0816.22 Ryan Gipson(Left) with Hasan El-Amin(Right) taken by Malik Fabian-Mahmud
With 5DC, We want to shine whatever light we can on artists from the Midwest, we get looked over, and it's hard to break through that wall.
I think that's what St. Louis has been lacking, as far as cohesion goes. So now we're seeing the formation within our bracket of art and age, the formation of a chain of support. And I'm not gonna say it's a revolution, but definitely something that parallels that because it's such a big group of artists that are getting used to each other on the same chain, and we're supporting each other. And we're, like you said, shining that light. So this I think it's only been budding within the last year or two, It's like, okay, we've made leaps and bounds from a couple of years ago. But that's also because our bracket is just coming into its own as far as the arts go because I think age has a lot to do so in the exploration of artistry. So it's like, is this some like Renaissance?
The beautiful thing is to see it be done here, because I'm a product of this environment, but I've left... now I'm back for breaks. But the mindset is one I've adopted, "I can't thrive here". So this outlet provides the position to thrive in this space because as an artist, I believe the mindset of St. Louis artists is "I cannot make it here". There's not enough of an art scene. Providing that alternative for success here gives people hope. I don't have to go to New York, LA, or Houston. I don't have to do that to make it. This is the first step to building that to say okay, you know what? Yeah, I'm proud of my city. I'll never eat Chinese food from any other city, you know. I'll never do that. But it's like, now I feel the inclination to stay and put on here, even though everywhere else is pretty nice, too. And the opportunity might be more immense, but it's like, I made it here.
What is For4ver?
For4ver is an outlet of expression through the fashion and art Medium. It's a combination of my partner's and my experiences with synchronicity, humor, and many other niches that we share through a lens of art. I don't want to categorize it as streetwear, or urban wear, I would categorize it as like, art wear because really I want people to harp on the synchronicity and have people being in sync wearing those clothes. I know I can get a plethora of different people doing that, but we're all on the same wavelength conceptually. Fashion-wise, even though the fits might be different. Even though you might have a For4ver shirt on, you might have some cargo shorts and a Cookie Monster snapback on and bro might have the Issey Miyagi with a For4ver shirt. He's still NSYNC somewhere. So eventually I want people to customize this shit too, the main thing is just getting that expression out and getting people to adopt that niche. If somebody wants to explore the concept of synchronicity.
So mainly with For4ver. It's an art brand. That's based and trying to explore many niches that me and my brand partner Jordan Ross (@jayzooo4ever). We've had it for some years, we sparked this probably in 2019.
I think within COVID, we see a lot of people get into the arts and things. But we also see the commodification of art during COVID. Especially within brands, and the saturation of the market. So I believe we saw a lot of mediocrity. So we've taken our time with it. And we're still learning because we've shifted so much artistically and niche-wise, what we valued since 2019.
It was a different leap from a year ago, design-wise, or even two years ago, or what I even want to portray this year, we had to pivot. We want to break patterns. You know, I want to totally destroy patterns and all that other stuff. I'm glad we have taken time with it because, at this point, it's crunch time in regards to getting it out. So you know, we got the production stuff this week. And then within the next two weeks, I'll work on getting that out. I'm looking at mining for the end of this month to have that done.
People always say "I want to be in this era. I want to be in this mode".
If you could title where you are right now, or where you've been in 2022 leading into 2023, where would you say you are in your career?
I strive for authenticity, being the most authentic version of myself in many facets but specifically artistically. I've been influenced by a lot. I consume a lot of media, which is great. In a sense, influence is beautiful, but it's like okay, are my thoughts original? I don't want to subscribe to the aesthetics. I think the rise of the word aesthetic and the concept has come about within COVID and then TikTok, we get into an "I do it too". I've already reprogrammed my mind.
We get into so many subgenres, and subgenres are beautiful- They shine a lot of light on different things. But now it's categorization. Everything has to be categorized. I don't ever want to subscribe to aesthetics. As humans, we label everything. My main thing is trying to stay as authentic as possible and put out (work) without fear. Without being tied to numbers. So that's mainly 2022, which is me trying to, be as authentic as possible. And two is really diving into the artistry of what I do. How can I spark a thought with somebody and have it hold weight? With whatever medium I'm doing, whether it's a t-shirt, a song, a video, or a photo? How can I support something in somebody's brain, or evoke emotion? Okay, I like that sound. In that video. I'm thinking about color. You know, I shoot like that. So I think mainly, it's just authenticity, integrity, and art and exploring exploration of artistry, where I'm at right now.
What has been the most like, niche stuff that has inspired you or has inspired you?
There are all types of stuff because the internet is definitely the biggest contributor to who I am today. I had crazy, very early unrestricted access to the internet. Yeah. And I knew how to use the Internet very well. I was getting to the core of the Internet around age four, which I think shifted me a lot for the better and worse.
I think of vaporwave as a genre of art, music, and sounds and color. The whole world of vaporwave definitely is rooted in my art. I think The mix of rap rock music, pop punk, and wrestling. These are all tied together and contribute to my openness to a lot of things. Music sparks an understanding or willingness to understand different things. So I say vaporwave I say wrestling and that type of music. But I think music is the biggest influencer and drive for everything I do. If I could contribute, some artists music-wise, who's sparked a lot with me, Lil B is essential to my come up as a child, like, as far as I think that's one of the most authentic artists. Tame Impala is another that opened up a lot of doors as far as the exploration of my art and the embracing of color. Yeah, music is extremely important to everything I do but also as far as creating I have to create with music.
Then it feels like my energy. And a lot of times when I'm saving like edits and graphics and stuff, I'll label it the song that I'm listening to or I'm like, Okay, this was sparked by this new song. I was feeling this art while making my own art. I think music is the biggest contributor to that and staying in verse in a lot of different music except country. I hate country music.
What are your vices? Are they incorporated into your creative process?
I'll start with this. The biggest thing that launched me into graphic art and graphic design was psychedelics. I was micro-tripping going to the library because my computer was broken. This is when I first got down to Houston at the University of Houston. There was nobody on campus because of COVID. So I was embracing my solitude. It was my first time being alone. So I would micro-trip and go to the library and create stuff, which is how I learned how to do all that. It was an expression of myself pre-, present, and post-tripping: everything I was making. I was geeked making stuff. Yeah. I haven't really dived into psychedelics much anymore. I think once I was in New York, I was definitely geeked a lot.
I went to New York in October last year, and I left in January. I was creating so much. I think my consumption of alcohol was at its most I think I was probably the worst my diet was too ultra wild stuff. I think my vice there was cigarettes and alcohol.
I think my vice now is not even like a substance. I think it's more like procrastination. Is it more guilty resting? Yeah, I'm finding it's the balance between it because I don't believe in taxing myself and always have a lot on my queue. So the way I deal with it is to let it dry out. So I think I'm finding my balance between being guilty, relaxing, and procrastinating. Especially as I'm getting busier.
I do have a lot of my queue. You know, I gotta career and I got this and that. So how do I keep my sanity? Let me live in my little bubble. My little fantasy for a bit. You know. I think there's beauty in the disillusion and the madness that St. Louis has to offer me. But besides that, I can appreciate St. Louis even more.
Interviewer: ($2.50) Ryan Gipson II: @ryancrashed
