Interview with

Bill McRight

by Zach Pelliccio

With an upcoming show, I felt it was perfect timing to get a hold of Bill McRight and make sure that he got all little pre-show exposure. Semi-famous Bill ( as he is known on 6th and Reed) enjoys rocking out to Guns n Roses while he screen prints, but I put that aside to find him to be a very like-able and interesting individual.
He makes weapons that you would expect to see in prison or in a zombie war, but is best known for his works of monsters and creatures conjured up from his head. He mostly works in a style of busy simplicity. His works have been featured in many galleries, but he is probably best recognized more recently for two shirts he did for the OBEY clothing company (OBEY SKULL CRUSHER ANTIQUE SHIRT and the OBEY POSSE OFFERING ANTIQUE SHIRT). I sat down Bill recently to pick his brain about his upcoming show, his life in Philadelphia and the demons in his head.

Zach Pelliccio: How old are you and how would you describe yourself?
Bill McRight: I am 32, um how would i describe myself? I don't know kind of an old kid. Probably old enough to know better but young enough at heart not to care.


ZP: So you grew up in the Georgia and Florida area, went to school in South Carolina and he moved to Brooklyn for Grad school and got a masters in what from where?
BM: Print making from Prat, I actually taught for a year. That's where I started linoleum stuff, there as an undergrad, I hated it.

ZP: Quite well traveled. What has been your favorite of all of the places you've been and lived?
BM: I mean honestly anywhere. I've been in the South, i like that a lot. I like San Fran a lot, but I like the slow pace of the South. I really like the backwards politics down there. The weirdness is really in your face. People don't hide there weird opinions down there, like up here they hide all there opinions behind politeness.
Plus the food is way fucking better down there!

ZP: So when and why did you move to Philadelphia?
BM: When I was in grad school I was dating this girl. I was dating this girl for a really long time and when I was done grad school I really didn't like New York. I hated the every night party scene. She was down here, and I really like Philly a lot. A lot of people call Philly the only southern city above the Mason-Dixon Line, which I don't completely agree with, but it definitely has somewhat of a Southern vibe, which I like. 

ZP: Whats your favorite thing about Philly?
BM: Friends here.


ZP: Whats your most hated thing about Philly?
BM: Fucking people that drive cars in the city! Fuck them.


ZP: Where do you get the ideas for your monsters and creatures in your artwork or do they just all live in your head?
BM: They do come out of my head, but they also come from dead dudes like Bosch, Brogle. I def like the arts of the South Pacific, also Midevil. Pretty much dead cultures. That stuff is visually appealing to me.


ZP: What is your favorite medium?
BM: I like mixed medium. It really depends on what Im trying to do. I like different things. I like drawing some days, I like cutting blocks somedays, I like shank stuff somedays. It really depends on the amount of physical exertion I want that day.


ZP: I saw some of your weapons, which also the focus of your next show. They are pretty brutal! Have you ever used them and where do you get the "inspiration"?
BM: Ha, no i have not ever used them. I really like the idea of prisoners and kids that not necessarily are in gangs but are on the street defending themselves, and also soccer hooligans. There's this book called "Among the Thugs," it's about soccer hooligans, and there is a chapter about sneaking weapons. I just like the idea that people make tools and that's what sets us apart, that's the shit. 

ZP: Who is your favorite artists as of right now old or new and why?
BM: Favorite really is Bosch, but really a lot of my friends. But for the most part i really don't like to look at much art.


ZP: Who has influenced your work the most?
BM: I think it's this dude who was teacher for my undergrad, Paul Martyka and the first person to teach me print making. The first person who was an authoritarian figure who said don't let anyone tell you what your doing is wrong.

ZP: Catch me up on this show you have coming up...
BM: This show is coming up David B. Smith Gallery with AJ Fosik. Its me and him, he's doing a bunch of his awesome bears and Im just doing shanks. It's pretty much an all sculpture show. It's kinda funny because its another world to me.

ZP: Any last words...
BM: Lets shout out to Crucial Brutal (www,crucialbrutal.com), Salty Snax(www.chriskline.info), D'ark Fags, Jon Bocksel (www.jonbocksel.info), and Space 1026(www.space1026.com).


Bill McRight's all shank show is July 16, 2010 thru August 14, 2010 at the David B Smith Gallery, www.davidbsmithgallery.com (1543 Wazee Street, Denver, CO 80202) and to get in touch with Bill or see more of his work go to www.billmcright.com.