Fortress America

Luisa Colon / Luisa Williams

2008-09-16T01:25:00.133-04:00

Luisa Colon (aka Luisa Williams) is an amazing young actress, artist, and film maker who lives in Brooklyn, NY. She made her screen debut as the star of the 2007 film "Day Night Day Night." The movie tells the story of a young woman in the final hours of her preparation to become a suicide bomber in Times Square. It's one of the most chilling and genuinely riveting movies I've seen. It's intense from start to finish, and Luisa's performance in this role is absolutely unforgettable and mesmerizing. Simply put Day Night Day Night is a must-see. You should rent or netflix this movie immediately.

Luisa also plays the role of "Friendly Neighbor" in the long running sit-com that is Fortress America. She can often be spotted in the video store that I live above, which is where we first met. If you ever meet Luisa you will see just how spectacular of a job she did in the movie, because in real life she is one of the sweetest and warmest people you could imagine.

In addition to acting and film making, Luisa is also an artist and illustrator who's working on a graphic novel based on the life of Jean Seberg. She was so incredibly nice that not only did she answer her interview questions, she actually illustrated some of them!

Please check out this trailer for Day Night Day Night and then read to learn more about Luisa! Thanks!

(Notes: Clicking on any image will bring up a larger version. All illustrations © Luisa Colon 2008. Photographs © Raphael Laski Film stills are © the producers.)

It says on IMDB that you got this job while “working as a nanny when she auditioned for "Day Night Day Night" after seeing a flyer for open casting calls on the boardwalk in Coney Island.” Is that accurate? Did you have acting training or experience?

Luisa Colon: I was working as a nanny when I saw the flyer on Coney Island, and that made a cute story. But it was not out of the blue for me; I went to the High School of Performing Arts and was a drama major, so I had definitely considered acting as a career. I had always wanted to be part of the filmmaking process, and I had wondered what it would be like to act in a movie. So when I responded to the flyer and contacted Julia Loktev, the writer/director of "DNDN," I told her pretty much that. I wanted her to know up-front that I wasn't a professional. It turns out she was looking for an "unknown," so it was perfect.

What kind of preparation did you do to play this character?

For a little under a year before we shot, Julia and I were totally immersed in building this character together. We did exercises to create her walk, how she talked, everything. And I read a lot of books. Every book we could find about Joan of Arc, including one by Mark Twain. Books about suicide bombers and terrorism, in addition to movies and documentaries on the subject. The movies were varied; some of them were "Battle of Algiers," "The Matchstick Factory Girl," "Rosetta," "Terror in Moscow." Carl Dreyer: "Day of Wrath" and, of course, "Passion of Joan of Arc." Julia introduced me to the work of Robert Bresson, for which I will always be grateful: "A Gentle Woman," "The Trial of Joan of Arc," "Mouchette." The movies Julia wanted me to see were not necessarily movies about terrorism; it was also so that I could understand the sensibility she was looking for. Hence, Bresson, Dreyer, the Dardenne Brothers, etc. I really embraced it.

Was it difficult to go in and out of character while making this film? Was it just a case of showing up for work everyday or did you have to sequester yourself and try to be the character all the time?
It was definitely not a case of showing up for work every day, yet at the same time, the very fact of the filmmaking process prevented me from being 100% in character. This was a girl on suicide mission, not a girl trying to hit her mark for the camera. But having said that, there were very interesting parallels between the character’s situation and mine, and emotionally I tried to make the most of that. This character was trying to please; she was trying to accomplish something; she was goal-minded; she was determined; she was in unknown territory, out of her element; she was unsure of herself. Those characteristics applied to me too. Obviously there were profound differences, but in an abstract sense, there were parallels that were very useful.

How did you stay focused amid the chaos of Time Square? It seems like it would be extremely difficult to maintain character while walking around in such an uncontrolled environment.

I like to think I have very good focus and concentration.

One thing I’d like to mention is that is was rather cold when we were shooting in Times Square. At least for me; I tend to run very cold. That in itself wasn’t so important, but my nose would turn bright red. It was completely un-photogenic. It became an issue: how to deal with Luisa’s red nose. Someone bought a scarf from a street vendor and I would wrap it around my face in between takes to try to warm up and decrease the red in my nose. We also bought some kind of lotion that was green, and it was meant to counter-act redness in one’s complexion. I think it was really meant for people who generally have redness in their skin. I’m not sure if it worked. Julia said afterwards that she thought I willed my nose to de-redden, through sheer will power.

How long were you working on that movie and how much of that time was spent filming in Times Square?

Actual filming of the movie was about five weeks. But I was totally involved in it for about a year beforehand, with Julia, and she also generously let me be part of the post-production process. I did my own Foley work, for which I insisted on a credit. The Times Square portion was a couple of weeks, I think. (I'm a little hazy on it now.)

Did you lose a lot of takes to people in the crowd interjecting themselves into shots, talking or gesturing at the camera, etc?

On one of the first days of shooting, a bunch of older tourist-looking women started shrieking at me, "EAT IT. EAT IT" when I eating one of those candy apples. Finally I lost my concentration and looked at them; they looked and sounded so malicious. They were like this gaggle of malicious geese. I don't know what they were thinking. After that I resolved to have excellent concentration, no matter what. But people were pretty good otherwise about not getting in the way of the shoot. Sometimes they would stop and stare, or take pictures, or say, “Is she all right?”

Re: Candy Apples
A note about the candy apples. I hated them. I don't have a big sweet tooth, but when I want something sweet I like chocolate or baked goods. If I had to choose some sort of apple thing, it would be a caramel apple. Eating those candy apples was like biting into glass. My mouth felt shredded. When I brushed my teeth that night, it was like rubbing toothpaste on fresh wounds. Don't ever put toothpaste on a wound.

Then there were some shots (later cut from the movie) of me with the eaten-up candy apple in my hand. I was sick of eating those apples, so Julia and the A.D. chewed up some candy apples for me to hold. But I had to nibble at the pre-chewed apples for the shot. Let's just say even if I loved candy apples then, I wouldn't have after that.

When we did Foley work in post, Julia and I went back to the same hotel (same room, even!) that we used in the movie. And on the way we bought candy apples and I ate them with my mouth right on top of a mike.

Were you at all freaked out while you were in character and walking near the police?

My character was painfully aware of them. My real self knew that we had a permit, and that the bag was stuffed with textbooks, as well as makeup and Odwalla bars.

I feel a big separation between myself, Luisa Colon, and myself as an actress: Luisa Williams. When we were preparing to shoot “DNDN,” I was married (I’ve since divorced). I did feel this huge separation in terms of who I was, and the process I was about to undertake. So it seemed like a good solution to use my married name, Williams, as a screen name. Something to delineate that separation I felt. It’s still the name I would think of as my screen name (and how I was credited in a short film I was in, “Anna”).

A long time ago I was in the video store and I saw an incredible drawing on the computer that you had done in Microsoft paint. Do you have any of those images that I could show on the blog? How do you make such great pictures with such a limited little program?!?!

Aw, thanks! I don’t have any of those images. My Dad, who is an artist, bought a computer very early on and it had Paintbox-type programs. He gave me some tips and then let me explore them on my own. So I’ve been playing with programs like that since I was a kid.

Whe we last spoke you mentioned that you are currently working on a graphic novel about the life of Jean Seberg. Could you describe that project a little and tell me where the idea came from?

Jean Seberg is probably my favorite actress/icon. There are plenty of actresses I love, and some icons, but I think Jean Seberg tops the list, in that I have been consistently preoccupied with her since I was very young. She was a fascinating person as well as a mesmerizing screen presence. Unfortunately, she didn’t ultimately find happiness in her life, and she killed herself when she was about 40. Her life story is unbelievable, incredibly eventful with strange twists and turns, and intrigue, and broken hearts, and tragedy, and the FBI. I put two things very dear to my heart -- Jean and the graphic novel format -- and that became the “Untitled Jean Seberg Project” that I’m working on.

Do your acting / filmmaking skills come into play in producing a graphic novel? It seems like it could be very much like drawing a storyboard or writing script dialog.

I would say that my love of film, and my love of the graphic novel format inform each other, but I’m not sure which comes first. It’s a love of imagery, the same reason I like to put images up on the computer at work, to be surrounded by a sensibility that is meaningful to me, even if it’s hard to explain why.

When doing a biography, how do you select what moments from someone’s life to include?

I’d say, immerse yourself in their life as much as possible through research, biographies (if they exist), photographs, personal items (if possible), and travel. Immerse yourself, and when you surface, examine what you brought with you.

THANKS LUISA! THANKS READER!

Doug McQueen

2008-09-04T00:17:00.061-04:00

Doug McQueen is an artist, musician, great-guy, and all around badass who can make just about anything he wants to. He makes paintings, comics, masks, cartoons, sculptures, and songs, drives trucks and bikes through crazy traffic, gives tattoos, and often prepares dinner from scratch.

Doug and I met when we were teenagers living in Des Moines. From the jump we basically decided to be best friends. In the 15 years I've known him, Doug has never failed to impress me with his singular imagination, innate skill, and crazy prolific production. While I have long admired his work, only rarely have I thought to ask him questions about how it gets made, which made this interview very exciting for me.

Almost all of the art displayed here is taken from sketchbooks that Doug has given me over the last 10 years. I have spent hours looking through them and trying to get inside Doug's brain. No matter how many times I look through them I always find a new thing to stare at or something to make me laugh. They are so dense and amazing that it was nearly impossible to select just a few images from them to show, so I may have to add more later.

(Notes: Clicking on any image will bring up a larger version. All rights reserved to the artist, of course.)

How has working as an art handler affected the way you think about or feel about art?

Doug McQueen: Having worked in the bowels of galleries throughout NYC, I can see how the image that this city casts with its art-world workings could
lead bourgeoning artists to believe that climbing the evil, lizard-ladder of the corporate art world is the ONLY way to go. Artists of any quality will chart their own course to recognition. There’s so much decentralization in the art world today. Communities all over the world are more able to start their own scenes due to communication technologies. If the NYC art world needs you (rather than the other way around) and they come begging on their knees, well...all the better.

You have the skills to produce everything from photo-real paintings to cartoons to amazing abstract multimedia assemblages. What's your preferred style of work and what about it makes it so?

My current (and seemingly eternal) quest is to find a place where all these elements of painting and drawing meet. I find that as sit down in the studio for a day of work, I need these different elements to keep me going. Drawing cartoons leads me to tattoo flash, then leading to representationalism, leading to idealism, leading to abstraction, leading to collage. Each stylistic change is like plugging my brain into a different electrical socket. I’m always working towards a meeting point for all of them.

You do a lot of cartoon work and comics. Do you prefer single-frame comics or longer narrative pieces?

The single-frame comics usually come from some situation or quotation (real or fabricated) that has entered my conscious brain. I’ll get an image in my brain that I feel crystallizes said quotation and try to nail it; directly from brain to page. Currently, I’m finding longer narratives extremely challenging. I’m attempting to write dialogue first, and then, like I said, crystalize each frame as I see it according to the dialogue. The problem being that I’m writing dialogue way ahead of what I’m drawing. The writing comes a bit easier at this point in time. Basically, I’m effortlessly creating a ton of work for myself.

When you have recurring characters in multiple comics, are those characters there simply to serve as visual /storytelling devices of the moment, or do you think of the characters having a persistent personality? Are they just fun easy to draw?

It’s a good chance that familiar faces in my work have a history. If only in my brain. Characters that I doodled out of boredom in my 8th grade math class still come to life in my sketchbooks today. Their looks have developed over the years, and possibly gotten worse, depending on what kind of trials and tribulations I’ve put them through. By now, these characters are carrying baggage I never dreamt of bestowing on them at the time of their creation. I still regularly create fresh characters that come out of that same 8th grade brain. The process is: think of something fun and easy to draw and maybe it’ll lead to some idea or attitude you’re trying to convey, or understand. However, If I end up drawing some new character more than just once, it’s a pretty sure bet that they will soon join my roster of friends/fiends on paper. Then they’re stuck with ME.

When starting a piece, do you envision things and they try to recreate the idea or do you start drawing and let things evolve? If you are trying to reproduce an exact idea, how accurate do you feel you are?

Over the years, I have come to realize that there is a very specific amount compromise that must be traded between my brain and my hand. I feel that the closer I get to a 50/50 balance between what my brain wants and what my hand can produce, the more I clear up that mystic channel between what I see in my thoughts and what becomes reality (or unreality) on the page.

Do you have any coded or hidden symbolism in your drawings? Or is a wolf's head just a wolf's head?

If I code or symbolize anything in my work, it’s probably pretty obvious to the viewer what’s being communicated. I feel the need to make extremely direct work. I think that urge comes from my love of blunt forms of expression, things like punk rock and graffiti. A forty-seven second song? Not much room to hide any subliminal messages. A huge, illegally painted picture halfway up some barren, 7-story wall? Everything’s out in the open. And by the way, how the f**k did homeboy/girl get up there?

You use a lot of humor in your stuff. Do you get a laugh out of your funny stuff? Do you think that people fully appreciate the craft and design of a good piece of funny art?

Derek Bostrum from the Meat Puppets said the best thing ever: “My sense of humor is the only thing I take seriously.” Depending on how it’s done, making someone laugh can be the highest form of art. My ultimate goal is to make someone laugh, and then in the moment of euphoria that comes after, hit them with something deep that resonates like an echoed dub-beat snare-tap through the eternity of endless space.

You were living in New Orleans and were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. How has that affected your work?

In NYC I haven’t found as many opportunities to make masks and costumes. These were prime elements of culture in NOLA. Different events and holidays all year round made mask-making a desirable skill to have. And I exercised it liberally. I can’t say how many masks I gave out during Holloween and Mardi Gras to friends and strangers who were lacking costumes. In NYC, people don’t dress up as much. It’s not as ingrained in the culture. Most New Yorkers don’t wanna have to take the subway home from a party or ball looking like a mystic mountain ram (although I can’t see why).

You make such varied items -- books, drawings, sculptures, photos -- what would be your ideal way to show / display your art?

I need to find a way that I can load a shotgun full of a few months work and blast it at a wall. That would produce the desired effect. Plus that would reduce my off-work, unpaid art-handling hours.

In your comics and sketchbooks you draw yourself a lot, often in awkward or self deprecating ways. Is this a way of journaling, of nervous energy, is it like a visual "talking to yourself?"

Drawing myself in horrible/awkward situations is the funniest thing for me. When I really want to loosen up my brain and try to shake off all the day to day stuff that fogs up my creativity, I’ll draw myself looking stupid. Food running down my chin, getting caught in a ritual blood letting, crashing on my bike; I become my own ultimate comic relief actor. Plus, when people see the drawings, they go “oh, shit! That’s your head with a hyena body?” And then they laugh, too.

You draw amazing caricatures / cartoons of people. When you are drawing a cartoon of a real person, how do you select what elements to include / exaggerate / emphasize?

Whatever elements pop out the most glaringly. You’ve got to be incredibly cruel. If I’m working from watching folks on the sidewalk, I’ll usually look at a person for a solid 2 or 3 seconds and then go straight to the page. Whatever I draw first when I look at the page are the features that hit me the hardest. If I draw your scarf first, well, it’s because it was obnoxious, or the way you were rockin’ that fuggin’ thing successfully. I can base the rest of your facial features off that memory. It helps to have more time, but even then it’s basically the same process.

Whose work do you enjoy /envy?

Allison Hester’s comedy infused drawings will roll you over, and then goose you. Everyone should see Jeffrey Beebe’s work. This guy can draw for miles, and talk about symbolism! Teddy Riederer trashes guitars and then makes ‘em work again. Plus, he’s a romantic oil painter. Jade Townsend wants to destroy high society so we can all ride bikes, camp out in the dirt and drink whiskey together. Why are so few on board with that? Mr. Timothy Wherle is currently, among other things, drawing some owls for John Zorn (no shit). Stare at his work and feel yr brain explode. Do it, now!

Any shout outs?

Nah. Everybody I wanna shout-out knows who they are.

See more of Doug's work at dougmcqueen.com. Thanks Doug! Thanks Reader!

Jesse Spears

2008-08-27T17:20:00.014-04:00

Jesse Spears is an awesomely creative and productive person living in the Los Angeles area of California. She makes everything from paintings, drawings, murals, and photos, to poms, sticker-art, and temporary tattoo booths. Basically, she's busy being rad.

I came to know of Jesse's work through her blogs. The first, titled Thank You, serves as a window into her world and is full of photos, google-searches, lists, 911 transcripts, and other gems. Long Live Cartoon! documents some of her many projects and shows and has a ton of pictures of her work. Both of these are daily visits for me, and should be for you too.

More than just loving the way her work looks, I love that she seems to be having fun making it and sharing it. You get the feeling she couldn't be doing anything other than what she is. Jesse was nice enough (actually she's super nice, which I forgot to mention) to answer some questions for me via the email, and that is what you see below.

(Notes: Clicking on any image will bring up a larger version. All rights reserved to the artist, of course.)

Do you feel like blogging is an art form?

Jesse Spears: i feel like its the new website. yes for sure it is art.

Do you have any reluctance or reservations with what you share via your blog? Do you ever feel exposed or vulnerable because of it? Do you ever want to post things that are more personal, but don't?

i don't post everything. its not 100% me. its like 100% one side of me though. its my public side. i would feel vulnerable if i just posted everything i took pictures of or everything i write or make or think. sometimes i think it would be cool to just lay it all out and then people can like it or not, but its more out of respect for other people that i don't.

What is your day job? Do you still work at the theater? Does that help your work or hold you back?

i don't work at the theater anymore. right now i'm watching my little brother and sister for summer and doing art related jobs.

I've read that you are a worrier. What do you worry about? Is it dread or simple concern?

i worry about a lot of stuff....i worry that i'll never get to paint a freeway wall ... and i worry that i will eventually have to face all of my fears. i've gotten a lot better though, i don't get into the worry pits that much now.

What's the thing you want to do most that but that fear prevents you from doing?

i want to not be afraid of anything! nothing to fear but fear itself...and i want a motorcycle, but that opens up a whole nother world of possible accidents.

From reading your blog, it appears we both have Grandmothers that were serious pack-rats. What do you have too much of that you'd like to get rid of? What do you think is ok to keep? Do you find it difficult to part of your own artwork?

i have too many clothes, i want to be like bart where i just wear the same thing everyday.

i think its ok to keep drawings, stickers, and tools....also my marker cap collection, i'm not parting with that and its still alive so i can't get rid of it now. maybe when i stop using markers...so like the day i die maybe?

i like parting with my art, it sucks when something sticks around for too long. i have a harder time parting with drawings though. i pretty much keep all of them. paintings i like to get rid of, except for some of them...but i usually like the ones that other people don't like and they like the ones that i don't like...so its perfect!

As the leader of a car club, what would be your dream vehicle? What would you nickname this vehicle?

my dream vehicle would have magic powers of course! it would be able to fly, and jump over other cars. it would also be able to change shape into whatever kind of car i want. jet packs. there would be a freezer for popsicles, and a mini oven for vegan pizza. it would be called "bex"

When you start a piece, do you have a detailed image you are trying to produce, or do you make it up as you go along?

every time i try to reproduce something it doesn't work out. it looks a little off. sometimes i look at pictures of cars when i'm drawing cars, but other than that i just make it up. i'll practice drawing a character until it evolves into something i like and then i'll paint it from memory.

Do your characters have attributed personality traits or are they just designs / visual elements? Do you give them names or back stories? Are they based on real people?

after i draw them i can think of who they are...or sometimes ill try and draw a type of person, but the details of their personality come later and i keep those things to myself mostly...unless i draw them saying something. that gives you a clue.

Do you have a character that you use as a stand in for yourself in your artwork?

everything i make is a representation of a feeling i have...so its all kind of like a self portrait.

When you paint or stick eyes onto things, do you feel like you are giving life to something? Do you give it a name? A voice? Do you feel responsible for it?

i feel responsible for it. no voices or names though. i like giving characters that i paint names, but if the name isn't a part of the painting they don't have one. theres no invisible names over here.

Sometimes my favorite part of an art project is when everything is designed and only needs to be put together. I can use my hands and be productive but I don't have to think as hard. Do you find making art strenuous or is it easy for you?

i feel that way about making pom poms...unless theres a deadline. poms are cool because the shape is taken care of so its all about the color combinations.

If making art is hard for you, do you have anything you make as a means of relaxing?

anything without a due date

Do you like projects that are more social in nature or ones that involve more private, solitary working?

i like them both. its nice to go back and forth.

You wrote "It's better to wish you had more pictures than had more fun." Do you find it hard to balance recording things through photography with just being "in the moment?" Do you ever feel like consciously trying to be "in the moment" changes the moment?

i just take pictures when i feel like it. i don't really bring my camera to music shows because its just not about that for me. it sucks when you are at the smell or something and ten people in front of you are just taking pictures or holding video cameras. one person doing that is more than enough. i like taking pictures when i'm driving, thats my favorite. i don't try to be in the moment...i just don't take pictuires if it doesn't feel right. like getting on the stage at a show and putting your camera in the band members faces is just too much.

You use words or text in some your work. What are some of your favorite slogans or saying?

" i love text"

Is there anyone whose art you envy or wish that you had made? Is there anyone that when you see their stuff you think "Totally. I wish I had done that."

matt furrie! hayley cassatt!

Any shout outs?

maybe you could just link my current favorite website thats my friend beau's. its so good and he adds stuff to it every day: slowcarsslowwomen

THANKS JESSE! THANKS READER!

Starting Over

2008-08-25T01:40:00.001-04:00

Dear Reader(s).

Fortress America is proud to present the newly-revised and slightly-improved Fortress America Binary Kiosk.

This space, once resplendent with poorly curated you-tube video and badly written personal diatribes, has been wiped clean. In its place, a new and better and more sincere attempt at making something interesting and fun.

I was reading a blog post by one of my favorite artists, Jesse Spears, in which she interviewed the director of a music video that she loved.

She wrote “It's like fall in love with something and then find the person who made it and ask them some questions.”

I thought that was a really great idea, and I thought about how many really amazing and creative people I am lucky to know, and how fun it would be to interview everyone and really try to think about the things I want to know about what they do and why they do it. I got so excited I could hardly wait to start.

So that’s what this blog will be; interviews with friends and family and neighbors and strangers about how they do what they do and why they do it. I am super excited to do this.

For the first installment, I thought it would be amazing if I could talk to Jesse Spears, the inspiration for the whole deal and an artist whose work I love. I’m thrilled to say that interview will be posted tomorrow!!

Who’s next? Realistically, if you are reading this, there is a pretty great chance you will be interviewed in the near future. Get your answers rehearsed!

Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Also checkout the Fortress America Media Annex, the new home to you tube videos, product reviews, photos, “news of the weird” stories, and a wide variety of small distractions. I intend to update the annex on a daily basis. I will do my best.