Lucien Shapiro Documents His Light Collector Ritual

1xRUN Thru Interview
Light Collector by Lucien Shapiro

1xRun: Tell us a little bit about this piece.
Lucien Shapiro: The Light Collector Ritual was a performance including two pieces, The Light Collector Mask and The Light Collector Vessel. This particular ritual deals with the constant carrying of light through darkness. The goal is to provide a light to help you through your journey in life. Both pieces are still available.

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1xRun: Was this piece part of a recent show that you had?
Lucien Shapiro: This piece was part of my last show at Guererro Gallery entitled Vessel, with each grouping consisting of a mask and a vessel. These were later used to perform a ritual dealing with a part of my life I was working on with hopes to change and grow as a person.

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1xRUN: What materials did you use to create this piece?
Lucien Shapiro: The originals are sculptures consisting of bottle caps, epoxy, wire, crystals, cloth, glue, rope, deer antlers, wax, and love. The photos were taken and printed by Justin Lawrence, and the video of the ritual was filmed and edited by Reymundo Luevano.

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1xRun: When was the piece created?
Lucien Shapiro: It was created towards the end of 2013.

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1xRun: How did the idea and execution came about?
Lucien Shapiro: I always love documenting the rituals, and this photo release and video gives people a chance to own a limited edition piece which signifies a smaller part of a bigger idea.

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1xRun: How long did the piece take?
Lucien Shapiro: The actual sculptures took too many hours to count. If I had to guess I would say around 80 hours.

1xRun: What is unique about this piece?
Lucien Shapiro: This is the first time I will be releasing a photo as part of the documentation of a ritual. It is also the first time items used in the ritual will be sold as part of the collection.

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1xRun: Why should people buy this piece?
Lucien Shapiro: To enjoy it.

1xRun: Describe the piece in one gut reaction word.
Lucien Shapiro: Dark.

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1xRun: When did you first start making art?
Lucien Shapiro: I have always made art but and did not consider it a career path until I went to art school in 1999.

1xRun: What artists inspired you early on?
Lucien Shapiro: Early on, after I took a liking to cartoonists, I got really excited about  artists like Barry Mcgee,  Ruby Neri (reminisce), Margaret Kilgallen, and Espo. Although I never really did graffiti I was obsessed with street artists, and this moved slowly into obvious art history greats like Picasso, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Rauschenberg, etc.

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1xRun: What was your first piece?
Lucien Shapiro: I am sure my first piece was a finger painting. Or a paper bag mask. You know, the stuff you make in preschool.

1xRun: What artists inspire you now?
Lucien Shapiro: Currently I am pulling inspiration from many artists working in different mediums. Lee Bonticou and Ai Wei Wei for example but I mean I could go on and on.

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1xRun: Do you listen to music while you work?
Lucien Shapiro: Yes I do. You can actually check out a studio mix I just finished for a blog. It is run by an amazing Indie producer called Bomarr Monk, who started this podcast called Back Ground Noise. It lets you hear what an average day in the studio sounds like for different artists.

1xRun: If you could collaborate with any living artist who would it be?
Lucien Shapiro: I’m actually in the process of working with two living artists; my partner Minka Sicklinger, as well as sculptor and great friend Derek Weisberg.

1xRun: If you could collaborate with any deceased artists who would it be and why?
Lucien Shapiro: I think it would have to be Alexander McQueen. His work was so cutting edge, and I believe he would have challenged the lengths and bounds that my work could go.

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1xRun: What was the first piece of art that you bought? Do you still have it?
Lucien Shapiro: Yes I do, a Jon Wayshak painting that was only $1.00.

1xRun: What was the last piece of art that you bought?
Lucien Shapiro: At Art Market from Ever Gold Gallery I bought a chopped edition and signed log from Jeremiah Jenkins.

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1xRun: Any big shows or events coming up that you’d like to share?
Lucien Shapiro: Currently preparing for a show of masks at CES Contemporary in November in LA and a small group show at Incline Gallery here in San Francisco in September.

1xRun: Where can we find you?
Lucien Shapiro: TwitterInstagramWebsite

 

-1xRUN