Free Humanity is an artist that I came across while driving down Sunset Blvd. Out of the corner of my eye I saw this massive art piece of Audrey Hepburn with beautiful colors surrounding her. She was staring off into the distance and on the side of the art piece was a quote that read “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other”. I was an immediate fan when I read that quote and soon took to my Instagram to track down the artist. Each piece by Free Humanity sparks social thinking and I believe that any piece of art that leaves you in a state of thought has served its purpose. I had the chance to interview Free Humanity on the meaning of his pieces, the “Diamond In The Lotus Project”, and what the Audrey Hepburn piece meant to him as an artist. This is his story…

Is the term “Free Humanity” a way of life, a mission, an idea or all of these combined?

All of the above and more I can only hope

There are many social figures portrayed in your art such as Audrey Hepburn. Are these figures chosen carefully as focal points of your art? Which has been the most controversial and why?

Yes, everything I do is chosen very carefully in the same way that marketers advertise their products on a sub-conscious level. That, in turn, makes people feel insecure and want to fit a social status with a certain car, house or look. However, I plant seeds of positivity that will hopefully, with contemplation, bloom into flowers if watered correctly. Instead of seeds of greed, lust and anger that are common themes with most advertisements these days.

The most controversial piece that I have made has not been any social figure but an apple grenade art project called “Forbidden Fruit”. It was blown up by the L.A Swat and Bomb Squad live on channel 9 news from a helicopter. L.A. weekly covered it

The way that I came across Free Humanity was by driving down Sunset Blvd and finding the Audrey Hepburn piece. The quote on that piece read, “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other”. What does a quote like that mean to you?

The reason I chose Audrey Hepburn as one of my series pieces was due to her huge Humanitarian work. Her quotes are full of love for life, all life, humans and animals. She and all of her quotes embody love and compassion for all living creatures and love is the only thing that can save and sustain us in this world of chaos.

I, myself, love walking around Los Angeles looking for and coming across street art from my favorite artists. Who is an artist that you enjoy that you have found walking around?

One the great beauties of L.A are the large amount of art, legal and illegal. I love seeing the work of “Cryptik” which is reminiscent of Eastern art and “Mear One” who is one of my favorites and very socially, environmentally and politically aware in his art.

I am fascinated by a piece that was posted on your Instagram that was a diamond on top of a lotus flower. What brought about this piece and what can you share about the lotus project?

"The Diamond in the lotus" is a direct translation of an ancient chant that says to plant deep seeds on a sub-conscious level. It's also a mix from an old story of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. He was telling a story to his disciples and instead of talking he just held up a Lotus Flower and his main disciple reached enlightenment at that moment. The piece to me is a mixture of those things but I prefer to let the viewer contemplate it. I like to think about it like this "It's like a finger pointing to the moon, if you concentrate on the finger you miss all the heavenly glory". I think a lot of us in the world miss the heavenly glory working for material things. Those things basically encompass the Lotus Project.

How important is artistic integrity and originality to you?

Yes I think integrity is important in all facets of life and originality is always crucial but in a way, everything is inspired from something from before.

What are you currently working on?

Currently I am working on a series of artist and skateboarders. I just finished this portrait of this artist named Egon Schiele and a skate boarder Named Tom Penny.

Complete the following sentence: In a perfect world art would be…..

      on every wall all over the world.

For More Information:

Main Website: http://freehumanity.la/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/freehumanity/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Humanity/339255303641?fref=ts

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freehumanity/

Photo Credit: Listak

Photo Credit: Jennifer Leigh Strauss

-Adrianne

Tweet Me! @ADRI86