AARON ROSE x DC ARTIST SERIES

Hey Aaron, where are you at now?
I’m currently sitting at my desk in sunny Silverlake, California.

You’ve worked on many a project over the years... from the Alleged Gallery in NYC to Beautiful Losers and ANP Quarterly. What are you up to now and how do you know when it’s time to move on to a new challenge?
Well right now we’re wrapping up issue 14 of ANP Quarterly, so I’m on a total writing binge. I interviewed Miranda July and wrote an article on The Gaylords, a 1970s stoner gang from Chicago. Other than that, I just finished a new film called “Become A Microscope” about the life and art of Sister Corita. She was a militant artist/nun in Los Angeles in the 1960s who basically got kicked out of the church for being too radical. I’m trying to make a feature film about her life too. My publishing project, Alleged Press, just released a retrospective book by Mike Mills and we start one with Barry McGee soon.

Next week I’m off to Europe for the theatrical release of Beautiful Losers over there, followed by a week in Berlin installing a show I put together with Barry McGee, Ed Templeton and Raymond Pettibon. In terms of how I know it’s time to move on to a new challenge: I always look for things that scare me. If I’m afraid to do it, then I know it’s something I should probably try.

Being involved in so many things must be as rewarding as it is complicated. How far ahead do you have to plan your professional life? Can you still be spontaneous?
My life is pretty much booked a year in advance, but I always try to keep some wiggle-room in my schedule for fun, spontaneous things. Like sometimes I’ll just make a little zine for the hell of it, or something like  that. Doing lots of things isn’t really as complicated as it sounds. It’s just about being a good juggler. The hardest part for me is making time for my personal life.