Collector’s Corner: Jes Distad
By John Vochatzer
Jes Distad is one of my oldest and most loyal friends, having met them when I was an 18 or 19 year old kid who had just moved to San Francisco to attend film school at the Academy of Art University. It’s a privilege and an honor to still be able to call them my friend now nearly two decades later and to be able to interview them about their art collection in their Nob Hill apartment they moved into earlier this year after living all over the united states for the past 10 years prior. I’ll never forget the first day we met—we were both in the same film editing class “Motion Picture Language,” and on the first day of class Jes was wearing the coolest and artsiest dress-and-sweater combo I’d ever seen and I immediately knew I wanted to be their friend and was a little starstruck when they came up to me to ask to trade one of my Djarum clove cigarettes for one of their Camel Lights. We’ve been pals ever since.
The following years of our friendship were filled with fun and adventure—desert road trips, magic mushrooms, surreal student films about zombie Morrissey or dancing at the Sutro Bath Ruins with burning umbrellas. One time we even drove around Northern California to interview survivors of the People’s Temple for a documentary they were making. Perhaps my favorite milestone of our friendship though would have to be our gloriously silly dadaist garage-punk band Orangutan Gangbang that we had in 2009. It was around that time that Jes moved out of San Francisco but we always stayed friends and kept in touch while they pursued their career as a TV producer in various states from New York, to Georgia, to Tennessee. I would see them on their regular trips to San Francisco that happened at least annually, and I visited them in Atlanta in 2017 to attend their carnival-rave-wedding in a warehouse that was unlike any other wedding I’d ever seen. And I can’t leave out the time we drove from New York to San Francisco (detouring through the South to make a pilgrimage to Gram Parsons’ Nudie Suit at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville). I spent most of the time in the car either chain-smoking or sleeping until I really blew it in Albuquerque and Jes didn’t talk to me the rest of the way back to SF—and we both just listened to Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything on audiobook to fill the silence.
Something I’ve always said about Jes is that by sheer will alone they have had a fuller and more colorful life than most people can even imagine. Every time someone mentions going anywhere or doing anything, chances are Jes has already been there and done that. They’ve written books, made movies, travelled the world and made friends everywhere along the way. And to finally get to the point of this article— they have also made time to become quite the art collector and have been one of, if not the most, supportive of all my friends when it comes to my own art. Nearly every print sale I’ve done, they’ve been one of the first orders to come in. When I was working as a tattooer, they would regularly make trips to San Francisco just to get tattooed by me. They always hype their friends and are always there to help in any way they can. I’m really proud and grateful to have a friend like Jes Distad and I would wish it upon every artist that they were lucky enough to have at least one friend like them in their life.
Interview
Hi Jes! Thanks for letting me come take a bunch of pictures of all the cool stuff in your apartment. Can you tell us a little bit about your place, and what kind of vibe are you trying to cultivate with the space you live in and the art you fill it with?
Postcards by Bread and Puppet Theater.
Anytime! I felt very lucky to have found this apartment when I moved back to San Francisco earlier this year. In all my years as a renter, this is my first-ever apartment that I've lived in myself without a roommate or partner. So, I knew I wanted to make it special and fill it with art and photos and things that make me happy. It's my little Scandinavian rainbow nest. I love a salon-style hang. So, I imagine as the years go by, there will be floor to ceiling art in here. Everything hanging in my home is an enthusiastic yes.
How did you first get into collecting art? Do you remember what the first pieces of art you ever bought were?
Oh gosh, I suppose I've been a collector for quite a while. As a child visiting a family friend in Vermont, I drew a bunch of drawings and then went around to all their neighbors' houses and sold them my drawings. My parents found out, got mad, and made me return all the money I had made from my drawing sales. So, *technically* the first art I bought and sold was my own. In high school, Matisse was my favorite artist, and I remember buying a poster of his from the National Gallery. I couldn't tell you which one, but I went on to paint a Matisse style window in my room and hung that poster right next to it. The first piece of art I bought right out of an independent gallery happened when I was living in Atlanta. Andrew Catanese's work was one of the first times I remember seeing a painting and thinking "I have to look at this all the time!"
Yarn piece by Wren Sayler (top left), resin collage by John Vochatzer (top middle), painting by Andrew Catanese (top right), Coney Island Mermaid poster by Jennie Jones (bottom left), “What is the Soul of Man” by Howard Finster (bottom middle), angel figures by Erin Dittrich (bottom middle), Follow Your Crazy by John Preble (bottom right).
You mentioned that a lot of the art that you are drawn to is of the more anti-capitalist variety, and specifically work from artists or artist communities that engage in and promote alternative ways of living. What is it about these types of art that draw you to them?
One of my core values is putting people before profits, and supporting the artists who choose to put beauty and peace and community into a world that sometimes makes me feel like my only value is my labor is really powerful to me. I subscribe in some ways to the Bread and Puppet philosophy that "Art is Not Business! Art Is Food! Art Soothes Pain! Art Wakes Up Sleepers! Art Is Cheap! Hurrah!"
Folk and outsider art seems to be a little bit of an emphasis on the work you collect. Who are some artists falling into these categories that you’re a particular fan of?
Howard Finster, John Preble, Nellie Mae Rowe, Bebo, John McKie, Rocky Angel, and my dad Roy Distad :)
Prints from Bread & Puppet Theatre (Left), Evel Knievel print by Kevin Bradley.
You also collect a lot of art from friends, and I must say you have some pretty talented friends in your circle. Can you tell me a little bit about some of the artists you call friends and the art that you have from them?
My best friend from high school is Allison Sommers, and I love everything they do. We became friends when our history class took a summer field trip to Germany and we discovered we had the same weird taste in music. I have some of their prints, zines, tiny paintings, tchotchkes, and embroidery. They’ve introduced me to some amazing artists who have become friends too including Vahge and Zoe Williams. John Vochatzer and I have been friends since college, and I am probably his number one fan. I love the endearing surrealism he creates in his work and the passion with which he promotes all things art and outsider art. There are lots of awesome folx over at The Bakery, The Goat Farm, and Sleepyhouse Gallery in Atlanta that I call friends, and I've collected a handful of pieces from each of them. Having so much art made by friends is like being surrounded by a warm hug whenever I am home.
Aside from having like a million other vocations including TV producer, world traveler, musician, and writer, you also make art yourself. What kind of art do you like to make? And is it influenced or inspired by the art you surround yourself with?
Deer painting by Jes.
I like to paint and sculpt, and I've been doing a lot of 3D paintings the last few years. Most of my subject matter is dada, animals, or dream interpretation. My visual art, much like my life, suffers from the desire to do it all. I'll get an idea in my head and just go with it without necessarily thinking about how it fits in with everything else I've ever done. It's usually oversimplified or overcomplicated. Lately I've been focusing more on performance art: acting and doing drag, which I think is a lot better than my paintings. Ha. It's hard not to be influenced by traveling or other artists, which is why I try to keep my subject matter to something either so random or so deeply personal that I know it's mine.
You’ve lived all over the United States in the past decade, including New York, Atlanta, and Tennessee. What were the different art scenes like in the different places you’ve lived? And has there been any one that you’ve felt particularly connected to?
I feel like each city is so different and has such a different scene. The sheer size of New York City means there is literally something for everyone, and also means it can be much more competitive. That said, there are plenty of artists in New York creating meaningful and unpretentious spaces for the sake of art. Atlanta has wonderful artistic diversity that is welcoming and fun while also being able to provoke and linger. I think if I stayed in Atlanta I would have felt supported enough to grow my art into a proper career. I was in Tennessee for just a year during the pandemic; so any opinions I have about it I don't think will be an accurate assessment of what's really going on there, but I will say everyone should go check out the artist colony in Gatlinburg. As a huge fan of folk art, there are so many wonderful artists and craftspeople doing really cool stuff!
I know it’s hard to pick favorites, but do you have any art pieces in your apartment that you’re especially close to? Or anything that has a particularly interesting story to it?
Aw, hard question because I love all my art! I recently got a Jade Rivera print while in Lima, Peru after spending the morning seeing all of his murals around the city. The moment Kate Bush is having right now makes me appreciate my Billy Lilly Kate Bush cut-out all the more. Allison Sommers once drew me a blue whale holding an umbrella on fire that I wanted to get as a tattoo but never got around to. My friend Kate Parnell is the brain behind Garfield from Memory and paints Garfield (yeah, the cartoon cat) into all sorts of different environments. I love love love the Garfield whale of hers on my wall. My Evel Knievel print is by a guy named Kevin Bradley who has a prolific collection of hillbilly and Appalachian centric posters which you can get on his VooDooRocket (formerly Church of Type) Etsy page. In Louisiana is this an amazing roadside attraction / museum called the Abita Mystery House, which is the brainchild of folk artist John Preble. For years I had wanted to visit there, and finally in 2018 I made it! They had original John Preble signs in their gift shop; so, I of course went home with one, which is my "FOLLOW YOUR CRAZY" sign in the living room. I wish I had more. So, all the more reason to go back! I suppose my piece de resistance though is the John Vochatzer resin covered collage in my living room. It is my most cherished gift.
Kate Bush piece by Billy Lilly (left), Dawg print by Yaicecream (middle), Print by Katie Benn (right).
A few things that caught my eye when I was there were your dad’s drawings. Can you tell us a little bit about your dad’s art?
Well first off, I doubt my dad would call himself an artist, even though he very much is. He has a signature alien character that he signs all of his cards with and that is often in little scenes he creates. I am hoping after he retires he really leans into his artistic talents and makes a lot of more art. My sister and I have decided to build him a website as a retirement gift, and whenever he makes something, we will just catalog it for him. My dream is for him to one day see his work in an art gallery.
Last question: Why is it important for people to collect art and have art in their homes?
To quote Bread and Puppet again: "Art Is Food... Art Soothes Pain! Art Wakes Up Sleepers! Art fights against war and stupidity! Art sings Hallleluja! Art is for kitchens! Art is like good bread."
