Reg Mombassa on Art and Artists
"Artists are parasites, because art is a luxury. You can’t eat it, drive in it, or live in it." So says Australian artist Chris O'Doherty. Read the post – and be sure to watch the video. It's a treat.
Chris O’Doherty aka Reg Mombassa is a New Zealand-born Australian musician and artist. He is known for his membership in bands Mental as Anything, Dog Trumpet and The Pinks.
He worked with Mambo Graphics designing T-shirts and posters from 1986; exhibited paintings, drawings and prints at Watters Gallery in Sydney from 1975 to 2018; and his work can be found in galleries and private collections throughout the world.
Chris’s artwork comes in two distinctive styles. The type of artwork he designed for Mambo – vivid graphic images, incorporating religious, political and popular culture themes – is probably the style for which he is most widely known. However, his landscapes and portraits, many of which are inspired by his childhood in New Zealand, are equally sought after.
Giant models of his designs were famously featured in the closing ceremony for the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. That’s when the world became very confused.
In a pre-recorded talk made for TEDxSydney in 2020 entitled “Why I became an artist”, Chris discussed what it is to be an artist. Watch that video online below or HERE; but, in summary, here are his “Nine Descriptors” … followed by an extracted quote:
Beggar
“We are beggars because we beg for crumbs from the rich man’s table, or try and get our snouts into the public trough in terms of grants, scholarships or juicy academic postings.”
Prostitute
“We are prostitutes because we expose our most private thoughts, feelings and spiritual contemplations for money or favourable attention.”
Liar
“To become an artist, I learned to lie and exaggerate. The trick with lying is that lies and exaggeration allow me to get closer to the truth.”
Thief
“We are thieves because we steal the ideas and methods of our contemporaries and forebears. It’s a great way of learning. Without stealing, nothing new would be done.”
Parasite
“Artists are parasites, because art is a luxury. You can’t eat it, drive in it, or live in it. We sponge off the mainstream.”
Nutcase
“Many artists have some degree of mental illness: anxiety, depression, delusions of grandeur, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc.”
Addict
“Making art is an addictive process, because making stuff up is highly enjoyable.”
Wanker
“Explaining art to an often sceptical public requires some degree of wankery, in terms of a high-minded and often-pretentious theoretical framework. I’ve learned to justify a ridiculous image with a clever title, or a sophisticated back story.”
Minor Deity
“It is my belief that artists are the only true gods on earth, because we create beautiful things from nothing.”
Chris goes on to report that as a minor deity he has himself founded a global art movement, religion and political party called “Simplisticism”.
There is only one commandment:
Be Kind: to yourself, to the other humans, to the animals, and to the Earth.
… and who could argue with that?
Finally, and with a particular nod to all of the above, we agree with Chris’s parting observation in the video that “without art the world would be a grim and miserable place”.
TEDxSydney 2020 Video
Reg Mombassa at REMO Merchandise Collection
REMORANDOM Book Chapter
I confess I like a lot of RM’s work and ideas but I think he is being far too harsh calling artists parasites. Many forms of art are readily combustible (just ask any dictator) which sits nicely within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - warmth, shelter, food, etc.
PS: Remo, I think it is a little over the top putting a paywall on your still nascent website. You will miss out on gems like the comment above 😂.