Justin Amrhein: 'I believe real art needs to be made by a human with experiences and emotions'

Utilising a machine-based language and aesthetics, Justin Amrhein’s work is generally based on environmentalist ideas. While rooted in schematic drawing, his work takes on many forms, adopting the appropriate medium to realise each artwork.

1. What’s been the most defining moment in your career so far.

In 2020, I was selected for the artist-in-residence programme with the Ali Youssefi Project in California. Over those 3 months, I continued adapting an extensive drawing collection that is part of a large future exhibition plan while also developing an entirely new body of work in a new medium, style and working method. It became a moment where things seemed to coalesce. Through this opportunity to concentrate and focus on my work, I created an elaborate sculpture installation as part of the artist-in-residence exhibition at The Verge Center for the Arts. That new series led me to create additional video works that correspond with the formed objects. At the same time this exhibition was taking place, I was asked to create three large-scale public artworks that are directly related to that same series. Public art had become a new layer to my art practice, which was a wholly unexpected but welcome surprise.

2. As an artist, how do you navigate the world and speed of social media?

The honest answer is that I don’t do it well. I operate on social media in waves. I know I could “do better”. I should “do better”, but I can’t bring myself to post anything unless I have a legitimate project providing engaging, fresh content to share. Even then, I have difficulty finding the time to create posts. With two linked, extensive, solo exhibitions coming to Malta this summer, I have decided to take a new approach. I have hired a marketing director to help me manage my social media during this time. It is an extra cost that I was reluctant to commit to, but I can say without a doubt that it was a wise investment in myself. It’s good to hire people to help with the things you acknowledge you could improve. Knowing these two significant solo exhibitions will be documented and shared on my social media accounts without my extensive attention has been an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders as there is already a significant amount of work to be done for the most essential part of all of this… producing the artwork.

3. Do you consider artificial intelligence a threat to your career, or an opportunity?

I believe real art needs to be made by a human with experiences and emotions. A person must have the passion and guts to make something for me to consider it art. Can AI produce an image that some people call art? Yes. Is it art? In my opinion, no. Artificial intelligence is nothing more than a tool in the context of art. A new tool that artists are figuring out ways to work with. This is where things might get complicated. Artists use AI to produce artwork. There is a fine line that I am not sure I’m fully committed to commenting decisively. I do know that I don’t consider artificial intelligence a threat to my career. I can’t imagine an art gallery or museum having any interest in exhibiting an artificial intelligence-generated exhibition. It’s boring. There is no life to an exhibition like that. Is artificial intelligence possibly taking away opportunities for me as an artist? This is possible. However, suppose some entities are eliminating opportunities for artists by using artificial intelligence to create imagery for them as opposed to working with a living, breathing artist. In that case, I’m not so sure that was ever much of an opportunity in the first place.

4. How do you stay motivated and inspired, especially during tough times or when the work feels hard?

The way that I work, I don’t often run into this problem. I know many artists do and understand the struggle and stress that comes with that. A long time ago, I realised that I am happy the most when I am making things. So, I will always continue to make things. Sometimes, that process gets difficult or frustrating, but the reality is that it is all part of it. When it feels hard, I know I need to push through to the point where things flow more easily again. It’s an unexpected challenge that I commit to overcoming. When I do, it feels great. That great feeling is the carrot on the end of the stick for me when I get into those challenging moments. One thing I do occasionally when a project gets difficult or feels hard is to start playing with something else. Making something, anything. Oftentimes, that thing is functional. Make that new drawing table I have been thinking about, make a spice rack for my grandmother, build a cool box to put my rock collection in (I don’t have a rock collection), add that special shelf in my studio to hold all my paint brushes or build a climbing tree for my cat (I don’t have a cat). Just make something. By the time I finish that, I’ll be ready and excited to jump back into the project that was causing me frustration.

5. How do you balance your creative instincts with the expectations of your audience or collaborators?

There have only been a few times when I have been asked to create something that goes against my instincts. I think circumstances and context matter a lot in these types of moments. The simple answer is that I trust my gut and talk through situations with the people I am working with or collaborating with, as well as the people in my circle with opinions, qualifications and experiences I value. I’m not sure if there is a balance to be had. It either feels right or it doesn’t. There should always be room allowed for adapting, but that should never compromise what you are making. Most artists have a threshold or limit for what they are willing to adapt to. We should. I respect artists who stick firmly to their vision. However, it is my experience that an artist’s vision needs to be open to adjustments.

6. How do you approach a new project? Do you have a specific process or routine you Follow?

I clean my studio. I need to have a fresh work environment in order to begin. Bits and pieces of a previous project lingering around while trying to start something new are not only a distraction but a hindrance physically. I like to set my workspace up for a new project in a way that presents the best situation for that new idea to form. A “fresh start”, you could say. From there, I usually start with sketches and notes that can be pretty chaotic when looking back. A computer with good internet is a necessity. As I develop new projects, there are always dozens of questions that I need answers to before I can move on to the next thought. Without the answer, I get slowed down and sometimes get stuck on a detail that, in the end, has no relevance to how the project eventually gets realised. Classical music is also something I often listen to when I jump into a new idea. Music without lyrics is essential for me in the early stages of development.

7. Can you let us in on some of the future projects, works?

I have two large solo exhibitions in Malta this summer that are fast approaching. Both are curated by Melanie Erixon and are linked together in what we have titled Maltese Diptych. Two shows, one story. This project is supported by ACM (Arts Council Malta). The first exhibition, titled Dystopian Garden, is in the atrium space at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta and opens on 16 May. In Dystopian Garden, the primary focus is on my schematic drawings of mechanical plants—38 mixed media mechanical orchid pieces in collaboration with 28 invited artists line the walls of the outer staircase. Three drawings of endangered flora, The Jade Vine, Gibraltar Campion and the Maltese Centaury share the centre of the room with a 7-metre-high mechanical, slow-growth palm tree drawing, along with its sister piece, a sculpture embracing the living palm tree that resides in the atrium at Spazju Kreattiv permanently. This sculpture piece directly references aesthetically to the focused work in the second exhibition of Maltese Diptych at MUZA. The show opens on 4 July and is titled 3D Blueprint Network—Malta Test Station. This exhibition consists of an installation within the museum’s gallery containing a control panel of 21 3D Blueprint sculptures with a collection of stop-motion animation pieces displayed on a monitor. Additionally, in the MUZA courtyard, there will be a 7.5-metre-high sculpture in partnership with the triumphal arch that was erected in the 1600s.

Extra round

Who are your biggest influences, and how have they shaped your work?

My father is my biggest influence. He is an artist himself and now a retired art teacher. As a child, I was encouraged to make art, and his support and knowledge on a subject I was passionate about from an early age has undeniably impacted my art career. One artist specifically that I would say helped shape my work is Buckminster Fuller. I saw a show of his in the early years of my schematic drawing development, which defines my current work. It was the first time I had seen an artist create schematics as art; in a sense, he permitted me to continue pushing on the path I was on. His series of architectural blueprints blew my mind. Similarly, Da Vinci’s invention drawings had an equally powerful impact. The thoroughness and thoughtfulness of his machines are still like candy for me every time I see them. Artists like John O’Connor and Ward Shelly showed me how artists can share information in text form, manipulating the beauty of words as marks and simultaneously being humorous yet completely serious in their depiction of information and subject matter. Equally important for me was witnessing the diversity and range of their work. Their examples of range, freedom, guts and playfulness gave me something to aspire to.