ARYAMAN MUNISH

In this interview, we delve into the world of ARYAMAN MUNISH, who share his inspirations and unique perspectives.

Aryaman Munish

1. Introduce Yourself to the Casawi Community: What drives you? What's your artistic vision, and what sets you apart from the crowd?

Hi Casawi Community, I'm Aryaman Munish - better known as MUN15H, my online alias, which is just an edgier version of my family name, which is actually one of the central aspects of what drives me as an artist - I want to make my family proud, and making sure I'm known by my family name first is a good starting point for that. From a more personal standpoint, I'm driven most by the ideology of never stopping - perpetual motion. I aim to show people the magic you can create when you stop spending so much time thinking about how others perceive your art. I like creating whatever I want, whenever I want, and I am never ashamed to put it out there. I'm perpetually intrigued by nostalgia and how powerful of a tool it is, and it translates into my artwork. You'll see a lot of nostalgic devices, such as the unbreakable Nokias, the Gameboys, etc - from a time when every device had a certain "vibe" and a charm to it that I miss in product design today. I'm also obsessed with older logos, like the old Internet Explorer and Windows logos before it became a perfect square for the same reason. I hope brands bring that life and personality back into their products and identities!

What sets me apart is that I am typical (but authentically so). I don't possess any incredible technical skill (hell, I can barely draw); I come from a country where art is often seen as a hobby and not a thriving career, and yet - I manage to make things happen and succeed. All it takes is a keen eye, a propensity to create, and the shamelessness to put it out without second thought. Essentially, we're all capable of doing what I have managed to do. Still, it takes guts to be unashamed enough to be authentic today.

2. City Inspirations: How has your city influenced your artistic path? Share how its streets, culture, and energy have molded your work.

Delhi, the city I was raised in, has greatly inspired me. It's molded most of my perceptions, after all! Growing up around billboards and signs that a modern designer may call "embarrassingly outdated" shaped my love for the charm in something rough around the edges and the nostalgia of it all. It was very common to see bubble graffiti type in certain corners of the city, which I often saw on my bus route to school. Aside from that, my brief time in Singapore as a college student helped me bring balance to my love for chaos and allowed me to understand that a little bit of order in the chaos can improve how you communicate your messages and ideas, kind of like the salt you sprinkle on top of a decadent dessert.

3. Creative Process: What fuels your creativity? Whether it's a ritual, a muse, or a moment of clarity, we're keen to learn.

If you go through my work, you will see me do a few artworks in a very similar style, get sick of it, and move on to the next. What goes on behind the scenes is that I go through these cycles of hyper fixation in a specific style and let it consume me until I genuinely hate everything I make, have a mental breakdown or two, until that "eureka" moment strikes, and boom! New obsession.

While I often preach the notion of perpetual motion, my perception of what that means has changed drastically over the years. 19-year-old me thought you could just keep putting in the hours in front of your computer, and results and progress will keep coming. I'm 23 now, and I know now what creative burnout is - I still think that perpetual motion is excellent, but "motion" to me now means to live life continuously as an artist and slow down on your own terms - not because of what some random person on the internet said. An artist is a sum of their lived experiences. You gotta switch things up and broaden your horizons to expand your practice, and, most importantly, stay in touch with your inner thoughts and let your love for art grow with you. As you pursue an art career, your relationship with it becomes strained in many ways. An inability to recognize that growth comes in a million forms and failure to recognize that commercial success is only one marker for the same will leave you jaded. And that's no good for inspiration.

4. City Lifestyle and Art: How the places you lived influenced your career and work?

I answered this earlier on from an art perspective. From a work perspective, living in India has proved to be a blessing and a curse. It was hard for me to not be seen as a discount option starting out, purely because the living costs in India are lower than most, and I was calculating based on that. Being treated as a discount option often means your perceived value is in your rate, not your work. But, my clientele grew as my art style became more recognized and distinguished. I began to benefit from the same things I thought were holding me back - the low living costs became a source of savings for me. People began to appreciate my roots and celebrate me for my success! I've inspired other Indian artists like me (who were always told that being an artist is a shoddy career) to rise up and succeed on an international scale! Many remarkable people have worked with me despite the time zones, complicated payment procedures, etc. It's been awesome! But I feel a bit bottlenecked as of now, and I think it's time for me to broaden my horizons!

I look forward to making a change, traveling, and meeting some fantastic colleagues and connections I've made over the years, whether in LA, London, or Hong Kong, who knows!

5. Latest or Upcoming Projects: Give us a glimpse into your current endeavors and what lies ahead on your creative journey.

Without giving too much away, I'm super interested in making my art tangible. Those following me have seen me go into clothes and jewelry with my brand Drape, and it's been such a fresh experience! I got to translate my artstyle into 3D printed hangers, silver casted jewellery, keychains and clothes! The only art I've ever known is digital, so it's been exciting to get my hands dirty and teach myself the art of creating without a Ctrl + Z at my disposal - a concept that's doubly terrifying when you have to place an order for a large quantity of a product. There is really no margin for error, not without consequences at least. Embracing the business side of things and running a commerce platform has been insightful, specially the marketing part - I really think I'm onto something crazy. Within the next few months of writing this answer, I'm hoping some of my pieces will be in a showroom somewhere, talking to people about my art and what it means to me!

Aryaman Munish

Aryaman Munish

Aryaman Munish

Aryaman Munish

Aryaman Munish

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Instagram: @mun15h