AstronautDinosaur

Robot Rock by Scott Listfield. “I was there. I was the...

Wed, 08 May 2013 11:37:32 -0400

“I was there. I was the first guy playing Daft Punk to the rock kids. I played it at CBGB’s.Everybody thought I was crazy. We all know. I was there.”

- LCD Soundsystem

The Daft Punk show opens May 18th at Gauntlet Gallery in San Francisco.

Greetings From The Future by Scott Listfield. “Wider Than A...

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:19:37 -0400

Greetings From The Future by Scott Listfield.

“Wider Than A Postcard,” is now open at Portland’s Breeze Block Gallery. Check it out: http://breezeblockgallery.com/2012/11/09/may-wider-than-a-postcard-curator-sven-davis/

Watching joyfully your works once again, there is a kind of some sadness, a sort of some post-civilization thing here. Maybe I#m not the first saying this?I Like to listen to Post-Metal/Rock, maybe that's influencing me. Best regards from Germany.

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:00:43 -0400

Hey, thanks for your kind words about my paintings. There is definitely some sadness in my work, but I like to temper it with some humor and optimism as well. Ultimately, my work is a lot about growing up into an uncertain future, about becoming an adult in a world that wasn’t what I was expecting. There’s a lot about that which I find sad and disappointing, but contemporary life is also filled with adventure and surprise and totally hilarious shit. I try my best to capture as much of that as I can.

I am a Boston artist. I’ve often thought about leaving, since it might be a lot easier to be...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:06:26 -0400

I am a Boston artist. I’ve often thought about leaving, since it might be a lot easier to be an artist elsewhere. But this is my home, and I like it here. I am independent, smart, creative, stubborn, and sometimes a complete dumbass, just like my city. So I stay here (despite the weather). As you probably know, today something terrible happened in my city. As of right now, I have no idea why it happened or who did it. I’m not sure what kind of idiot, madman, or group of shit stains does such a thing. But whatever their motives (which I assume we will never begin to understand), whatever they hoped to achieve, they will fail. Are we scared now? Yes. Congratulations, dickhead(s), you frightened us. But as anybody with even a passing knowledge of what transpired in the American Revolution or the 2004 Red Sox season will tell you, you will not keep Boston down. Sometimes I hate this city, but mostly I love this city. It’s finally spring in Boston and you will not stop us from living our lives.

Chicago by Scott Listfield. “Wider Than A Postcard,”...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:05:06 -0400

Chicago by Scott Listfield.

“Wider Than A Postcard,” a group show about (yes) postcards opens next month at Portland’s Breeze Block Gallery and will feature two of my paintings. The line up of artists is frankly kind of jaw dropping, and includes a number of my personal favorites. Check it out: http://breezeblockgallery.com/2012/11/09/may-wider-than-a-postcard-curator-sven-davis/

The Parking Ticket by Scott Listfield. Join me for Astronaut:...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:09:21 -0400

The Parking Ticket by Scott Listfield.

Join me for Astronaut: Paintings by Scott Listfield at Albright Gallery in Concord, MA, opening Thurs April 11 6-8pm. The show will be up through May 26, and will include 19 of my paintings.

I just found your work and I have to tell you "It's amazing". What first gave you the idea to take on this kind of work?

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:35:03 -0400

Very good question. I unfortunately don’t have a quick answer, so you’ll want to find a comfy chair and sit down for a bit. Grab a Hot Pocket or something and some juice. I’ll wait.

OK, ready?

When I was in college (a very long time ago, Tumblr readers), I went to school kind of in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t watch much TV, I still have no idea what movies came out during that time, and the internet wasn’t nearly as cool as it is now. I basically lived in the pop culture wilderness for four years.

After I graduated, I spent some time living abroad (a semester in Italy, a few months in Australia), then came back to America to find a crappy job and a tiny apartment. I lived in the smallest one room basement in Boston, started watching an unhealthy amount of TV, rode the bus to work, went to the supermarket, and hung out watching telenovelas at the local laundromat while my underpants slowly tumble dried. In other words, I was an adult, only I sucked at it.

Which is probably a normal response to forced maturity. But I also felt very much like a stranger in my own land. I would get lost for an hour in the cookie aisle of my local supermarket because I couldn’t process that many cookie options. There’s like 30 different kinds of oreos.

Around this time I started thinking a lot about making paintings that I thought of as sort of short stories about how weird I found the contemporary world. I wanted a protagonist who would appear in each one of these stories, kind of a narrator, an anthropologist, a quiet observer. Someone who could wander through each scene watching the strangeness of everyday life.

This was right around the turn of the century, and I watched Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” for the first time. It struck me as so unusual that people thought we’d be flying around in space and hanging out with semi-evil sentient robots in 2001. And yet it also felt completely natural. My whole life I had grown up thinking I’d live in a future with flying cars and I’d live on the moon with my wise-cracking robot best friend. This is what the cartoons and movies and comic books of my youth taught me. And yet the future I had grown up into was weird and futuristic in totally different ways. Often, disappointing ways (looking at you, Star Wars prequels), but also strange and exciting ways. It was at that moment I realized that the protagonist of my paintings should be the astronaut from the fictional 2001, plucked from the future of science fiction in order to explore our present.

I’ve been painting the adventures of that astronaut ever since.

Mooninite by Scott Listfield.

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:24:37 -0400

Mooninite by Scott Listfield.

I've been a fan of your work for a while now, and I can honestly say I'm proud to cite you as a strong influence when friends ask about my own art, especially my more recent stuff. Is there any chance you'll ever do a gallery show in the Denver area? If so, I'll definitely be there.

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:39:30 -0500

Hey, thanks! Would love to do a show in the Denver area, though I’ve got nothing coming up there as of yet. Will have to take a better look at galleries in town. Glad I could also inspire your work. Keep at it! (Just don’t be better than me please).

Scott Listfield interviewed by NASA

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:52:07 -0500

Scott Listfield interviewed by NASA:

I recently did an interview with NASA (yes, NASA), fulfilling a dream of my seven year old self.

I was wondering if and where you sell your artwork or prints. I can't make it out to LA til next weekend but I'll definitely stop by the gallery if your show is still going. I would love to have an astronaut on my wall! Or a dinosaur... I haven't even gone through your Tumblr yet, I've only seen 4 paintings, but so far they look awesome. Hope to hear back from you!

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:30:56 -0500

Thanks for your interest in my work! Sadly my LA show wrapped up today, although you can (as of now) still check it online here. My art is available either through me directly, or through whatever galleries I happen to be showing in at the moment. You can stay tuned for news on shows here on Tumblr, on my site, on my facebook page or my twitter account. IF you’re interested in prints, I sell some through galleries (see the previous link to my LA show), and I also have a bunch up at Society6 and FineArtAmerica. Thanks!

Hi Scott, who do you sell originals through?..

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:12:06 -0500

Well, I sell them myself, first of all. I also, at any given time, have a bunch of paintings out at various galleries. I have a lot of work up right now at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. I’ve also been showing with a couple San Francisco galleries (like this one. And this one.) I’ll be showing with Albright Gallery, closer to my home in Boston, in April. And I’ve got a couple things coming up in Portland, Oregon as well.

Your blog is excellent, congratulations. May I ask you why you paint astronauts wearing Mercury space suits?

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 08:25:00 -0500

Good question! I paint my astronaut in a Mercury era suit for a few reasons. First, I want to evoke the early days of space travel, when it was still very new, exciting, and futuristic. I also want it to have the feel of classic sci-fi films (which, of course, were themselves inspired by the Mercury program). Lastly, I wanted it to look like there was a person in there. In later space missions, where the astronauts left the confines of their safe space cans, the suits got big and bulky to protect them from space.

BOOM by Scott Listfield. Hey Tumblr folks! Are you on twitter?...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:50:31 -0500

BOOM by Scott Listfield.

Hey Tumblr folks! Are you on twitter? Follow me at @scottlistfield!

Why Not Zoidberg by Scott Listfield.

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:27:51 -0500

Why Not Zoidberg by Scott Listfield.

i did a project my senior year of high school about you for my honors art course then, (as forgetful as i am) lost your name!! now i've found you again and there's no way i am forgetting now!! you're my favorite artist, i am just forgetful. c:

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:15:23 -0500

Thanks! Hope I got you a decent grade.

g1988: This Friday night, come check out the newest exhibit at...

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:52:33 -0500

g1988:

This Friday night, come check out the newest exhibit at Gallery1988 (Venice) with works from Jeff Gillette and Scott Listfield (above). 7-10 PM with both artists in attendance!

Well it was last Friday night, now.

Chai by Scott Listfield. Another Tumblr exclusive. My show opens...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:53:54 -0500

Chai by Scott Listfield.

Another Tumblr exclusive. My show opens Friday Feb 8th at Gallery 1988 Venice.

Hybrid Vehicle by Scott Listfield.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:12:05 -0500

Hybrid Vehicle by Scott Listfield.

I am extremely impressed with your work and, from reading your other asks, your approachability. I'm definitely into paying your showing in LA a visit. Looking forward to it!

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:39:12 -0500

Thanks! I’m really impressed and surprised with the attention my work has gotten here on Tumblr. It would be great if you came out to see it in person!