Meet Jeremy Uglow | Painter, bookbinder, maker

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

Hi Jeremy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I was always into making objects and drawing as a kid. I enjoyed being active outside and playing soccer or skateboarding, but I still needed time to myself. Quiet time with my bedroom door closed to draw, read, and think. It never really occurred to me that I should or could pursue art as a central preoccupation until a year out of high school when I had a job in an instrument repair factory surrounded by toxic chemicals, toxic personalities, and hardly enough earnings to make my own way. As I sat in the stripping room waiting for lacquers to break down and plating to begin, I drew. I imagined things outside of my reality and filled the small pieces of paper that were given to me for taking notes or tallies. After I woke up in the middle of the night, sick to my stomach, I started to reassess where I wanted to be. I thought about drawing, I thought about the way I enjoy teaching others and working with materials to make things that were free of direct or utilitarian value. I couldn’t stand to be in there any more dealing with the various toxicities and stagnancies that were present. It was then that I decided that I needed to search out and apply to college art programs!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
To quote Jean-François Lyotard from The Postmodern Condition in his analogy of a game of chess, “A move can be made for the sheer pleasure of its invention.” This, however, is not an invention alone without referent. He said this with the precursor stating that this is due to two things: “The first is that their rules do not carry within themselves their own legitimation, but are the object of a contract, explicit or not, between players. The second is that if there are no rules, there is no game.” Out of no meaning, comes meaning. The sensibility in which we live says that we are beings with inherent meaning and everything that we do, has some sort of importance. This importance is man-made. Man-made importance holds its place due to our being situated within the human condition and is that which we cannot step out of. Therefore, meaning is real because we hold true that we are real. Out of nothing, comes everything. My art is designed with a few things as its goal. Firstly, there must be a purpose. There must be an internally and socially reconcilable cause for adding another image into our daily influx of information. Second, the medium or technique can not get in the way of the conveyance of intention. The image needs to operate without being hindered by a lack of technical ability or accentuated by its application. Lastly, not to create information without intention of finding meaning. I am most excited about the existential moments. The realizations of how everything is put together and how it all falls apart. The rediscovery of dimensionality and the woven intricacy of possibilities with multiple influences. All experiences that we have, jaded or not, interact or have interacted at some point. They are all involved in every outcome that occurs, witnessed or not. I am currently working for another artist by day and building a studio space from the ground up for myself with the remaining time. It’s been a really great process and I can’t wait to get in there and make again!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Start with a couple of bicycles. The ocean. The Mountains. La Cienega Arts District. Skateparks. Nothing specific in terms of place. Only dependent upon time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Erick Knudtson – @erickknudtson – a friend, a maker, a good person, and extreme positive aspect throughout my life.

Website: www.jeremyuglowart.com

Instagram: @je_u @je.suis.remy.u.press @je.u.wood