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Interview by Jeffrey Pena. June 2009.

Curbs and Stoops:    Paper Monster, please introduce yourself. Where are you from? What can you share about your background?

Paper Monster:    My name is PaperMonster and I am a stencil graffiti artist from Northern New Jersey. I have been stenciling for over 4 years and I was born and raised in Puerto Rico until the age of 7. My academic degree is a Masters in Biomedical Sciences and I am a prime example for all aspiring artists that you can make something out of nothing with no resources and teach yourself all you need to know.

Curbs and Stoops:    How did you pick up the name Paper Monster?

Paper Monster:    The name PaperMonster fits my work really well because of the huge mess that I make every time I work on a new painting. My studio looks as if some animal walked in and shredded and cut everything in sight. My entire floor is packed with magazines, newspapers, money, and any piece of textured paper I can get my hands. On top of all of that, I have huge stencils lying flat ready to be sprayed at every corner of the room. Overall, I have this method of controlled chaos where I ultimately end with a beautiful stencil art piece.

Curbs and Stoops:    With not having ever taken art classes, how did you find yourself becoming an artist?

Paper Monster:    Although I have never taken an art class, I have seen it as a challenge to work harder and push my art further without being afraid of rejection or to learn something new. From the first stencil of a cartoon character that I drew; I started working on different ideas making stencils of animals, faces, followed by different objects. After that I moved from painting on scrap paper and found objects to working on canvas and trying to create cohesive pieces which were bright and beautiful. The more stencils I cut and the more I tried new things, the more confident I felt about my skills and I knew that I had the talent to do something bigger than just make art for myself but to make stencil art pieces to share with the world. I think that becoming an artist for me came as a product of evolving and developing my style to the point where I was ready to take on bigger and bolder projects. At the end of the day I am an artist because I love what I do and I am extremely proud of all my accomplishments.

Curbs and Stoops:    How do you make sure that you continue growing as an artist?

Paper Monster:    I think that growth is one of the hardest things for artists. In today's art world the goal is to create an image and style for yourself so that when anyone sees one of your paintings it will immediately scream out PaperMonster or "Insert Famous Artist Name Here". I think that as artists we can get stuck into this routine of using the same colors, topics, and messages in order to establish a distinguishable style. One of my main goals is to keep some things constant such as the color palate but at the same time use those colors in new ways, add texture, try new topics or techniques into creating the works in order to bring that new dimension. Stencil art is really an art form that you can start from absolutely nothing by just using the cheapest and most inexpensive materials to create a stencil and turn that art form into something so intricate that no single person can figure out how you created an image that looks almost lifelike. I feel that growth comes from mistakes reinvention. I constantly thrive off "happy mistakes" whether it is something misplaced or an imperfection, you can learn from what you have done to take away the "good" parts of the mistake from the "bad." Growth really comes from the heart and the best thing to do is follow what you think is right and what matters most is that you are proud of your work and that sense of confidence is infectious and will be passed on to your audience no matter what direction your work goes.

Curbs and Stoops:    What do you want people to take away from your art?

Paper Monster:    I want my works to be an adventure; where your eyes get lost and you can not figure out where to look first. To each painting there is an element of beauty. Along with that beauty comes emotion and followed by the emotion comes the mystery. My work explores the questions of "what do these women have to say? What is their story? What are they hiding?." I really want people to take their time with the artwork and explore each piece and try to figure out these complex stories. It is an absolutely new experience when you see one of my pieces in real life and that is when you are really blown away by all of the visual stimuli hitting you at once.

Curbs and Stoops:    Can you describe your process?

Paper Monster:    My process typically begins with a concept or emotion that I want to express. For themed group shows my pieces will mostly revolve around the theme but the most critical part is to stay true to your vision. After I have created the stencil based on my original concept I will then add layers of texture and different forms of paper to create a storyline or general scheme/shapes that I want to highlight. Once preparing the canvas is finished, it is time to bring all of the pieces of the puzzle together and the results of the chaos is what you ultimately get to see.

Curbs and Stoops:    What is your philosophy for making new works? How do you approach a blank canvas/wall/piece of paper?

Paper Monster:    My philosophy is to let the concepts and ideas come naturally. I think out of the three, working on a wall is the biggest challenge. My stencils have a finite space they can fit in on a canvas and with a wall your main concern is does the stencil fit in terms of does the wall have texture(concrete or wood) or is it a strange shape (curved or angled)? Those challenges really can make break whether and stenciled street art pieces really works. I am really excited about showing a new way of getting around the amount of time needed to get onto a wall with stencil art and if all things go well it should be great to show off my new project this summer.

Curbs and Stoops:    One can often find stamps, currency, japanese newspaper collages and comics collaged into your work. How do these various items find their way into the work? What is their role?

Paper Monster:    I think the collage work is one of most fun parts of my process. The currency and stamps in their own way stand alone as pieces of art, each with its own story and symbolism and one of the main reasons for placing currency in my work was to highlight the beauty behind the time put to design and illustrate what people use as a means money from all over the world. I love the Japanese newspaper because the degree of typography and shapes in the Japanese language, especially in the press is incredible. I love the curves and sharp lines and Japanese, as well as Chinese, and Korean are all languages where subtle shapes have deep rooted meanings. The comics really bring the story to life and they are the soul of the painting. Each piece of the comic is placed and chosen carefully to express a specific action or emotion whether it is from wolverine or form a damsel in distress you can create your own personal interpretation of what the comic is really trying to say.

Curbs and Stoops:    Where do the girls that you paint come from? Are they women in your life? Models? etc.

Paper Monster:    The girls in my paintings are real women. I really love to find natural expressions and true natural beauties. I am inspired by people in my life or people that I come across on the street that just have a genuine glow and exude beauty and I work to capture that instant of perfection in my paintings. I am always looking to find new emotions and expressions that grab you the second your eyes see that image.

Curbs and Stoops:    Have you collaborated on work with any artists? Who would you like to collaborate with?

Paper Monster:    Some of the opportunities that I have had the chance to collaborate with other artists have been on street and urban art projects such as the work I have done with along with Albus Cavus, Will Kasso and Leon Rainbow who bring together a huge range of graffiti and urban artists together to work on large walls and indoor projects. I have had the privileged to paint alongside some incredibly talented artists such as Will Kasso, Pose 2, Leon Rainbow, and the Wallnuts Crew who really push their work to stronger levels with each project. I am really interested in some upcoming collaborations with several companies on products such as shirts, sweaters, skate decks etc. and collaborating with other companies really helps to make your art work and designs more accessible to someone who can not afford to purchase one of your paintings. Working with brands is one of the greatest means of sharing and making your work accessible for a larger audience.

Curbs and Stoops:    Other than stenciling are you interested in doing any other forms of art? What kind of medium are you interested in working with or learning more about?

Paper Monster:    One of the mediums that I am most interested in working on is sculpture and even vinyl/resin toys. I think that those two mediums are amazing means of sharing your art with new audiences. Toy customization is incredible because it allows for such a high level of creativity, imagination and self expression and I am a huge fan of the current art toy scene. Bouncing between toy design and contemporary art on canvas is a great way to stay creative and some of the top artists today are doing a fantastic job at both. Overall I think that working within this new medium would be very exciting and who knows what opportunities may come in the future.