NIC SMITH

ARTIST PROFILE

Words by Daniel Cochrane

Nic Smith is a Salt Lake born and raised 28-year-old analogue collage artist producing minimalistic pieces with retro sci-fi themes. His use of primary source material from printed media of the '60s and '70s delivers the eerie, surreal landscapes any observer would expect from an artist who lists wide-ranging influences such as mid-20th-century fashion, Tame Impala, Mass Effect, Dali, and Goblin Valley State Park. Those unfamiliar with the analogue art genre can think of it as "old school" pre-Photoshop cut and paste or, as Nick describes, "analogue collage is working with your hands and cutting out pieces from books, magazines, etc. and then arranging them with an adhesive. Sort of a precursor to using Photoshop." Although he has now become rather prolific and has been commissioned for quite a few projects, Nic's journey to finding the outlet to express his desire to create art was fraught with trepidation and a bit of selfdoubt. As Nic remembers, "I always admired artists of all kinds and wanted to be a part of creative projects myself as a teenager, but I admit I haven't always had the drive to create things and have had to work through moments of being too self-critical about my art. In the past, I have tried other means of expression like playing music (I had a high school band) and writing poetry/short stories (I graduated at the U in 2014 with an English degree that was mainly focused on creative writing, poetry, and theory). Out of college, I started a job with S&S and worked at their music venues every night of the week. Although I felt immensely inspired by all of the local musicians here, I kept most of my art close to my chest. I was hesitant to start my music project and just spent a few years trying to get out of my head and focus on helping other artists instead of being so neurotic." A chance web hit in 2016 was a turning point for Nic; "I was surfing online for modern surrealist art alone in my apartment when I came across the collage work of Jesse Treece. He is a Seattle-based analogue collage artist, and seeing his pieces for the first time was mind-blowing and filled me with a new spirit of inspiration. He is still active, and I highly recommend checking out his collages. Before that moment, I had never really considered visual art before because I can't draw to save my life, and I didn't think I had an eye for it. However, what struck me most about his work was that he could create an almost Dali-like surreal effect while using vintage images. So it feels both retro and new. 60s photography especially has an almost painting-like quality that I think makes it more special than the hyperrealist photography we have now. I dove into collage art after that, finding several more artists out there who do similar work and mostly lurked and geeked out on them for about six months."

When Nic decided to try his hand at analogue composition in the fall of 2016, it presented him with a life-altering epiphany regarding his creations and creative process, "I drove around to five or six D.I.'s and Saver's in Salt Lake and bought as many books as I could find that were published in the late '60s-'80s grabbed some scissors and glue sticks, and started going at it. And at first, I was only doing it for a fun arts & crafts night thing and had no expectations for myself. And I realized that this was the headspace I should have always been in when I had tried making other forms of art in the past. The best stuff comes out when you're having fun and not trying so hard to make something that's groundbreaking or has never been done before. That's the fast track to stress your self out. With each piece, I learn more about what is possible with the medium, and the growth over time has felt pretty natural. It also became therapeutic for me in a way that other mediums were not. Usually, I just put some music on and tune out for a while, try to arrange something interesting."

Now inspired as never before, Nic began in earnest to create work he was proud to display to others. Over time he also figured out the best process to enable him to do so; "I usually don't have a plan going into a collage. With my process, I flip through a handful of books and then tear out the pages that have an image that sticks out to me. Once I have enough pieces to work with, I gather them together and start arranging my favorites. I find myself drawn mostly to large landscapes, space/galaxy imagery, scientific diagrams that are strange without their context, and images of people who are giving an intimate gesture of some kind. From there, I'll lay out 10-15 pieces and put them on top of each other, discard some, pull out old ones I've still never used, etc. Way too often, I will be sitting on a cut-out that I love but can't figure out how to make it work, and then accidentally finish a piece made up entirely of secondary pieces. My favorite part is that eureka moment where I can tell I am onto something and have it all come together. It's very satisfying."

As his art has grown, Nic has found his work commissioned for several local and national clients. He recalls, "Martian Cult, Say Hey, Salduro, Vincent Draper & The Culls, Vid Nelson, and others locally. I was also commissioned to create a custom local poster for The 1975 for their April 2019 show in Provo (which was enhanced with text and layout by my girlfriend, Jessica Ercanbrack, who is a great graphic designer), as well as an album cover for the band Arlie (commissioned by Atlantic Records). All have been great experiences. I typically ask if there is a preferred theme/tone they are looking for. Still, I have been fortunate to be given a lot of freedom so far, so I hope to keep being considered on future projects."

To view more of Nic's intricate analogue works than what is shared here, please visit him on Insta as @nicsimian or reach out to him directly regarding commissions at nccsmmth@gmail.com.