We had the good fortune of connecting with Brendan Lott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brendan, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The
only excuse for making a useless thing is that
one admires it intensely.

All art is quite useless.

-Oscar Wilde

This is at the end of the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray. I still remember the first time I ready and it blew my mind. I’ve always been something of an art purist – art for art’s sake – and this encapsulates that idea in a way that only Wilde can.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I don’t think about pride much, but I guess I’m most proud that I continue to make art at a relatively serious level despite how absurdly hard it is and how utterly indifferent the world is to it.

I got where I am today, wherever that is, by getting a world class education at SFAI and Stanford, and then by continuing that education myself since then. Be a sponge. I was so lucky. Nothing about making art is easy. Have I overcome the challenges? Maybe.

The lesson I’ve learned along the way is that you just keep doing it everyday, regardless of what else is happening. Make it the center of your life. Shine everything else through that lens.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The Central Library in DTLA

Cole’s for a French Dip and a beer

Shibumi for the most sublime Omakase

New Beverly for a classic film on 35mm

The MoCA to sit in the Rothko room

Jumbos to listen to Danzig and get a hug from Barbara

Sit by the piano at the Chateau Marmont

The scalding hot apple pie a la mode at Jones

See and hear an obscure metal band at The Roxy

Get a pizza at the Rainbow

Don’t go on a hike

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
People – My Parents, who never waver in their support of me regardless of how weird things get.

Organization – The San Francisco Art Institute, for letting me in and teaching me more in two years than I could have hoped for in a lifetime and made me feel like a real artist for the first time.

Artist – Agnes Martin, for the purest expression of art possible.

Website: www.brendanlott.com

Instagram: beelot

Image Credits
Brendan Lott

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.