Eric Staller has created art pieces that have spanned 30 plus years that have captured glimpses of his subconscious and his surroundings. Being a veteran in the art community, Eric’s art has continued to challenge and amaze audiences of all ages and walks of life. His forward thinking has set a path for the artist to dig deep and create art that pushes the envelope and sparks the thought of the unknown. I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric on his amazing career and how his imagination has influenced the art he has created. This is his story…
Q. At what age did you begin your artistic journey and what steps did you take to hone your craft?
A. I was working toward my degree at the
Q. You are quoted on your website as saying, “An artist is what he culturally eats, or is immersed in”. In what cultural surrounding have you found your art to flourish the most?
A. My 20 years in NYC are the foundation of my inspiration and output. I then moved to
Q. Your involvement in the art community has spanned many years. What has been the most exciting development you have witnessed in the evolution of art?
A. Only art that challenges the status quo is of interest to me. Art has to push the envelope of what is considered art. Christo is doing that with his gifts to the public of his temporary installations.
Q. I am a big fan of your light drawings and light sculptures that you created in the 70s and 80s. What inspired those pieces and do you plan to create more?
A. I was interested in other-worldly architectures of light; something that’s there but not there. I took that series as far as I could and moved on before beginning to repeat myself. I don’t plan to go back there. It’s the unknown that interests me.
Q. Your Light
A. My Lightmobile in 1985 was probably my most powerful moment as an artist. I drove it around NYC on more than 100 nights, looking into the startled and delighted faces of hundreds of thousands of people. That inspired me to want to share my art with a cross-section of the public and not just the art world cognoscenti. This was the beginning of a continuing series of what I call 'urban UFOs'.
Q. What sparked the idea for Octos and why did you decide to turn it into an actual product for people to use?
A. All of my ideas bubble up from my subconscious, in formed by observations of the world around me. My first 4 urban UFOs were lighted objects. Octos was a conscious decision to reach a daytime audience. It was also informed by the oil crises of 1990: a metaphor for travel in the post-petroleum age. When I moved to
Q. What has being an artist helped you to discover about yourself?
A. I didn’t choose to be an artist; it chose me. It is a calling, a religious feeling, and a compulsion to peel away layers of a subconscious onion. It’s a mystery to me where the ideas come from. It is the idea that initially appears the most absurd that I am ultimately compelled to build.
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-Adrianne
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