It was fun to hear that Alex had majored in painting/drawing at school (the same thing as I am studying now) since he basically abandoned all the traditional practices he learned to branch off in his own direction. Not something I see myself doing given my digital ineptitude but it just goes to show you that there's more to life than school -- especially when it comes to art.
It was interesting for me to hear Alex talk about how he was influenced by those old point-and-click adventure games and their pre-rendered backgrounds because I look at these images and see them as photographs of dioramas or set-pieces that have actually been physically constructed. In my mind, at least, it's like we're walking through a Hollywood soundstage or a claymation studio just seconds after everyone left for lunch. I dunno. There's something charming and nostalgic about how self-consciously artificial these setups are and I really like that.
You can check out more of Alex's stuff on Kanye's blog. Or if you just happen to be in Barcelona in February to March, I highly encourage you to go and visit the Rojo Artspace.
