Artist Spotlight: An Evening With Massi Petitta

"If by chance this is my grand finale, bury me in Allegheny County." - Mac Miller

Massi Petitta is, if nothing else, an artist. I met Massi in the waning years of high school, we shared philosophy class together and he complimented me on my Westside Gunn t-shirt. I came to find out he was one of the most creative and talented artists in the school at the time, and he's been a trusted confidant and friendly critic of my work ever since.

Between working with his family's car business and spending time with fellow artists in Oakland, Massi practically lives in the studio. His work ranges from spray-painting chairs to finely penned portraiture. He's got his fingers dipped into every bowl, with ventures across collage, music production, digital art, photography, and more. He's achieved notable recognition online for art posted to his instagram (@mamoneysign), especially for his art centered around Mac Miller.

I spent Friday evening with him, gathering his perspectives and later helping him run his booth the following day at The Government Center's art market. (note: all writing in bold are quotes from Massi Petitta.)

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Petitta, vigilant guard of the studio threshold

"I've been drawing since I was a kid," Massi tells me, "I've been drawing on walls, anything I could find, I drew on it."

Adorned basement walls

Massi shared with me some of his earliest art experiences. He recalls being inspired by his elementary art teachers and memories of classmates gathering to watch him draw dinosaurs and dragons.

"I remember one of the things she (art teacher) told me was to never stop making art, like I'm gonna be big someday, just keep doing it. I listened to that probably up until sixth grade, then I stopped. All of a sudden, in my head I was like, 'I need to be cool,' like, I can't do art. Art's some nerdy kid shit."

Massi took a hiatus from creating for a bit, but he came back into the fold when his older brother introduced him to the song Grand Finale by Mac Miller. One lyric in particular was powerful enough to bring him back - "If by chance this is my grand finale, bury me in Allegheny County."

One piece in a series of chair art

"It's like I gained consciousness. I just started drawing again, since that day I just cannot stop drawing. It's really weird because art's been with me my whole life, and I hate to be the one that's like, "Oh I was out of it for a minute" but that's the truth. That's what happened."

When asked about his creative process, Massi says it's like an urge or an instinct.

"I don't even know what it brings me. It's like I gotta get this feeling out. I'll hear something and I'll just be like, 'I gotta fucking draw this.' This is so cool, I gotta feel this out."

On the topic of feeling and art, we discussed a particular Rick Rubin quote from his book The Creative Act: A Way Of Being. The quote reads: "The best artists tend to be the ones with the most sensitive antennae to draw in the energy resonating from a particular moment. Many great artists first develop sensitive antennae not to create art but to protect themselves. They have to protect themselves because everything hurts more. They feel everything more deeply."

Massi often uses a variety of mediums in a singular piece, like pen, oil pastel, and acrylic paint.

"I will say, I feel like art is in everything. Whether you're a carpenter or work in a fucking office -- when I say that, I mean someone who's passionate about it; not like someone who's just trying to live paycheck to paycheck, that's different. That's something that fuels me to make art, to go against shit like that. Anyway, as I was saying, people passionate about something is art."

Individuality and going against the grain are major drives in Massi's pursuit of art. He speaks on some of his struggles adjusting to life after school and maintaining his artistic integrity

"In the time where I am in life, coming out into the world, it (life) truly is different from what they tell you. Like once you graduate high school, when you're thrown out in the world, whether you go to college or whatever, it's a whole different world. I feel like seeing that, being pressured, and being this blue collar worker at my family business -- seeing all these 'manly men' around me working with tools, something I've never been good at -- it's fueled me to be like, 'I gotta go against that. I gotta stay true, I will never be a part of that.'"

Bird drawn on receipt - also lil critter from the band Feeble Little Horse

I can say with a fair bit of certainty that most young artists have to wade through a lot of waist-deep bullshit opposition from the world around them. There's a sort of attitude of "Who are you to call yourself an artist?" that gets waylaid on you by the ignorant and the frustrated. Massi told me a story about one of these instances involving an older coworker.

"We got into an argument about something very little, but basically he said the paint on my pants is fake, I'm not a hard worker. Obviously, I have a lot of respect for him, but when he said that I was like, 'I'm never gonna let someone say that to me again,' but at the same time it was like, I love shit like that. I fucking love when someone is like 'You're weird,' or whatever, and it's hard for him to understand and cope with -- I'm gonna put paint all over my fucking pants and shirt and you know, piss them off and just keep creating."

Massi's booth at The Government Center art market

Through his art, Massi has been able to connect with other artists all over the city. One of his favorite connections he's made has been with Randy Gilson, creator of the famous Randyland art museum/landmark. Massi told me about an inspiring interaction he had with him while working in the car shop.

"Randyland was coming to get his truck at the shop and we had a conversation, he liked how very minimalistic my art is. I was trying to give him some junk that was lying around the shop because I was cleaning out the paint booth. There was this big piece of wood and I was trying to give it to him and he said I'm an idiot if I give that away. It's a piece of gold and I should take it myself and create on it. He was so cool, if you met the motherfucker and you didn't know who he was, you would know he's an artist. He's a big inspiration of mine recently. Like saying that shit and being so weird, like I wanna be weird like that and I wanna be remembered for being weird."

"My Art Sucks"

Massi's honed and trademark style inspired my creation of the Bloodhound Magazine logo. I asked him about what being an artist means to him.

"I've thought about this a lot, like what am I making art for? Like is it a validation to someone or is it all meaningless? A big thing for me is that it inspires people. I've had so many people, even you, come up to me and be like 'Your art has inspired me.' People saying that is the most touching thing ever and a rewarding feeling. Not even in a selfish or bad way, it's kind of beautiful. It's stuff like that that just makes you wanna keep creating. Some of the shit I make is stupid, but I like it and some people like it and it inspires them."

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One of my favorite pieces of Massi's, I bought it and it hangs in my office

Look, I'm not gonna attempt to make some kind of profound statement about art; there's nothing I can say that hasn't been said already. What I will say though, is that the importance and benefits of making art an everyday part of your life cannot be understated.

Artists like Massi Petitta understand the transcendent nature of the drive to create, and I'm proud and grateful to know such a caliber of folk.

-Andersen Beck Founder, Reporter

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Massi's instagram: @mamoneysign