Last summer, Popdose talked with Seattle artist, Troy Gua, about his years-long celebration of a funky lil musical genius named Prince — and the lawsuit, global press coverage and short film (pun intended) that followed. Read the full interview here. As 2016 kicks off, we reconnect with Gua to discuss his latest project, one that could land your hands on this limited edition gem of a poster (see below):
What inspired the Le Petit Prince poster project? LPP for those in the know.
It was an end-of-the-year Instagram app that culled your 9 most popular posts of the year and compiled them into a grid for posting. I guess it should have come as no surprise that all nine of mine turned out to be LPP pics. I posted, someone said it would make a great poster, the wheels turned.
Does this mark the end of the LPP era?
It’s not the end of an era, but I had concentrated on an entirely new 80’s period series earlier this past year, so I thought a compilation would make sense and look slick. I’ve just started to work on a new 90s series.
What’s your take on Prince’s one two punch of 2015 LP’s: HITnRUN Phases 1 and 2?
Disappointing. I wasn’t moved, save a couple of dusty gems.
Editor’s note: I was slightly more kind to the new albums in my 2015 year end review… slightly.
With pop culture so much at the forefront of your art — Le Petit Prince, Le Petit Troy, Pop Hybrids — what inspired the Orange Dust series? A case of the munchies?
Ha! Well, Orange Dust addresses American popular culture directly. I’m both consumed and repelled by our American contemporary culture. The work in Orange Dust serves as an exhibition of objects and ideas designed to underscore our preventable but gathering fate: a collection of fictional, metaphoric artifacts unearthed from America’s impending tomb.
We live in a present day reality where we expect more from our technology and our society than we do from ourselves. We search for happiness in a pill, in one hour delivery, in binge watching, in virtual reality, in memes, in the newest iPhone, in the quickest way to get to the ”thing” we think we deserve in order to be who we believe we are… but we no longer are.
Although the theme at the core of this work may seem pessimistic, it is meant as an optimistic overture, a reminder of America’s potential for greatness to underscore the damage inflicted upon ourselves and each other physically, philosophically and otherwise…a wakeup call to rewrite our future.
Did a certain nacho cheese snack food manufacturer sue you?
Ha, again! No. No names or trademarks were used in the making of this art.
What’s next for 2016?
I’m in a group show in March at a local gallery called Good Neighbor as well as in June at Seattle Art Museum’s SAM Gallery, and I’ll be working on a few corporate commissions. And there will be some LPP action in between. I’ll stay happily busy.
To learn more about how you can get your hands on the limited edition Le Petit Prince poster by Troy Gua, visit this link:
http://troygua.bigcartel.com/product/donation
“The Donalds” from Troy Gua’s Pop Hybrids series.
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