Artist Feature: Conor Harrington
By Daniel Buyanovsky

Conor Harrington has been assaulting walls since before Justin Bieber was born. An unfair reference point indeed, but the man has definitely made his rounds, and has recently put up work in both LA and Palestine.  

Harrington is an art-world enigma, comparable to Jay-Z's hood mixed with high fashion - a classically trained artist with a spray-can in hand. Interrupting his globe-trot, Paper-Spaceship spoke with the Ireland native about North Korea and Mexican fences.

How long have you been painting?

CH: I painted my first wall in 94 but I didn't use oils until 98. That’s only 12 years of oil painting, which counts for nothing.

Self-education or art-school education?

CH: A bit of both. I started painting walls 4 years before going to art college so I like to call that my informal education and art college my formal education. I don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing now without either. 

A friend of mine who used to tag said he's grown out of it. Is it something you really grow out of, or become scared to keep doing?  

CH: I don't tag anymore but I have cravings. I don't know why I don't do it anymore, it would be hard to balance late night activity with long hours in the studio but other artists seem to manage.

Do you expect to be arrested every time you tag?

CH: There’s always that risk, maybe that’s why I don't do it anymore.

Dream place to travel to and tag?

CH: I'm watching North Korea play Brazil in the World Cup as I type. North Korea just scored. Its gotta be there.  

I saw that you did some work in Palestine. Since Banksy was the first person to get widespread acclaim for doing that, does it feel like you're following in his footsteps?  

CH: We're very different artists so I don't really think so, but I can't say I'd have painted that wall had he not been there first.

How hard is it to think of something powerful enough to match the meaning of the wall?

CH: Its impossible really, the wall is bigger than all of us.  

Do you feel like the wall will ever come down - like 21st century Berlin?

CH: What goes up must come down. The West Bank wall is 4 times as long as the Berlin Wall so its hard to imagine it coming down anytime soon but hopefully one day we'll learn that building walls between people is never a good idea.  

Have you seen the Mexico/US border wall?

CH: I thought it was more of a fence. 

How long will it be until people start painting on there?  

CH: No idea, how trigger-happy are US security officials?

Speaking of crossing lines, is crossing from street art to mainstream your goal?

CH: In a way that’s already happened. I don't really like being pigeon-holed, so it’s easier just to think of myself as an artist, regardless of indoors or out.

Where do people like Shepard Fairey figure into the "selling out" dilemma?

CH: I hope we've moved beyond the selling out debate at this stage. As long as the work is good, that’s all that matters.

A lot of your work mixes together so many elements it's sometimes hard to even decipher what the subject is - are you trying to make the viewer look deeper?

CH: I like to combine multi imagery to reflect our info-overloaded culture. We're bombarded at all times and as time goes by I'm putting more and more elements into my paintings.  

Do you find it important to document your work through film and photographs?

CH: Yeah, from my first ever wall we'd document everything. We'd have a 24 shot film, and let it stretch over as many pieces as possible because we couldn't afford the film or the costs of getting them developed. I'd have to wait 6 months before seeing the photograph in which case the piece could have already been buffed.

What role do music and photography play in your artwork?  

CH: I work from photos so I'd be lost without it. I listen to a lot of music when I'm painting although lately I've started listening to current affairs on the radio a lot more. Maybe I'm getting old. I like a lot of new Hip-Hop and Electronica but also a lot of Jazz. I guess that’s kind of like in my paintings where I mix the traditional with the new.

Since the new "mobile world" is ephemeral and moment-driven, has the quickness of street art made it our generation's art movement?

CH: Yeah I think so. Street artists are the only group to really take the internet to the heart of what they do, but only time will tell what sort of impact street art will have made on our times.

Artist Feature: Conor Harrington
By Daniel Buyanovsky