Looking at your collages, you obviously have a thing for retro illustrations – does this interest overlap in other areas of your life? For example, your personal style, songs you like etc?
Retro stuff? Yes. I'm not one of these guys who scoots around on a Vespa wearing a porkpie hat with a stack of vinyl records under his arm, but things from days bygone have a longer shelf life for me. I like new things -- I twitter, I text mesage like nobody's business --but I like 18th and 19th century stuff. I guess my major aversion to modern times is that marketing and advertising has all become so deliberately calibrated and polished that new things (packaging, illustrations, ads, etc.) have less charm. I go through all these old children's books where the games and activities required some imagination and the heroes are people from folk history and not celebrities.

Aside from collage –what else have you been you up to?
Not much. I used to do stand-up all the time, now I do it every six months when I screw up the nerve. I've been appearing in a lot of skits for the G4 network, the video game channel. I don't play video games, so I usually have to ask the folks there what the jokes mean, but they encourage me to improv and screw around. And I've been writing.

Who are some of your favorite artists – doesn’t have to be limited to visual art-? And how did or do they figure into your artistic endeavors today?
You know one guy I really like? He's considered cheesy, but Charles Wysocki. I love his little New England townscapes where all the buildings are all built on the same angle. Him and the usual dudes -- Picasso, Van Gogh, Klee. I guess if I had to extrapolate how they "figure" into my artistic endeavors it would have to be the
confidence in my me-ness. When you like a Picasso, you like it because it's really Picasso-y. Rather than bite someone's style, I try to just be the best, most unique me I can be, whether it's visual, writing orperforming.

About six years ago you moved to L.A. from San Diego. Did that change or in any way affect what you’re doing things today? I mean, for the projects you’ve been involved with, has moving to a more ‘happening’ city changed you? I would think the contacts and diversity might be a plus. For all its Southern California-ness, San Diego is still a pretty conservative city.
San Diego sucks. It sucked for me, anyway. LA is no garden-spot utopia either, but there's so much talent here. And I'm not referring to anyone famous. Everyone I know here does SOMETHING expressive. Something artistic. The creative types here get off their ass and generate. I have a bias for big cities, for the people who are
interested in art, literature, politics, whatever. People who have opinions. People who make a stink.

What’s your favorite thing to do in L.A.?
If I was answering honestly, drinking bourbon with my friends.

What would you consider to be the ultimate success for you?
I don't know. I don't have goals. I'd like to have a real cozy place, healthy houseplants, plenty of books to read, a happy cat, fine foods to eat and plenty of bourbon. Whatever might land me that comfortable personal space, I guess I'd be willing to consider doing.

http://www.planetdanforth.com/wordpress/
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