The Fly’s Lighthouse

Nathaniel Devarie

Interview by C. VanWinkle

September 18, 2022

Let's start from the beginning. Can you describe the piece that you responded to?

I received a video loop of some words that were glowing, a baby blue and a yellow, I think. “Why are humans so messy?” And then there was a magazine cutout collage of a lighthouse in the background and there were some other visual effects filters going on. That's what it looked like to me. It was really cool. And it would move, but I don't know how to describe its movement. It kind of shook around. Oh and it had music.

I love that it was a little video because I usually don't work in video media. I thought about doing some video to go with it, but once I got painting, I couldn't stop! I enjoyed that it was something new and the excitement of the video got me excited. It let me see things differently.

What do lighthouses mean to you?

I'm from Pennsylvania, the Easton-Allentown-Bethlehem area. We’re landlocked! We don't have any lighthouses! They've always been a tchotchke you see at the beach. Actually, we recently started going to Nahant Beach and you can see a lighthouse in the distance. It's not the right colors, but it reminded me of that. There’s also a lot of writing about lighthouses, “the darkness” and all that pizzazz. I wanted to keep it because it was visually striking and it’s pretty important in the previous piece of art. And I don't know if there was water at the bottom of the original piece, but I put the water in there because I like the idea that the land is gone! [laughs] Chaos… the ocean…

You even have a ship in there that looks it's having a rough time.

Oh yeah, that was the last little piece I put in there to emphasize the dramatic waves. It’s catastrophic! It's not calm and cool, it's rough. We can sink at any moment. I like using an older ship because I feel that's more relatable or more like a fairy tale than if I were to put a modern boat in there. I that like fairy tale aspect.

So how did you get started? How did you decide what to do and start putting paint down?

I had this foam from a previous project. I put some paper over it and cut it into a funny shape, and then I started painting on that with acrylic paint. I really wanted the phrase in there because I loved how those words in the video vibrated. And it's such a good little nod to the fact that, you know, “Humanity's a little messy!”

I love that you cut the shape of the piece before you made the image.

Yes. It was gonna be rectangle, but I was like, “Get that out of here!”

Is that something you do often? Make yourself a shape first and then deal with it?

Yeah, I was working on an abstract painting a few months ago, doing cutouts for that, weird little shapes and stuff, and painting them. Because the foam is so light, I didn't have to worry about the piece being heavy. Most art I do is well planned out. “I gotta cut it this day, this is when I design it this day, this is when I paint it this day…” But I thought it'd be more fun to cut it out first, instead of making a design and then cutting around that. This piece is more like an abstract painting, in that each day it would change a little bit. At one point there was a woman figurine flying in the air, but I felt like she didn't make sense with the rest of the piece, so I painted over it. Each week, it would change visually.

How does this piece relate to the rest of your work?

I think it freed me up. I'm just getting out of this huge project for the What The Fluff Festival in Union Square, Somerville. I made these giant cutouts of very flat-looking marshmallow cans and fluffernutter sandwiches. With this piece, there are a few more layers and it freed me up to be a bit more… I don't want to say ‘messy’ with the paint, but a bit more reckless. The previous project I was just working on was very tidy, very clean, very planned. And this is like an adventure. “Let's see what happens!” You know, this color makes me feel this way, so I'm going to react with a complementary color or an aggressive black. Planning it as I go.

I’m glad you were able to do something so much looser after doing something that needed to be so precise.

Yes. It's more about the act of playing than a planned process. It didn't have to be anything specific, it could be anything at all, so I didn’t feel that pressure to make it look like a crazy Disney project or whatever.

How large is this piece?

I'm 5’10, so it's 5’5ish, almost as tall as me. Almost has wide too, ohhhh! [laughs] I felt like it would photograph well. There’s nothing wrong with making small pieces, but I just work large in general. Plus, I have space for it right now.

Next question: Why are humans so messy?

One of my original ideas, which I vetoed, was that humans are so messy because of their egos. That’s usually what gets in the way and makes problems for other people and communities. It’s people's egos! I was gonna represent that with a giant dick, a phallic sculpture or something, because that’s another reason why there's so much chaos and why humans are so messy. But I felt that it just was too “loud” amongst all the other things, like the lighthouse. It felt like the story didn't relate. I mean, yes, lighthouses are kind of phallic shaped, but I didn't feel like sexualizing it, so I kept the dick out of it.

Why the fly?

I like the fly because it reminds you of, you know, “Eeew, flies!” That's usually people's first reaction, and it still is my reaction. And I think that, coming from the fly, the words make even more sense.

Like we're being judged by an animal that hovers over poop?

Yes. Yes. Exactly that.

What is your advice for another artist approaching this project?

Number one: Make sure you set time aside to think about it. Also, make sure you have fun with it. Don't look at it like it’s an obligation because you'll see it in the work. But take it seriously at the same time. It’s serious play. You're taking the time seriously, but you're allowing your inner child to come out and play with the blocks and the paint and do whatever.

Oh sure. A lot of people use this as an opportunity to do something different from what they usually do.

Exactly! That's what I did. I took the liberty to play with something I usually don't do.

How important was it to you to stay close to the subject matter?

I watched the video a few times and thought, “What are the main key elements?” They were definitely the words, the lighthouse, the light coming out of the lighthouse, and that kind of sky print in the background. Since I kept those, you can see the similarity, even though they are definitely different paintings. I really had fun. I truly enjoyed painting it, especially after the previous project I was doing. This was a nice breath of fresh air to just goof off a little bit and not be so regimented. It wasn’t a “This is for work. I need to do this product by Tuesday” -type thing.

You work a lot! I can see how it could be hard to know when to be playful when it's your job.

Yes. That's the biggest thing I've been learning over the past year. I think I'm getting better at it now. It's about setting time to make art for you, for enjoyment, for experimenting, and then there's time to make art for money and the business side. It’s also about being gentle with yourself and not being so hard, like “You should’ve had this done yesterday!!” Yes, but I needed that time to relax or to spend time with my husband. I have to take care of myself because I'm the only employee in my business. If I burn out, then there's no business. So it's balancing and getting to know yourself. And knowing when you reach your limit and say, “That's too much! I'm going to lose it!”

Just hire a staff! [laughs]

I actually am in the middle of that! I’ve reached the point where I want to get some type of assistant or a business manager. I’m having a hard time doing both realms. I know I can rely on myself for making the art but applying for grants and things like that really choke me up. I miss out on a lot of opportunities because I'm literally in the studio painting, doing the work. I want to have someone else to help out, be an advocate for me, teach me how to build a new website so I can sell paintings and prints from it. I'm in the middle of that process now.

I think a lot of people don't appreciate how much work that is. People who aren't artists think that art it's mostly just being weird and doing drugs and painting your feelings. But there's so much work on the business side of it! And you are your business’s only employee!

Yeah. And then people are always like, “Oh, you should do this! Oh, you should do that!” And I have to say, “Yes! But I literally cannot.” If someone else can help me out, we can get things done, like cutouts for the bike trail, or a book, or this, or this. These are great ideas. I love them. I just don't have enough hours in the day.

Oh for sure! Thank you so much for taking the time to work this in! I know making the opportunity wasn’t easy. I’m so glad you had fun.

Call Number: C77VA | C79VA.deFly

Nathaniel Devarie was raised in Easton, Pennsylvania and studied painting and sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). He relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, where he continues to paint and model for artists and classes. Switching between different mediums helps him to think differently and explore new avenues, as well as keep his mind sharp and excited to explore and experiment.