Zachary Greek
July 2021's Alumni of the Month Spotlight
What have you been up to since leaving CCBC? Jobs, accomplishments you'd like to share, moving, etc.
Since leaving CCBC, I've transferred to MICA and have been working towards a BFA in General Fine Arts, with a minor in Liberal Arts, and two concentrations in Interactive Arts and Sound Art. While expanding my artistic practices at MICA, I've also begun working in collaboration and under commission with other artists both within the country and internationally. This includes creating album covers for musicians/producers, visuals to accompany musical audio, and promotional visuals.
What art projects are you currently working on and how does it compare to your work at CCBC?
I'm currently working on several projects, some my own and some under commission. I'm creating more album artwork and audio visuals for other artists, while my work is a full production of 3D digital sculpting, modeling, and animation, with electronic musical compositions of my own production. The work I'm producing on my own is all in alignment to release an album, detailing my musical and visual work. In comparison to my previous work, I can still see all of the foundations I established at CCBC in the bones of my current work. Since I started producing personal work during portfolio class at CCBC, I can see the evolution of myself through the work, and in that sense it feels like I have amplified those foundations through medium exploration.
What’s your current art process like? How does it compare to when you were at CCBC?
My current art process is much the same as it was while I worked at CCBC, but instead I've incorporated new mediums. I will start by saying that music is a huge influence in everything that I do. Before I attended CCBC, I went to a school for music and that has been a part of my visual art process as music allows me to separate from reality, isolate, and openly channel my vision through the material I'm utilizing for my productions. Instead of doing this in a studio full of charcoal, graphite, and oil paint, I do this in a studio with an amped up desktop computer, a Wacom tablet, an 88 key MIDI controller, and a microphone. Oh, can't forget the mixing headphones! I just let my creative juices flow without inhabitation and fear of judgement, because I want that raw unfiltered expression of the subconscious.
How do you see your work growing in the future?
I want to see my artwork evolving and expanding in detail, scope, and to see it reach across the globe. To see it flourish through the music and visual productions, as well as continue to collaborate with other artists through multimedia projects where we can each influence and encourage each other. Being a part of a creative community is such a blessing, and I know this is the space where my work, as well as others', will be able to grow.
If you had to give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
If I had to give advice to my younger self, I don't know if I would. I think it's understandable to want to say a lot of things, like trust in yourself, don't wait so long, do that thing you've always wanted and don't hold back, but at the same time I wonder if that would change me for the better? I've lived my life the way I've needed to so that I did grow into the being I am now, and will continue to do that every day until I can no longer draw breath. Every moment has shaped me to be what I am and where I am, and I wouldn't be writing this right now to you all if I hadn't. The struggle and adversity I experienced is a part of my story, and I'm proud to have gone through it and came to where I am now. I suppose if I were to say anything to my younger self, it be that I appreciate us and we're going to be okay.
