We had a good in time in the sun where we hooked up with Rune Alexandersen in Assistens Kirkegård in Nørrebro, Copenhagen. Had a small photo shoot and talked about music, art, drawings and all of his many projects.
Why do you draw/paint – make art – What is it that draws you?
Why I draw? It’s one of the few things Im good at – I sucked at school and would probably still do so. I don’t live to draw, I draw to live.
What projects are you currently working on?
At the moment im working on an exhibition called ’10 ways to die’ that will take place in Copenhagen, that will feature some of the first poster size work I have done. Im also working on an action figure for an exhibition in NY for a group called Toy Mafia. These figures are pretty much a tribute to the toy lines of the 80’s.
Also my label Elektriske Plader is doing a lot of cool 7” records, among others, a great rapper called Marvelous Mosell. He is (In my opinion) the best danish rapper ever. Him and I pretty much agree on what is cool. He is also into the 80’s neon/miami vice/Turtles aesthetics, so its pretty easy to work with him.
And I play in MOTH (A depressive post-punk band), we are currently writing the last song for our first album.. oh, and im writing music for my other project called Torpedo Zombies. We do aggressive lo-fi punk rock.
What is your main inspirations when creating your own artworks?
I have always been into action figures – and I still am. I have a decent collection of toys from the late 80’s, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Toxic Avengers, Star Wars, He-man etc.
I always liked the insane neon colors, splat, guts, skulls chainsaws etc. Also punk rock Is a big inspiration. Especially Ramones and the Misfits.. their imagery have always appealed to me.
Also theres this blog about weird, colored monster toys (http://minifigcollection.blogspot.dk), I get a lot of inspiration from there as well.
What are your favorite art genres?
I never really liked the term art, I think it has become an expression that is very colored by opinion and it express a certain elitism.
But I enjoy the anti aesthetics of action figures of the late 80’/early 90’s – fucked up stuff: Toxic Crusaders, Teenage Mutant Turtles, Mad Balls, Ugly Stickers, the Mars Attacks trading cards. Ugly stuff. Music and films are also great sources of inspiration. Im really into tacky horror movies from the 80’s – the uglier the better. For an example, the movie ‘Street Trash’ Is amazing, it has a scene were a homeless guy, sitting on a toilet, melts and turns into neon-purple goo. Just beautiful.
Which artists are on your radar right now and why?
At the moment, i’m really enjoying the work of Will Laren, an incredibly talented illustrator, who mainly does simplistic and really weird stuff, that portrays really bizarre characters, with even more bizarre captions. Check him out. Also, I have started getting into indie comics – especially a dude called Thomas Engelbrecht Mikkelsen, an excellent illustrator who’s work is right up my alley. Sam Ryser who does artwork for the american band Crazy Spirit. His stuff is really intense and detailed.. and weird. Its really good – good enough, for me to buy their records (I hadn’t heard the music before I bought the records)… and of course my pal Simon Væth, who I think, will become one of the big shots in a few years. He’s stuff is off the hook!!
Any particular art/books/series/movies you want to recommend?
There is a really cool short film called Robot Bastard, check it out, its like star wars, taking place in the mid 90’s on acid. Also, I have been watching a lot of Adventure Time. Good stuff.
I just recently bought a collection of the first Ninja Turtles comics (From back when it was violent). The drawings lack a lot technique, but the first couple of stories and characters are really good.
Oh, and I just read Fear and loathing in Las Vegas again. Amazing. Its one of the few books that actually manage to capture me. Other than that, Im not much of a reader.
Aside from painting, drawing and making illustrations, are there other things you’d like to do in your career?
Well, at the moment, I pretty much to what I want to do: Playing music, releasing cool vinyl records, making/selling toys and drawing monsters. It doesn’t get much better than that – does it?
Though, it would be cool to be able to make a living from releasing records. Thats the thing that appeals to me the most at the moment. Its a lot of hard work and a lot of fun.
Koala T-Shirt by Rune Alexandersen
What’s the last art exhibition/artwork you went to see that you really enjoyed?
I was at a comic convention in copenhagen (The name escapes me), last weekend, which was a really good experience – mainly the ‘Kul Kælderen’ booth was incredible. They have some amazing illustrators/story tellers (Simon Væth and Thomas E. Mikkelsen among others)
Top 3 favorite places in Copenhagen?
1: Bumzen, a really cool squat – I don’t really go there a lot, but when I do, I always have a good time. Lots of good people, cheap beer and I love playing concerts there
2: Runddelens Kebab – the only place to treat hangovers (You can get an excellent pita with hummus and falaffel for 15kr.)
3: Assistens Kirkegården – the perfect place to go when you are out of inspiration, need time to think or just need a good walk – whatever. And any weather will do, its always beautiful.
Where are you going for your next holiday?
I’m going on a bike ride around the outskirts of denmark with a friend. Its a tradition we started last year, and hopefully we’ll continue that tradition the next many years. Other than that, I haven’t really got a lot of plans – i’m gonna be pretty tied up with work. Guess thats a good thing?
What is you favorite candy?
Anything blue
The art by Alexandersen
Get Rune Alexandersens original drawings and fine art posters here >
Moth FB // https://mothband.bandcamp.com/
Torpedo Zombies // http://torpedozombies.bandcamp.com/
Elektriske Plader // https://elektriskeplader.com/
