Hungry Eyeball presents Portland artist Martin Ontiveros print release and interview.
I’ve become very good friends with Martin over the last few years and have seen him grow as a person and an artist. I’m proud to present an awesome collection of Ontiveros prints online in the Hungry Eyeball Gallery and the following interview…

> (The soundtrack of your life… how would this play out?)

Man, this is a really hard question to answer, at least briefly. Not sure how to approach it. I guess if you were to use music to weave my tale (or saga, in my case)… For my early childhood, it would be the Beatles and whatever was on the radio, Stevie Wonder, Wings, Motown that my parents played all the time, Top 40 rock. Then mid-70′s to 1980 it’s KISS, Cheap Trick, Pink Floyd, Boston, Led Zeppelin, a lot of hard rock. I was definitely on the path I am now by this time. 1980-85, AC/DC, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Dio, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, WASP, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Scorpions, all hair metal, all the time. Then mid-80′s, I chucked that all aside for heavier thrash and hardcore–Slayer, Celtic Frost, Misfits, Dr. Know, Black Flag, The Ramones, Bad Brains, Descendants, Agnostic Front, C.O.C., Discharge, Germs, English Dogs…jesus, too many to name really. But I was also really getting into Black Sabbath at this same time, they’ve kind of always been at the root of it all. And the Melvins–once I heard Gluey Porch Treatments, it was over. “Heavy” was it. 90′s to the present have been all over the map…I started it by getting into early 70′s glam rock/punk: David Bowie, X, New York Dolls, the Stooges, Johnny Thunders, the Dead Boys, Television, Richard Hell…some grunge slipped in there for a minute like Nirvana and Tad, then weird shit like the Residents, DEVO, Butthole Surfers, Ween. My interest in Hip-hop came about in college…Cyprus Hill, EPMD, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Freestyle Fellowship, Pharcyde, Wu Tang, but I also started getting back into my metal/hard rock roots again. When I moved to Portland, Fu Manchu threw me into stoner rock, and metal just became better than EVER, High On Fire, Nebula, Black Cobra, Orange Goblin, Sleep, OM, Witch, again, too many to name now. There’s an undercurrent that happens throughout the last 20 years too, where bands like Built to Spill, Pixies, Husker Du, Dungen, the Gits, the Kills, PJ Harvey, Polvo, Quasi and other groups that you can’t really categorize play in and out. I’ve become a huge fan of Neil Young in the past couple years. I mean, it’s all Rock n’ Roll to me. The best part about being my age now is having long abandoned concern what anyone else thinks of what I listen to, and being able to enjoy EVERYTHING I just listed equally.

Can I plug my NW buddies bands too? Red Fang, Diesto, Nether Regions, Lord Dying, Norska, Danava, Witch Mountain, Wizard Rifle, Rabbits, and Fist Fite these are all bands you should be checking into (and I apologize to others I’m leaving out).
> (When do you usually feel the most inspired?)

There’s a few answers to this. First up is set and setting, which is late at night, in my living space/studio, with my headphones on. Rock n’ Roll has always been my greatest well of inspiration, so when I have something good to listen to, the images just flow in. It’s pretty much always been that way. I daydream quite a bit and Rock facilitates a lot of imagery, so much so that it’s always been a goal of mine to combine the two, something I’ve dabbled with in the past but have now been able to realize more fully within the music scene of Portland. I’ve always wanted my work to be synonymous with heavy music and rock, and now it’s happening, and it’s happening with some pretty kick-ass bands.

The second answer is when I’m at a friend’s art show or in a group show with other artists I know and admire. I’ve been fortunate to meet and befriend some of the most talented, confident, and yet sweet and considerate people in the art scene, ever. There was a time, early on, when it was hard not to compare someones success or talent to my own, but as my faith in my own work grew, so did my admiration and appreciation of everyone Else’s work. So when I see someone I know just fucking nail a great piece of artwork, it inspires me to keep pushing further at what I do. It’s like this awesome club, but no one is excluded, you just have to do your best.

The third answer is when I have the opportunity to work with some of my friends on a project, something I’ve done through collaborative pieces in the past, but hadn’t really done on a large scale until just this past Summer, when Bwana Spoons, Skinner, Scrappers Morrison and I were brought in by Hurley Company to do the Awesome Show, an installation/mural piece at their HQ in Costa Mesa, CA. It wasn’t just about being a team on what turned out to be an amazing show, it was also about watching my friends work and together going through the many phases and emotions an artist will encounter when trying to accomplish something this big, and helping each other through all of it. I had the opportunity to not only observe their respective processes, but to see how much of their work is a reflection of their personalities, or hell, their SOULS. I’d already known them all for years and we’ve been pretty tight in that time, but I came out feeling more close to them as friends then ever as a result, and that experience made me grow as an artist as well. It was the embodiment of why I do this at all– the joy of showing the world (and myself) what I’m capable of, the comradery and support of other talented friends, and the inspiration other people experience through what we do.

> (Do you have any favorite horror films?)

Funny thing to ask, because as much as I love a good monster, I wouldn’t count myself as a “horror” artist. I mean, I watched my share and enjoy it for sure, but I’ve long since taken my aesthetic cues from the grotesque and mythological. I do have my favorites, however… The Howling, Hellraiser 1 and 2, From Beyond, Suspiria, The Omen series, Evilspeak, The Exorcist… I’m more into supernatural horror than slasher stuff. Werewolves, devils, demons and extra-dimensional creatures are where it’s at for me. My heyday for scary stuff was the 70′s and 80′s, as a kid… The Other, Demon Seed, Phase IV, The Devil’s Rain, Carrie, The Hills Have Eyes…that kind of thing.

> (If you had to be any kind of monster, what would it be and why?)

Oh, WEREWOLF, no question. I guess Vampires are okay, but it’s Werewolf for me, especially The Howling-style, pointy-eared, standing upright type. As to why, I guess it’s because it would be like having a superpower– meaning I can alter myself into this powerful, furry beast at will (again, talking Howling-style, where it isn’t about waiting for a full moon) or just stay mellow and chill it human-like when I want to.  I’d rather be huge, covered in fur with glowing red eyes than be pale-skinned in a cape.

> (Can you tell us about any present or upcoming projects/shows and what you look forward to this year?)

Damn… as far as shows, it’s mostly group stuff so far… This month I’m in a Year of the Dragon show at this place FOE Gallery in Northampton, MA… My buddy Tripper Dungan was nice enough to invite me into his upcoming van themed show “That’s My Ride” at Grass Hut… speaking of horror again, these dudes Twenty Eyes Collective are gonna have me design a poster for the movie “Pumpkinhead”, part of a film series called Cinema Overdrive in N.C. Red Fang has asked me to design album art for a limited release tour CD and Album for Japan, fucking STOKED about that. Later this Summer I will be in a great show here at Compound Gallery in June with some of my buddies: Oliver and Spencer Hibert, Arbito, Snaggs, and Buff Monster. Looking forward to this one! Also in June is a Jumbo Machinder (Shogun Warrior) themed show at Grass Hut, and I’m being pressured to make one from scratch rather than customize one of the old toys, which is fine by me. So all this, plus what I’m forgetting right now, plus more rock posters, custom toys, commissions, and whatever else my frantic brain will think up. Oh, and hopefully this mural project in Portland that will dwarf what I did at Hurley Space last June.

> (Name 3 things you want to do in 2012 and why?)

1) More papier mache, both on my own and with my son (as the art team M.O.F.O.), because it’s an art form that takes me out of the rigid control of my linework and brush strokes and into the loose and often delightfully crude realm of improvisation.
2) More T-shirts. I love to do apparel, and love to see people wearing my stuff. I especially intend to make some things geared toward women this time, because thus far it’s been fairly male-centric, and I’m finally moving out of that in my work.
3) Better myself, which is a lot of things–Sort the negative from the positive. Forgive, let go, move on. Meditate. Exercise. Bike ride. Practice Yoga. Listen to my heart. Simply be. Do my best. Become a wizard. Bowl a score over 200. Impress all of you.

To see all available prints by Martin Ontiveros, go to the Hungry Eyeball Gallery.