Hawk Alfredson's paintings grace the hallways and stair well of the Hotel Chelsea. He used to be the Chelsea's "other Hawk," but now he's the "only Hawk left."
And he's ready to talk.
I'm not really a man of words but a man of paint. I was born in Sweden & most swedes doen't talk that much & my mother is from Finland, a city way up there, near the archtic circle, called Rovaniemi. Santa Claus lives there, they have a Santaland there. The Finns talk even less. (Right Caroline?) The Swedes
have a joke about the quiet Finns, that they talk only when drunk:
Two Finns sits in a room drinking a big bottle of Koskenkorva(the local
Vodka). After an hour of drinkin' one of them lifts his glass & says :
-Cheers!
After another hour of drinkin' the bottle is almost empty & the other guy answers:
-Shut the fuck up! Shall we drink or talk?!
What do you do?
I paint paintings. I was seven when I told my parents that I wanted to become an artist. I was sixteen when I started art school & nineteen when I had my first solo show.
How Long Have You Lived in the Hotel?
My wife, Mia Hanson & I have lived in the Hotel Chelsea since 2001. Mia is a fine art photographer, check out her website: http://www.miahanson.com
Why Did You Decide To Live In The Chelsea?
We met in Brooklyn in 1997 & between 1998-2001 we lived a couple of years in California & one year in Stockholm, Sweden. Then we decided to move back to NYC, for a month we stayed in a friends
place, babysitting his cat, Miss Kitty. We didn't know where to go from thereso we thought we'd stay in the H.C. until we find another space but we liked it so much & the Spirits wanted us to stay, so we stayed.
Do You Think There Is A Creative Energy In The Chelsea?
Yes, a chaotic, creative energy. Very unique, I see the Bards as being some form of artists & the Hotel is their huge, organic sculpture/installation.
I am not really sure how living in the Hotel has affected me but I'm sure it has in many ways. Since my early twenties I have read probably about 50-100 books about Quantum Mechanics where among many other things the quantum physicists says that the Universe seems to be acting as a gigantic hologram, that every little thing contains the whole & that every part or event no matter how small, influences every other part or event, past, present or future. Time is an illusion, a mental construct. The best thing ever happened to me in the Hotel hasn't unfolded yet, hasn't become manifest so far, it's still in the so called future.
Here's some books to explore:
The Holographic Paradigm & other paradoxes. Edited by Ken Wilber.
The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot.
Who Is The Most Famous Person You've Ever Ridden With In The Elevator?
Julie Delpy, the french actress. Angela Workman, amazing singer who worked with George Clinton & the Funkadelics, Prince,Ray Charles among many others. & that other Hawke of course...
What Is The Best/Worst Thing That Has Ever Happened To You At The Chelsea?
When I stumbled on that waterbug & turned into Franz Kafka.
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