Jim Krewson Is Probably Playing Banjo

INTERVIEW BY AMY KELLNER

Vice: You drew all these for the Frieze Art Fair, right? Isn’t it in like a teepee or an igloo or some shit? Tell all!

Jim Krewson:

Um, close. It’s for Dicksmrs. Gallery and it’s in a yurt outside the Frieze Fair with lots of performancy things happening. I’m playing banjo for a couple of days, there’s a puppet show, lots of stuff. Those Brits are SO queer for banjo playing.

Do you think people will be angry about the 9/11 drawing?

Yeah, some people probably will be pissed off, but it’s such a friendly image and a “love” message. I got the idea because my nephew had an assignment for the 9/11 anniversary where they had to draw pictures of the attack. His particular angle was that he was drawing it from the cockpit perspective, which I thought was great. Then I was thinking how nuts it is that this classroom of kids were all drawing this. I like loaded images, and you can’t get much more loaded than that. I’m sure the surface reaction from a lot of people is that I’m making fun of it, which I’m really not! Seriously. It makes fun of Germans more than anything else.

What’s the story behind the drawing of the witch and the glue huffer?

This guy wanders into the woods to huff some glue and he thinks he’s all alone but there’s a psychedelic witch behind him—or is it the glue talking?! I’ve been into that fairy-tale drawing style lately, like Ivan Bilibin and Arthur Rackham and also Winsor McCay. I did a shitload of drawings for the Frieze show and afterward I was relaxing and drawing some stuff just for my own pleasure and these supernatural woodsy things came out. Fall in the Catskills is pretty witchy. Sleepy Hollow is close to here. Did you see the one with the lesbian biker who got drunk and passed out and the sister witches are casting a spell on her? I was going through a heavy Destroy All Monsters period.

What’s going on with Ernest fucking Borgnine?

What do you mean? He’s coming out of a cunt! I was just like, “Shit, I better draw something tonight, yeah, OK, Ernest Borgnine!”

We can’t show the drawing of the guy getting fisted by the old leather daddy holding a Cookie Monster puppet and saying, “Cooookie!!” Isn’t that disappointing?

Yes, but I understand, you are a family magazine. But he’s just putting on a little puppet show! I think fisting is funny. “I’m gonna grab your stomach!”

Why are your drawings so terrifying?

Are they? If they are, that’s a great reaction. I just make art that I want to see. Really, who wants to see more boring abstract paintings? But come on, Amy, you think Large Marge is scary! Can I say that? I don’t want to divulge secrets.

Large Marge is insanely scary! I stand behind that. Anyway, you can draw in any style ever drawn, right? Are you like Rain Man?

Yeah, but only because I’m emotionally stunted since I grew up drawing instead of interacting with other kids. My family lived out in the country where there was nothing else to do. I have the mentality of a 12-year-old but I can draw like a sonofabitch.

Will you move back to New York and hang out with us more?

Well, I love you guys but that city is for the goddamn birds.