MY AFTERNOON WITH DAVID: A discussion about art, his alter ego and the future for artists

Written by Rayhan Bengougou

Photo of David Stokes...or is this Brandon Fix? Photo by Rayhan Bengougou

It was a dull and somber afternoon in Liverpool. The outside was a pitiful grey whilst on the inside of 200 Degrees cafe on Bold Street I was able to sit down and have a long chat with David Stokes, who opened up about his passion for the usual in art, the importance of standing your ground and expressing your creativity and going on a long and twisted rant about how much he hated the 2024 movie "The Brutalist". All in the span of one somber afternoon.

At the start of this fruitful talk he talked about how he discovered his love for the art world and what he made of it, saying:

“Well, obviously, it begins very early at school, you know, and um being introduced to dad and Ker Schwitters at a very early age and that was probably my earliest outside of just drawing, nonstop drawing. I can’t feel that kind of. that was that’s really the beginning. tracing back through to AR and then and then making a choice on what what what were to go with them. which, you know, in those times looking back, there’s, you know, there’s not a much direction, really, so architecture came up, because my dad was always working with architects and he he come home with plans and I enjoyed looking at the plans. without really understanding what architecture was about because you don’t until you get involved in them. So I began in architecture, uh and then realized that made a mistake, which is fair enough. I mean fantastic grounding architecture because it’s such a wonderful process and each each new project is in is a new investigation. So that was a fantastic grounding in terms of prototyping, yeah. Every building is a prototype. doesn’t, you don’t really repeat. So, that protest was great, but I I kind of got bored with the scale, really, because the scale was too all been really straight about it.”

His journey so far in the way he explained was one of exploring and understanding, he spoke about some of the ways other artists inspired him and his career. One interesting aspect about David is that he has an alter ego. Similar to a Batman or a Superman, he posses these talented architectural talents with another. As he puts it, he shares this idea with Brandon Fix. He spoke about it, saying:

“It came from this text of a story about Brendan Fix, who was this character in in the novel. He was actually the designer who did things that David can’t do.

The 64-year-old would continue his grand tale by explain:

Some concept art of a chair that was constructed by David. Artwork by David Stokes

So, he readdressed these issues with missed opportunities or for whatever reason, he was able to undertake them in this kind of fictional sense, but it was a real sense as well at the same time, because these stories are are true and they did exist. So what I tried to do was I pinned up the stories on the wall with a load of pencils embedded into the wall, invited people to add correct, adjust the text in in the sense, a public form of editing, to invite people to creatively engage with my work. Because at the same time, in a lot of my work, you know, especially in the ceramics and stuff, you know, I’m trying to deny the ego of the individual creative force of the designer. I’m give that pasted over to the individual so they take control of their own process. So, I just set up the process to construct the process to develop a a a vessel, a container in some sorts, but it’s shaped by the person who makes it rather than me. And I I find that more interesting. you know, creating the process which then allows the thing to take form, but it’s not dependent on specifically on my taste on my qualities that I find important."

Like all good conversations, our afternoon chat came to an end, with asking David what would be some good advice for those wanting to achieve something within the art and design world. The Liverpool-based designer would lament the difficulties that creative artists will face while also giving hope to those who wish to defy the landscape of creativity. He would conclude:

“Well, if you have to be seriously thought about what it is you want to do from a very early age and whether, without being negative with, you know, it’s not an easy life as an artist or as a creative individual, so there will be compromises and there will be, you will suffer as a consequence of your art, which is an old notion of the typology of you have to suffer to make art, which is totally wrong. I think if artists are comfortable, you know, you can pay the mortgage, that it gives them allows them more freedom to be more creative rather than, you know, you don’t have to be this stereotyped and crazy artist is totally false, it’s just that the market, isn’t geared for individual talent, you must be very special. So, you know, I’m not saying don’t do it. I’m saying, you must be really, realistic and I think that probably the best way to do it would be to be your own client and in this incredible global marketplace, you know, if you your own client and you have a window to the world, you can reach so many people, you. So, don’t hold back, you know, just make if it’s a good idea, make it really extreme. That’s the best way to work. It’s always moved towards the extreme.”