An interview with Cornelius Martin

“When done right, art is the expression of the human condition.” - Cornelius Martin

I interviewed Cornelius(“Neil”) Martin, founder of Wick Monet, about what art means to him and the Pittsburgh community, and how Wick Monet has integrated itself to become an inclusive space for artists just starting out and for those who have been in the art game longer than he’s been alive. Wick Monet represents the dreams of not only Neil, but any artist who has been scared to put themselves out there, through the gallery, and Neil’s open-minded approach it has become a haven for artists of all kinds.

What inspired you to start Wick Monet?

I had been working with a few filmmakers, and I was trying to progress their careers. Helping produce films, just getting equipment to make sure that they're good, and I was just like, what do I really want? I really want a space, I want a gallery. It was just an abstract idea, and then my friend Darius invited me to Mexico to hang out with friends, so we went down there, and we went to the city of Oaxaca. We went to a place called San Jose Pacifica or Pacifico, and then we went to some beach town, I forget the name, but it was in the beach town at the beach that I had a moment of enlightenment. I had like, $200 between me and Darius, and I was just looking at him, and Darius was getting his PhD in medical anthropology, he was getting his master's in public health, he learned Arabic just for his program and lived in Jordan a few times, living and working in refugee camps, and I was just looking at him I was like, God, why is he so brave? And as I'm looking at him, he's fighting waves in the water, and I'm just on the coast, and it just came to a point of, why am I being a coward? I want to help people. I want to work in art. What is stopping me? At that point, I just made the decision, I wanted to work at this. So as soon as I got back to Pittsburgh, I started writing a business plan. Then two weeks into writing the business plan, I was looking for spaces just to say, you know, in five years, what will this space cost me? Then I found this place in Shadyside for a price that I could afford, and I just jumped at it, and a week later, I signed the lease, and then Wic Monet had a building. So, yeah, that's the story.

How has Wick Monet integrated itself into the local community and the Pittsburgh arts scene, and how do artists approach you to be a part of the gallery?

It's funny because we started with nothing, no relationships, and no one knew who we were. All of my art connections were through my job at Center of Life, and I didn't want to involve Center of Life necessarily in the foundation of this. I thought it should come from the people. So it took me eight months, with the help of my father and some other people, to renovate the space and I should shout her out because she was the first intern of Wick Monet, but this woman by the name of Akira Hickson, incredible architect right now, she was the first person to take a flier on us. The space looked awful, and she decided, I'll be an intern for this person. But it was really through her internship program that we became integrated into the community. It was people who wanted to further their careers, and it was me helping them do so. Then, with the help of interns, we were able to have our doors open while I was at work, trying to pay some bills. It was their ideas that led to certain exhibitions, and once we started having exhibitions, people started getting involved and hearing about us, and it's just a snowball. I really take pride in us accepting anyone who comes through our door, so many things have come from people just saying, hey, I just saw this place, I heard about this place, and we've had full exhibitions, projects, and offerings come from it. But yeah, we are the community.

How would you say art plays a role in creating community?

I think when done right, art is the expression of the human condition. You know, hopefully not just for money, not for just status, but like, this is my experience, this is what I'm living with right now. And with that, art has the wonderful ability to connect with anyone. When you have something that is reflective of the community and it has the power of connecting with anyone, to me, that's just what life is about. Art, if I could just boil it down to anything, it's just one of the only real things we have. If there's a problem in society, if there's a problem within art, that's what I want to address. If there's someone who's questioning their place in life or how they are going to navigate art, that is inspiring to me.

What is your favorite art form?

Maybe my favorite art form is improv. I was an improviser for two and a half years, and I had captained my own team and all that. We were called the Vipers. It taught me that I can be anyone I want in as much detail as I want on that stage. And for two minutes, 2 to 3 minutes. No one can tell me otherwise. And when I'd walk off the stage, it was like I was that human. And then four minutes later, I had to go back on stage and be a completely different human. And when I finished improv, it was like, what is the difference between real life and the stage stuff? Inherently, I'm no one, I can be anything. So, when we tell kids that, I don't think we tell them that everything else is part of it. It's like, oh, you can be anything you want, and then we walk away, and it's like, as a kid, what do I do with that information? But actually being thrown and having to be that person in front of strangers, there was no difference. And so improv is my favorite, and seeing a lot of actors and famous people who got their start in improv, like it's war. You are going into the unknown with your team, and you just have to figure it out on stage. So I love that.

What advice would you give to others hoping to create their own inclusive art space, especially in places where there isn't as much access to art-based scenes, such as Wick Monet?

Honestly, and maybe this is too personal, but do it in your house. Ask some friends, hey, let's create an art network and just do it in your house. So many beautiful art moments happen between like two to ten people, and then just live in that space for a bit. Put on an exhibition in a small room, maybe partner up, go in someone's yard, have a small concert, get your practice in in the safest way possible, so you don't have to spend your money on rent and you can learn lessons like how to hang art, how to speak to artists, how to navigate a curation, and you can do that from your own home. Now it's like if you open up to the public, that's a different story, but you can at minimum, host an art exhibition with your friends, and when you have these get-togethers, these parties and such, just make it more about art than it typically is. That's where I'd start.

Where do you hope to see Monet going in the future?

I would love for Monet to become an art school alternative, where maybe you pay a little bit of money, but it's nowhere close to what you'd pay at school, and it teaches lessons mainly on how to build community, how to use art as a tool, and for some of the technical lessons, you just have apprenticeships with people in your medium. That is probably what Monet would thrive in doing. I don't think that art ever needs to be something that makes you go broke. There are certain mediums that are expensive, and that's hard to do. Fair. But failing is probably the best lesson in doing any of this, failing, but going out there. It sucks that there's 18 to 22 year olds who have no real responsibility compared to their later selves, and they're just stuck on these campuses going in crazy debt under the guise of, this is going to make me a better artist. That sucks. What you're really learning is just tradition and putting ceilings on what's possible now. If art is your thing, make sure travel is a part of it, work in the field because it's possible, that's where I'm at. That's my lesson.

Who is your favorite artist(s)?

Who's my favorite artist? You ready? I got three of them. Claude Monet, Andy Warhol, and Young Thug. I've given this speech a thousand times. Young thug is an encapsulation and a representation of how art can come from anywhere. This guy grew up in some of the worst projects you can imagine, lived a crazy lifestyle, and somehow became this abstract artist through music, fashion, and such, despite no one else around him being in that life. And he fully committed to that lifestyle. So I'm just like, if he can make the song Harambe, I can do anything, I can do anything. Then Warhol was awesome because he was the perfect commentary of capitalism in the 50s, and just in general, playing with materials as toys, and people as toys, and emotions as toys. And then lastly, Monet. He's just a cool guy. He's a good painter. Yeah. So that's my stuff.

Wick Monet began as just an idea and has now evolved into a thriving community. Through Neil’s passion for art and people and his unpretentious and open approach, it has become a place for people to express themselves and become more involved in their local art scene. Neil and Wick Monet are a testament to hard work, dedication, and wanting to give back to the community, and that even though sometimes you may fail and think things are out of your reach, if you keep at it, things will fall into place.