Jennifer Barry: From looking at your pictures, I can tell you visited some places where people have to struggle to meet their basic needs. What was it like to be in very poor areas as a relatively wealthy American?
Greg Davis: For the most part, I was around people with smiles on their faces. Most of the people were happier than people in the U.S. When something bad happens, they understand that suffering is a part of life, that’s what it is to be human. Of course, when you introduce TV, electronics, modern conveniences that’s when the “I need, I want” starts breeding.
People are basically the same everywhere. They want a good meal, a roof over their heads, a happy life surrounded by family and friends. When I traveled I found people were generally very friendly and happy even if they had very little. It was humbling.
When I got home, it was a real culture shock. After being gone for a year, I was watching commercials and I was struck by how fake they were. They try to sucker you into buying something you can’t afford, suck you dry. Then I was trying to understand reality TV which is the worst name, it’s not real at all. I had just returned from drinking kava on a grass mat in Fiji, we were talking about real things like fishing, and the first six months I was back, I was like “Whoa, what planet am I on?”
With the recession, now the party’s over. A bunch of us in my generation got caught up in that mess, full of debt, paying three times as much because you bought it on credit. Now houses are going down in value. It’s crazy. I remember back in the dot-com days when we didn’t worry about saving or anything because everything just kept going up and there was money everywhere. We’ve been humbled.
JB: It sounds like you would totally do it all over again.
GD: No, not the same way. I missed a lot being away for a year. My aunt passed away when I was gone, she was the one who convinced me the trip was the right thing to do. I mean, I knew she was sick when I left. I missed her funeral because I was gone. I thought about coming back in the middle of my trip but I didn’t because she wouldn’t have wanted me to.
A year is a long time, I missed home. After nine months I had to give myself a pep talk to go on, get out of my crappy mood. It was hard. Every month I was changing countries, every week or so I was moving along, getting on a bus, wearing the same clothes. I would just get used to a place and then I would move. I was mentally beat. I went to Bali for three weeks, just scuba diving and lying on the beach, recharging. If I did it again I would go for 4-6 months max.
JB: It was certainly very ambitious to travel for a whole year. Had you done a lot of traveling earlier in life? Most Americans don’t go abroad much compared to other nationalities.
GD: That’s true, I think Americans are limited by their culture. You have to question what you’re doing, and go out and try new things. People need to tackle their fears based on memories, and things from the past that are holding them up from doing what they want. I’ve been reading this book, The Power of Now, and it’s about the fact that you can only control right now – not the past, not the future. You have to make the best of this very moment.
About your question about traveling, when I was in college I went to Europe for a month. I got a Eurail pass and I went through six countries. After college, my parents asked me what I wanted for a present and I said, “A one way ticket to Australia, and I’ll figure out how to get home.” I worked my way across the country doing different jobs for a few months, and I eventually saved enough money to come back home.
JB: What’s next for you in your career? How do you plan to develop as an artist and keep it fresh and interesting?
GD: I plan to keep traveling overseas 2-3 times a year, one month in each country. I’m exhibiting across the U.S. and I’m always on the go meeting people. It’s very different from a desk job. I’m meeting people from a whole spectrum of life experiences and it’s totally spontaneous.
The important thing is to expose my work and story to enough people. Not everyone will like it, but you have to get it in front of them. Hopefully people connect with what I’m doing, because it’s real and accessible. When the soul surfaces I’m there to recognize it. I think the real power of art is sharing human stories.
I need to build up a foundation of people who are supporting me so I can make it as an artist. I know how to do it, I was in marketing at Baylor, I was in sales for 12 years, doing relationship management. It’s about shameless self-promotion and committing 100% to my new path. I’ve been doing this for three and a half years, I think it will take me three more years to move up to a higher level.
I also plan to return to Vietnam in a few years and find the woman that inspired me, the blanket weaver with the blue and green hands in my signature piece. I’m going to write a book about her story, and how my life and hers have become woven together like a blanket. Our fates are intertwined. This is what I know I’m supposed to do. I want to get the story behind who she is. What is that on her finger? I call it a key ring but a guy told me it could be the pin from a grenade.
JB: Wow, that’s really fascinating. I would really like to read that book when it’s done. I would wish you good luck but I don’t think you need it. You’re out there working hard making things happen.
GD: Yeah, instead of “good luck” it should be “good fate.” I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do. It was my fate to quit my job and go to Vietnam so I could meet that woman and take a picture of her hands.
JB: Well, you certainly brought back some amazing stories from your trips! Thank you for talking with me today. I know my readers will really enjoy it.
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