WEBVTT 00:00:00.475 --> 00:00:05.718 [New York Close Up] 00:00:05.718 --> 00:00:14.834 ♪ 00:00:14.834 --> 00:00:19.024 ["Rashid Johnson Trades Art With Angel Otero"] 00:00:19.024 --> 00:00:22.879 [Rashid's thinking about trading this.] 00:00:23.771 --> 00:00:25.939 [Rashid Johnson--Artist] 00:00:25.939 --> 00:00:30.290 RASHID JOHNSON: Angel is a friend of mine. We met uh, a few years back after I graduated from the School of the Art Institute in the grad program. 00:00:30.310 --> 00:00:36.310 He was I think the grad class after mine. He’s a painter and a sculptor. 00:00:36.330 --> 00:00:49.586 You know, we talk about art and life and he’s doing quite well now with his work and so we’ve been talking recently about trying to trade a work. 00:00:49.586 --> 00:01:05.420 Sometimes, it can be difficult to actually, you know, finish the deal. I’m sure he’s got you know the dealers kind of kicking down his door like "what do you have available to us" and so, you know.... 00:01:05.440 --> 00:01:12.292 It becomes kind of a sacrifice to like give it to your friends, you know? [laughter] 00:01:12.343 --> 00:01:18.205 [Somewhere Between Brooklyn & Queens] 00:01:24.533 --> 00:01:26.150 What's up? 00:01:26.170 --> 00:01:27.390 [Angel Otero--Artist] 00:01:27.390 --> 00:01:28.106 ANGEL OTERO: Word, man. 00:01:28.106 --> 00:01:29.487 RASHID: This is the crew. 00:01:29.487 --> 00:01:31.652 Hey, I'm Angel. 00:01:31.652 --> 00:01:33.560 [off camera]: Thanks for letting us in. 00:01:33.580 --> 00:01:36.740 ANGEL: No problem, man. More than welcome. 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:39.920 RASHID: We’re here to see your wares. [Laughter] 00:01:43.130 --> 00:01:46.300 RASHID: It looks good. 00:01:49.510 --> 00:01:52.710 So is this how it comes up? 00:01:52.730 --> 00:01:55.880 ANGEL: ... I’m scraping this new one but then you see it’s not drying. 00:01:55.900 --> 00:01:59.070 RASHID: How long does it take them to dry? 00:01:59.090 --> 00:02:08.230 ANGEL: This is a new pigment. This is like a hardcore, high pigment oil paint so it’s like, yeah like strong, strong stuff. 00:02:08.250 --> 00:02:11.230 But the thing is the more pigment, the... 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:13.410 RASHID: The harder to dry. Yeah. 00:02:13.430 --> 00:02:15.994 ANGEL: So it’s kind of tricky. 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:20.510 RASHID: I like the text pieces too, man. 00:02:20.530 --> 00:02:23.965 Angel [off camera]: Yeah, it's funny. I never thought 00:02:23.965 --> 00:02:25.812 I'd be painting some text stuff. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:25.812 --> 00:02:27.920 RASHID: Yeah, how’d you get here? 00:02:27.940 --> 00:02:32.053 Angel: I just wanted to see how the text would look with the process kind of thing. 00:02:32.053 --> 00:02:36.680 RASHID [off camera]: Yeah. And how do you get the thickness? Just tons of oil paint? 00:02:36.700 --> 00:02:42.700 ANGEL [off camera]: Just tons of oil paint man. And after a month or something I try and scrape them out slowly slowly, like inch by inch. 00:02:42.720 --> 00:02:49.710 RASHID [off camera]: I mean it’s interesting because it’s like very much kind of attached to the canvas but it’s not like a slave to the canvas. 00:02:49.730 --> 00:02:50.910 ANGEL [off camera]: Yeah. 00:02:50.930 --> 00:02:54.920 RASHID [off camera] : Like it’s lounging on it. Like... Like it’s pimping the canvas. [Laughter] 00:02:54.940 --> 00:02:56.140 ANGEL [off camera]: That’s true, though. [Laughter] 00:02:56.160 --> 00:02:59.350 RASHID [off camera]: Yeah, I dig that. 00:02:59.370 --> 00:03:01.530 Angel: What do you having going on, the wood pieces? 00:03:01.550 --> 00:03:07.730 RASHID: I got the wood pieces. Which are...I’m actually making one right now in the studio. That... this one doesn’t have a home. 00:03:07.750 --> 00:03:09.910 ANGEL: Like with a weird shape? 00:03:09.930 --> 00:03:18.090 RASHID: Yeah, it’s funky. It’s funky, dude. But, like, that would actually be, like, a good one. You know what I mean? Yeah, man. 00:03:18.110 --> 00:03:24.090 Angel: The gallery took everything from me, man. [Laughter] 00:03:24.110 --> 00:03:26.310 RASHID: Maybe like something like that for me? 00:03:26.330 --> 00:03:28.500 Angel: Like this size? Rashid: Yeah 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:32.500 ANGEL: What size is that wood piece you got over there? 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:33.680 RASHID: It’s like maybe.... 00:03:33.700 --> 00:03:37.407 Angel: Living in New York, you gotta... Rachid: I know, I know. It's not huge. 00:03:37.407 --> 00:03:40.190 ...My apartment's like a bathroom. 00:03:40.190 --> 00:03:41.680 RASHID [off camera]: It’s like this. Like a... I’d say like four... 00:03:41.700 --> 00:03:43.680 ANGEL: Four by five? 00:03:43.700 --> 00:03:46.230 RASHID [off camera]: Like... yeah. You know what I mean? 00:03:46.250 --> 00:03:47.440 Angel: Perfect, that's a perfect size. 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:50.880 RASHID [off camera]: Like you could fit it... Can I touch it a little bit? 00:03:54.946 --> 00:03:58.103 Rashid: It's a banger man, totally. Rashid: Yeah. 00:03:58.103 --> 00:03:59.606 I'll put this in the crib, man. 00:03:59.606 --> 00:04:01.060 Angel: Yeah, it's a Rashid piece right there. 00:04:01.060 --> 00:04:03.471 Rashid: Yeah. Done, done. 00:04:05.317 --> 00:04:07.790 ANGEL: I wish I had more stuff, man, to show you. 00:04:07.810 --> 00:04:23.790 RASHID [voice over]: It’s good, you know you want to have the pieces of your friends. I mean it marks a time in your own history. Who you were with, what were you doing, and you know my wife is pregnant and my kid can grow up around really great art objects, other than mine. (Laughs) 00:04:23.810 --> 00:04:37.800 I think it’ll be... it’ll be a good shaping experience to have you know... you know work by... by really you know good... good young artists around my... around my kid. 00:04:42.850 --> 00:04:50.020 I also feel confident that I maybe took a wrong turn and that I don’t know where the fuck I am. I don’t know Brooklyn so well. 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.240 Should I take Knickerbocker? 00:04:52.260 --> 00:04:54.440 OFF CAMERA: Yeah, it’ll cut up to Morgan. 00:04:54.460 --> 00:04:57.878 RASHID: All right, cool.