Peter Kalisch

Meet Peter Kalisch, twenty-four year old visual/performance artist who endeavors to shed light on postmodern conditions leading to interpersonal disconnections. Kalisch’s body of work is exemplary of deep self-awareness and acts as an encouragement to others to remove themselves from patterns of self-victimization.

Q: Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us the types of art-making you are focused on now.

A: I am a performance artist primarily working in live performance, video, and music. My music is mostly labeled as industrial noise, although I have a wide range of sonic influences, and much of my sound is subject to change based on specific performance scenarios. I use sound-activated components in my live performances, which often feature pain, vulnerability, and historical references as main points of focus. Additionally, sexuality is a main theme in my work. I believe narcissism is an epidemic in our first-world society. Being a gay man, I have been exploring the hedonistic nature of gay male culture and the role of narcissism in said culture. I often perform in gay male spaces, which gives me a great opportunity to hold up a mirror to them. I use my performance persona to take on the role of the hedonistic gay male, and then use my physical body to destroy this notion. Ultimately, my work sheds light on the need for vulnerability to come to the forefront of our discussions about art in order to fix the widespread sense of anxiety that I see in myself and so many of my peers.

Q: When did you first realize your calling as an artist and what were some of the major life events that led you to where you are now?

A: I realized the cathartic power of art-making during my senior year of high school, in which I was deeply depressed, and numbing myself with drugs and alcohol on a daily basis. Art became the only way for me to truly feel and have those feelings be heard by an audience larger than myself. I really do believe art saved my life and allowed me to find a sense of purpose. My main focus as an artist is to hold up a mirror to society and reflect the modern day problems of not only queer people, but all people. I went to art school, but I don’t think I would necessarily recommend younger artists to do so. I believe the art school system is overrun by pseudo-intellectual neoliberals. They work with good intentions, but these intentions result in funneling students through a system that destroys a young artist’s finances and doesn’t truly teach HOW to be an artist. It simply reaffirms theoretical stereotypes that are not relevant to the issues facing the world currently. During my junior and senior years of college, I began to realize the many logical fallacies being presented by academia at large, and it helped me to develop a fierce philosophy and ambition which I believe was integral to my success to date. This past year, reaching sobriety after yet another long stint of substance abuse, has also greatly influenced my work. I am now able to understand and love myself on a much higher vibration, and I recognize how self-destructive behavior is often romanticized and condoned in our media. There is so much more that I cannot express in words, but I am deeply grateful for all of these struggles, because now I am allowing myself to enjoy life on such a deeper level. There are no regrets, only situations which we as artists can either choose to repress or to learn from.

Q: What have been some of your greatest achievements? Why did they hold so much power for you as an artist?

A: My greatest achievements would be screening my video at MOCA for Outfest 2019, performing at the legendary Highways Performance Space for their 30th anniversary festival, and performing at the Tom of Finland Foundation’s 2019 Art and Culture Festival. These hold meaning for me because they are spaces that have truly paved the way for me as an artist. I have so much respect and admiration for the older artists who have truly struggled to create lasting spaces that I benefit from as a younger artist, so I viewed these shows as  an opportunity for me to give back to them with my work. I have been sober for the past nine months––after a long stretch of using drugs and alcohol to numb my trauma––and without a doubt, my life has opened up in a beautiful and humbling way. Therefore, I have to say that switching from self-destruction to self-love has been a huge achievement and increased my art-making capabilities tenfold.

Q: What does success mean to you?

A: Success to me is having a wide reach but never losing humility, vulnerability, or grounding. I want to have fans who I can interact with on a personal basis, who challenge my ideas in the same way I am challenging the public with MY ideas. I want to be respected for living my truth and always pursuing my goals without cutting anyone down on the way up. I want my friends and collaborators to achieve success WITH me, as my philosophy is very community-oriented. There is enough success, fame, and money to go around, and any success I receive, I wish to share with those in my artistic family.

Q: How did you find SOVO// or how did SOVO// find you?

A: I began my relationship with SOVO// by shooting with Milana Burdette. Since then, I have had the joy of performing at a SOVO// magazine release event, and I’ve had a great time in every instance.

Q: Does being in Los Angeles have any influence over your work? What are the positive and negative impacts of this city on your development?

A: I believe Los Angeles is a hub of sorts of narcissistic behavior. It is the type of city where people move to be SOMETHING; that is, to be something other than what they were before they moved here. I have begun to explore the notion of a projected persona in my work, to point to the disillusionment that social media and the internet can create in artists. Through social media, we have the power to project a persona to the public in order to control how people perceive us. I am not sure if Los Angeles, specifically, has created this interest. It may be an issue that affects all artists who use the internet for promotion. What I can say, however, is that once I began to study narcissism from a psychological standpoint, I began to see it reflected around me in the way people engage with one another in the LA art scene.

Q: Along the way, were there other paths you tried that didn’t work out? What did you learn from those experiences?

A: I began as a painter, and I sort of fell into performance art intuitively. A great lesson I learned is that it is important for artists to frequently shift methods of art-making in order to keep the process of creation fresh. Rigidity and structure can be helpful, but also harmful in the long run for keeping work vulnerable and authentic. Therefore, I have tried my hands with a lot of different mediums. I don’t believe in failure; I believe our concept of failure is simply a learning experience, and the variety of experiences and mediums I have experimented with have only made me a more confident and powerful artist.

Q: What advice do you have for anyone trying to find themselves through art?

A: Your intuition, and your body, already knows the truth. Trust your physical responses to scenarios. If it doesn’t feel right, then it isn’t compatible with your artistic vision. There is a difference between love and compatibility. Feel your feelings. Sometimes, we can encounter people who wish to distract us from achieving our goals. Never let the flame inside of you be distinguished by the negativity of others. Don’t do drugs. Self-destruction is overrated.

Q: What is your artistic dream right now—a project, collaboration, show, accomplishment?

A: I haven’t had a solo show yet, which is a goal of mine, as I find that my performance practice has many visual components which have yet to be seen. I would also love to release my next album on vinyl.

Q: What or who inspires you most and why?

A: I am most inspired by people who live in their complete truth and are not afraid of the backlash they may receive. Some personal inspirations are Malcolm X, Lil’ Kim, Madonna, Camille Paglia, Nina Simone, Sasha Grey, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, Throbbing Gristle, Korn, Merzbow, Hijokaidan, and so, so, many more. These individuals are truly trailblazers in their own right and have achieved widespread recognition and success after putting themselves out there in a risky way. Japanese noise and the Gutai movement are also huge inspirations. I am more inspired by music and philosophy than I am by people in the art world.

Q: How can our readers support what you are doing now?

A: You can find my newest album, Prostitution, on bandcamp.

Q: What do you want to achieve before you die? Do you have any specific opinions on your own mortality?

A: I believe that we are all source energy, and that each of us have various quests, tasks, and duties to complete in our short lifetimes here on earth. Personally, I’d like to achieve a sense of happiness and contentment with my life and accomplishments. I want to die knowing that I have lived in my truth and properly purged the subconscious trauma and the mental barriers which I currently recognize to be part of my reality. I want to have an effect on the culture surrounding me, to feel validated in my work, and to change perspectives in whatever way I can.

Q: What else do you want the world to know?

A: It is always important to let go of your ego and be happy first. Do what gives you energy. Don’t forget to have fun on your way up. Take a moment, look at your life from the outside, and enjoy it. Be grateful for everything you have and everything you receive. We have so much to be grateful for. You only have one life, so grab it by the balls and don’t let anyone shoot down your dreams.