RS Theory

By Patrick Keohane

Patrick Keohane is a twenty-four year old collage artist from Southern California, and his work is fantastic! The fashion collages he creates are, simply put, just out of this world in the most dreamy, trippy sort of way. The use of high-end fashion images combined with his twisted vision results in quite astonishing creations. We caught up with Patrick to find out what his inspiration was and how it all started. We believe Patrick is well on his way to being a major player in the world of design and fashion.  https://www.instagram.com/rstheory/ http://www.revolvingstyle.net

PONYBOY:  Patrick, we are just in love with your artwork. Tell us how it all started.

PATRICK KEOHANE:  Thank you! Last year I started playing around with it after a collage assignment I had in an art class, and it got a great critique. I pulled the assignment apart and started cutting things from old magazines, started an Instagram, and here we are!

PONYBOY:  What is your background? Did you study art or design?

PATRICK KEOHANE:   My mom is an artist and I was raised with an understanding of design from her. Many of her friends are artists, so I was always around it and I took their classes. I never felt like I was good at making art, but I knew I was good at curating. I majored in Art History and took many art classes (in which I fought all of my professors). My focus is always design. And the classes I had in college taught nothing about design, it was always about conceptual art. In many ways, I am self-taught.

PONYBOY:   Tell us about the process of creating your collages.

PATRICK KEOHANE:   I start with the fashion image that inspires me, and I just curate the vibe around it. It’s difficult to explain because it just comes to me. I use so many different supplemental images and props, anything from old albums to my dad’s childhood die-cast toy cars. I try to think about if the people and designers behind the image were to see it, would they like it or want to repost it? Would they want to work with me? Keeping their interests in mind is kind of why none of the collages look alike, and why they keep changing.

PONYBOY:  What inspires your work?

PATRICK KEOHANE:  Initially, I was and am still inspired by appropriation art. I am inspired by design, both good and bad. I am inspired by our constant inundation with imagery, a la Tumblr and Pinterest. I am inspired by commercial art, social media and marketing.

PONYBOY:  Who are your favorite artists?

PATRICK KEOHANE:  I love Warhol, Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, Peter Stanick, Jasper Johns, Jacques-Louis David, Rubens, Steven Klein, and David LaChapelle.

PONYBOY:  Tell us about collaborations that you’ve had in the past.

PATRICK KEOHANE:    One of my collages was regrammed by Teen Vogue, and it caught the attention of Bumble and Bumble. Together, we did a series of six collages for their Instagram. I incessantly tagged Man Repeller in my collages, so I caught Leandra’s attention. And I usually do at least one a month for her website. I have also worked with Tracee Nichols, McGuire Denim, Aritzia and HRH Collection.

PONYBOY:  What are your  favorite magazines that you like to pull images from?

PATRICK KEOHANE:   I was really impressed with Marie Claire and Harper’s Bazaar last year, so I used them a lot. It really just depends. Every month I try and purchase every major magazine from Teen Vogue to V, so whatever catches my attention from those gets to meet my X-Acto knife.

PONYBOY:   What about the legalities of using other people’s work in your collages? Are there any?

PATRICK KEOHANE:   From my understanding, it is still case-by-case as to the legalities of appropriation art. Jeff Koons and Richard Prince have been to court numerous times. You have to prove that your art is inherently different than the original, has a different message, has been significantly altered and can compete financially with the original work. I would argue that mine meets those qualifications; however, someone may argue otherwise. As for now, I believe I am protected because I am not selling any of these collages. They just exist digitally. My purpose was never to blow them up and sell them, but to attract enough attention from brands and press to do perfectly legal, commissioned works and collaborations.

PONYBOY:  What designer’s and magazines do you aspire to work with?

PATRICK KEOHANE:  My dream would be to collaborate with Maison Margiela, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Vetements, and basically anyone that I have collaged in the past. I would love to do something really edgy for Love or V Magazine, and do really fun commercial collages for Harper’s Bazaar or Vogue.

PONYBOY:  What upcoming projects do you have in your future?

PATRICK KEOHANE:  I have a few magazine features coming up and hopefully a social media project with a great designer.