Jon Reiss
Los Angeles, United States
Bio
Infectious has invited Jon Reiss director of graffiti documentary Bomb It to be the judge on its first themed contest.
Jon Reiss likes to court controversy. His music video for Nine Inch Nails featured performance artist Bob Flanagan strapping himself to a machine that rapes, tortures and kills him. It was instantly banned. His latest work is Bomb It, a documentary about graffiti. While shooting the movie, Reiss had to hide from the Berlin Underground Police to avoid being imprisoned for three years under Germany's anti-graffiti law. Then, while shooting graff in the sewers of São Paulo, he was nearly got swept away in a flash flood.
Touted by Variety as one of "10 Digital Directors to watch", Reiss has also directed videos for The Black Crowes, Danzig and Slayer.
Interview
Describe your new documentary:
Bomb It is the first film to update the story of graffiti from a truly international perspective. It also looks at the the underlying issues of what is art, who is allowed to judge what is and isn’t art and most importantly who controls our public visual landscape.
What was the most memorable moment from the shoot?
Being taken by graffiti artist Zezao into the sewers of São Paulo where he paints. The only thing he asked in return was for us to give him the full body protective suits that we needed to buy in order to accompany him. Three minutes after we got out of the sewers there was a flash flood. If we were still in the tunnels, we would have died.
Did shooting the movie dispel any of your previous preconceptions about graffiti?
Tons, but especially the role of tags in graffiti and my appreciation of them as an art form.
What was your first car and what’s your dream car?
My first car was a ’62 two door Ford Falcon. It was black with red and white interior – great car. I drove it into the ground. I love my Prius, but my dream car is a completely carbon neutral car.
How do you feel about artists channeling their support of Obama through their art?
I have an Obama Hope t-shirt that was given to me by my wife. She created them with a group of friends of hers that are Obama crazy and who work tirelessly for the campaign. The design was done by Susan Graves. I think its great that so many people are creating art spontaneously for Obama. Its very inspiring. It shows what a groundswell of enthusiasm there is for him as President.
