“When I went to Mother, it was like I was asked to put on my funny pants. At Pyro, I wasn’t allowed to be funny. It was more about being cool. And so when I went to Mother, if I tried to do anything cool, it was like, where’s the joke?”
This episode of Ad Chatter features a conversation between David Burn of Adpulp and artist, writer, gallerist, tour guide, teacher, and activist Chad Rea.
Chad has a degree in Advertising from Texas Tech. He taught at UT and ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. He worked at famous agencies before starting his own.
Over the past five years, he’s been furiously making art and his paintings and artworks continue to appear in solo and group exhibitions.
In this vibrant 52-minute discussion, Chad entertains with fresh takes about:
- Why he went to Texas Tech and how he first got into the ad business
- What it was like to work at Pyro, Mother, and Kessels Kramer
- Founding and running his agency 86theonions in Venice Beach
- Why working in advertising is such an excellent preparation for being an artist
- What it means to call yourself an Artist
- LockhART House, his home and gallery space in Lockhart, Texas
- His major artistic influences and reasons for making art
- How to work with him today at Good Fast & Cheap
- Why it pays to promote yourself like a brand
This is a man with a lot of ideas and almost as many active pursuits. Hear it all on this episode of Ad Chatter.