You’ve seen the incredible sculptural pieces by the dream team of Eric Trine and Will Bryant for the Alley-Oop design exhibition at Poketo on February 16. Now, find out more about the collaboration and friendship between this dynamic duo – what inspires them, bringing together their individual aesthetics, infusing humor into design, and what they do when they’re not working on Alley-Oop. They’re two highly creative, energetic personalities and if this interview is anything to go by, the Alley-Oop design exhibition is going to be a ton of fun!
1. What was your vision for Alley-Oop?
E: Fun! But seriously, our plan was to have a good time and get loose. Grad school can be quite the brain drain and we just wanted to shake that out of our systems for a month.
W: I totally agree. Eric thinks through materials and makes a lot of stuff quickly. I’ve been hung up on thinking WAAAAY too much in grad school. This was the perfect situation for me to just crank on stuff without over thinking and just reacting/responding to materials-form-conversations.
2. Can you describe your individual aesthetic and how they came together for Alley-Oop?
E: Geometry, symmetry, simplicity, minimalism.
W: Wiggles, squiggles, giggles, maximalism, energy, color! There’s a good balance in the compositions and form. They play off of one another.
3. If you had to pick a favorite item each from the collaboration, what would it be and why?
E: I think my favorite thing is the Pluraversal Object.
W: For me the cylinder mag horse is my favorite. It’s a great combination of our aesthetics. It was inspired by one of my drawings and fabricated by the E-train.
4. Your motto is “Form follows fun!” – how does Alley-Oop illustrate this?
E: Well, we just tried to have a good time in the process. Our working format was all about fun – so hopefully our pieces are a manifestation of that process. The colors, the scenes we created, were all about experimenting, and being present in the moment, trying different combinations, pushing our intuitive boundaries, and making ourselves laugh.
W: I’m not sure what else to expand on, but making ourselves laugh was achieved during every studio session.
5. You guys clearly have a sense of humor and wit…how does that influence your work?
E: I’d have to say that my sense of humor doesn’t normally translate through the work that I create. My furniture is pretty subdued in comparison to my personality. I make minimalist furniture, but in real life I like to be the life of the party – cracking jokes and being loud, and all that. So this project was really cathartic for me because I got to create something that was more in line with my personality and humor.
W: Hopefully you think so! That’s the driving force behind my work. Commercial or art practice, that’s my voice. It influences every decision I make. Does this feel like me? Is this funny? To quote George Strait, “I ain’t here for a long time, I’m here for a good time.”
6. What are some things you’ve learned about each other through this collaboration?
E: I’ve definitely learned that Will has a much better attitude than I do. If I don’t like the way something looks I get really sad or mad – Will has taught me how to turn that feeling into a learning moment and just go with the flow.
W: I appreciate good craft and skill-sets that aren’t my strong suit so working with other people is a way for to explore/entertain that. The admiration grows with each collaboration I do. People are awesome.
7. Besides creating for Alley-Oop, what else do you guys do together?
E: Uh, I guess we just hang out. Our wives have become friends too, so we all enjoy hanging out together. We don’t have a lot of free time with graduate school and everything, but we try to make time to drink beer, eat pizza and watch Jurassic Park.
W: Agreed. Our couples nights are a really good time! Lots of tasty food and hearty laughs. We hang out like pros!
Poketo presents Alley-Oop with Eric Trine and Will Bryant
Date: Saturday, February 16th
Time: 7-10pm
Location: Poketo Store LA, 820 E. 3rd Street, LA, 90013
(213)537-0751
The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP here.
RSS
Facebook
Flickr
Twitter
