Cultured Vultures Catch Up with Godmachine

We caught up with the awesome Godmachine: a master of macabre art.

Godmachine is a god.

Alright, that might be a bit too gushy but let’s just say that he is very, very, very good at what he does and that is to create some of the most vivid art pieces you will ever see.

Some of you may know him for his amazing work with Disturbia on their clothing range as well as collaborating with huge names such as Bring Me the Horizon, Tony Hawk, A Day to Remember, The Hundreds and Lamb of God. So you could say that we were over the moon when he accepted our invite for a quick  Q&A.

At the time of writing, his store has been literally wiped clean of goodies but be sure to check out some of his classics below.

 Recent Works

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A with Godmachine

 

 

1. How the fuck are you, Godmachine?

I’m OK. I am reading about stoicism and contemplating the idea that happiness is only fleeting like a butterfly that comes to visit on a warm summers day then makes its own way in the world again. The Buddhist people say that you should treat victory and defeat as one and the same- a more modern version of that is that if you live off praise you will die from criticism. Doesn’t mean to be dispassionate or not seek fulfillment, it just means learning to look for what you need not what you want….and I just bought this t-shirt with a sad looking cat on it with an eye patch and a piece of lettuce in its mouth. IT’S THE BEST T-SHIRT EVER AND I’M SO HAPPY. Fuck you butterfly of happiness- I have the pirate cat of DOOOOM!

2. What’s the best response you’ve ever had to one of your works?

I get so many, from a simple thank you to all out praise and its all incredibly lovely and means so much to me- its art isn’t it- screw what I said above, you can no more be an egoless artist as you can a honest politician…unless you are Chet Zar- or Josh Belanger- those guys are amazingly lovely. One great story I heard about a good response to art was from the artist Maurice Sendak who received a letter from a woman writing to say how much her young 4 year old son loved his books and art so much. Maurice was delighted and sent the kid an original piece of artwork. The mother wrote back to thank him but said the kid was so excited and overwhelmed that he immediately ate the piece of paper. Maurice says that this was the greatest and best piece of praise anyone could have given him for his art. I would have to agree, in this case.

3. And the worst?

I actually can’t remember any off the top of my head and there has been thankfully so little. I do have the suspicion that its from people who don’t fully understand the ‘art’ thing, people who would hire me ‘coz you can do art eh’ to produce children’s bedtime kittens then get angry at me when it’s a dead cat or people who put bullets on a cross bow and are eaten by bears.

4. Because of the dark tones in your art, some people think you’re mental. Are you?

I once worked for a housing association for the homeless on the front desk- the front line, looking after all sorts that were having a bad time. One guy who would bring me comics to read asked me one day if I ever woke up and asked myself: ‘am I mad?’. He was worried and I had to explain to him that only sane people ask themselves that. Mental people think they are fine. I probably am mental, but not in the way you think.

5. You’ve worked with the huge Bring Me the Horizon in the past. How did that go? Are they as big pains in the arses as some people say?

They were nothing but lovely with me. I get the feeling that people assume when and if you meet well known people you know they are instantly supposed to be brilliant to you- but this is not the case. They may be having an off day or they may be totally passionate and single minded in their cause…which is how they got there in the first place. I met one of my fav musicians ever a long time ago and he was so self absorbed it was cringe worthy, but then I asked myself what I expected. Here is a guy that spends all his time thinking about how he feels about things and finding a good way to tell people how he feels and this is what drew me to his music in the first place. It’s a fault of ours, not theirs. I now look back and love that I met him. This is not to say that all artists and musicians and scientists and anyone who is driven to succeed like this. I have met too many that are nothing but consummate gentlemen and scholars of the highest order.

6. What does the future hold for Godmachine?

I want to make more things- not necessarily put my art on things like phone cases and a light switch encasing, I want to find reason and purpose in doing it. I shudder at the idea of being consumerist enough that I will put my art on anything that makes a few bucks- people are too quick to be a corporate fuck buddy these days.

I recently put some artwork on coasters, they had a machine next to my office and I was invited to try it out. I had a good response but I was unsure what my artwork had to do with saving some condensation drips on my furniture? I want to make things that I am passionate about and not cos it sells.

6. And finally, who would win in a bare knuckle boxing match between Postman Pat and Fireman Sam?

I reckon Sam, Pat seems so gentle.