half-brain. What is it? There used to be this crazy woman in Georgetown called
Sign Lady that had like a whole fucking slew of these things that would walk
around and like screen at people and seemingly supposedly she was actually
loaded but had gone crazy and that's how she could afford to be out on the
street and basically she had a home but would just go out and yell at people and
one of my friends stole one of her signs.
My name is Michael Elliott Brough. My current age is 25 years of age. I guess
earlier memories of making art would be my mom was always really into encouraging
me to draw and paint and just be creative when I was a little kid. I remember
in elementary school you know just always being being good at art and making
random weird stuff and art teachers being confused by it thinking it was bad
because it was weird I guess I don't know. I guess the current style that I work in
are described as pen and ink drawings somewhat cartoonish but adult themed or
politically themed kind of in a almost a collage drawing style. Lots of animals
having sex. It seems like lately your more current work is a lot more politically
themed. Can you talk about that?
Most of my yeah some of my current work is more political I guess because it's
just easy to be inspired and to be angry and just frustrated and it's really easy
to find content. People feel like they live there have control over their
own lives but or you know control over influence over the political system and
have the ability to make changes but you know it's in most cases just an
illusion. Creative influences I feel like at least stylistically most of my
influences come from graffiti lettering shapes and forms and the way that
letters flow together that I guess I'd gotten in group to graffiti when I was
like 16 and so that that period of you know pretty much an influential like
formative period in most people's lives I guess that that have a large influence
on the way that and what I look at for creative inspiration or what inspires
me as far as artists go a lot of again stylistically I'd say influenced by a
lot of there's a crew called MSK AWR from LA say heavily heavily influenced by
the style of the way they form letters and I feel like it affects me and one
guy in particular hints from Atlanta other than that my giant definitely some
some other tattoo artists yeah looking around trying to figure out there's
think of who else and you actually did graffiti at one point right yes and
you got busted yes when did you get busted and you want to talk about that
first yeah for for hot minute I guess I got in graffiti like I said when I was
like 16 and kind of faded out for like a year or two there then like when I was
18 got kind of back into it then I came down to school in Richmond got more
heavily into it started trying to like make that the purpose of what I was
doing like traveling to do graffiti and whatnot and then I guess you know just
got more into it and eventually got sloppy got careless got cocky I don't
know whatever it was I ended up getting busted for real for real in 2004 April
April 2004 my work definitely changed completely while I was in jail before
that I've been doing a lot of like screen print based work or like work kind of
based on the computer a lot of like solid black and white stuff things that
kind of lend themselves to high impact on the street big bold things and while
I was in jail I you know it's just so boring there's nothing to do so I would
just draw constantly and all I had was a pen and piece of legal paper so pretty
much you know just had a million things going on in my brain the style that I
draw now just kind of that that kind of just came out then I know exactly where
it had been stashed away for years but I guess that that was just like the outlet
it needed and so yeah totally changed the way that I was making art you know
you've been you've been shown a lot of galleries around Richmond how does that
is that some kind of indication I guess for you or you know how does that make
you feel I guess going from that you know having been arrested and like you
know I guess fair amount of the community looking at you looking at you as
like some scumbag vandal to showing in galleries it's kind of it's kind of
funny to me because just like you know part of this is because of you know
people's negative reaction of course creates like an equal reaction within
another part of the community you know people who who don't look at it in such
a negative way they they see getting arrested or you know you're or anybody's
commitment and passion to what they're doing is something that's like exciting
and yeah I don't know I mean I just I like showing in galleries you know for
totally different reasons than doing stuff on the street it's it's fun to be
able to like sit and like focus on a project and really develop it rather
than just going out and doing something like you know in a limited time or limited
space that you have which is certainly fun it's just different but I feel like
both are valid and both are important. Like when I was doing graffiti like I'd
spend time down here I just chill quiet spot down here at night six pack or
whatever just drink, reschedule, draw, come down here before work works up at
tobacco company pretty close come down here and drink before the shift just
like a cool spot like right on the river you know the pipeline and the train
tracks above just like a good atmosphere to relax and be created and just think
about stuff.
you
