Art Talk With KC Badger: May 29, 2008

RockstarRider

• May 29 2008
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On a recent trip to Arizona to shoot photos for an upcoming article in the magazine I got the chance to hang out with KC Badger. After seeing him kill the Chandler BMX park I saw another side of KC at his house and out on the town. One of the things that I noticed right away is something I knew a little bit about already; that his is into art. I decided to dig a little deeper into this and learn more about KC and his artistic side.

Name: Kelley Condie Badger, Jr.
Age: 25
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Sponsors: Kink Bike Co. Kronik Energy Drink, Odyssey, etnies

You are a drawing major at ASU in Tempe, Arizona; were you always into art growing up?
I honestly kind of “fell” into art, so to speak. I was always interested in art and envied kids that could draw before I realized that I could draw. I remember pretty clearly the time that I found out I could draw; I was probably eight years old, bored at a girlfriend of my dad’s apartment and there was a pen and a napkin laying on the table. I drew a desert landscape with a lizard, a snake, and cactus and such. Without really thinking, I remember showing my dad and he was shocked as I’d never done anything like that before. I think that’s when my true love for art started, a cheesy desert landscape drawing on a napkin, haha.

The best thing about this portrait of KC is that it is completely natural and unplanned. I was shooting photos of the art on his wall and he happened to sit down and pull out the ol’ laptop. If you walked into KC’s house when he was home, there’s a good chance the scenario would look just like this. Photo by Fat.What kind of classes have you been taking the past few years in art school?
I’ve been taking the mandatory criteria to get a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Besides the core classes like English, math, science, and other boring classes I’ve taken a class in basically every art medium: printmaking (screen print, intaglio, woodcut, etc.), sculpture (worked with cast metals, welding, subtractive work), painting (water-color and acrylic mainly), and of coarse the bulk of my studies have been in drawing. My specific area of focus has been figure drawing. I feel a greater connection drawing the figure than anything else. I love to people watch, so figure drawing lends itself perfectly to that interest.

High speed wallride to table in one of Arizona’s many, many ditches. Photo by Z. In conversation, you told me you think everyone needs to have something more than just BMX going on in their life. Do you feel like art is your “other thing,” and do you have any more “other things” besides art?
Exactly. I think that it’s crazy fore people to only be into one thing, no matter what it is: bikes, art, TV, video games, books… Your interests define you as a person, so why narrow yourself down to one category? Furthermore, having more than one interest greatly affects your outlook on the other interests, if that makes any sense. I guess I feel like art is my other main interest. I still find it hard to consider myself an artist, being that I haven’t found who I am as an artist, or created art that is truly my own. Up until now it’s all been school assignments, and subject matter, and styles that have been forced upon me because of school. With that said, I’d like to think that I have a broad interest in “things,” whether it be art, design, philosophy, psychology, or whatever. I strive to at least have some sort of knowledge in anything/everything, ensuring that I could potentially have a conversation with anyone. I feel that I’m at a point in my life where I’m really interested in “things” that I have no knowledge of.

You have been living in Tempe, Arizona with a bunch of other BMX riders and art students; how has that been?
I lived in a five-bedroom house with five other people this year. Three of them are bike riders, and three are also art students. It was definitely a fun living situation, if I wanted to ride, Sam Burros or Ryan Chadwick were always down. And if I ever needed some sort of art inspiration I could always depend on Billy Franevsky for it. He’s probably my biggest mentor, in both art and riding. And if you ever seen his work you’ll know why.

Definitely more like a painting studio than a bedroom, KC’s roommate Billy’s living quarters. Photo by Fat. Can you explain some of the art on the walls of your house?
The art in our house is a collection of work between (mostly) Billy, Sam, and me. The works that are specifically mine are the aluminum bum hand cast, and the Basquiat and blue city screen print. The rest of my art is in storage because I just moved out of the house since I’m going to be gone for the next three months.

One of Billy’s paintings that hangs above the “better-for-sleeping” living room couches. Photo by Fat. What’s the deal with this hand that has money glued to it?
The bum hand is a cast aluminum project that I did for a sculpture class this semester.. Currently, my main focus for drawing is homeless people so I wanted to create a narrative piece that coincides with my drawings. I’m really excited about how the cast turned out. I had never done a metal cast before this assignment, so it was all an experiment to me, but I really enjoyed the process of the medium and the results I ended with.

A bum’s hand; ratty finger glove and handouts and all. Photo by Fat. Do you do much art outside of the classroom?
Sadly, I don’t. I feel that when I’m out of school or not doing school related art, it is the time for me to ride, or do anything but art. Sometimes I’ll get inspiration to do something on my own, but lately other interests have outweighed those inspirations.

You had an internship last summer with Odyssey, helping out in their art department; how did that go?
It was an absolutely amazing experience. I couldn’t thank Jim Bauer enough. Aside from Billy, Jim is my biggest inspiration. Everything he touches is golden in my eyes, so I couldn’t think of a better person to work under. Thanks again, Jim!

The dining room of the BMX/art house. Photo by Fat. Right after you answer these questions, what are you doing and where are you going?
Right after I finish these questions I’m going fishing with a few friends, and then to a BBQ/pool party. It’s my last day in Phoenix for three months so I’m trying to pack in all the fun I can! Tomorrow (May 27th) I leave for a Kink East Coast road trip. After that I go to the Northwest, followed by some Virgin Island fun before ending the summer in Salt Lake for another Kink trip. It’s summers like this where I really feel that I’m living the retired life, haha.

Part of getting in all the fun he can before he leaves the hot-as-hell desert known as Phoenix involved going to the top of a mountain that overlooks the city and enjoying the sunset while sipping some cheap beer from a big gulp cup. Photo by Fat.