Artist Spotlight: Kalup Linzy

Controversy and raunchy humor are recurring elements in the work of performance artist and musician Kalup Linzy, who is one of the fall 2013 visiting lecturers in the Visual and Environmental Studies Department. Linzy, known for the provocative, gender-bending fictional personas whom he embodies in live performances and video, has also released three albums and two EPs, a film, and a series of visual art pieces. Linzy creates, directs, shoots, and edits many of his own videos. This semester, he says, he will be filming at Arts @ 29 Garden with visiting guests this semester. His work is currently on display at the Visiting Faculty Show at the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts.

The Harvard Crimson: Some of your art, in particular the photo shoot you did with Interview magazine, is reminiscent of the work of Cindy M. Sherman, a photographer known for studio-based self-portraits. Is she an inspiring figure?

Kalup Linzy: When I took photography and art history courses [as an undergrad] and was around the photo lab, she was someone that we all looked at and admired…. [Around 2004] I applied for this grant at Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, and Cindy Sherman was on the panel. She was one of the people who pushed for me to get the grant…[and] I got the grant. She was a big supporter, and she also purchased one of [my] collage pieces a few years back. But what’s interesting about the Interview magazine—that was the first time I had been offered a stylist to do [my] make-up, costume, everything.... It was a turning point for me, because I realized that liked having them do that, and I opened up.

THC: In March, you released your new album, “Romantic Loner.” This music stands in contrast to your videos because of its soothing, soulful quality, as opposed to your raw videos, except for some of the cheekily explicit lyrics.

KL: Look at “Sweetberry Sonnet” and “Sampled and LeftOva” [on my earlier albums] because those were very raw. “Romantic Loner” is attuned to my more natural state, when I am more serious, deep, and introspective.

The first two albums were a little bit more comical. You could tell that the first two albums are songs, sort of prepped for live performances for this particular character, whereas Kaye [the protagonist in “Romantic Loner”] is a video artist and soul singer…. The way I was singing with Kaye was closer to my natural way of singing songs; the earlier two albums were filtered with the character Taiwan. There’s probably more contrast, but I am glad you get the contrast, because I need the difference between Kaye and Taiwan.

THC: Could you talk a little bit about your creative process and your character Kaye?

KL: Kaye developed some years ago.... I wanted to phase out the character Taiwan, because I did not want to do the flower-and-leotard thing for the rest of my life, and he became bigger than some of the other characters. I was trying to figure out how to balance it out. Kaye was sort of an evolution.... A lot of the newer songs were written based on the older songs.... My process sometimes just starts with a character or an idea in the back of my head. Then, once I care to pick it, it turns to the forefront.

THC: You have also appeared in the soap opera “General Hospital” with James Franco, and “Romantic Loner” features multiple tracks that you perform with him. Are you thinking of future collaborations with Franco?

KL: I don’t know. He and his producer, they have so many projects.... There are things written with him in my mind, but I don’t know if they will see the light of day. At the moment, I am working to set up a Skype visit with him and one of my classes.

THC: What are you most looking forward to this semester as a visiting lecturer?

KL: I am really looking forward to seeing what the students will come up with in terms of their projects…. I think it will help me understand where the younger artists are, and what space they are in…. There are teaching artists who have been advising guides to me, and being able to talk to students and have them look to me for some guidance keeps me in a certain place…. I am bringing in some of my visiting artist friends to talk to the class, so I feel like that will put me in a space where I will be really motivated. I am really looking forward to that motivation.

—Staff writer Gökcan Demirkazik can be reached at gokcan.demirkazik@thecrimson.com.