An Hour In the Life Of Artist Tom West

Who: Tom West
What: Artist & Providence Artist Campaign (PAC) Founder
When: 7pm, Tuesday August 7
Where: Dusk, 301 Harris Ave, Providence
Why: He’s running for artist… and that’s reason enough

Every Tuesday night at 8pm, an assemblage of creative minds flock to a badass little bar down by the tracks: Dusk functions as headquarters to the Providence Artist Campaign (PAC). The concept was developed two years ago by Tom West, the likable ball of energy who’s running for artist… or asshole, depending upon which sticker you look at first.

The campaign started when West forced one of his friends to run against him in an attempt to have some fun while calling attention to the arts community. Tom came with so much heat – stickers, flyers, posters, shirts – he ended up running unopposed, and seized the (totally fake) title of Providence Artist.

I spot Tom setting up his oversized boards on the sidewalk out front. He uses his head-in-hole paintings (a medium he says “never gets utilized smartly”) to tackle heavy topical issues such as teen pregnancy, race relations and politics. “The public then engages your art and subject matter,” he says. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

“I set these up at last year’s Foo Fest [at AS220],” Tom notes, nodding towards his tongue-in-cheek characterization of President Bush. “Kids always end up sticking their faces through this hole,” he says with a laugh. “I can tell which parents are cool and which ones aren’t based on how they react.”

One thing that’s unequivocally cool is the way in which the campaign has grown. “Over the past year, I realized the concept had real legs as an artistic community builder,” Tom says. “Artists will be running for Providence Artist 2012, replicating the approach of the average campaigning politician.” Well, sort of.

Artist candidates will use posters, fliers, stickers, media arts, murals, art gallery shows, performances, appearances, debates and any other “creative way legally possible” to draw attention. The tie-in between the campaign and his head-in-hole paintings is obvious: both provoke the viewer to take notice and interact.

Using the Creative Capital as canvas, incumbent wannabes will engage the community by following Tom’s carefully-laid footprints. “I am starting to think of myself as an exterior designer,” he says candidly. “I really want to deliver positive messages amidst the dreary Presidential campaign.”

“I want to remind everyone on a daily basis that there are things more important in life [than politics],” he says. “We live in a city were we can create our own way. Believe in creativity.” On Tuesday nights, Tom plays host and tends bar, and there’s work to be done in preparation for both. He darts back inside; I follow.

He pours me some wine, which I enjoy as I peruse the work that he’s hung indoors. My eye is immediately drawn to a punchy yellow piece, a bold political statement painted on wood. “I had that up at the #OCCUPY show at Yellow Peril Gallery,” he says. “I believe in those guys. Best gallery I’ve ever worked with.”

Tom paints on wood as it’s a material he grew up with, often helping his grandfather make cutout wooden lawn ornaments. “After making them, we’d display them on his perfectly manicured lawn… People bought them all the time. So when I started painting, I was quickly drawn to painting on recycled wood.”

The eighth hour nears and friends both old and new are scattered around the room. Tom rushes from his post to greet the one-man-piano-band and the woman who will sit on stage beside him and paint to the beat of the music. After getting the duo situated, he scatters West for Artist stickers atop the bar.

The room continues to fill; a few members from the Extraordinary Rendition Band walk in, still in uniform. Tom looks happy. “I love all the creative people who come, have a great time and throw around ideas. My free t-shirts and small art giveaways pull people in too,” he says (as I snatch up a shirt for myself).

Tell me, Thomas…

Why do you sign your name backwards on your artwork?
“I was very good at creative drawing as a child. My mother would hound me: ‘Sign your work Thomas. You have to sign your work.’ I had a touch of dyslexia so I wrote my name backwards all the time. Once I became a professional artist I continued to do so. It made my mom laugh. Now I think of her every time I finish a piece. It’s my way of thanking her for encouraging my creativity.”

What did you do at RiverzEdge Art Project?
“I was the ScreenWorks Director. I ran the screen printing department and got to work with 6-8 teenagers after school teaching them the trade. It’s amazing how you can teach a teenager how to do a difficult artistic trade as good, if not better, than any adult. I worked there for four years. It is by far one of the most rewarding jobs in my life. RiverzEdge is a very special place.”

What’s next?
“I will continue to sell my fine art in the many ways I do. I will continue with my PAC project until the November elections. Moonlighting at Dusk will continue. And I just started my full screen printing operation out of my own studio in AJ Land. It’s called Westminster Ink. Nice ring, huh?”

What makes you happy?
“Just being at AJ Land Co., making art and talking with all the talented artists there everyday. It’s the best place ever. My studio is the happiest place in my life.”

Who is Tom West? What do you stand for?
“Hell is not expressing yourself; art is heaven, a science of the soul; my religion of choice. The nation of art always at Renaissance; the country of chaos; the ambassador of the unknown. But expression doesn’t come easy; it is a battle of the self; it’s leaving the circle game. I am a soldier; I am Tom West.”

With the room full, Tom is at his best — a wonderful ambassador for the arts. “I would like to leave a mark in this community, like Umberto “Bert” Crenca from AS220. He really started a fire in this town. I think the main goal of any artist is to never be forgotten: to make a lasting and important message that lives hundreds, or even thousands, of years after you have gone.”

Voting for the next Providence Artist will coincide with actual Presidential Elections via website polling. Head to Dusk on Harris Ave. on Tuesday nights between 8pm-1am to chat with Tom or to purchase any of his work. Or chat and buy digitally by emailing him at westforartist@gmail.com.