Wishtank
The Art of Chase: Remember Who You Are
by: Garrett Heaney
Chase was born in Belgium. He grew up skateboarding and got into graffiti early. After attending performing arts school in Antwerp, Chase moved to L.A. in 1995 and began taking painting and design seriously in 1997. Since then, he has… how should we say, blown the F@$# up (times infinity).
Chase has an impressive resume, and carries with him a philosophy that universally draws people to his art. The philosophy is one of compassion for his audience, and unsuspecting walker-bys who stumble upon his murals in L.A. (and around the globe). His “Remember Who You Are” campaign consists of murals depicting children and inspirational statements that summon people to recognize their own true nature — that which they carried as children. In describing this campaign, Chase says:
Remember Who You Are campaign in Berlin“Children represent the closest stage in this lifetime to the Essence and have not yet been conditioned by today’s world. No wonder they are so full of love, joy, wonder, peace and truth. The intent behind the ‘Remember Who You Are’ installations is to stimulate the general public to re-consider and re-member with their inner child.”
His signature “Awareness Geezers” show up on other murals — a spray paint and stencil medium he refers to as “aerosoul” — along with inspirational messages the likes of: “you can’t until you say you can,” “be peace” and “seek truth: knowledge is power.”
These colorful characters were born in 2002 and perfected in 2004 at the (former) Brooklyn office of the underground apparel company Digital Gravel. Geezers appear as eyeballs in multitudes, and Chase tells us, “the messages are designed to inspire soul-searching conversations with one’s self or with others.”
Chase graphic design for Palmer Snowboards
While much of Chase’s mural work is charitable, including all of the murals in the “Remember Who You Are Campaign,” Chase does a large volume of professionally commissioned painting and graphic design for clients such as Ecko Unlimited, Converse, Vans, es, Emerica, Palmer Snowboards, Shorty’s, Element skateboards, Puma, Adidas, XLarge and Levi’s. Chase was also the art director of his own clothing line 614. He launched 614 — which means “for the love of all things artistic” in numerology — in 2001, and utilizes apparel as yet another canvas to circulate his positive message. Each 614 garment was unique and Chase’s apparel has been sported by artists such as Mos Def, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park and others. While the 614 brand retired in 2005, Chase went on to produce a second line of clothing under his brand, “The Art of Chase.” Chase also makes music and produced his first album “Only We Can Save us” in 2005. He is currently producing his own film called “On Purpose.”
The Art of Chase tee shirts
Stencil set
In June, Chase sent an email to Wishtank letting us know about a new “Remember Who You Are” installment and we were inspired by his work. We initiated a dialogue with him, and it went something… like… this:
Wishtank: The scope of your artistic accomplishments are quite broad: Education in performance art back in Belgium, the art of skateboarding, graffiti, stencil, exhibit painting, mural, film, music production, writing, directing . . . the list goes on. At what point in your life did you decide that the art within you would become your primary bond with the world? What were the first steps you took to lead yourself down the path you’re currently walking?
Chase and his balloon photo by Teren Oddo
Chase: Getting into all those things wasn’t really the result of a conscious decision I made as much as it was just the continuation of the fun I had growing up being a skateboarder and a bit of a creative rascal. I sensed early on that the definition of success is doing what you love to do, so for me that excluded working a 9-5 job right away, which I’ve never had to this day. Higher education was also out of the question since I couldn’t afford tuition, so I figured I’d keep my overhead low, my work-ethic high and started hustling any which way I could, keeping an open-mind and saying “yes” to any opportunity to share my creativity.
Needless to say, things get really interesting fast when you find yourself living in a city like Los Angeles before the time of the internet without a car or a job, with the only way to get around either being on your skateboard or the bus, and you’re sharing a room and a bunk-bed with literally $90 in the bank. Aside from a few darker moments, I someway, somehow just felt happy to be in the sun and trusted that it was all just part of my early beginnings. (laughs)
Wishtank: I recognize a true sense of compassion in your work. Much of your art includes optimistic language to complement the images you paint — “choose love,” “goodness is the only investment that never fails,” “you can’t until you say you can.” These messages exude an honest sense of care for your fellow human being. Would you agree that the goodwill you show your audience has played an integral role in how people respond to and value your art? Tell us about this reciprocity.
Chase: The messages definitely play an integral role, and my work wouldn’t be the same without them. I often say that the aesthetics are just there to attract the eye, but the messages are there to stimulate the mind.
A big part of art is communication, and if it is the artist’s role to express and to communicate, then what I wish to communicate and share most clearly are the lessons I’ve learned through my experience of being me. It’s all very personal stuff, yet I only share what I find to be universally true.
Intention is everything, because where attention goes, energy flows, and it is my intent to cause joy and to stimulate thought and to trigger soul-searching conversation through the messages in my work, because once we think different, we will start acting different, and once we start acting different, we will BE different.
Chase Awareness Geezers
Antwerp, Belgium
Wishtank: When did you begin the “Remember Who You Are” installations, and what is it about painting children on murals that is so effective in communicating with folks?
Chase: I painted the first “Remember Who You Are” mural on the façade of Ellie Nesis’ house in Venice Beach, California around 2001. Children tend to speak from the heart, regardless of the consequences, so when you are confronted with a kid telling you you should remember who you are, it can be pretty powerful. I’ve also found that the phrase “Remember Who You Are” tends to remind people of the highest version they hold of themselves, sort of like their “true self,” meaning the person we know we are or the person we know we can become — but because it takes a little bit of work and some discipline, and because we get side-tracked so easily, we don’t always end up becoming. Coming across the “Remember Who You Are” murals has blown wind into some people’s sails again, and in some cases really transformed them for the better.
Remember Who You Are Santa Monica
Wishtank: What’s a geezer yo?
Chase: A geezer, at least in my world, is short for “Awareness Geezer.” Geezers are best described as colorful characters who have stumbled upon spirituality and awareness, not by following the suggested path in life, but rather by having created their own path, guided by their sense of adventure and an “irreducable element of rascality.” Most of the people I gravitate towards are very geezerish, including myself!
Wishtank: I’ve heard the audio tracks on your Website and the sounds are quality. When did you get into beat production and what do you use to create your music? Who are your favorite musicians right now?
Awareness Geezer mural Kama Lounge, Hollywood
Chase: I’ve always had aspirations to make music because it is one of the purest forms to communicate and to make people feel, and I was always curious about what would come out of me… Throughout the years I’ve been at friends’ studios and made a track here and there or got excited over having a demo version of Pro Tools or whatever, but it wasn’t until I started shooting “On Purpose” that I HAD to make music. You see, since there is no narration or dialogue in “On Purpose,” a crucial part of the film rests on the music to guide and assist the viewer into the direction that I want them to go in. Since the songs had to be the musical definitions of the various chapters in the film, and since it’s all so personal anyway, I decided to just go for it and make the music myself. I started messing around with Garage Band, a very user-friendly music program that comes with every MAC, bought a touch-sensitive keyboard, a mic and all these plug-ins with something like 3000 musical instruments from all over the world and started pulling all-nighters on the regular… As far as my favorite musicians go, just like everyone else I have too many to list, but here’s some people that definitely energize me: TV on the Radio, Cinematic Orchestra, Philip Glass, Metallica, U2, Radiohead, A Tribe Called Quest, the Roots, old Pearl Jam, old Gangstarr, Massive Attack, Led Zeppelin, Zap Mama, Jill Scott, Jay Z, etc, etc…
Wishtank: Tell us a little about this movie project you’re working on.
Chase: For the past few years I’ve been working on “On Purpose”, an art-film that I’m directing which takes a closer look at my work and the purpose behind it. The film has no narration or interviews in it, but rather takes the approach of implying everything by using the visuals accompanied by the music I made for them. We’ve only got a few more days to shoot before we start the edit.
Mobil Awareness Geezer caravan
Wishtank: What morsels of wisdom can you serve to the community of artists, musicians, thinkers, readers and writers who will be reading this interview?
Chase: I like what Bono (yes Bono!) said: “What you don’t have you don’t need right now, what you don’t know you can feel somehow…”
For more art of Chase, visit theartofchase dot com, and find him on myspace at myspace.com/theartofchase. •
All materials published on wishtank.org are under the shared copyright protection of Wishtank magazine and the original authors, photographers and artists who created them. For contractual reprint or copy permission, contact Garrett Heaney at editor@wishtank.org. Wishtank likes to share, but looks out for our contributors. ©2007 and beyond