Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Maloney.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Robert. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a Massachusetts native, my home and art studio is in Jamaica Plain and I also teach at Massart in the Illustration department.
I grew up north of Boston, both my father and brother are artists so I was surrounded by drawing and painting at an early age. My father went to Massachusetts College of Art so it was on my radar as a possible destination when I was looking at colleges. I had a bumpy road when choosing a direction but eventually made my way into the Illustration department with a focus on mixed media and experimental 3D work. I found ways to use unconventional mixed media materials to break the 2D/3D surface plane which helped me expand on ways to create my imagery. I discovered artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Joseph Cornell and was fascinated by the way they layered and built their imagery which really influenced my visual vocabulary as an artist.
Since graduating Massart I’ve continued to go in several directions doing freelance and commissioned work but also pursuing a career as a mixed media fine artist showing in local galleries and doing installation work and public art projects. I’ve also become interested in a variety of printmaking techniques because of the flexibility and challenges of the diverse processes that can be used to create an image.
Has it been a smooth road?
I have a short attention span that pulls me in many directions at once so I’m often juggling a variety of projects at the same time which can be challenging to navigate but this sort of approach satisfies my creative drive. I work best when I have a deadline so using a calendar to map out what’s realistic and doable in a window of time has become important to my artistic practice.
We’d love to hear more about your artwork.
My artwork is influenced by both the urban landscape and the fluidity of the human mind. I see a connection in the ways our physical surroundings, as well as our memories are both fragile and vulnerable. The passing of time and the wear and tear of daily usage takes its’ toll on our environment and the way we process and recall information.
I think of scaffolding as a symbol of something that is in the process of a transition. These structures could signify something that is being built or one that is being dismantled. In my various mixed media pieces I utilize this vocabulary of the urban landscape as a framework for fragmented thoughts and ideas to be suspended onto.
Speaking of the fragility of our physical environment, I was fortunate to have a chance to repair a local landmark in my neighborhood that had fallen victim to the elements 30 plus years ago. The top of the Haffenreffer Brewers smokestack in Jamaica Plain (now home to Bella Luna/Milky Way) was damaged in a hurricane in the 1980’s. The chimney was rebuilt but the construction stopped three letters too short leaving the signage on this historic brewery misspelled for decades reading, Fenreffer Brewers.
A prompt in grad school to create a public art project in my environment set me on a mission that came to fruition on December 28th, 2016. I designed a cage-like structure with the letters HAF and it was installed on top of the chimney fixing this architectural typographic error.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love how manageable Boston is. I like being able to ride my bike 10 minutes one way and be in the middle of the city or 10 minutes the other direction and be in the woods. I love the history and personality of the various neighborhoods and surrounding towns, although with so much construction and turnover I’m concerned about the historic integrity that is lost as we tear down buildings in order to build luxury condos.
It’s becoming less and less affordable for young artists, musicians and creatives to stay in Boston and end up being forced out to other communities where space to be creative is more reasonably priced. Art spaces, music venues and rehearsal spaces are closing left and right in Boston so the buildings can be demolished to be replaced by generic shiny boxes that are impossible for most of us to afford.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.robert-maloney.com/ and haffenrefferchimneyrestorationproject.blogspot.com/
- Email: robert.j.maloney@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robert.maloney.art.studio/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/maloney.robert
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