"Portals Into A Better Universe"- Joshua Burkett And His Art

I don't remember how or when I first came upon Joshua Burkett's (aka "Joshua") 2001 album "Gold Cosmos" but it immediately made me feel as if I was welcomed into a hut of solitude tailor-made for the lonely alien that resides in my skull. As with his many other releases, this record is comforting, unique, ghostly and brittle. While I had heard it prior to moving to New England, "Gold Cosmos" became an even bigger part of the soundtrack to my alone time during the handful of years I was living in Western Massachusetts (2016-2021). It's no surprise Josh is a resident there (where he runs Mystery Train Records in Amherst and the label Mystra) as his music and art drips with the haunting feelings you get while walking through its aged nature and witchy woods or taking long drives along the lonely, winding roads. Among other times of day or night (now in my new home in the UK), it serves as the perfect album to put on when I sit down to draw. I feel it tunes me in and allows my mind and hands to get lost in the act. It seems to me that Josh makes music with that in mind for himself. His art is full of tiny worlds and recurring patterns/themes. It's raw and organic, holding on to a distinctive voice all of his own. Josh was kind enough to send Troy and myself some photographs of his work as well as a few words on his visual practices. I'll stop gushing now and let him and his work speak for itself. Thank you Josh!  

-Mikey

"I went to art school and all that...and decided early on, that I would just keep making art. Maybe no one would care and that would be fine. The first art book I bought was Dubuffet I think. Or maybe a Grandma Moses book. They were both epic, like portals into a better universe. When I was a kid I would make something and obsess about it. Enjoying the process and try to surprise myself. I would spend forever on a certain piece. Now I look at some of that stuff, and some of it is ok. But I didn't get a good work routine with things until way later. I think art should be surprising and different. For me and other artists, it's not a hobby. For me, it's like, this thing I need to do. But I didn't want to make art for a living, that might make me make stuff I wasn't into. That's fine if people do. Or as a hobby too. All of the art spectrum is cool. It's like music. If it makes you happy, you should do it! But there are levels to this stuff. And for some artists and musicians, this is serious. Mostly I make art. To make an image. It's more much than commodity. I guess us art people are all on their own trip. I like that quote from Michael Hurley: "I never thought of a career in music. What I do is goof off - and try to get away with it". But now he has gone on to make a big name for himself. So that's great too. My art is usually connected to dream images and alternate universes, etc. It's like a place with it's own rules...that I try to help out with. Where things turn over and circle around. It is also about capturing moments and feelings and things that happen once in millions of years. These days I use acrylic and pen and ink but I also have used all sorts of media. Thanks!" 

-Joshua Burkett, April 2022