CEO of Laughing at God, painter and creator of the uniquely fused Japanese anime and street-fantasy style, Shah Wonders the God speaks with Sallomé Hralima about dessert, clients and cherished things.

SHAH WONDERS THE GOD on … names
As you already know NOBODY from New York gives up their “government” [name]. You’re going to have to kidnap my moms or put my head in a vice for me to even think about giving away my born name! Shah (short for Shahid) is the Muslim name I chose for myself as a kid. The Wonders came from a good friend of mine named Dave Reinbold. Dave and I worked at Ecko Unlimited and he used to always say, “Hey man, let me see some more of those Shah Wonders.” And it just stuck! The title “The God” came from me studying with my cronies who were in the Five Percent Nation. We would always greet each other with “Peace God!” So when people saw me in the streets they would holler “Yo, there goes Shah Wonders the God!” And the moniker stuck! I also have an additional 98 names, 99 in total, that showcase my other attributes.

SHAH WONDERS THE GOD on … art & dessert
[My artwork can be likened to] an old school lemon flavored Italian ice, swallowed fast to give you brain freeze! I liken my work to that paralyzing pain in your forehead.

SHAH WONDERS THE GOD on … the process
Before I work I start with not showering for at least a couple days. For some reason, smelling a little musty helps the process. I think it makes me feel like I’m working hard physically like a boxer or ball player! In those couple days I watch a lot of T.V. and eat plenty of fruits — that’s brain food baby! I don’t sketch within those couple days; I create the entire piece in my medulla before I pick up any pens or pencils! Fellow artists were shocked when they noticed this, but I explained to them that when I was growing up we were dead broke and I only had a few good sheets of paper at a time. So I would sit there and really think about what it was I was going to draw. I couldn’t make many mistakes, hence the drawing in my head. In addition to that, I need enough Guinness Stout to last me for a week. I’m a beer guzzler so I need to have that on tap! Finally, I’ll need my iPod completely outfitted with the full Wu-Tang and my early 90’s Hip-Hop catalog. Then, and only then, will the creation process commence.

SHAH WONDERS THE GOD on … client commentary
Here’s a couple of my favorites:

• “I needed this like yesterday, can you have this done by tomorrow?”
• “We really don’t have a budget but we are prepared to give you royalties once this thing is sold. Would that be something your interested in?”
• “Is there something besides money that we could give you in return for your services? What I mean is do you believe in the barter system?”

SHAH WONDERS THE GOD on … the artistic alpha & omega
Well the most difficult piece to start and finish was this piece called “Laughing at God”. It took me nine months to finally get this idea out of my head. Actually it was a difficult time for me because I couldn’t do anything else for those nine months; I was possessed and completely consumed by this vision that I knew I had to get out of my head. Visually the challenge was to mix all my styles into one cohesive style that I would use as my signature work.

SHAH WONDERS THE GOD on … lessons from the 9 to 5
To be quite honest I was working as a clean up guy part-time before I was discovered by Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. Having experience working with an array of different clients, the one thing that has been the most valuable and most difficult to achieve is to be ORIGINAL! Create a signature style that’s all your own. If you want to be successful in the art world you have to walk the path less chosen. Any self respecting artist will not be afraid to go against the grain and trust me the check writers will notice!

SHAH WONDERS THE GOD on … cherished things
1. God, 2. Family, 3. My Mac, 4. A beautiful woman, 5. My Money (even though she’s been seeing other people lately! She’ll be back though, we’re good like that!)

SHAH WONDERS THE GOD … finishes, “Artists don’t get enough________.”
Respect!

Laugh with Shah and see more of his work at www.myspace.com/shahwonders.