Matt Lock is an American artist creating vibrant, otherworldly art depicted with sketchy yet detailed linework and vibrant colours. Or as he calls it, “morbid sci-fi, post-apocalyptic mutations.” Indeed, when you look at a work by Matt, your eyes are immediately drawn into the broken down, yet oddly familiar worlds he creates – Filled with slackers, mutants, and other beings living, partying, and getting up to mischief in otherworldly landscapes. As you take in each and every intricately depicted detail.
With Matt’s works existing as stand alone images, and also as part of some ever unfolding narrative. As if you are seeing anthropological sketches and ephemera bought back from another dimension.
Born in the early 1980s, and raised by evangelical Christians. Matt was inspired as a kid by toys, packaging art, the practical effects seen in films from the 1970s to 1990s, and the dinosaur art of Mark “Crash” McCreery. Going on to fall in love with everything heavy metal and underground in his teens and 20s; as he slowly drifted away from religion.
Today, roughly 15 years into his artistic career, Matt continues to create – With fans all over the world and a new art retrospective tome in the works from lauded underground publisher Hollow Press.
Wanting to get to know him better, we sent him some questions to answerer over email.
Take a dip into his world, below…
Getting Acquainted
Name and date of birth?
Matt Lock.
10/24/84
City, state, and country you currently call home?
West Orange, New Jersey, USA
City, state, and country you are from?
Think I was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts, USA; but moved around a lot in that state at an early age.
Please describe some memories – such as art, music, writing, friendships, adventures, study, romance, politics, religion, work, crime… anything really – from the stages of your life noted below:
* Your childhood:
Most of my childhood was pretty focused on Christianity, as my parents were both Evangelical Christians. I was their first child so they were strict about what I could watch, listen to, play with, etc.
I remember being pretty obsessed with the whole biblical apocalypse early on, and asking my dad a lot of questions about it. I also remember watching the original Star Wars (my dad allowed this because he liked it), and diving headfirst into Star Wars, then branching out into then-current sci-fi like Jurassic Park / Stargate.
At that point I was a bit older and my parents were a little more lax (1994).
Things that appealed to me visually: GI Joe action figure packaging art, similar action figure packaging art for toys my parents wouldn’t let me buy – Aliens, He-Man, Ghostbusters; The GI Joe animated movie, particularly Cobra La and the weird plants/bugs depicted.
Special effects in this time period (85-95) made a big impact on me too. I loved the rubbery puppet look, miniature spaceships and other props; the matte board art used for Star Wars, among other films.
I had a couple close friends, as has been the case my whole life. I mainly grew up in Maine, in and out of Christian school, then home-schooled from 3rd grade to 6th grade with my younger sister.
We played make believe often, dressing up in costumes to act out movies we liked, or historical subject matter like knights / pirates / WWII, etc.
School was not that important to me, but I was interested in drawing from an early age.
I also liked to read and make up music in my head.
My parents were pretty strict with music, so I listened to classical and soundtrack music for most of my childhood. The only pop music that got through was the song played by Jabba The Hutt’s house band (in Return of The Jedi) and whatever top 40 songs were played at the grocery store.
* Your teenage years:
My teenage years were pretty rebellious and full of most of the baggage that comes along with turning into an adult. I got really into music and it swept me away, much to my parents dismay.
My dad introduced some Christian propaganda cassette that convinced him (back in the early 80s) that there were backwards messages in non-Christian music. That tape creeped me out just a little when I was 12 but listening to it after high school it was pure entertainment.
I suppose that most of my teen years I was still a “believer”, for all intents and purposes. It was more out of fear and familiarity, but during this time I was listening to a variety of blasphemous musical acts, from the underground in 7th grade (Deicide, Emperor, Cradle of Filth), to the overground in 8th-10th grade (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails).
The imagery of all of the heavy metal and extreme metal music was a big draw in terms of my interest in listening. Luckily my parents only knew about shit like Marilyn Manson so I was able to sneak in a fair amount of metal albums and metal magazines like Pit and Metal Maniacs.
I’d copy the various spikey, drippy, wriggly logos of tantalizing band shirts and album covers in advertisements
Naturally I had a band during much of high-school years. My (still) best friend and myself hit it off due to our interest in music. He was another loner in school and I roped him into this idea of a band. I had all kinds of big plans and he was encouraging, and also dedicated. Unfortunately all this youthful energy was channelled into making rather mediocre garbage music, haha.
I was drawing a lot at the time, mostly flyers for imaginary shows. By this time, 1999-2000 I rejected interests from my childhood, and I drew a lot of spidery texts, spindly bug-eyed type of people. Extremely overdone, overcooked goth cartoons.
In my last two years of high school I got more into Japanese alt rock, indie pop, and electronic. My artistic endeavours largely revolved around art class assignments, which I mostly hated.
My art teacher and my peers told me I should go, and for a little bit of time (for the only time in my life) I wanted to go to art school. My parents just said “whatever makes you happy”. I recall bringing a portfolio to an art college and being kind of embarrassed… so much of the portfolio’s contents being crudely drawn anime style art with bold outlines, and unimaginative art class assignments (simulating the “great masters” type of horseshit).
Not to go too far into it, but I was very distrustful of art as a career, or as an idealized occupation. Overall I hated the idea of getting a full time job of any kind. I figured that the band (which included other people now) was going to “make it”. So I would only have to work odd jobs for short times here and there, if at all.
As for politics, 9/11 happened which was obviously significant. I was strongly against patriotism before and after, but remember feeling kind of sucked into the vortex of sudden nationalistic fervour. It was surreal.
My band went to a local VFW after school let out, forking over a down payment for an upcoming show. Some vets bought us a pitcher of root beer. Luckily, during this time I had my own reality bubble, and the “punk” ethos… or what my friends and I took from our admiration for old punk rock… the sort of chaotic neutral position. Authority was always suspicious.
This is probably why I found it to be rather odd at the time, how many people (like the adults in my life at the time) didn’t question various aspects of 9/11, including the War on Iraq.
* Your 20s:
Ah my twenties. This was a time of more evident transformation.
I was in some serious relationships in my twenties, also moved away from my family household for the first time, went from sober fast food eater to regular drinker eating healthy, confronted the religious programming that I was infected with from childhood.
I was fed up with carrying around Christian guilt and fear, even if buried in the back of my mind. So I confronted it by doing a lot of research, and just thinking by myself. I’d go for walks in the woods behind the house I lived in then; back to the rocks at night sipping on Jägermeister, or just wandering around in the dark.
There was this one time, when I wasn’t sipping on anything, that I thought I saw these 3 UFOS. I was scared out of my wits and simultaneously ecstatic for a minute, then realized I was looking at some military airplanes.
At that time (late 2006) I vividly recall reading tons of various viewpoints on things, like politics / technology / conspiracy lore, listening to lots of Coast to Coast AM online, and really getting comfortable with drawing in something close to the style I have become known for.
The cool thing at the time was posting art on Myspace. That was the place to be online. And so I’d share some of my art there, and eventually posting stuff on other artist’s Myspace “walls”. And they’d post their work on mine. I met a bunch of artists this way, as well as through LiveJournal which I was still writing in.
In the summer of 2007 sometime I came to accept myself in terms of my introversion, my wavy hair, my inner urge to create something in pursuit of self-satisfaction.
There’s a lot of other things that occurred, but by the time I was 25, I met the person who is now my wife. It occurred rather suddenly without me looking or trying much, and also pulled me toward the practical notion of getting a university degree so that I wouldn’t have to be a janitor or retail clerk my whole life. So I went to college in New Jersey in 2010.
* Your 30s so far:
My 30s has largely been a continuation of my late 20s, but towards the latter half of my 30s I’ve finally been able to settle down with regards to living in so many different places.
Prior to 2022 I was living in different situations, with different people (most of whom I didn’t know, and didn’t like). Now I’m living somewhere stable, with my wife. Neither of us want to have children, so it’s kind of like a final spot to grow old in. We’re only missing a cat, which we will have to get soon.
I’ve possibly listened to more music in my 30s than I did in my 20s… given the ease of finding music online and such. I’ll still buy records, and sometimes cassettes, but I’m not much into collecting for collecting’s sake.
I fell out of love with making my own music at the beginning of my 30s – too much of a time / energy / money sink.
Drawing became less stressful for me overall. I think because it was previously being crammed in between university work, and the pressure of using small amounts of free time made drawing more of an anxious process. But by my 30’s, I had rediscovered the joy in drawing. Even to this day… during my last days of being 39, I have maintained dedicated time for drawing in my schedule. Usually 2 hours from Monday through Thursday, with maybe 1 hour minimum on Friday / Saturday / Sunday.
In maintaining this routine I’ve become a lot less nervous drawing with ink or using color without first having something sketched. I also feel like my relationship with the creative process has become more positive than negative. It was negative in the past due to lack of time, and prior to that, lack of confidence combined with overthinking about other people’s perception. Maybe just in getting older, mellowing out as it were, and genuinely not dwelling on how other people might look at something I’m making.
Art can be analysed to death. I generally don’t analyse my own art in terms of trying to find hidden or subconscious meanings or messages.
Personal motto(s)?
Something along the lines of the Heraclitus quote, “The only constant is change“.
Creativity Questions
When and why did you first become interested in art and everything creative?
… and any pivotal moments or influences?
Probably colouring books at first, then animated movies. The standard Disney shit and then the GI Joe animated movie I mentioned before.
I didn’t think much beyond copying stuff though, like Star Wars book covers or toy packages. I would doodle rather mindlessly in church or other places I didn’t want to be.
Perhaps the first time I got really into art was looking at dinosaur art, particularly the artist who did drawings for models and the like for the first Jurassic Park movie. I think his name was Crash or something.
I do know that I wrote him a letter with my parents help, just gushing about my love for his dinosaur drawings. Can’t recall if he wrote me back.
If you had to explain your creative endeavours to some recently crash-landed aliens…
What would you tell them?
Ehh, I’d tell them that I’m just another monkey man (one of 8 billion+) who happens to have a big imagination and a talent for drawing.
Not sure how I’d describe my art to them though, as a lot of it is built on sci-fi / fantasy and being aliens I’m not confident they’d have the context to understand. If they were super intelligent then perhaps they’d know all about human culture already.
Even when other humans ask me about what kind of art I make, I try to keep the explanation general. Morbid sci-fi, post-apocalyptic mutations is the loosest way to describe it.
Who are some of your favourite artists, filmmakers, and musicians?
…and what is it about their works that so inspire and move you?
Super hard to narrow it down without ample rambling explanations.
With music I tend to prefer moments frozen in time. So like, certain periods of time for certain bands, or certain albums. I could make a massive list of recordings I love but I’d rather not.
What appeals to me in music is the vision of the artist, and if a band… the way the vision comes together, or how it is interpreted by band members if originating from one member – how the various tensions / relations among individuals affect the final product.
5 examples:
Beherit – ‘Drawing Down the Moon’
Manilla Road – ‘Crystal Logic’
Larry Young – ‘Lawrence of Newark’
Cold Sun – ‘Dark Shadows’
The Homosexuals – ‘The Homosexuals’ Record’
It’s sorta the same with movies, though I have higher standard with movies in a way.
Since I’m pickier, examples of movies I love are easier to give, like the original “Solaris”, “Syndromes and a Century”, and “A Women Under the Influence”.
While all 3 of those are made by accomplished directors, I’m partial to these particular films over their others for a variety of reasons that can be simplified by stating that they resonate with me more.
The hardest of hard question of this question to answer is favorite artists. I could list so many artists, both known and unknown, who have created work that has massively appealed to me.
Let’s keep it simple and say Hieronymus Bosch, Leomi Sadler, Pablo Amaringo, and Errol Otus.
Drawings or paintings that inspire me heavily are typically the type that make me jealous – “I wish I had made this!”
If people wanted to check out your stuff, work with you, or buy some of your wares – Where should they visit and how should they get in touch?
You can just email me at my antiquated email, robowan@juno.com.
You can also visit my Instagram as I don’t have a website right now.
Any news, upcoming projects, or releases to share?
A box set release of my older publications, and some more recent publications, is due out soon through Hollow Press. It’s an archival type of object, which is something I’d never imagined would be made for my art. So I’m very psyched about that.
Odds & Ends
What role did toys play in your childhood?
… and any favourites you remember?
They played a large role, especially action figures. I liked the way a lot of action figures looked, with the darker and more wild figures more appealing as I got older.
Suffice to say, I got into the fucking Spawn toys a little bit, towards the end of 6th grade till 8th grade. My parents loathed them so I had to buy other McFarlane toys to actually procure any.
My favorite toys were probably some of the original Star Wars toys that I’d been gifted during my childhood. They look so simple, for the most part, lacking bulging muscles and complicated gimmicks / weapons.
If you could live in any place, during any historical era – When and where would that be?
… and why would you choose that time and place?
Probably living somewhere in the Americas before it was discovered by the civilized savages and laid to waste. I’d want to have a simple life, experiencing the natural world, the sun and night sky, the village, the flora and fauna. My occupation would be survival and carrying on whatever traditions.
Obviously this is romanticized and I’m sure life would be full of torment and fear, albeit not via some abstract bastardization, like fear of losing employment or missing a credit card payment.
What are the top 3 items you own?
… and what is it about each of them that you so love?
Well, since I’m an Internet addict (like most people), my laptop is near and dear to me.
It’s nothing fancy and it will probably be dying in the next 3-5 years. I dread to deal with the horror of buying whatever abomination of Windows is currently pre-installed on laptops. I missed the time when Apple was more than just another… and I’m too stupid for Linux.
I suppose it’s also the hard drive of said laptop. And I suppose it also includes my external speakers (found at a thrift shop 10 years ago).
Secondly, just boring stuff like paper and pens / pencils / markers.
I usually keep the paper in a folder, inside of a sturdier portfolio type folder. The pens / pencils / marker are kept in a small carrying case.
I carry these things with me wherever I go, as I want the ability to work on drawings, or start new drawings or mindlessly draw for relaxation.
Third I would probably pick my guitar. It’s a Squire, telecaster I guess? I don’t know much about guitars when it comes to technical details (nor playing).
I’ve had this guitar since it was sold to me at a very low price waaaaay back in 2007. It’s purple and I can only play melodies and power chords, and 3 proper chords. It’s not so much that it is significant because of my love of playing guitar, but rather the ability it provides to just sit down and play for free, and without electricity.
Since I have never learned to play I am not that talented. I’m probably better on the keyboard.
The thing with keyboards, synths, etc, is that all the synths I have are broken in some way, and they all require amps or headphones to be heard. When the power goes out, or I don’t feel like drawing and have a need to be away from the computer, I find myself reaching for the guitar.
In a fight between the following 1980s pop culture icons: Mad Max (from the Mad Max film series) Vs. Elvira (host and movie character played by Cassandra Peterson) – Who would win?
…and why?
Hard to say.
I’m inclined to pick Mad Max cause I assume he’s allowed weapons for this fight. Elvira is typically unarmed from what I recall.
All I know about her is that she has big hair and enormous breasts. Since she’s a witch I am guessing she can cast spells and what not. But (doing a bit of research now), it seems like her magical skills are more mundane. I suppose Mad Max would shoot her in the face, and she’d somehow shield herself with an illusion of a blown apart head.
He’d come closer to inspect and her real head would re-appear, giving him a shock.
Before he could think she’d pull him in and suffocate him in her cleavage.
If you had to sum up your home-country, America in one object – What would it be?
Why did you choose it?
… and how does it represent America to you?
I would pick something broken that is beyond repair, maybe something that is broken but is still technically working. So maybe one of my synthesizers, or different components of the house I’m living in.
Things that can be used, but with blatant signs of deterioration foretelling of irreversible breakdown.
Thinking about it more, and I’m not sure this is the type of “object” you had in mind, it is mostly like a department store, or grocery store, that is slowly dying, built on the burial grounds of Indigenous people.
The United States of America, to me, is an experiment gone awry from the get-go. Founded by crazy religious fundamentalists, it has long been a magnet for psychopathic entrepreneurs and get-rich-quick idiot dreamers, providing promises of unspoiled land to be exploited forever and ever.
We’re at the end of it now so it’s all about political tribal warfare, rather than class warfare, and selecting puppet managers to oversee the decline.
Just picture going into a nearly empty grocery store with empty refrigerators, empty shelves covered in dust and rat shit, gaping holes in the ceiling, and rotting foods on display.
Upstairs in the management offices there is luxurious furniture, private bathrooms with showers, and of course enormous bonuses being paid out for neglect and incompetence.
People only continue shopping there because they’re nostalgic for how it used to be.
People only work there out of desperation.
Everyone involved knows deep down that the business is finished, but its actual closure seems impossible… like it can never happen.
What does God mean to you?
God (as in the alleged “one, true god”) is a concept, and usually refers to the Abrahamic deity outside of Asia. I often mull over how the concept originated.
Sometimes I think it might be part of an oral tradition going way back to some legendary proto-human. Maybe one of the first proto-humans to do something significant, like discover and use fire. Or maybe one of the first proto-humans, or proper ancient humans to utilize some loose notion of language, assigning names to things.
It goes way back there, and that’s what is appealing to me about the God concept.
I can’t really get into believing into anything too specific because nobody knows, despite how certain they may appear, and despite how large their delusional cult of choice is.
Ultimately, God became a projection on nature and later on, the unknown. It helps people to cope with death, adds meaning to meaningless chaos and uncaring brutality.
Unfortunately there is so much trash, bloodshed, ego, obsessive compulsive behaviour and cruelty tied to the God concept that it’s not really worth holding onto, collectively.
Please describe your last dream in detail…
I don’t remember my dreams well by this time of the day… Pretty sure I was dreaming about inspecting some building… a 2-family house; and there was a secret noodle-making operation occurring in the basement.
I know that, in the dream, I was supposed to document it / make a report, but the people making the noodles saw me. So I left awkwardly and ended up back upstairs in someone’s apartment. The layout and furnishings vaguely resembled my grandparent’s apartment… kind of frozen in the late 80s / early 90s.
I was out on the balcony but unlike their apartment it was overlooking some grimy backstreets, like a dead end with a fence and some stacked crates.
Of everything you have done so far, what would you most like to be remembered for?
I’d like to be remembered for creating a huge amount of drawings that aren’t pinned down to a specific movement, or a specific category of art. The ideal is Henry Darger or some similar artist, that has cases of intricate drawings transmitted from a singular reality bubble, unconcerned with success and appeals to “fine art”.
Maybe at the very least I hope that some small, poor resolution images of my art exist somehow in the deep future, on a flash drive or something.
The idea is, someone curious will be inspired by a blurry scan of a drawing, perhaps like I was when I was a young teenager trying to copy tiny and intriguing t-shirt images from metal mags and catalogues.
Links
- Matt Lock – Instagram
- Matt Lock – Flickr
- Matt Lock – Online Store (via Naturalist Gallery)
- Matt Lock – 2007 Interview (via Dazed Digital)
- Matt Lock – Email: robowan@juno.com
All images supplied by Matt or sourced online.
