Simon Butler’s early years consisted of designing robots and flyers for punk & hard-core shows. Now, at just the age of 23, the London based artist working under the alias ‘ARMS’ has worked with renown artists and will be exhibiting at the Truman Brewery next month. Butler creates idea lead works of art which are a skillful and unique mix of illustration and graphic design. After five years of working for D*Face and London’s foremost contemporary urban art gallery, StolenSpace, he must be doing something right…
When's your birthday?
11th June
What do you do?
I work in a kind of grey area between art and design. I studied graphic design, and still work as a freelance designer, but my real focus is in producing work as an artist. Working as a designer is still exciting, and it pays my rent month to month, but there is often a lot of compromise and catering to other people's ideas of what works. The work I produce as an artist is entirely my own, and I have a lot of fun with it. Being solely an artist is the dream job. I have sold pieces through StolenSpace Gallery this year, but at the moment it is still early days, and is not quite enough to make a living off, but I am working hard and really pushing that aspect of my work. Saying that, the two are always crossing over and the skills and working methods that I develop with one are constantly influencing the other.
What's the first work of art that inspired you to become an artist?
Subconsciously it would have been the pieces that my mum had dotted around the house. She has always been fairly keenon art, but never been involved with it herself. My parents used to take me and my brother to a lot of the big galleries, which introduced me to a whole bunch of artists that have gone on to influence me in some way, such as Jackson Pollock, Chuck Close, Jeff Wall, and Lucien Freud. A big defining moment for me was when my brother showed me the little black Banksy books he bought when I was about 14. It really changed a lot of my views on art, and introduced me to the idea of 'street art', which seemed to relate to the aesthetic and ethos of album covers from punk bands that I was listening to at the time.
What's your spirit animal?
I have no idea what one of those is
What's your first memory of making art?
I used to spend loads of time drawing as a kid, anything from new kits for my favourite football team, to designs for robots that I wanted to enter into Robot Wars, to flyers for punk shows and skateboard decks when I got older. As far back as I can remember I think I was always making and a drawing.
What's your favourite planet?
Earth, as it is the only one I have any experience of...
What would you call your art?
A big mish mash of my 23 years being alive. Damien Hirst said 'artists create work that is influenced by the things around them', he was talking about the diamond skull and being surrounded by millions of pounds, which is not quite my life, but I think that sentiment is true of most artwork.
Which film and/or book reflects your insides best?
I don't know about reflecting my insides, but one of the most exciting films I have watched lately is called 'The Radient Child'. It documents the life of Jean Michel Basquiet, who is a big influence for me. He lived a
really interesting life, took a lot of risks, got rich and famous off his art and then died from a heroin overdose aged 27, a really morbid ending to a rad story. I like to read travel journalism as well, as I think I have a bit of a nomadic side to my personality and find it hard to stay in the same place for too long (I have recently had my visa approved to live and work in Australia for a year).
What's your favourite music to work to at the moment?
I really like Purity Ring's album, I saw them live the other night, and their live show was pretty impressive. I also have been listening to Kendrick Lamar a lot, because it is one of the only things D*Face plays in the studio, but I am a total convert.
What brings you to Old Truman Brewery?
I freelance for both StolenSpace Gallery and D*Face, who owns the gallery. I interned for the gallery about 5 years ago, when I was 18, and have been coming back for various stints of work ever since.
What's your favourite thing/place/object on site?
StolenSpace Gallery. As I said, I have been working there on and off for a few years, and I used to go to their exhibitions when I was first forming my own opinions on art, so it has been a pretty influential place for me.
What do you find most helpful as a young artist living in London?
The amount of things going on all the time. There are always exhibitions to go and see and opportunities to get involved with. I am a person that gets bored pretty easily, so constantly having something to do is ideal. I get to meet a bunch of people who are working on exciting things in a different area to myself, which opens up the possibility of working together and trying something new.
If you met a genie tomorrow morning, what would be your three wishes?
1. To be granted a green card so I could move to Los Angeles
2. A rent free house and studio
3. A couple of black suitcases full of cash
What's the best / worst Xmas gift you've ever received???
Best - An ex-girlfriend took me to Paris for a few days. I'm not sure that has been, or could be topped. I really like that city.
Worst - I got bought Beauty and the Beast on VHS once, which I remember being super pissed off about, because me and my brother saw it as a film for girls. I still don't think I have ever watched it.
