Explain a little about yourself, some of your history?

 

Everyone knows me as Redic but my birth name is David C. Redic II. I was born to pastor David C. Redic and Vivian Redic in Chicago, Illinois. I’m a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA., where I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with English minor. I was exposed to the arts at an early age by my parents and upon graduating decided to advance my journey by relocating to California. I suppose many consider me as an artistic prism and not a jack-of-all trade. My purposeful life is founded on spiritual grounds, and at my core I  endeavor to encourage, inspire and positively impact the lives of others; and so epitomize the spirit of a humanitarian. 

 

When did you get into art? 

 

My artistic journey which has informed my creativity as an artist, musician and fashion designer began in the inner city of Chicago as one of eleven siblings raised in a very loving home. Creativity ran in my family with regular family trips organized by my mother to Chicago’s famous Field’s Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. To a poor kid with a rich imagination it opened new horizons for me realize that art can speak to us even in our ignorance. But there’s a far more powerful truth that our response to art is directly proportional to our knowledge of it. Without the support of my family, I couldn’t have taken that initial journey further at university and especially learning and studying art forms in all their complexity, contradictions and especially where they complement each other. 

 

What brought you from Los Angeles to Shanghai? 

 

I arrived in Shanghai during the World Expo but how got here was from Los Angeles via Guangzhou. How I got to here from there was through the muse of serendipity. For some years I was a Los Angeles based artist and singer/songwriter having moved out from Chicago. My first night in LA as a struggling artist was on the beach sleeping in the bashed up car I drove in. Even then I always was curious as to what was over the next horizon. As it happens I was booked for a gig in Guangzhou and having flown out there it fell apart. Alone and money fast running out, I didn’t turn and head back to LA, instead I looked to Shanghai. Landing in Shanghai I realized there was a very special artistic vibe here where my creativity could flourish and express itself fully. As someone who was rootless, it was easy to lay roots here. Those roots have been bearing fruits for the past four years. 

 

You’re a musician, artist, fashion designer, poet…is that even possible?

 

Of course. My art, music, fashion as well as poetry and my home is an extension of one singular artistic action. It’s all part of the same flow.  

 

Like water in nature, the key to life is balance and harmony. I work at living a balanced life. My music, art, fashion, poetry, is part of the same ecology. My artistic gifts are balanced not against each other but for each other. In practice what that means is when one gift is taking center stage the others are complimenting. For example, when I perform I'm usually wearing something that I've designed which maybe inspired by an artwork. Or if my artwork is on display it may have a prose or a song that is connected to the work. I have long since done away with old paradigm thinking of jack-of-all-trades master of none. Streams flow into rivers, rivers flow into lakes and lakes flow into oceans. . Arguably, the very essence of a gift is that it is meant to be given away. So my artistic gifts or any gift for that matter is never about ‘me’ per se but for others. If art is a compulsion then I have a compulsion to give, for I am gifted give.