by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
R. Land is as Jacksonville as any artist I can remember. When I was a young, budding rebel wandering the mean streets of 5 Points, I clearly recollect R. Land’s art on local band fliers and T-shirts (Crowsdell, the Beggar Weeds, etc.) and his distinctive Little Bunny Foo Foo merchandise littering everything from sign posts to storefront windows in our own little “alternative” district of the day.
Ronnie Land is the oldest of Jacksonville’s Brothers Land, his younger brothers Robbie and Joel are also creative, but each in his own field. Robbie, the middle brother, is a filmmaker in Atlanta and Joel, the youngest of the three, is a local stand-up comic (and sometimes writes for EU), so the whole family definitely got the showbiz bug somewhere in their incubating days on the Northside of Jacksonville. Ronnie has since moved on to Atlanta and found great success, not only there, but all over the country.
From his artwork being featured on the cover of the New York Press to decorating entire restaurants with his colorful and demented brand of cartoons, R. Land’s work is making its rounds. When it comes to his paintings, you will easily be able to distinguish Ronnie’s work from any other pop artist for his vivid and often neon colors and bug-eyed portraits of characters that might otherwise seem almost cute, if not for Ronnie’s rendering. Almost reminiscent of a Ren & Stimpy close-up, his images contain a real, albeit sometimes ambiguous, subtext.
Since moving to Atlanta, Ronnie has made some good fans out of the Williams Street Studios people (home of Adult Swim on Cartoon Network) and his work has found its way to Aqua Teen Hunger Force DVD covers, with an oh-so-R. Land rendering of that program’s stars: Shake, Meatwad and Frylock. His work has since appeared on SuperDeluxe.com, a comedy website that was created by many of the talented creators of Adult Swim shows. (Search for “Vocolotion” on SuperDeluxe.com to find out about the world’s favorite sing-along.)
Aside from his paintings and cartoons, R. Land has also made an impact in the art world through his Loss Cat images. What began as a simple sort of social experiment turned into a phenomenon. Ronnie made a flyer for a “Loss Cat” with a photograph of a cat and the sloppily markered words “Speckles, Does not caLd WHeN COME, LIMPS, DIRTY, Not tAG. REWORD Needs Medicines. FoAM. CALL WARD 404.539.1839.” In 2001 the flyer was posted around Atlanta, but it eventually made its way as far as Seattle.
EU caught up to Ronnie while he was in Nashville and we spent the following weeks chatting on the phone and sending emails back and forth like Internet lovers. The following is the interview that came from those conversations.
EU: What part of Jacksonville are you from?
R. Land: Extreme Northside. The very tip of the Duval line, almost Yulee. Off the Nassau sound.
EU: How did Jacksonville as a place help shape your artistic direction?
RL: Back in the old days, Jacksonville had little to offer in terms of an “art scene” or any kind of substantial alternative culture. So one had to draw from within or find inspiration in the unique and quirky surroundings of Florida’s first coast. I used to love going to the old Hayden Burns Library back in the 80s to pore over old books about Florida and specifically Jacksonville history.
EU: When did you first decide you wanted to be an artist?
RL: As long as I can remember, I was always involved in my own little creative thing. In the early 1980s I became really passionate about my creative pursuits and pretty much made it my life’s mission to explore all the possibilities.
EU: What part has music played in your work?
RL: Music plays a huge part in my life. Since I am working the majority of the time, I don’t have time for TV and the like. I generally listen while I work. That includes everything from records (vinyl, CDs), NPR, books on disc, iTunes, independent community radio and just about anything else interesting I can find. I’m always hungry for new music and audio experiences.
EU: What artists really inspired you early on?
RL: Inspiration came from many sources, the least of which were painters. Old Hollywood movies. All things Florida (pre-Disney), Cartoonists B. Kliban, Charles Addams and Gahan Wilson, the music of people like Kraftwerk, David Bowie, Klaus Nomi and Brian Eno. Outre’ film (from Luis Bunnel to Zaat). As far as actual visual artists, I would be remiss in not giving a nod to Picasso, the Dadaists, 60s pop art, outsider/visionary art and blah blab blah.
EU: Would you call your work pop art?
RL: It is definitely, sometimes, esoteric in nature but in general it has a certain populist approach. So, I suppose it is a particular part of pop or post-pop. I enjoy relating to more than just an elite few, but on my own terms.
EU: How has going to Atlanta helped your career as an artist?
RL: It’s a large metropolitan city with a relatively vibrant music and arts scene. It has a much larger urban population with a greater variety of cultural sensibilities. I felt it would be a great environment for artistic experimentation on a larger scale.
EU: How did you get involved with Aqua Teen Hunger Force on Adult Swim?
RL: The show’s creators contacted me initially to do some interpretive art for Aqua Teen Hunger Force for season three and we’ve had a lot of fun ever since!
EU: Are you the oldest of the Brothers Land?
RL: Yes, in fact they are my sons from a former wife.
EU: How is it that you, Robbie and Joel all became artists of one kind or another?
RL: The three of us are very different in many ways, but all share a particular attitude about the world and how we relate to it. We just express it various ways.
EU: Where is the strangest place you’ve seen one of your Loss Cat pieces?
RL: There have been many odd entries in the Loss Cat saga. One of my favorites was circulating around a Brooklyn, NY neighborhood for little while about 4 years ago. It was a lost “Loss Cat” flier calling for the return of the owner’s Loss Cat flier.
EU: What question do you wish I had asked?
RL: May I offer you a cuddle session with my good friend Eddie Farah in exchange for this interview?
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