Alyssa Kazew: I Like Beautiful Weirdos

April 2023

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ABOUT ARTIST

Alyssa Kazew is an interdisciplinary artist whose creative fields include painting, photography, and jewelry design. Her works always have a natural sense of humor and irony, with strange elements combined together to make the narrative rich and interesting. Alyssa hopes to create a feeling of "making herself laugh" through her art, which she sees as a kind of liberation.

Website：alyssakazew.com
Instagram：alyssakazew_

P=picupthesesame，A=Alyssa Kazew

P: Could you please introduce yourself?

Hi, I'm Alyssa Kazew, lol. Uhhhh, and I'm a multidisciplinary artist currently based in Austin, TX.

P: Do you draw a split-screen for your work before each shoot? If you do, can you share with us your split-screen drawings?

I actually don't make any drawings for my photos prior to shooting. I just more so write down lists with ideas.

P: We noticed that the aperture of your photos is very small, is that a personal habit?

Ahhh, mostly. If I'm shooting with enough natural light, I like to get a decent amount of bokeh, but it really depends on the lens, concept, and available lighting. I also like to try to avoid using a tripod at all costs, lol. But there's instances in some of my photos where a higher aperture and tripod were necessary to get the photo I want. It's ultimately about what would best serve the photo tho.

P: How do you choose models for your projects? Are there any criteria?

Hmmm. I definitely like the "beautiful weirdo." But also, it's not really something I consciously think about, it's just the type of thing where I see someone and something goes off in my head. I also really like the timeless "girl next door".

But for the fashion or commissioned work I get, the models are usually already picked by the client. Ideally, I like to know what the model(s) look like before the shoot, so I can think about best the context to use them in.

P: When did you start to create with a satirical and humorous perspective? Were there any opportunities that motivated you to create in this way?

Ah, I don't think it's been a conscious intention, but I think I've always been prone to incorporating humor into my work. I think maybe it goes back to highschool to like reading really insane explicit fan fic online about cartoon characters. It was always so funny and shocking to me, and I couldn't believe something like that existed, but also the writing is 100% so sincere. Back then, I was making fun of that sort of thing, but now I really appreciate and respect people who do erotic fan fic writing. I think that type of writing is one of the last true forms of true sincerity in art in an increasingly digital and ironic world.

Also during that time, my friends and I would make super crude drawings of cartoons that were on tv at that time to make eachother laugh. I didn't consider that type of thing "art" at like 16, but now yes that's art. And I think I've carried that sort of feeling of just trying to make myself laugh through art since then and this general "fuck you attitude" that goes along with it. It's liberating.

P: Besides the creative influence, how does meme culture exist in your life?

Oh god, I looooove looking at memes. Especially the more like gonzo, almost incoherent zoomer made ones. I actually think they're one of the few things online that's good for my mental health because they make me laugh. I definitely spend unintentionally at least an hour most days looking at memes, or finding new meme accounts I like on instagram. And also I love sending my friends memes. Sometimes I have conversations where it's just sending memes back and forth and no other words, it's a language within itself.

Rave Boy

P: What is your usual state of working? Do you work on painting and photography at the same time? Or do you advance each project separately?

It really depends on what's going on in my life at that moment. Like if I'm preparing for a show, or have a client photo commission. I have a lot of ideas stored away, and I often just have to sit on them until I have enough money or resources to pursue them. My photos typically take a lot of planning from finding the right location, props, and models and then coordinating. So while all those parts are coming together I'll have more achievable projects to work on that I already have all the things I need for, which is usually a painting or drawing.

Left:Sonic Youth
Right:Could You Believe?

Zero

P: Where your inspiration for making jewelry comes from?

Over the peak of the pandemic I became interested in resin, and learned how to make charms out of it. I was inspired by jewelry designers such as Justine Clenquet and Safsasu, which pushed me to explore how to integrate my resin charms as wearable pieces. I mostly just make these things for myself, I don't take any of it too seriously, other than trying my best to make the pieces hypoallergenic and durable. I generally find making these jewelry pieces cathartic and peaceful, and the best part is that I can do it in bed, lol. I'm definitely interested in learning new jewelry and charm making techniques in the future tho, like making stainless steel charms would be really cool.

Bunny Bone Necklace & Monster Choker

Jumbo Star Charm

Comissioned Necklace for Rico Nasty

P: How do you understand "romance"? Can you share with us something that happened recently that you find romantic?

Oh, that's a good question. I guess I 'm naturally drawn to the classic aesthetic tropes connected to romance, such as : lighting coming through a window, open fields, Rococo, sunsets . Or as a concept, daydreaming is romantic, listlessness, sulking in bed, Warhol / Factory era NYC, classical music, 1970's Laurel Canyon. What do all these things have in common? I don't know, maybe yearning for a more simple time, or nostalgia. The natural world too, I'm not sure if anything in the digital realm could be considered romantic, or atleast to me. Like a drawing on paper will always be more romantic than a digital drawing. I have to think about that more. I think the whole sincerity thing I was talking about earlier ties into this as well.

P: Are there any new creations you have made recently?

Ahhh, there's always things in the works, but I think the most recent things I made are some photos I made specifically for the new issue of King Kong Magazine coming out soon. There's a couple photo ideas I'm hoping to realize over the next few months.

Left:Hermes Star; Right:Sexy Pink Star

Oh, and I made a couple resin wall pieces for the Outsider Fair, which happened last month. They're 24" x 24" stars with photos and drawings embedded in them. But besides that, I'd really like to focus more on making new paintings and drawings in the near future, I think it would be good for me to work on something more visceral and meditative for a while.