Absurdist Interview: artist Axel Geittmann

Local artist Axel Geittmann's paintings take viewers into a surrealist world of psychological landscapes, exploring complex emotional territory by combining gestures of realism with an essence of the other-worldy. Mostly painting with acrylic and spray-paint, Geittmann fuses traditions and viewer expectations to create a haunting mythology all his own. We...

By Ben Dayton

November 11, 2010

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Local artist Axel Geittmann's paintings take viewers into a surrealist world of psychological landscapes, exploring complex emotional territory by combining gestures of realism with an essence of the other-worldy. Mostly painting with acrylic and spray-paint, Geittmann fuses traditions and viewer expectations to create a haunting mythology all his own. We didn't talk to Geittmann about any of those things.

WW: When shralping, are you of the goofy or regular persuasion? AG: I'm goofy, but I'm known to dabble.

WW: What color is existentialism? AG: Fluorescent.

WW: Can the shred stick make you a better person? AG: Oh, hell no.

WW: Finish the following sentence: Banksy is a ______? AG: Rich cunt.

WW: Why is hip-hop so popular with today's youth? AG: Because kids today need direction, and hip-hop provides wholesome direction.

WW: JD Salinger is to bananafish as Edgar Allen Poe is to _______? AG: What the fuck is a bananafish?

WW: Got any jokes? AG: Yeah, I do actually. Why did the little girl fall out of the swing?

WW: I don't know. Why? AG: Because she didn't have any arms.

WW: That's awesome. Do you know what supellectile means? AG: Super reptile? WW: Who would win in a fight, a big horn sheep or a narwhal, assuming they had occasion to get into a scuffle? AG: The narwhal, because the sheep can't breathe water.

WW: What's the first thing you do? AG: Ever, or anything? The first thing I do in the morning or just whenever?

WW: Anything. Whenever. AG: Picture the opening scene to Rambo: First Blood, part two, when he's lacing up his boots.

WW: Shout outs? AG: I really appreciate when people come out to my shows, and thanks everybody who has ever purchased a piece or is appreciative of the artwork.

Geittmann's latest show was a solo exhibition at the Ride Snowboards showroom in Denver on October 1, and his next will be at the WESC clothing concept store in Aspen, CO, opening December.

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