Inside Joseph Arthur’s Studio: A Tour of the Songwriter’s Artistic Haven
Rock Daily recently crashed Joseph Arthur’s Rolling Stone style shoot at the singer/songwriters Brooklyn, New York art gallery (what he has dubbed the the MOMAR — Museum of Modern Arthur). He gave us a tour of his creative haven, which includes a gallery, painting studio, performance stage and even a self-built recording studio. Arthur is an art producing machine — this year he will release 4 EPs and a full-length album with his band, and has piles of paintings in his joint. “I don’t really feel like I work particularly hard,” he says. “Making paintings or music is like child’s play to me, it’s rooted in inspiration, and I think the key for any artist is to keep your inspiration alive and ignore whatever forces try to kill it.” While Arthur’s songs range from dreamy acoustic ballads to punchy rock songs, his sound tends towards a soft and sweet aesthetic. Not so with his creepily edgy artwork, which borrows from Basquiat-style graffiti and Warhol-like repetitive screen prints, and shows off a darker, more mysterious side. Click above to check out the video to see how he paints while performing music live and the incredible results.