Nick Mass: Lover of Rules, Moments, and Connection
Let it be known, Nick Mass is just a dude. He may be a guy of many talents; rapping, photography, multi-media art, improv, and more. Born in Lockport, a suburb of Buffalo, NY, Mass has been around the area his entire life. Describing himself as a “hermit” he grew up as a very independent person, only immersing himself in the local performance and art scene as a young adult.
Mass got his beginnings as an improv comedian, discovering his interests in performance by stumbling upon a 50 hour improv bender at 19. Then, at 22 he discovered a box type polaroid among tubs of hundreds of polaroids from his ex’s family. Gifted the camera kindly by the family, Mass began documenting local shows and general life. This grew into a passion, leading him to document his life and other’s with his art. Following where photography took him, Mass’s life became engulfed in his work. Leaving college behind he began developing exhibitions, collaborating with other artists, and allowing his art to expose him to new people and places. He plans to stay in Buffalo for a while, at least until he isn’t bound by a lease. However the future holds new locations for him as he stated he believes “It's integral to the human experience to live somewhere else for a period of time.” Currently, though, he acts as facility manager at BICA School, a collective and recognized DIY art school in Buffalo. His dedication and passion for BICA School were made evident in the way he spoke about it. As a collective, they review and promote art, set up exhibitions and performances, and overall sustain the local art scene and its artists.
Mass’ first exhibition “Puzzles and Pieces” was meant to showcase his art as he was starting out. His intent with his exhibitions is to invite conversation and connection. He wanted viewers to relate through similar experiences and emotions shown through his art. It was very evident that community and bonding with others through his work was something valued very highly. Despite growing up in a solitude manner, Mass has become friends with many people through the means of social media as well as different events in Buffalo’s art world and otherwise. Also important to the exhibition was its theme of the interconnectedness of moments and life. Mass conveyed that symbols are an important part of every artist, and it can be a tool to create consistency throughout one’s work. The puzzle piece was the symbol that held great significance to him. To Mass, it’s about our relation to each other, and moments building together. “Life’s pieces are all of you and all the people around you and all the moments you’ve had.”
Mass has been taking time to travel and gain experience this year around different rustbelt cities, finding himself in NYC and Detroit so far. Detroit happened by chance- an opportunity to start a new project and document the lives of two individuals was presented when Mass met singer/songwriter Odie Leigh at a party at his home in Buffalo. He came to Detroit, staying in a metal trailer on Leigh’s new property. While here they biked around town, explored abandoned homes, rummaged through seemingly uninteresting trash to discover hidden gems, and visited the Heidelberg project. This was Mass’ main glimpse into the spirit of art in Detroit. His impression was that open land and free space allowed for larger installations and sculpture. This set Detroit apart from Buffalo- which Mass say share great similarity- because Buffalo’s public works are bound by space constraints meaning they are more mural focused.
The current work with Odie Leigh has been very focused on documenting regular life and the everyday (moments) taken for granted. “It's community documentation. Moments are to be remembered.” This is one of the reasons Mass gravitates towards Polaroid; it forces people to appreciate the little things. The physical image- one of a kind- can capture a single moment even when they seem insignificant. He likes the fact that it contains a story saying, “The fact that I was holding this picture, I was in this room.” Also noted was the fact that having the physical copy saves a lot of stress having to back up hard drives and rely on technology for protection. As a continuation of his projects with polaroids, this time spent in Detroit has been to feed his specialization while delving into a new idea. With respect to the freshness and stage of the project, not much information can be provided outside of the specific camera he is using for it, the Polaroid Macro 5 SLR. however we at DHYRT were given a glimpse and it's definitely worth looking out for.
Along with the many solo projects Mass explores, collaboration is a huge part of his process and overall world in the arts. Not every collaboration is the same; individuals have different styles and each venture requires different planning, materials, time management, etc. There was one factor that Mass insisted was necessary for him to be successful when working with others- RULES. “I think rules are great, I think that rules push creativity.” Even though it may seem counterintuitive, Mass explained that boundaries help guide you to the final destination, they restrain running wild and straying from the original goal. While it requires passion, collaboration is also about building connections and creating favors according to him.
Mass has experience working with close friends as well as people he didn’t know, both presenting struggles as well as benefits. Working with friends presents very unique problems, as you might be required to talk to them as an artist or ‘business partner’. It also makes it easier to push each other because of the comfort of being familiar. In either situation, each person’s ego can get in the way of producing good art, but Mass says all disagreements circle back to communication, the heart of collaboration. Just as with setting rules and boundaries, talking and working through any issues that appear during production lead to reaching the end goal. An important exception to this is personal style, as compatibility can play a role in a professional partnership just as in any relationship. Even with the struggle of working with others, Mass sees the importance of it saying, “...it’s necessary because it produces better art. It gets easier like anything else.” With this understanding of the circumstances that lead to success, Mass is able to connect easily with others and collaborate with them. Nick wanted to give a shoutout to his main collaborators, specifically Silas Rubeck, way2wavybaby, Chango4, May Shenk, Trevor Kearns, and Nick Christakis.
As Nick Mass continues to grow, he remains at his core a man who loves the arts. If you are looking for him you may find him at a show performing his music, which incorporates aspects of improv and performance art. You can also find him on instagram @_nickmass where he has a link to his art and music. Wherever you do find him, know he is a joy to talk to and don’t forget to take away this piece of wisdom, “Life is busy busy and can be stressful but enjoy it while it lasts.”
Written by BaileyJo McKalko