John Stango
John Stango’s America is a blend of iconic figures, pop culture, nostalgia and bright, bright color. This pop artist based out of Philadelphia PA has been making his mark on Charleston for three years and is still going strong. Check out his work at the Michael Mitchell Gallery on Upper King Street.
ART MAG: When, where were you born?
JOHN STANGO: I was born in 1958 at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia.
AM: Painting—when did that start? How did that come about?
JS: When I was a young kid, my dad needed signs for his barbershop, so I used to get stencil lettering and do all of the signs for him. I specifically recall doing a sign for a haircut known as the “John-John” haircut, which was named after JFK Jr. In grade school, I was the ‘go-to’ kid in the early 60’s that would visit various classrooms in my Catholic school and draw Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and a crucified Jesus Christ on the blackboard for the rest of the students…not necessarily in that order. By high school, I knew I had a certain something, I was drawing and painting various athletes of the day on the inside of Math, Geography books and canvasses in art class. Basically any place I could find a blank space.
AM: Always been bright? Any major shift in the color palette over the years?
JS: Colors have always been bright. I was always attracted to bright colors; it’s kind of my signature—bright colors and textured brushstrokes. I was always using too much paint, so I went with it. It just became my style.
AM: Icons—personal passion? Other art/artists/media forms that inspire you? (film, print, etc.)
JS: When I was accepted into art school, I discovered Andy Warhol- I wasn’t privy to this kind of art in my parochial school. Everything was very traditional. For some reason I drew and painted really big-I’d always fill the whole page up. I guess you could say that I was a pop artist before I even knew what Pop Art was. I love American culture. Growing up in the early to mid 60‘s, I was always fascinated by pop culture icons. My first fascination was with Batman, the 1966 TV show. I must have drawn about 200 Batmans in 5th grade. So in college it was a natural progression to be attracted to different American superheroes, icons, and pop-culture images such as Superman, Marilyn Monroe, Detergent boxes, retro logo’s say from Dairy Queen or fashion or urban street signs like bars, saloons, etc.
AM: Patriotic images—what influences these? Military service—yourself or in the family?
JS: My family’s military service—my father, for example, was in the US Navy for a time during WWII—has directly inspired my work. I also have always been aesthetically attracted to our flag, because of its graphic quality. Growing up in Philly, the flag was a big part of our lives because of Betsy Ross. Basically, I just love America. Everything is big and bold. It’s a plethora of pop art.
I don’t have a political agenda with my art, I just want to promote America, promote and inspire patriotism. I always dug those war posters. Anything that shows our strength as a nation, they are very masculine, retro and cool. Eye catching. I like to call my Americana Pop “Popaganda” .It’s neither Democrat nor Republican; it’s universally patriotic.
AM: Walk us through a typical ‘work’ day in the life of John Stango
JS: Every day is a little different, but one of my typical days might go like this. I wake up at 5:30 am or so and hit the gym for about an hour. On the way home I stop and pick up a few newspapers, I read about 3 every day (NY Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Daily News). Get home and have my coffee, some breakfast and read all of the papers. Then it’s off to the studio. My studio is my man cave, since I spend most of my time there. I usually prep canvasses, meaning I cut them out, prime them with Jesso and paint background colors, or I silkscreen them, depends what projects are due that particular week. I don’t pre plan or pre plot my paintings. I usually have an idea in my head, and I start by painting a sole image. I build on that as I go along. I never know what a painting is going to look like until it’s finished. I break for lunch, and come back and continue painting. I love what I do, and I love that there are basically no regulations, I can paint whatever I want. I usually wrap up by dinner time, head home, have dinner, shower, relax and watch TV. I love the show Mad Men, then it’s off to bed.
AM: When you are old and grey, what will you tell the whippersnappers about yourself?
JS: I look at what I do through a vision of an urban kaleidascope. My work is more urban than traditional art. I’m like a city mouse. I was always attracted to the urban landscape and what it had to offer. I would always like to paint things that were “cool”, things that are visually interesting.
AM: What advice for the whippersnappers?
JS: Um, don’t get old! There’s more to that though. I mean stay young at heart. Once you decide you are old, and that’s the way it is, you lose your edge. And then art becomes a job, not a passion.
AM: Tell us about the Norman Rockwell family connection
JS: The Norman Rockwell thing is very bizarre. My mother’s last name is Rockwell, she was from Connecticut and was a really amazing artist. I would question her from time to time about her lineage and whether or not we were related to Norman Rockwell. Her response was always an indignant “NO”, cutting me off at the pass. As it turns out, my mom ran away from home when she was 17 years old. I never knew any of her family except for her sister Margarate. Never met my maternal grandparents, nor any cousins. You have to remember this, I grew up in an Italian household from South Philly, so it was easy for me to just drop the subject when my mom shut me down. She died last year and I began doing family genealogy which is pretty easy to do now with the internet. I was shocked to learn that I am related to Norman Rockwell. My ancestors fought in both the Civil War and the Revolutionary War. Now here I am, this Italian kid from South Philly realizing that I am actually a Puritan! I call myself a Puritano. It blew my mind! I have even met a few of my mom’s relatives who confirmed this for me. I have documents from the 1600’s. I painted my family tree on my studio wall. You could look at it like Norman Rockwell was the country mouse and I am the city mouse. It is fitting that Norman was America’s Artist, and I am the American Artist.
AM: We heard something about Mimi (Stango’s better half!) & flight attendants–what’s that all about?
JS: My latest series of works is titled The Stewardess series. It ties in perfectly with what I do using early 1960’s imagery. My fiancée Mimi is a stewardess and I started this series in honor of her as a Christmas gift-I made the first painting and titled it Mimi which was her present. It’s just been growing, and now I have several in the series.
interviewed by: Stacy Huggins
Michael Mitchell Gallery
438 King Street
843.564.0034
michaelmitchellcharleston.com
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