SkinnyBuddha.com recently sat down at the Internet Machine to have a chat with Gilbert Siplon about his piece, Sign of the Times (distrubing: the piece) that inspired the shirt.
SkinnyBuddha.com- Yoyo, a little late, my b.
Gilbert Siplon- Yo, it's all good.
sb-So, first off, how do you describe your drawing style? I call it line work.
gs-Yeah, line drawing, line work, somewhere along those 'lines'..
sb-Has this always been your style? When did you develop the line work skills?
gs-I started doing the intricate line work around 3 years ago, however, I've always felt a need to outline drawings/doodles with a sharp bold edge, so I guess that practice was a precursor to the more intricate obsessive compulsive style.
sb-Would you say that was a comic book influence? Did you read comic books when you were younger?
gs-Maybe it was influence by comic books, maybe not, to be honest, I never really read the comics, I would buy them because my older brother was into them, but then I would just look at the pictures. The one thing I remember was the bold, different look of Image Comics compared to Marvel.
sb-So, lets talk about "Sign of the Times," was the idea something that you sketched out first? Something you had in your head for awhile?
gs-Actually the total opposite...the idea/rough sketch was one of those spur of the moment type deals. It was originally intended as a poster/billboard/guerilla advertisement to be posted on campus at UCF during rush week. Some friends I used to hang out with back then were all about starting the anti-fraternity, one that didn't care about social/economic status or whatever. One night we decided to make a bunch of these posters and plant them on campus while every other organization was promoting rush week. It basically grew out of an idea to include everyone, white/black,
good/bad...can't really remember if we actually planted it on campus...maybe for a day or two...that's what shots of whiskey and hittin' that hay will do to you.
sb-Maybe that's why there isn't a fraternity that way, people that are truely open to all people and all aspects of life dont need an organization to determine the people they suround themselves with.
gs-I agree. So back then it was pretty much a rough draft of the more intricate piece today. I kept the piece with me no matter where i moved, letting some people display it at their places. It's been around the block a few times. About two years ago I spent a good amount of time going back over it and detailing it with some additions.
sb-Is this when the often looked past bird came into the idea?
gs-Yeah definitely, like I said it came from an idea of unifying opposites into one entity ...the good (peace) with the bad (middle finger).
sb-Ya, I never could find the bird on my own, until I showed it to my mom and sister and mentioned it to them. They saw it instantly, and since then, i have noticed that females find it quicker and more often than males...
gs-It's funny some people are instantly drawn it while others aren't....that's weird cause i've noticed the same thing with females as opposed to males. It wasn't until I started detailing the piece that the barcode design came into play as well as the somewhat resemblance of the ying yang.
sb-I've noticed the use of the barcode in several pieces you've done. Why didn't the ying yang make it to the shirt design?
gs-Mainly design purposes...i just didn't think it looked good.
sb-What are your plans for the piece?
gs-Planning on just hanging the piece somewhere on the streets here in jax where other "street artists" cultivate to see what happens...that or trying to sell it I guess...not sure yet.