Canvas: Ian Latchmansingh

By Shannon McAleenan - Photos by Patrick Gilbride

Ian Latchmansingh didn’t take any art courses until college. Instead, he spent his formative years as his middle school’s assistant system administrator, remotely kicking his classmates off the computer for playing unauthorized games. Is this the make-up of an artist, post-technological revolution?

“I don’t paint at all, but I do draw. I have an interest in fine art, but as far as painting goes, I never really tried it.”

At 22, Latchmansingh has been doing Web design for about seven years. “I was one of those young kids who got into it,” he said of his early foray into online design.

While Latchmansingh’s art may transcend the barriers between the two worlds of commercial and fine art, his inspiration comes from things to which most of us wouldn’t ordinarily look.

“I draw a lot of inspiration from urban decay, dead malls and older commercial art. They say everything has already been done. I try to do the things that have been done the least.”

After high school, Latchmansingh took a year off and “kind of floated around.” After visiting some larger campuses, he settled on Flagler College. Since arriving in St. Augustine, he’s displayed his art well beyond the borders of the college. At Flagler, he is a graphic design and fine art major. Latchmansingh also works as a teaching assistant for a Web design course.

It’s his outside work that qualifies him to teach design to others. He’s been working at Old City Web Services since his freshman year. Since most of his work can be done from a laptop, he works full-time even during the school year.

Latchmansingh designed a poster for the 26th Annual Lincolnville Festival for a class assignment. Afterwards, his design was chosen to be featured on posters, ads and T-shirts for the event.

“I’d like to devote more time to fine art,” said Latchmansingh of his work in the commercial realm. He weighed the differences for a bit. “I suppose that realizing their similarities allows me to appreciate both types of art. [Fine art] requires research, explanation, contemplation, and I think that betrays the real nature of art altogether.”

By working within mediums not considered by most to be in the realm of fine art, he pushes the borders of what constitutes fine art in our modern media landscape.

Outside of his work as an artist, student and Web designer, Latchmansingh finds time to indulge some interesting hobbies. “I’ve got a collection of weird mice. Ridiculously stupid mice,” he admits of his computer accessory collection. Latchmansingh also collects old records and experiments with music mixing. And if these first hobbies didn’t seem eclectic enough, let it be known he also collects Nazi WWII memorabilia.

“I go to gun shows and find these old guys that have this incredible stuff … stuff that should be in a museum,” he said.

Latchmansingh is working on finishing his degree from Flagler and plans to graduate in the spring of ’08. After that? “I’ll probably do Web design until the Web 2.0 bubble bursts. After that, I’d like to go to grad school and get my Master’s in something fairly different — like industrial design or information architecture.”

To see Latchmansingh’s work, visit creativeprogeny.com.