me with great joy.
when i go to the mall, people look like donna and david
that show has forever tainted you
tell me about it.
have the owls ever talked to you, susie? it's okay, you can tell me.
no, but soon they will.
will you be the bird lady? will the birds perch on you at all times? like, at the grocery store
dude, i am like the animal lady. animals love me. once, a wild bird landed in my hand and perched there for hours.
lies
i have photos. want to see?
YES!!!
why are you so magical?! I want to be all magical with the animals. maybe they are afraid tho, because they know I might eat them. let's talk about how rad you are
do we have to?
susie. you are rad. you make pretty songs that make me tap my toes and paintings that make me want to snap my fingers in appreciation.
wow, i would love if my paintings were received that way.
when will you become an out-there performance artist with painting done to music for all to see? also, will you do an interpretive dance?
oh! i'm totally going to do that...never
zing!
100% of my life is based around being a happy hermit.
susie, you are painting smaller things lately...smaller and smaller: tags, buttons
yes. they've been very small lately.
how small is too small? also, can you write my name on a grain of rice? and since when is that a marketable trade?
i attribute it to my persian heritage. i totally had my name on a grain of rice when i was like 8.
what does it signify exactly? that I am small and inconsequential?
it signifies how life is like a bowl of rice.
hot and steamy? white and homogenous?
exactly. all of those things.
ahhh. you are so wise
susie, you are persian and that is foxy. what is the best thing about being persian?
the food.
what is the most common misperception about your culture?
i'm really more american culturally, but i would say a misconception of persians is that they're all muslim, or terrorists, or whatever. i get mega-searched at the airport every time.
why are your cats so uppity?
persian cats are weird. i don't know what the deal is with them.
pick one: painting or making music?
if i could pick one, then my life wouldn't be so confused, would it?
do you think your paintings are happy or sad or neither?
both, i think. sometimes there is a lonely element to them, but generally the paintings are fondly nostalgic for something.
do you feel as though if people were to look closely at your work, they would be able to learn about your life?
i don't think so, my life is a pretty open not-related-to-my-paintings kind of book. my songs are all about my life, though. it's like my diary in sound. i could never imagine writing a 100% fictional song.
do you have any qualms about sharing yourself with strangers?
recently, yes.
what is the hardest part of having a somewhat public life and certainly a public business?
i see some stylistic elements of my work popping up in other
places sometimes and it feels like someone has stolen something very
personal/private from me. usually i love having a public or interactive
creative process, because of the dialogues it creates. there are other
draw backs, sometimes lack of privacy, that have made it unfun at times.
overall, i really love all the people who support my work, i think they're
generally extraordinary and awesome and i feel lucky to have them around
me.
we're lucky to have you! and on that cheezy note, I think your interview will end.
