Conversation with Grace Slick

Conversation with Grace Slick

Grace Slick is a living legend. The former lead singer and founding member of Jefferson Airplane co-wrote the band’s most widely recognized song and anthem of the free-spirited 1960s, "White Rabbit." And to this day the White Rabbit is very much a part of her life. Only instead of singing about him, she now paints him. And she paints Alice in Wonderland. And she paints portraits of rock-and-roll icons like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jerry Garcia, who were also her close friends. She wants you to know that she’s a socialist and she’ll be voting for Barack Obama, but she thinks Hillary Clinton will be the nation's next president. The artist-turned-singer-turned-artist will be in town December 9 to show her paintings such as her self-portrait (above).

 

Who is your favorite Lewis Carroll character?
I think I identified most with Alice. She grew up in Victorian England. I grew up in the 1950s U.S. When I grew up, women had to wear high heels, but not too high or you were a slut. You had two kids, two cars, and I wanted to get away from that. Alice wanted to get away, too, and unlike all the other fairy tale characters Alice wasn't looking for a prince to save her. The White Rabbit represents Alice's curiosity. All the characters represent something, but Alice and the White Rabbit are the main movers.

Self-portrait of Grace Slick (Courtesy of the Jewell Agency)

Who or what is your inspiration when you paint?
Sometimes I'll be watching TV and I'll see a commercial with sand and a beach, and I'll love the colors. So I'll paint using tans and blues, but it won't be an ocean, it'll be a dress or a coat on the White Rabbit. And sometimes my agent will want me to paint more White Rabbits, so I'll paint them. So it could be me, it could be my agent, it could be someone else.

Visual art and performance art are so different. How did you know you could do both?
Well, I knew I could draw and paint as a young child. I think I was in kindergarten. But I can't multitask at all. So I went to school and did that. Got married. Did that. Had a child. Did that. Sang. And now I paint. The only thing I can do while doing something else is smoke. I can smoke and sleep at the same time. It's pathetic.

What do you hope people experience when they see your art?
Oh, I don't really care. Some people see a piece and love it, and other people will see the same piece and not like it. I just nod my head. I do love it when people really like a piece of work and don't know anything about me, and they love the drawing for the drawing. It's not about Grace Slick or rock-and-roll.

You're an accomplished musician and artist. What other goals do you have?
Oh, for me? It's just like peeling an onion and making things less complex. Before you can do anything, like the government, you've got to start with yourself.