Easter Bonnet by Joseph Borzotta
Joseph Borzotta has had artist residencies at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin, Montana as well as The David & Julia White Art Colony in Costa Rica. He also owned 2 bar/galleries in NY and Hoboken, NJ. His latest RUN “Easter Bonnet” is available on 1xRUN until January 23rd – January 29th.
In addition to his artwork, Borzotta has had a diverse lifestyle that comes with owning and operating bars in the Tri-State area. Read on for his summaries for his paintings, drawings and what he calls his “Lounge Life.” You can visit his website here.
Available Framed - 10x14 Giclee on 330gsm 100% Archival Cotton
1xRun Thru Interview – Joseph Borzotta – Easter Bonnet
1xRUN: When was Easter Bonnet drawn/created?
Joseph Borzotta: 2011.
1xRUN: With regards to Easter Bonnet is there anything immediate you would like us to highlight first?
Joseph Borzotta: It’s part of an on-going series, and everyone needs to buy one!
1xRUN: Tell us how the idea and execution came about?
Joseph Borzotta: Came from an older piece in which I had a woman with wild hair full of objects, I kept going back to that piece and thinking about other things with the hair, their meaning, their visual impact, and the idea of what goes on around us and the mutual relationship.
1xRUN: How long did this take?
Joseph Borzotta: 1-2 weeks.
1xRUN: What is unique about Easter Bonnet ?
Joseph Borzotta: Haven’t seen many women with Easter Island figures in their hair…
See more of Joseph Borzotta’s other works below and read on for more.
My Paintings: " Many of these images explore peoples’ relation to society and themselves. How connected are they to what is happening around them, or right on top of them? The paintings are a visual exploration into existentialism - analyzing existence and the freedom, responsibility and isolation of the individual. Are they in environments that they created, or are forced to live in? " - Joseph Borzotta
1xRUN: Why should people buy this RUN?
Joseph Borzotta: Doesn’t matter if they find it intriguing or amusing. As with most pieces of art, if it’s not for purely investment reasons, you should buy it if you dig it and want to live with it.
1xRUN: Describe Easter Bonnet in one gut reaction word.
Joseph Borzotta: Yikes!
1xRUN: When did you first start making art?
Joseph Borzotta: As a kid – copying comics, Don Martin, and from a book on Raphael that one of my brothers bought me.
1xRUN: What was your first piece?
Joseph Borzotta: No idea.
1xRUN: What artists inspired you early on?
Joseph Borzotta: As a child – Raphael, Lautrec, DaVinci and Marvel comics.
"My Drawings: These graphite sketches of x-rated images began with shapes of color over the naughty bits, acting as censorship marks and becoming decorative elements at the same time. I began to remove the shapes and more and more information, producing these “minimalist” drawings, allowing the viewer to fill in the blanks. Even though little information is available, it’s still obvious what the full image looks like...
1xRUN: What artists inspire you now?
Joseph Borzotta: Many different artists for different reasons.
1xRUN: Do you listen to music while you work? If so what? If not then what is your environment like when you work?
Joseph Borzotta: Always have music on, and I have a huge variety of vinyl and CDs in the studio.
...Sometimes they become humorous mainly because of the facial expressions. It’s easy when viewing pornography to objectify the individuals and ignore the fact that these are fellow human beings. These drawings oddly present both concepts - removing so much information and reducing the people to lines and body parts at first dehumanizes them. Yet, it also forces the viewer to focus more on their faces and hands, which humanizes them as individual people." - Joseph Borzotta
1xRUN: If you could collaborate with any deceased artists who would it be and why?
Joseph Borzotta: Keith Haring, Frans Hals, Jean Dominique Ingres, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and Lautrec, to name a few.
1xRUN: What was the first piece of art that you bought? Do you still have it?
Joseph Borzotta: I think it was some silkscreen prints from this wild artist from the Dominican Republic in college.
1xRUN: What was the last piece of art that you bought?
Joseph Borzotta: Not sure which, but the last two: a self-portrait painting by Fahmamu Pecou, and a color pencil piece by Marco Mazzoni. Both are wonderful!
Lounge Life/Cocktails: Part of my life was spent as a bar owner. Liquid Lounge (bar and art gallery) in Hoboken, NJ and 12" DJ Bar in New York City. In addition to the cocktail still-lifes are images from bars and clubs in NY and Las Vegas.
1xRUN: What else do you have currently in the works?
Joseph Borzotta: I have paintings that will be appearing on the Style Network show, “Jerseylicious.”
1xRUN: Anything else you would like to add?
Joseph Borzotta: Mainly I would like to encourage people to check out my website to see other paintings in this series.
1xRUN: Anything you want to make sure we include or omit ?
Joseph Borzotta: I’m on FB by my name. A different body of work under the name BEPPO is also on FB.
– One Time Run dot com