An Interview with Rick McQuaid

I noticed Rick McQuaid’s work around Easter time, where he was part of a Peeps themed show at Biddle Gallery. In the back of the gallery, I noticed these gangster mugshot paintings called the Purple Gang series. The Purple Gang was a group of Detroit mobsters who, back in the 20s and 30s, dealt in bootlegging, prostitution, gambling and drug dealing. They were linked to about 500 murders, Chicago’s St. Valentine Day’s Massacre and the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh’s baby.

The original Purple Gang series

Shortly after, I tried to find his website or any information online, but came up empty. I happened to be in the right place at the right time at a later event and got to meet him in person. We exchanged email addresses and he agreed to an interview. He is such a humble guy, always insisting that he’s not interested in self-promotion. This has made him a little bit elusive, and so I feel very lucky to share our conversation with you here. The interview and more pictures of Rick’s work are behind the cut.

As a self-taught artist, how did you get started painting and how long have you been doing it?

I began taking art seriously, as far as gallery exhibition goes, about 8 years ago. For a long time my interest in creating art was secondary to my desire to write and become a published poet. I think my abstract art has been a way to move beyond the words and rhythmic structure of a poem into a deeper subconscious realm of expression based on color and random form.

I don’t have a consistent artistic style. I experiment with different forms of expression to keep myself interested and motivated. Many of my pieces are comical Dada influenced anti-art that tries to deflate the whole pretentious intellectual image the world of art represents to most people.

I like doing cartoon style portraits of eccentric characters, extreme personalities who operate outside of the safe envelope most people live in. You can learn a lot about someone by drawing them, explore their personal quirks and get under their skin and look at the world through another person’s eyes and perspective.

Portrait of British punk rock legend Wreckless Eric. Eric has this hanging in his house.

Besides the original Purple Gang series (Abe Bernstein, Harry Fleisher and Sam Davis), have you done more of these mugshots, or do you plan to do more?

Doing the Purple Gang series of gangster portraits based on old police mug shots has been interesting. I received a request for a specific gangster named Harry Millman who was something of an underworld legend in Detroit, extremely dangerous and violent. The person who wanted it was friend of Harry Millman’s nephew and gave it to him as a Christmas present.

People that live in southeast Michigan seem to have a lot of affection for the Purple Gang. They are sort of a criminal version of the beloved home town team, the Detroit Tigers of crime. I started with 3 mug shots for my own amusement and the interest in them caught me by surprise. I’ve done about 15 gangster mug shots so far, the last one was of John Dillinger, who wasn’t in the Purple Gang, but was a criminal media super star of the prohibition era. The rest have a Detroit Purple Gang connection.

Portrait of Harry Millman

Other than local history, what else inspires or influences you?

Having an association with a gallery like the Biddle that is owned by people that love art and give you room to experiment and express yourself is an inspiration and motivating influence. I am inspired by many of the artists I  have met there and the artists I have encountered only in books, museums, and documentaries. I’ve noticed that most artists have a mystical quality, they tend to be people that don’t always live in the ordinary world most people experience. Their creative lives take place in a separate reality that only another artist can really understand. They tend to have an off beat sense of humor and intense curiosity with a raw sensitivity to what is going on around them. Like magicians they have an ability to create something of value from nothing, the trick takes place in their minds. Art seems to be a force of nature that that moves through the lives of some people like rain or lightning. You don’t have to look for it, art will find you when you least expect it.

Portrait of Amy Winehouse

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now I’m working on an abstract piece. I’ve developed a creative method using transparent tape to lift strips and fragments of color, patterns, and words from newspapers and magazines that I use like brush strokes in random spontaneous collages. I never know what direction these tape mosaics will take and let them flow from a subconscious level I can’t control. The title and theme of the piece doesn’t occur to me until after it is finished.

Abstract art is like visual jazz, something to get lost in. Finding a direction no one has ever traveled before is nearly impossible, but a great creative high if you can find something new.

One of Rick's tape mosaics

Rick doesn’t have a website, but you can see his work at Biddle Gallery in Wyandotte.

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3 Comments on “An Interview with Rick McQuaid”

• Karen Thomas
  

  Rick is a genius! As Ryan Weiss says, “Everyone should have a Rick McQuaid hanging in their house!”

  I have a few myself!

  -Karen

  07-09-09 » 10:00 AM »

• Joy Manishen
  

  I am `Two-Gun’ Harry Altman’s niece (my mother was his sister) from Winnipeg Canada. Do you have any other material on my infamous uncle? Your portrait is most impressive!

  09-07-11 » 11:59 PM »

• Rick McQuaid
  

  Hello Joy,~ I am very pleased to receive a comment from Harry Altman’s niece. I did do Harry’s mugshot portrait for my second Purple Gang series. You may be interested to know that Paul Kavieff, the author of 2 books about the Purple Gang, owns Harry’s portrait now. Sorry about the long delay before this reply, I would like to hear more about your infamous uncle.

  12-27-11 » 1:19 PM »

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