 "Photo: Courtesy of Roderick Stevens")
Rock music and art have always benefited from their relationship. Andy Warhol gave The Velvet Underground their first boost in recognition, Brian "Pushead" Schroeder made Metallica's merchandise as lethal as the band's 1980s output and people often pick up great records based on the cover art alone.
Roderick Stevens continues the tradition this weekend at the Austin Fine Arts Festival, albeit in a different fashion. He certainly doesn't look like a painter, and with his long hair, noticeable goatee and insistent sunglasses wearing, he looks like he might actually be in a band. His precision in recreating objects, diversity in style and laid-back attitude are fresh in the art world.
Stevens got into painting around two-and-a-half years ago during a stressful time in his life. He created a self-portrait and was so impressed by his own work that he further explored the medium.
"I find painting to be very cathartic," Stevens said.
The photorealism of Stevens' works especially stands out. He pays such great attention to detail that the line between photo and painting often blurs. One of Stevens' more popular works is a series of paintings of Coke bottles inspired by the works of Steve Smulka. His paintings of bottles have a rustic, but never overly nostalgic, feel. Another notable painting is his "Music Store I," where he recreates a rack of guitars with painstaking detail. Viewers can even notice the reflection of a golden Fender Stratocaster on a cherry-red Gibson Les Paul.
But Stevens likes to differentiate himself from other photorealists.
"Most photorealists, I find, use photography as a tool to get to their painting, whereas for me, the painting is an extension of my photography," Stevens said.
He finds that when working on a painting, he focuses so much on detail that he has to be careful not to become too engrossed.
"I have to, once in a while, step away from the painting several feet in order to even see what I'm working on, because I'm so honed in on just a small portion of it," Stevens said.
Despite the intense realism found in his painting, Stevens contends that he is more interested in abstract art.
"I tend to gravitate toward abstract when I'm looking at art. Even in realism, I like a looser realism," he said. He even describes the actual objects in his work as "insignificant" and is more attracted to how different objects attract him "to the light and the color and the shadow and the texture."
Stevens frequently listens to music while painting. He mainly listens to film soundtracks, The Thermals, Built to Spill and Blue October when creating his works.
Stevens recently exhibited at a show that combined jazz and art. His art shows are almost like indie rock concerts, because his favorite thing about them is meeting new people, something independent bands bank on through constant touring.
His greatest passion, however, is cinematography. It was "all [he] ever thought about, from his first conscious thought," and although his painting has gained more prominence, he considers himself a cinematographer first and foremost. He has done many music videos, most notably nu-metal group Static-X's video for "So." He also does camera and lighting for independent films. Whatever medium he uses, he says that his film works and his painting "influence each other."
For the future, Stevens can count on one thing: expect the unexpected.
"Somebody recently described me as a Renaissance man. There may be some truth to that - I don't seem to stick to one thing. I want to keep exploring and having fun creating in different ways."
Stevens' first show at the Austin Fine Arts Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday.
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