Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Izaac Zevalking. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Izaac, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
I have always been a creative, but after schooling I worked in many different roles, from web designer to animator. When I relocated to Las Vegas I landed in the graphic design field. I quickly grew impatient at the creative decisions coming from the top, this was a theme at my other jobs but the world of Las Vegas graphics was much faster moving. Hence, the conceptual turn-over was intense. This left me frustrated as it seemed many of my favorite ideas never advanced up the ladder, always settling (it seemed to me) for more safe, tame and traditional ideas for graphic design and advertising. The job went to part time and I found myself with a lot of free time. This is basically when I started creating art under the pseudonym Recycled Propaganda, I threw that creative frustration into my art rather than let it upset me within my graphic design. As my art career started to take of the juxtaposition between the two forms of creativity became too apparent, so I quit my part time graphics job to focus solely on Recycled Propaganda and art. I have now been doing that full-time for over 5 years. Without those initial frustrations I never would have realized how important creative control and conceptual thinking were to me and pursued my art as aggressively as I have.
Izaac, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Other than my aforementioned creative frustrations the main driving force behind starting art under the guise Recycled Propaganda was my rapidly increasing social frustration. I have always been very inquisitive, this lead me through both undergraduate and post graduate degrees in the U.K., but it never satiated only deepened my thirst for knowledge. As I learned more about history and the world, plus an being in environment of social awaking about current injustices my frustration continued to grow until I needed an outlet. Because of my background and upbringing, this of course manifested itself in the form of art. But not traditional art on canvas, but art made from reclaimed materials and concepts that spoke about current world affairs and issues. I did not limit this art to hangable items but focused heavily on wearable art plus street art and stickers. My subject matter is incredibly broad and I hope to highlight a range of topics that affect us, from environmental decline to corporate power. As I continued my artistic journey I quickly took to muraling. The size challenge plus the public nature of the observation appealed to me on a tacit level. Currently i have over 20 public murals in the Las Vegas area and one day I would love to travel the world painting them.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
There are many books have that been instrumental in crafting my artistic career and journey. I the early days of being a creative books like “Think and Grow Rich” and “How to Win Friends and Influence People” instilled to me invaluable lessons. Namely the power of thought and manifestation. Being an independent creative is a counter-culture activity, hence, it needs more mental fortitude. Its not just a job its a whole lifestyle and commitment. The latter book gave me practical tips for networking and building your brand, which I think are sharply lacking in formalized education. As the years rolled on the books “48 Laws of Power” and “Mastery” really helped my maintain focus on making art and continually honing and broadening my skill sets. Other notable but less impactful reads that have helped me with my art journey have been. “The Power of Habit”, “The Obstacle is the Way” “Ego is the Enemy”, “Origins of Creativity” and “Algorithms to Live By”
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The main mission with all my work is to highlight social issues. However, I find the ambiguous nature of much of my art is the best route to true perception change. Art says something without actually saying it. This allows people to extract a meaning that is more personalized, frequently people interpret the same piece to mean diametrically opposing things. I don’t think this is a failure of the art, but actually reflects the true nature humans and humanity. To hold two opposing ideas in our consciousness simultaneously has become a defining characteristic of society and arguably responsible for the rapid expansion of civilization. I feel art is the only thing able to adequately reflect these nuisances and hypocrisies.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://recycledpropaganda.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recycledpropaganda/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RecycledPropaganda/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/recycledprop
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW6xVFreZQ91WJiTgnkPwLQ