Anthony James

       The road less traveled is usually done so by foot. The arduous steps we take to think outside the box are often left unrewarded and deliberately leave behind no tracks for others to follow. We make our own rules as we go and slowly but surely arrive at our pinnacle destination, standing in a pool of our own success. For artist Anthony James, his road less traveled came from behind the wheel of an Italian luxury car. Ferrari, the elite automaker, shared the stage with Lamborghini and Porsche in the 1980s as the ultimate definition of capitalistic success. Those of us lucky enough to be children of that time period remember it fondly, as Reaganomics became a way of life. John Hughes movies served as a reminder that we, as teenagers, were still a valuable part of the fabric of this society. We can all remember the famous scene in one of Hughes’ most iconic films, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, when Ferris’ best friend takes out his self-worth issues on his father’s 1961 Ferrari GT California and sends the car plunging to its death outside of his family’s garage. The juxtaposition of an automobile that sold for over 10 million dollars in 2008 being crushed on a canyon floor was an extreme image, and one that was so outlandish it seemed only possible in a fictional movie. After all, they just used replicas in the movie, as nobody in their right mind would ever destroy a Ferrari in the name of art, right? Wrong. Artist Anthony James has done just that, as this brilliant conceptual artist has pledged the ultimate material sacrifice in one of his amazing works of art.

        Long before this visionary man unleashed his inner-Cameron Frye on an unsuspecting Ferrari, he was a struggling artist, searching to define his passions and establish his own merit on the art scene. A car enthusiast for as long as he can remember, Anthony worked his fingers to the bone in the hopes of holding the keys to a coveted Ferrari. While most people would be quick to point out that “Ferrari” and “struggling artist” don’t belong in the same sentence, it should be noted that it was not always his art that was paying the bills – Anthony was working any angles he could find to reach his goal. After many years of saving, Anthony went out and bought himself a Ferrari 355 Spider and reveled in the joy of not only driving a car he was obsessed with but also in the joy of having accomplished something in the realm of his own success. However, Anthony looked down on his key ring and found not only Ferrari keys, but the keys to an apartment as well. Dejected by his own opulence, Anthony decided to follow the Greek method of sacrifice and crash and burn the car to form one of the most unique art pieces we have ever profiled in Heavy Hitters Magazine. The rest is history.

       Now, the British-born James is a successful artist, having graduated with honors at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London in 1998. He has gone on to have his work featured in museums and galleries worldwide and displayed in the General Motors Building and the Seagram Building in New York. The bi-coastal artist splits time between New York and Los Angeles and is currently working on a series of pieces with an “order in chaos” theme. During one of his West Coast stints, we caught up with Anthony to find out why doing something insane can actually replenish your sanity.