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It can be argued that a lot of pop art really rebels against nothing and all but gives viewers a free pass to complacent pseudo-familiarity. On the other hand, it can also be a powerful angle in which a sizable amount of the general population can and will relate to the imagery and emotion produced by pop art. Even way out here in the desert.

Not long after Sterling Bartlett and I cut through the usual artist-background-bullshit questions (24, from Dumas, TX, former military brat and sponsored skater), the conversation turns to, strangely enough, transvestite bodybuilders and chicks with no legs. Huh? When asked about his influences, he credits Matthew Barney's infamous Cremaster films with providing an exhausting but attractive visual language, Pushead (an older artist known for Metallica and Dr. Octagon covers as well as Cali punk show flyers), Damien Hirst (see sheep in formaldehyde, among others), and local contemporaries Glen Allen and Doug Oland. Much like Barney's installations, "What I try to convey in my work is not necessarily a deep meaning... but a visual language... with a sense of humor. Two serious things juxtaposed together (can) create hilarity." Kinda like fighter jets racing by Chevy Chase's dome.

The presence of levity is not alone in his work. "Once in a great while, I'll touch on some social commentary but it'll be through allegory. I don't believe in outright social commentary in art. I think it's more important you convey through allegory. You can beat someone over the head or you can poison their brownie. I'd rather poison their brownie." Not everyone in the audience, however, bites. Trying to describe his art to Jane and John Q. Public might almost lead to a sense of undervaluing his output and perhaps even making it worse by including "pretty" as an adjective. Being able to honestly relate to a particular element within a piece of work is one thing but getting a lazy reaction from someone along the lines of "I like pink" can be insufferable. Lazy opinions aside, Bartlett knows the reactions he gets are, more than ever, impacted by the familiar imagery within his work as well the finished pieces themselves. "I'm susceptible to trends like anyone else." He goes on to add that "visual art... is much less influential than graphic design, industrial design, interior design right now. I think design is far more pervasive in our culture than art. I'm inspired by designers (and) have an underlying belief in design."

Sterling holds hands with art and design rather easily. In addition to wood panels and canvas, his work has appeared on clothing, skateboards, and he recently designed the interior of a popular retailer in Scottsdale. "We're living in a time where everyone is design-savvy. You can either go with it and ride the wave somewhat or you can try to buck the trend and make something else. Either way, you can be successful. I find myself designing at least as often as painting..." "Pop art is kind of an anomaly. It's not decorative (but) it can be. It's easily understandable but at the same time it's pretty basic. It's a lot shallower than people think. I see it used in retail, for advertising and marketing. Is that necessarily where I want it? I don't know. But, if I can assist in that or if I can tweak it to my liking, I'll absolutely take advantage of it." Can art and business live under the same roof? Bartlett contends the two are "indistinguishable." "I'm selling myself when I put a painting in a gallery. I'm selling myself when I take on a design job. I (can) choose to be a product or choose to assist someone else in becoming their product or helping them promote their product. I see an honest impact on a large scale as an end-result. Not all products have an honest impact on a large scale. If you can make an impact without compromising your goal, I think you're being true to yourself." Constantly guiding the evolution of his media, Sterling is currently working with a process know as "rasterbating" (not what you're thinking) in which an image is blown up to a much larger scale appearing as large pixels or "comic book dots" which can then be adhered onto a medium using wheat paste. Even vintage wallpaper is finding itself in some of his upcoming pieces to be exhibited in San Francisco (along with some fellow Alpha Monsters) in late July and Finland in December.

Inevitably, the topic of the local art movement and, consequently, First Fridays comes up. "80% of the galleries out here are trying to do something they can't. That's not coming from a critic, that's coming from someone who's worked within it for a few years." But disillusion is not something he dwells on. "I would not be where I am had it not been for something like First Friday. Phoenix is extremely unique as far as the art and music culture is concerned... (because) it has a whole lot more organization and backing. Phoenix has a structure that a lot of other cities don't have for their art but with that comes that whole wheel-and-deal 'I'll give you ten pennies on this little table on the corner for a dollar'. It's hard to become creative and spontaneous in an environment like that."

Art collectives versus independent work and promotion? "You can walk a mile by yourself or you can take a bus with ten other people. With air conditioning. I joined the Alpha Monsters in November 2004 and there are now 30 monsters. Every possible chance we get, we'll cross promote. I may be able to do carpentry. Someone else may be able to do graphic design. If I have a job and someone says 'hey, can you do this?' (and) I might not be able to do it, I'm not going to say no. I'll outsource it to one of my monsters. I know they're going to do the same for me. I've sold more of my work from November till now than I had for a year before that and it's all because of our inter-network.

Some of the locals whose work he's diggin' include Tige, an up-and-coming new artist with a "raw, hard, Cubist expressionist style he does on these enormous canvases", Andrew Steiner, another monster who uses mixed media, and Nilultra. Although he professes to be out of touch with local music, Sterling mentions former Tucsonian Grime, "an über-political hip-hop DJ named Con Radio", and the now allegedly defunct I Hate You When You're Pregnant as locals currently sharing space on his iPod along with Dj Shadow (a favorite when painting). Sneakers, vintage silver jewelry, and high-end denim are also making cameos.

What's next? "Really, really concentrating on San Francisco right now. Network as hard as I can in Europe. Ebay. Day-to-day survival." And in another five years? "On the cover of Art In America."

So who is he really doing all of this for? Quite simply, himself. Although he admits to getting the best reactions from people who commission him to paint, he maintains the real reason behind it is because "I don't think I'd honestly be happy doing anything but what I'm doing right now. Living off a hobby and a passion is a far cry from sitting in an office somewhere." Amen, bro.

Sterling's work can be found at www.sterlingbartlett.com and also on here @ ARTish.org. You go now.

:: contact Manny Gonzalez :: mgonzalez56@cox.net

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