Angie Taylor • Artist Spotlight

What got you in to Crypto art?

I always wanted to get back into doing my art. Covid caused my business to fail and provided the time I needed to make this happen. A friend got into cryptoart and was tweeting about it so I started to read about it and explore the scene.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Music, but also stories about underdogs in life. Being inside nature, walking my dog helps me to filter my thoughts and develop my ideas.

What do you think of traditional artwork?

There are so many thoughts and artworks to mention? Which specific artwork? My thoughts on each would be different? I don't see a difference between traditional artwork and cryptoart in terms of content. Both are artworks, created by humans, and sometimes computers.

Do you think your art is fulfilling a purpose?

Yes, for me, it fulfills a drive to create. It quells my anxiety, and it gives my ideas a platform. Feelings that are hard to express otherwise can be communicated in such a way that people can take it or leave it.

Without it I would literally go mad.

It also fulfills the purpose of helping people to see things differently and to understand important aspects and ideas of life. Not everyone can understand words, and not all things can be expressed in words. Art and music give us ways to express ourselves instinctively, subconsciously, outside the confines of the written and spoken language - which I, and many others, find to be quite primitive and restrictive.

How did you start out as an artist?

I drew all the time as a child. I have ADHD & Aspergers - it was a way to cope with the feelings of constant anxiety caused by these conditions. I then went to Art college after leaving school to study drawing, painting and sculpture.

Who or what inspires your work?

I'm inspired mainly by music. The only time I have ever felt care-free is while lost in music. It's therapeutic for me but poetic, powerful lyrics also inspires me with ideas and passion. Punk influences come from The Slits, X-Ray Spex, Patti Smith, The Cramps, The Ruts but also other types of music are huge for me; Tim Buckley, Karen Dalton, Captain Beefheart, Johnny Cash, Edith Piaf, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, Steel Pulse, Al Green, Nick Cave, Gil Scot Heron, Erika Badu, Joni Mitchel, Kate Bush, Bjork, Laurie Anderson, Bowie, Velvet Underground, Dinah Washington, Joy division, Gang of four, The Pop Group, Monochrome Set, Wire, ATV, Crass, Buddy Holly, Massive Attack, The Smiths, Zappa, Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, Jon Martyn, The Incredible String Band, Hendrix, The Doors, The Clash - I could go on for hours!

Which other artist(s) do you admire?

Jenny Saville, Maggie Hambling, Egon Scheile, Bosch, Georgia O'keefe, Tracy Emin, Basquait, Jacob Epstien, DaVinci, Carravaggio, Jamie Reid, Linder Sterling, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom of Finland, Robert Crumb.

Final question, what’s next for you as an artist?

I have taken on a few too many exciting colaborations so I'm working my way through those. I'm also in the process of sketching and planning a project that explores the roots of my musical influences. A series of self-portrait-animated-sculptures, incorporating these influences. I'm also working on a writing project this year. Watch this space.