Dorothy Circus Gallery presents Inside Nostalgia, a three-person exhibition featuring Tara McPherson (who sent us this preview look at one of her pieces to be featured, Hey, We All Die Sometimes) Esao Andrews, and Travis Louie, as well as a large group show in the back gallery featuring: Natalie Shau, David Stoupakis, Camille Rose Garcia, Zoe Lacchei, Naoto Hattori, Prunelle, Silvia Idili, Andy Fluon, Paul Chatem, Ciou, Elena Rapa, Adam Wallacavage, and Arash Radpour. Y'know, just a few of our all-time favorite artists, that's all.
Opening October 31, 2008 at 8pm, Inside Nostalgia runs thru December 30, 2008. More at dorothycircusgallery.com



I have these two pieces in the show.

http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2008/09/interview-adam-wallacavage


"It sounds cliché but I was really blown away as a child by the Haunted Mansion ride and the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at Disney World," remembers Philadelphia artist Adam Wallacavage. This is obvious after a walk-through of his Les Trésors de la Tanière de Neptune show (which wrapped July 26 at NYC's Jonathan Levine Gallery).

Wallacavage transformed the space with a panoply of beautiful octopi-meet-Gothic light fixtures set against a backdrop of undulating kelp wallpaper, all in a '60s cartoon palette of flat mint, purple, turquoise, and black.

The man's fantastical chandeliers and sconces don't come cheap (running anywhere from $3,200 to $14,000), but you may be inspired to learn that he made everything in the show in three months, by hand in his home using cast plaster, epoxy resin, and lamp parts. And the do-it-yourself-ness doesn't stop there. When he's not out snapping carnival rides or his friends doing 360 nose-grinds, the accomplished photographer is working on the Victorian-like interior of his house in South Philly and creating custom wallpapers for his company, Curio Wallcoverings. The projects may vary, but a very personal aesthetic runs throughout.

XLR8R: What was the seedling of the idea for the chandeliers that you make?

Adam Wallacavage: I think it was the idea of creating the things I simply wanted. I've spent countless hours in my life scouring through flea markets and antique stores and decorative arts museums and I never had money to buy the things that inspired me. Or I felt this compulsive urge to acquire things that was kinda obsessive and not very good feeling. I basically realized that I had the talents to hand-make the things I wanted to see and it has been such a blessing to have gotten to the point of where I am now, where I feel I can have anything I can imagine, if I can figure out a way to make it.

How long does it take you to make one (approximately)?

At first it took a few months to build one, but after a while I learned to make them faster cause I knew what I was doing. I made most of the pieces in my show at the Jonathan Levine gallery, as well as the wallpaper, in three months.

What is your favorite thing that you have done/made recently?

I made a set of three chandeliers called "The Argus," "The Spawn of the Argus," and "Son of the Spawn of the Argus;" they are all glossy white and the large one has a sort of oval shape to it. I'm excited to hang the set in my living room after the show, as well as a few others. I'm really not sure what is my favorite though–they are like children in a way. I'm excited about the sconces though. I learned so much over the past couple years that I had a ton of fun making the chandeliers for my NYC show. I made the stuff with my house in mind, so I had a place to store them. I have a bunch of rooms in my house at the moment without lights in them and I can't wait to bring the show back to my place!

What are some of the most unique curios you have in your house?

I have a collection of mounted two-headed dogs, the world's longest cat tail that I got from an old sideshow, and a live fruit bat that I keep as a pet in my attic, but my favorite curio is my swimming pool. I live in an old Victorian brownstone in the city and my back yard is insanely tiny. I had a pool built that is eight feet in diameter but 25 feet deep. I use it to practice freediving and it is lined with cast coral and is stocked with fish. You can jump off the top of my house into it.

Really? That sounds amazing!

I know, but I made all that up, but it would be cool to own the world's longest cat tail, right?

What is your favorite themed room?

The only real themed room is the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea dining room; of course it is my favorite since it was the inspiration for the Octopus Chandelier. I'm working on some others though. The artist Niagara Detroit just stayed over last night and I want to make the guest bedroom into an opium den-themed room with custom-made wallpaper designed by Niagara. I just started an artist designed wallpaper company called Curio Wallcoverings and we are working with a bunch of different artists, such as Shepard Fairey and many others, to come.

Name two or three things that have inspired your general aesthetic.

I like things to be outrageous yet timeless, beautiful yet mysterious, and dark but inspired by a good sense of spirituality.

What is your favorite camera?

It doesn't exist yet, but it would be a digital panoramic waterproof camera that could take really close up wide shots of cool things.

How much of what you shoot is staged and how much is random accident?

I wait for things to happen, so the accident is somewhat luck and being in the right place at the right time, but I like to find the best angle and I like things to be as real as possible but surreal at the same time. Lately I've been doing a lot of portrait photography of artists in their studios and such. I would like to put out another book that is all artist related with portraits, studios, and shots of neat stuff hanging around.

What is important to you in a photograph?

I like them to be entertaining. I worked in a one-hour lab for a long time and I would look at hundreds of photos and I would put aside about one or two each day that were interesting. It was quite influential on my overall aesthetic, actually. Usually the photos that jumped out at me were shot by kids and they had the most amazing compositions. I think my friend Ben Woodward, who worked with me for a little while, had a name for it… something like "accidental snapshot masterpieces," or something on those lines.

In contrast to what seems like a sort of hand-drawn, shambolic Space 1026 aesthetic, your work is so clean and sharp. Do you have any funny stories related to this contrast, or about having a studio there?

I would like to claim responsibility for the Space 1026 aesthetic in the beginning. When I first moved in there, I brought in my entire junk knick-knack collection and started hanging stuff up everywhere. I screwed taxidermy to the ceiling as well as my collections of vintage bicycles, skateboards, and old amusement park signs. I put up Christmas lights everywhere and made my studio out of old barn planks. Other Space members were not very happy and even Andrew Jeffery Wright would make fun of me for trying to make the place look like some corny themed chain restaurant like Bennigan's or something. I was thinking more on the lines of fun-house-art-freak-show. It turned into that in the end, and I'm proud. I moved out of Space 1026 when I bought my house, since it is big enough to hold a few different work studios. I was doing a lot to fix up the top floor of Space 1026 at the time but it felt unrewarding since we were just renting the place. Working on my house is really good feeling. I don't know about the "clean and sharp" part of my aesthetic though, since I'm terrible at paying attention to details. Maybe I'm just good at sweeping things under the rug.

What's one project you've never done because it's too crazy, expensive, or difficult, or you have no time?

I used to do a lot of silkscreens of toys back when I worked out of Space 1026 and I would love to get back to that sort of work, but with painting instead. I want to make paintings of silkscreen halftone separations in layers on glass and put them together. I think it would be fun.

What's the best thing in Philly?

Besides freedom and getting a shout out in that one Van Halen song, I would say City Hall. It is the most amazing building and is decorated with hundreds of beautiful sculptures designed by Alexander Milne Calder, who was the father of Alexander Stirling Calder, who was the father of Alexander Calder, the sculptor and inventor of the mobile. Of course my friends are the best part, it's amazing how many good artists are moving into town now.

What's your favorite food?

Potato chips and hot dogs, but I can't eat them too much 'cause they will kill me. I like spearfishing and grilling freshly caught fish at the beach.

Who are your style icons?

It sounds cliché, but I was really blown away as a child by the Haunted Mansion ride and the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ride at Disney World. I just like the idea of making things that go on forever with endless imagination, never knowing if it's complete or what is around the corner. I just love all things eccentric.

Here's some photos of my show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in NYC. It is up til July 26th so check it out!
The amazing Ray Caesar is also showing there and it is something not to be missed!!
Adam

Mr. Eclecticity
From a South Broad brownstone full of Victoriana, monsters and octopi, artist Adam Wallacavage's creative tentacles reach way out.

By Virginia A. Smith

Inquirer Staff Writer

When Joyce Wallacavage tells you her son Adam "isn't normal," it's cause for laughter - and admiration.

"Thank goodness he's not normal, whatever that is," she says.

It's hard to explain exactly what she means, but after meeting Adam, you know it has something to do with being creative and funny and sweetly different from probably anyone else you know.

Adam Wallacavage (his surname is Lithuanian, with the accent on wall) is 38 but looks younger. He has green eyes that don't always find yours, an ironic manner that confuses - Is he serious? Is he joking? - and a stillness about him that belies the kooky exuberance of his 19th-century brownstone in South Philly.

"I'm like an eccentric millionaire who's just a thousandaire who's figured out how to be an eccentric millionaire," he says.

Here's a partial list of this "thousandaire's" random talents:

He's a skateboarder and photographer who shoots skaters, artists and musicians for himself and other stuff for an ad agency.

He's a cartoonist, 'zine creator and silk-screen printer, a self-taught ornamental-plaster artisan and interior decorator who seems to throw Victoriana and grunge at the wall to see what develops.

He makes plaster-cast octopus chandeliers that are wonderfully wacky. He has a squeaky-toy collection, four parakeets, and a host of taxidermic favorites that he uses as photo props right there in the living room window.

There's a permanently roaring lizard and a dusty armadillo, a bear cub that died by automobile, and a resplendent peacock, all fabulous flea-market finds.

"It doesn't cost a lot of money to do eccentric, fun things," Wallacavage says.

It helps to be serially obsessed - more time to search and collect.

He's obsessed with the ocean, from summers in Wildwood Crest. Give him a millisecond and he suggests that Broad Street is kind of like the ocean. With Mummers and protesters and all manner of possessed and dispossessed filling street and sidewalk, Wallacavage says, "you never know what can wash up. It has a possibility of mystery about it."

He's obsessed with the moody beauty and extravagant interiors of old Catholic churches, which, at night, remind him of being underwater. Their images bubble up from childhood and a faith that endures today.

Though not yet 40, Wallacavage is also obsessed with creating a legacy. It will include both "permanent, pretty and inspiring" works of art and his "Victorian fun house."

Let it be said here: He's on his way.

The house, bought in 2000 with his now-ex-wife for $115,000, is in the 1800 block of South Broad, one of those brownstones you pass all the time on your way somewhere. But come inside, as scores did on Jan. 1 to watch the Mummers, and prepare to be entertained.

First stop: the living room, formerly a doctor's office.

It's no surprise to learn that as a kid Wallacavage loved The Addams Family, the hilariously macabre '60s TV show about a nuclear-family nuthouse: Gomez and Morticia, kids Pugsley and Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Lurch, hairy Cousin Itt and disembodied Thing.

"It's not threatening. It's not scary. It's funny," Wallacavage opines, speaking as much about the Addamses as his photos, published by Gingko Press in 2006 in a volume titled Monster Size Monsters.

"I always liked the word monster," he explains. "I like the idea that they're supposed to be scary but they're not."

This is the worldview that prompts Jim Houser to call his friend of almost 20 years "my hero." They grew up together in Springfield, Delaware County, went to Cardinal O'Hara High School together, and embraced skateboarding, later art, together.

Houser, an artist in Queen Village, describes his pal as the kind of person who says things like: "How come mermaids' tails don't start at their knees?"

Lest you get the impression Wallacavage is some kind of freak, please - not at all. He's quite conventional in some ways: strongly desires a wife and children, spent eight years as a Seabee in the Navy Reserve, and in 1995 earned a fine-arts degree at the University of the Arts.

He's also stayed true to his Catholic faith. "As much as I can," he offers.

"I've been living in a huge, crazy art world for a long, long, long time, and it pretty much opposes - a lot of times despises - my faith," he says. "But I've always felt protected in my belief. It's a real good, solid base."

Wallacavage is one of five children in a family he describes as "awesome close." Dad Mike is a retired IBM manager. Mom Joyce, a homemaker, says Adam was a quiet, creative child. He often entertained himself by dressing up in costumes - pirate, cowboy, space explorer - and pretending his parents' bed and built-in bookcases were his ship, horse or rocket.

"Adam was different, happily so," Joyce Wallacavage says with a laugh, describing how she'd sometimes find "fun little cartoon characters" doodled on his grade-school papers.

She matter-of-factly taught her son to sew; he now has his own sewing machine and makes over-the-top velvet curtains with fringe and doodads. This he's done more than once in his fun house, which he calls "my elaborate sketchbook."

But there's so much more, including what you might say is - and this is quite a distinction - the most arresting part of the house: the dining room.

Designed to feel like it's 20,000 leagues under the sea, it's a foamy blue-green with octopus and seashell chandeliers and an old-fashioned mural, a previous owner's commission, featuring sailboats and a lighthouse by a beach.

The room feels tight, a paean to oceanic excess, reminiscent of Jules Verne's Nautilus. It's presided over by a large and oddly unnerving diving helmet. (Could it be Captain Nemo's?)

"This room is just going and going and going," Wallacavage says, gesturing to the portholes, the petrified starfish, the melted wax on the candelabra.

Next: the kitchen. It's "circus-y," all lime, white and yellow stripes, an escape from the "dark gothy-y look of the rest of the house," its creator says.

The guest room's not so goth. It's fuchsia pink. Its eight-armed octopus chandelier drips with Barbie pearls fashioned by jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino, for whom Wallacavage did a photo shoot in Los Angeles.

"I'm just stuck on the tentacle thing for now," he says, as if it were a Cheerios kick.

His chandeliers sell for between $6,000 and $18,000, and Wallacavage says he's making a living off them. They'll be the centerpiece of his show from June 28 to July 26 at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery (formerly Tin Man Alley Gallery of Philadelphia and New Hope) in New York's Chelsea neighborhood.

The gallery's Malena Seldin describes Wallacavage's work as "imaginative, playful, a little bit humorous - and a bit surreal."

In other words, as his mother suggests, "not normal, whatever that is."

Thank goodness.

Breaking the mold
A local man uses the ocean as inspiration for his home decor and in the creation of octopus chandeliers that will be featured in a New York City gallery show this summer.

By Caitlin Meals
February 14, 2008
If you ask Adam Wallacavage why he is an artist, he might shrug and say, "because I enjoy doing it," or "it's fun."

If you ask Adam Wallacavage why he is an artist, he might shrug and say, "because I enjoy doing it," or "it's fun."

Entering his brownstone on the 1800 block of South Broad Street, you just know. More importantly, it becomes clear words aren't enough to explain it.

From the carving of a mouth that almost swallows the doorbell to the stuffed swordfish that greets visitors inside the three-story Victorian, it's hard to take everything in. But once a chandelier — and there are at least a half-dozen throughout the home — comes into view, all eyes are fixated. Besides lighting a room from its lofty position secured to the ceiling, the 38-year-old's creations are not conventional.

These eight-legged, oft-cartoon-depicted ocean dwellers known for their suction cup tentacles and inky defenses, are hardly what one suspects as the central light fixture in the dining room. Wallacavage looks at his octopi in a different light — as an art form and inspiration.

"It's like an obsessive thing — it's a job and an art and a hobby," he said from the room where the "Medusa" chandelier with snakes replacing the tentacles hangs.

The first chandelier debuted in 2001 around the same time he purchased the house with his now ex-wife and, in June, Wallacavage will showcase several of his sea creatures at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York City.

The forms are plaster cast from rubber and latex molds Wallacavage makes himself. In fact, the whole process was self-taught.

The debut chandelier was inspired by the dining room's unofficial theme of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" with walls painted to appear washed out and weathered and gold-framed Victorian-style mirrors hung, which make the room feel twice its size. The octopus' color scheme reflects the shoreline — with hues of wet and dry sand — and it is a few feet wide. It's right at home with the two portholes that peer into the sunroom and tiki bar in the tiny backyard.

There's similar decorating in many of the rooms and Wallacavage is proud to point out the details behind every door, most a result of his own curiosity as an artist in the self-described do-it-yourself genre.

"I really set out to build a house I could use as a backdrop for photography," he said of another gig in his jack-of-all-trades freelancing. "But then it turned into building the place as a prop, [which] is really my passion, so I'm kind of more interested in building things than I am in photographing them. Although I still do both, they're kind of separate at the same time."

Another reason behind Wallacavage's unique designs stems from his lifelong fascination with the ocean. Growing up in Delaware County, he spent summers in Wildwood Crest, N.J., which he still frequents. As a boy, he read "Art Forms in Nature" by Ernst Haeckel, a novel that looks at the way sea life inspires art nouveau, and, years later, was moved to create his dining room.

After graduating high school in 1988, Wallacavage attended the Penn State-Brandywine campus for a year of general studies then enrolled in the Navy Seabees Reserves, where he worked in the construction battalion and remained active for eight years. All the while, he worked at Camera Shop Inc. in Paoli, learning the ins and outs of one-hour photo processing.

His interest grew and Wallacavage enrolled in the University of the Arts, where he graduated in '95 with a degree in photography. He moved from West Philly, where he lived during college, to Ninth and Ernest streets in '96. A few years later, he moved to 11th and Ellsworth streets before landing at his abode on Broad. He worked as a freelance photographer and was a founding artist of Space 1026, a gallery and studio at 1026 Arch St., where he would do screen printing, sculpting and photography until he moved to his current home, which had enough room for a workspace.

Wallacavage saw potential in the home that had been a doctor's office since the '40s, despite the fact it was uninhabited for seven years.

"It needed a lot of work," he recalled, laughing.

He's completely gutted the downstairs, converting the waiting room, offices and exam rooms into a foyer, kitchen and dining room. The kitchen's theme is the circus with a hodgepodge of vintage appliances and wacky decorations — more fish, Addams Family memorabilia and baby pink KitchenAid appliances.

"It's a Victorian funhouse," he said.

Three flights up, an old bedroom has been converted to one of his studios (there's also a photography studio and a workspace in the basement) where random tentacles lie in various stages of production. There are clay sculptures that will serve as casts for the rubber molds used to make the plaster casts, rubber starfish molds, latex casts, paint and makeshift protocols of different shapes and designs he wants to try.

Wallacavage is busy at work for his solo show that runs June 28 to July 26. He's unsure how many pieces he'll display or their specifics, although he wants at least one large chandelier up to eight-feet wide. He showed at the same gallery, which is owned by a friend, last year and his chandeliers have sold to homeowners and businesses — all via word-of-mouth — in spots like California and Miami and can even be seen nearby as part of the decor at Sailor Jerry, a clothing store at 13th and Sansom streets. Price ranges from $6,000 to $18,000 each, depending on the intricacy. Wallacavage's pieces are never commissioned, as they are all original designs, and so far they've only taken the shape of an octopus.

He's collaborated with designer and artist friends across the country on pieces like "Fenicologia," a bubble-gum pink-jeweled piece he worked on with L.A.-based designer Tarina Tarantino. He pulls inspiration from churches, Italian architecture and the art he sees around South Philly.

For the most part, the 25 fixtures he's made to date — with eight more in the works — have simply formed themselves.

"I don't really plan too much out. I mean, I have the gallery show and I'm thinking about that, but I'm not going to force it, I just do what I like to do and if I get an idea for something else, I'll do it," he said

If he starts from scratch, the chandeliers take about two months to complete. He works in pieces, painting and sealing with a two-part epoxy resin for strength and shine before outfitting the fixture with tubing and basic wiring he learned from electricians.

The eight-legged lights are usually hung so Wallacavage can photograph them for the Web before selling or shipping them off.

"It's about the aesthetic design more than it being an octopus," he said. "The reason I use tentacles is it's something I know how to make and it's interesting to me. It's more about the color and design of an object and just finding really pretty forms. I never saw anything like that, so I thought, 'Well this would be a pretty interesting thing to try to sell.'"

For now, he'll continue living in his self-made deep-sea world, an environment he said is refreshing.

"I have no plans on moving. I never thought I was going to live here forever when I bought it, but I just have access to everything I want," he said. "I just don't see the point. I don't like the suburbs. I hate driving out there, it's too crowded. It's an hour and 20 minutes to Wildwood, I'm close to the airport. I can go to L.A. New York's easy to get to, too."

He's just as comfortable that his creativity won't be going anywhere in the near future, either. He will just keep plugging away at his "trial-and-error" technique.

"If you do something once, you have to perfect it, and then you move on. I have no set plan how to do it. It's like that was neat, that was fun to make, but I'm going to do another one," he said. "I'll do it till that's enough, then I'll do something else."

here are the pics. enjoy!

THE WORLD of ADAM WALLACAVGE
By Roger Gastman


How do you describe yourself as an artist?
Artistic Jack-of-all-Trades? I don't know. I just do whatever I feel is appropriate at any given moment. I make a living as a photographer but I also shoot photos for fun. I also get work making chandeliers and building interiors. I describe myself as a happy artist who knows how to do lots of different things with stuff.

When did you start building things and creating?
My Grandfather got me into that. He was a carpenter, artist, photographer, and a steam shovel operator in the coalmines of Minersville, PA. I built elaborate forts all over the place when I was a kid. Then I started building skate ramps. After high school I enlisted in the military and was a Navy Sea Bee for eight years, building more stuff and shooting things. I think being handy is just using common sense and not being afraid to mess up. Some people think it is important to get jobs that pay money so that they can get whatever they want. I realized long ago that if you just learn how to do everything yourself, you don't need lots of money. There is an amazing sense of freedom in knowing how to make whatever you want. Even if you have lots of money to pay people to work for you, there is still the burden of having to rely on someone else.

What have you built that you are most proud of?
I just finished the new Sailor Jerry store here in Philadelphia. I did the entire interior and made two huge chandeliers with big ceiling medallions. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted and had a ton of fun with it. Besides that, I am really proud of my house. The house is a Victorian Brownstone in South Philadelphia. When I bought it, the whole first floor was turned into a doctor's office. Much of the original details were missing. This gave me the license to renovate it into whatever I imagined it could have been instead of having to restore it. I like the idea of working in imaginary genres. I love hearing about extravagant interiors of the past where there are no actual images of and imagining what it was like and reproducing that idea instead of trying to make something look perfectly like what it used to look like. I especially love having dreams of fantastic interiors. Unfortunately, I never write down my dreams, so I forget half the stuff I learn from them. I always remember my fish dreams though.

How did the idea of the chandeliers come about?

It started with my dining room. I wanted to do an art nouveau style room. I made rubber molds from old mirror frames, trash picked wood moldings, anything ornate looking—and cast a bunch of plaster and glued it all over the room. The theme of the room came about after getting a copy of Ernst Haeckel's 1904 book, Art Forms in Nature. In that book was an old image of a jellyfish chandelier made of blown glass. I had no idea how to make things out of glass let alone sculpt a jellyfish so I decided to do the octopus because it is just so obvious and it seemed like something I could pull off with my meager sculpting skills. For the time being, they are my "one trick pony" but I love making them and I'm going to keep at it until I think of something else. I just had a show of them at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in NYC last June and I'm having a big show there with Ray Caesar December 2007 when they expand the gallery. I have been working with jewelry designer, Tarina Tarantino and she provided me with a huge package of custom made pearls for one of my chandeliers that just transformed the thing into some dripping glittery piece of eye candy. The things I could do with her jewelry are endless.

You have customized your house.

It is a slow process but I never get tired of it. I can do whatever I feel like doing to it and that makes for such a fun time. Whatever phase I go through, I can redo a room to fit that mood. Currently, I want to redo the living room all white, which is something so foreign to me, because I associate white with minimalism. I intend on covering the place in even more ornaments. Oh, wait, I forgot. I wanted to redo the crown moldings so that between the brackets there are wreaths with raven heads poking out. Ravens are black. Well, maybe it won't be all white. I also want to do one of the guest bedrooms in all super gloss black trim and moldings and even the doors with a resin coated black gloss, and flocked leopard wallpaper. Ah! That would be horribly beautiful!

What was your introduction to interior design?

I credit my older brother Michael. That, and going to old beautiful churches all my life. My brother studied philosophy in Europe and is very involved with religion and architecture. He has a passion for beautiful buildings like you wouldn't believe. Driving around in a car with him is like going on a roller coaster tour guide. He is constantly swerving around and pointing out different architectural details. We spent some time together going to old churches in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that were being closed. It was heart wrenching to see these wonderful places being dismantled. I was grieving over the destruction. I was led to believe the things I was so fascinated by were lost skills, until I tried to do it myself to some success. It is funny how I know how to make this stuff, which I have no historical clue about how to talk about it, where my brother can talk about history and architectural theory, but can't hammer a nail into a piece of drywall.

How did you come up with the idea of creating your own custom wallpaper?

I was at some jewelry factory one day and I was admiring a piece of wallpaper that was on a table that was the gaudiest thing I ever saw in my life, it was ornamental red flocked design on shiny gold Mylar. I asked the factory owner where he got it and he smiled at me and said, "here" and opened a door that led to another factory that makes flocked wallpaper that was in the same building! I was tripping. I had stuff made for my house and later for the Sailor Jerry store. Recently, I teamed up with two friends from Philly and Jonathan LeVine and decided to go into business making custom flocked wallpaper and will be releasing some amazing designs soon. We are talking with Shepard Fairey, Camille Rose Garcia, Ray Caesar, Jeremy Fish and Shag at the moment. It's exciting to do something like this, especially with such amazing artists. Our company is going to be called Curio Wall coverings.

I have seen you shoot and you get things out of your subjects and photos that other photographers don't get.

I learned my skills through skateboarding. I simply just kept that aesthetic of shooting in the "skate photo" style of using multiple flashes, and weird angles. I just love taking normal situations and photographing them in a more surrealistic way. One thing I have made a habit of is never being in any "normal situations." I'm usually in really weird situations. My book that just came out, Monster Size Monsters is a retrospective of my photos over the past 15 or so years. My photography is so random and I have always had trouble showing it because I never was able to grasp the idea of showing it in galleries. I mainly just kept it all boxed up in huge piles of 4"x6" prints. The only way I like showing it is in big grids or in big stacks. I think my problem is that my photography doesn't match my personal aesthetic. I have a hard time framing something and trying to sell it when I wouldn't want to hang it in my own house. My book is the perfect placement for my photos because it shows the random order they were created in, and is in a nice neat little package for anyone to have on their coffee table, bookshelf, or next to the toilet in their bathroom.

You live in Philadelphia, how does the city affect your art?

There is a wonderful art scene in Philadelphia. I have been part of the art collective here called "Space 1026" since back in the day. There is a spirit there that really keeps everyone involved. They're inspired and motivated to keep pursuing their ideas and passions. Philadelphia is a really tight knit community. Everyone knows everyone else and everyone helps each other out. I suppose it is some sort of lack of a competitive drive that translates into something that is just positive. This helps people relax and really do what they want to do without worrying about what is cool or trendy. Beyond just art, I live a mile from FDR skate park, and that place is just nuts. I love going around to so many different scenes and shooting photos of everything.

I know a passion you have is fishing and collecting taxidermy.

Charles Addams, the creator of the Addam's family had a huge influence on me my entire life. I've always been attracted to the sea for it's endless source of mystery and inspiration.

Anything good coming up?

I'm doing a project in May through the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks where I am collaborating with 3 great local artists (and muses of mine), Judith Schaechter (stained glass), Kathy Vissar (ornamental plaster) and Kim Montenegro (outlaw seamstress) and we are doing an installation in three rooms of the historic Physick House Museum. It's going to involve chandeliers, curtains, and all kinds of special surprises! I've learned so much in the past year that I can't wait to apply some of my new ideas into my house, so I will be working at home a lot. I'm also really excited about my show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in December so I'll be making all kinds of creations for that. We just build this huge concrete bowl at FDR skatepark and I bought a new camera just to start shooting skateboarding again so I'll be doing that some more. Actually, my passion for photography keeps growing with every new camera I buy and I've been collecting a lot of them lately.

– STIRATO POSTERMAGAZINE

1. Present yourself to italian readers…Who u are? What u do? And what u want from your life?
I am Adam Wallacavag e, photographer, militant ornamentalist, historic preservationist, sculptor, interior designer, skateboarder, spear fisherman, freediver, set designer, and collector of art, taxidermy, sea shells, books, and bunch of old junk. I want to someday make things that inspire people just like the people who have inspired me in my life and I want to someday photograph a sperm whale battling a giant squid.

2. You're mostly a photographer (or not?)… but it's seems you have a special feeling with the camera… in your bio u write u invented the camera..and also skate, musicians, toys…the stars! A lot of work! But the question is: everything and everybody looks cooler and perfect in a photo? A photo can for real give me the meaning of the moment or the person in the shot?
I care more about capturing a person the way I feel about them. I am terrible at telling stories or describing things so I like to show photos in the way they feel to me but exaggerated. Say you tell a story of an event the night before and you tell it in a way that is so much cooler sounding than it really was, I want my photos to be that way. I don't care so much about being "real" or seeing something the way it really looked. My first lens was a fisheye and that in no way shows the truth. I suppose I am a surrealist documentary photographer.

3. From the oscurity of the deep abyss to the light of your chandeliers: why u like octopus? (and why your chandeliers have italian names?)
I based the interior of my dining room on the Jules Vern book, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I capped off the room with octopus chandeliers. I was never inspired to make anything else but octopuses ever since. It just seems so obvious to me to make them.
As for Italian names, I had an Italian neighbor growing up and i was jealous of him because he had dark hair and darker skin and I wanted to be an American Indian when I was a little kid and he was that much closer to being an American Indian since American Indians have darker skin and dark hair, plus, he ate pasta every night and i loved pasta and my mom never made pasta. Wait, what were we talking about? Oh, Italian names, yes. I have a special place in my heart for Italy since I am Lithuanian. No, that doesn't make sense. The Pope is in Rome and such beauty came from Italy and I was in Milan last year and saw the Acquario Civico and the building blew me away. It was so beautiful. That place, plus my wonderful Italian pen pal, Fede inspired me use Italian names. I suppose you can say Italy is a muse of mine.

4. What the step of the cration of one chandeliers? From the idea to the making…materials, time, way to do it… (i mean… how u create theme?)
I start by sculpting the tentacles from clay, then I make a mold and then cast them in a really high quality and durable plaster which is then painted and coated in a resin.

5. U feel to be one part of an artistic scene? Or u don't care about "artistic scenes"…
I have been friends with many different art scenes over the years and wanted to be apart of some of them but I never felt like I fit in. The other day I was thinking about the most important and inspirational art show I have ever scene and hands down, it was the Kustom Kulture show with artists such as Robert Williams, Ed Roth, Craig Stecyk, Von Dutch etc.. That scene is really looked down on by the upper crust of the art world and I felt as if I had even been swayed into staying apart from it but I don't care anymore. I am not an intellectual and I really could care less for "smart art". I believe in following your passions. I believe in making things that "look cool" If an artist is stoked on their own work, that is wonderful. If that art makes other people happy, it is even better. If it is not in your nature to be original, don't be. If you have a passion for copying someone else, make it, just don't take the credit for it. My general philosophy as far as creating art goes is, "if it feels good, do it" but suffer the consequences if necessary.

6. Is that house (the green one) your house right? U know this issue of STIRATO is about OLD & NEW… do u like the time you are living (20th/21th century)? Or maybe sometimes u dream about a life in old times… like roman empire or, u know, maybe in a big ocean ship looking for giant sea monsters!

That is my house. I consider myself a militant ornamentalist. I believe in bringing back the lost arts before the rise of modernism. I'm not a purest though. Again, if it looks cool, go for it. I don't care if it is plastic, cardboard, plaster, wood, or marble. I'm inspired by the past. I am inspired by the future as well, but I will leave the future up to other people to invent.

I never dream about being back in time, nor do I ever dream about being on the ocean. I dream about diving in bays and rivers where the water is warm and crystal clear. The fish in my dreams are usually deep-sea fish that are swimming around in shallow water. For the most part, they look like sea monsters but I am there spear fishing but for some reason. It's weird, I've had these dreams many times and I have never shot a fish in my dreams. I just had this amazing dream where I was in a boat going through this canal somewhere and the water was exploding with splashes from hundreds of sailfish and marlin and sword fish, it was a really cool dream. I like that I remembered it.

I did this interview for BANT magazine out of Istanbul.

Bant asks Adam ...
? How did u get your start in photography?

My Mother let me take photos with the family camera when I was around 6 years old. I liked it but didn't really get into photography until I was about 15. I got my start in Photography through skateboarding and making zines.
?
What is your history as far as schools and education? Or do you believe in schools and education?

I worked in a one hour photo lab and would shoot tons of photos and then develop the stuff at work. This helped me learn through trial and error rather quickly. Shooting skateboarding is difficult but learning it helped me with everything else from fashion to bands. I went to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia for photography but I was already shooting for magazines back then. I learned darkroom printing and studio lighting there but I also spent a lot of time silkscreening and taking sculpting classes which really helped me later. I believe in formal art education but I'm not too into the art schools that just let students do whatever they feel. That is a waste of money. I also think it is better to go to school after finding what you really want to do instead of rushing into school right after high school. As far as photography goes, digital photography has made learning to shoot so much easier and faster, I love it and it has really kept me interrested in it.
? When was the first time you took a camera in your hand? Do you remember the first shot you took that made you realize it was the one thing you want to do the rest of your life?
I remembr the first photo I shot. It was of my friend in the woods and I shot it at a weird angle on purpose to be weird. I was only 6 years old. I started shooting photos for my zine during the summer in the beachside city of Wildwood New Jersey. I hung out at the boardwalk every night. I was really into wide angle lenses and was shooting skateboarding and haunted castle photos from the boardwalk. At first I had my friend Liz shoot the photos for me because I didn't have a camera. I couldn't have her around all the time obviously, so I got my own camera.
? How did you start working as a professional photographer? Was it through publications and magazines or some other jobs?
It was through Thrasher Skateboard magazine. Later I started shooting for a local news paper and then I started doing commercial work through GYRO Worldwide advertising agency in Philadelphia. Once I started getting paid well for photos I slowed down with magazine work which was not good because iwas starting to get burned out since i wasn't shooting what I wanted to shoot.
? Which publications do you shoot for at the moment?
I really just shoot for Shepard Fairey and Roger Gastman's magazine, Swindle, sometimes I'll do stuff for random music, art, or fashion magazines .
? You have so many different kinds of photography works such as objects, musicians, concerts, random picks, skateboarders... Which styles have you enjoyed most and you still want to keep up with?

I like shooting photos of artists in their studios. I like when interesting people have interesting surroundings the most. I like shooting bands that have a serious style to them, I love the chalange of geting the most intense moment during a show. When shooting skateboarding , I like big flowing tricks with fun stuff going on in the background.
? Your dining room is legendary. Did you design the place by yourself? Is the rest of the house in similar style to your living room or is it just the living room that is specially designed?
The whole house is crazy and it is going to be much crazier once I get the chance to start working on it again. I have so many ideas. I bought it 6 years ago and quickly realized I wasn't going to be the type of house I would fix up and sell again. It is more on the lines of becoming a museum,. Obviously, my maon inspiration is the Addam's Family.
? Some of your photos are very dynamic like the cars, bicycles and especially the skaters'. What is tempting about these dynamic shoots for you?
I think about what photos from the past are interresting to me and try to document things that people will get a kick out of in the future. I love old photos of stunts and I like old photos of cars and bikes.
? What is your favorite place to go around with your camera and take dozens of pictures?
I love shooting at flea markets and old carnivals. Today I shot photos at an aquarium and had a bunch of fun taking pictures of fish.
? Do you enjoy to set up for a long time before shooting or do you enjoy randomly taken pictures more?
I like shooting with flashes but I like to be quick with everything. I got that from skateboarding.
? Is there any story that you cannot get off your head about one of your shootings or about one of the people that you were shooting, etc...?
There are some good stories from pretty much everything I have ever done with my friend, Bam Margera. The stuff that goes on around him on a daily basis is insane. The car jump is a perfect example, I just went over his house one day and they were jumping cars over the garage with this huge ramp they built. He showed me new footage of him driving his uncle's car into the swimming pool as well as a limosene, and he didn't even care enough to get good filming of it, he just did it and had his drunk uncle video tape it, and he missed the limo going into the pool. I wish I was there for that one.
? What equipments do you use? Which cameras, lens combinations do you use? Which films are your favorites?
I realy don't care much at all for film anymore. I shoot mainly with a cheap digital camera.
? Has after editting with programmes such as Photoshop ever been an issue in your photography art?
I love photoshop and I love when people screw around with my photos. Anything that makes them look better is cool by me. I am not a purest by any means.
? You have moved to other areas from photography with your chandeliers. What has been your inspiration in creating the octopus-like chandeliers? Are you a fan of underwater? Do you dive?
I would hang out all the time as a kid around this big rock jetty at the beach. One day I saw a guy come out of the water with a speargun and a huge striped bass. I watched him drag the fish down the beach and I was so intrigued by that. I have always felt a huge connection with the sea. I believe when I die, if I make it to heaven, it is going to be in the sea. I just love the endless mystery of the any sort of water that is connected to the world's oceans. Even the river near my house, which is far from the ocean, has it's occasional whale wander up it, I just love the idea of never knowing what to expect. I got into making octopus chandeliers because it just made sense to me, I mean hunters make gun racks with deer hoofs, why not make a chandelier out of an octopus?
? Technically, how did you do all those different kinds of chandeliers? What are they made of? What has been the process of creating them shortly?
In school, I learned some basic molding and casting classes. I never knew what to do with what I had learned until I bought my house and wanted to cover the place in ornemental plaster. I just started doing this really wild style of decoration in my diningroom and it just led making these chandeliers out of plaster. I basically sculpt the tenticals, make a latex mold and cast them with threaded metal tubes inside them for the wires for the lightbulbs . I started painting them with resin to give them that high gloss wet look.
? Are there any other exciting stuff you are planning to do in near future besides photography? Can you tell us a bit about your future plans and maybe some upcoming projects?
I'm working on an interior for the new Sailor Jerry store here in Philadelphia. Sailor Jerry is a line of t shirts and stuff based on the tattoo flash of Sailor Jerry Collins. I had this really cool flocked wallpaper made with his designs and I made two huge chandeliers for the place. I'm also making another chandelier for the Miami Basel art fair. I'm putting one of them up in a hotel lobby with the Jonathan LeVine gallery from NYC. I am also working with jewelry designer, Tarina Tarantino on some chandeliers and she is making the jewels to hang off of them.
? Who are your favorite artists, street artist and photographers?
My favorite artists are usually eccentric clothing designers. I have a weird relationship with photography where I don't look at it much. I don't know what it is, maybe I don't want to feel any sort of pressure when I shoot photos, I just want to shoot things naturally as the idea comes. When I see other people's photography, it makes me think I should be doing something else and I don't really care to think that way. My favorite photography is the photography shot by kids or people who normally don't shoot much who get lucky shots. I used to work at a photo lab and there were usually 1 or 2 photos a day out of 3000-4000 prints that were brilliant.
? Do you make a living out of your art?

I make a living shooting photos and making art. I love it. I knew I never wanted a normal 9-5 job and I have been pulling it off for a while now.
? What is the opening page of your computer? What are some of the websites that you visit regularly?
Even though it makes me feel like a teenager, myspace is really fun. I don't look at anything regularly just whatever pops into my head at any given time.
? What are your favorite tunes nowadays?
I've been stuck on a space rock, psychedelic, doom thing lately. I don't know what it is but I love bands like Monster Magnet, Orange Goblin, and Kyuss.

Thanks a lot!!!

Here are a bunch of photos of my chandeliers