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Poet, painter, singer, dreamer: Billy Childish
Praised by Peter Doig and 'copied' by Tracey Emin, Britain's biggest art enigma Billy Childish talks to Stuart Jeffries about his art, punk music and the joys of amateurism

Billy Childish & Musicians of the British Empire:

biography:

A cult figure in America, Europe and Japan, Billy Childish is by far the most prolific painter, poet, and song-writer of his generation. In a twenty year period he has published 30 collections of his poetry, recorded over 70 full-length independent LP’s and produced over 1000 paintings.

Born in 1959 in Chatham, Kent, Billy Childish left Secondary education at 16 an undiagnosed dyslexic. Refused an interview at the local art school he entered the Naval Dockyard at Chatham as an apprentice stonemason. During the following six months (the artist’s only prolonged period of employment), he produced some six hundred drawings in ‘the tea huts of hell. On the basis of this work he was accepted into St Martin’s School of Art to study painting. However, his acceptance was short-lived and before completing the course he was expelled for his outspokenness and unorthodox working methods. With no qualifications and no job prospects Childish then spent some 12 years ‘painting on the dole’, developing his own highly personal writing style and producing his art independently.

press & media:

an interview for SF Weekly

One of Billy's manifestos says that art should help us become adults. This is a big obsession, psychologically, with people my age (30s) -- what it means to become an adult, how you go about it without becoming just a consumer. So I wonder, how does art help us become adults?

Well art may as well be of some use, at least to the person whose doing it. When we engage with art openly it helps us meet our limitations and humaneness and there by get to know ourselves and like ourselves, along with all our faults and shortcomings. Art is an outlet for the subconscious, which by definition desires to become conscious, painting relieves some of those pressure of hell and we can start being a little more honest and stop trying to impress everyone all the time, perhaps even stop bothering trying to impress ourselves. Of course this doesn't work if we use art as just another commodity or fashion accessory but real art can shine light and beauty on our ugliness.

Billy's philosophy about art addresses a lot of the things people get hung up on in the art world, including commercialism and authenticity. People talk endlessly about "selling out," etc, but really Billy's approach seems so simple: You make art not for public recognition, but for self-discovery. It's such a pure approach. I wonder how he feels about the public recognition that has inevitably come along with his success, though, however modest he might consider that success?

People get confused about originality and authenticity. Striving for originality is a very limiting process which actually cuts off the natural creative flow of life. Whereas engaging authentically with what we have in front of us - be it some summer trees or a catastrophe - is liberating and requires no effort or pretence. An added bonus to being authentic is that we begin to express our originality naturally and can relate to each other on a less flimsy level. In short we start to achieve some genuine communication with ourselves and fellow human beings. I would go as far as to say that we can only be original if we are at first being authentic. One of the muddy issues is that art critics and artists often confuse gimmick for originality and vulgarity for authenticity.

Artist are as open to temptation as the rest of the human race - more so if they fancy themselves as special - and as a society we like to encourage each others lower instincts with fantasies about sex, power, gambling and some vaguely implied immortality. Primarily this is to gain our complicity - so we're all in the same camp - then nick all our cash. The trouble is, whilst we're out nicking to add to our own stash, some person is sneaking in round the back to nick from our unguarded stash.

In our society art and music are pretty much seen as just another commodity only with added status points. We pretend it's all very special but really our artist desperately want to be pop stars and our pop stars desperately want to have the kudos of calling themselves artists or poets, whilst simultaneously advertising cars and supplying the soundtracks in shopping malls. At its worst art is just another means of fleecing ourselves.

I welcome recognition for genuine achievement, but am not so sold on striving to achieve recognition. The path is the goal because the only good thing about painting is painting and prise and criticism are often as poisonous as each other. Celebrity is fine if it is celebrating something that rises to our consciousness. Unfortunately our societies obsessions with sex and fame often means that we promote the tawdry and the dull over hard work and decency.

As to my own successes, some collectors are now picking up on what ive been up too these past 30 years, maybe because they figure that they may as well have at least one piece of art in their collection that has been made by someone who actually meant it, or they want me in their stamp collection because it's become impossible to pretend any longer that I don't exist.

Honesty in the art world is such a rare thing. Why does the market try to co-opt art so relentlessly, and how does an artist deal with this pressure? How does Billy deal with it?

Humans are pretty insatiable beasts and need to own every inch of real estate, including each others harts and minds. The market claims art as well because unless art is contained art mite exposes the markets crassness. Of course, we are the market and we are collectively fearful of the unconscious and have a vested interest: fear - to keep each other trussed up.

The way to avoid the pressure is too not hunger too strongly for what the market promises us if we trade our hart and souls for it. My first advise would be: don't let yourself be ruled by sex and money. The only way someone 'has you' is if you want what they've got. I don't mind being rich but I don't get on my knees for it or ruin my sanity over it. I believe that life is a spiritual journey on which we learn and grow, rather than an 'eat all you can' buffet where we stuff ourselves till we puke.

This makes me think about the fact that Billy continues to call himself an "amateur." I love that he's adopted that term, because it's so far away from the art world's obnoxious cult of genius. What's the appeal of that term to Billy? Does using it allow for more freedom? More honesty?

By designating myself as an amateur it means that I'm free to engage with the world lightly and with a sense of fun. It loosens up my own expectations and the expectations of others. Besides, to be an amateur is more realistic, less bloated less pompous, and recognises the truth that we are all just human beings who do things, not professional artists, musicians and writers - who need to prove that are smarter than everyone else and there by deserve reverence. Basically, if some one identifies themselves by what they do then they are deluded. I've heard a number of conceptual artist proclaim 'whatever they do is art because they are artists' - on this basis I suggest that they belong in the mad house - if you follow the same logic it follows that everything a trash man touches is trash because he is a trash man. The bottom line is that the amateur does what he does through love, the professional because he has to win , and to pay the mortgage,