An Interview with Philip Colbert: St Andrews Student Turned Famous Artist
I recently had the exciting opportunity to interview Philip Colbert, a famous contemporary artist, designer, and former philosophy student at St Andrews. He is known by many as the ‘Godson of Andy Warhol’, and he grew up in Perth, Scotland. During our conversation he provided inspiring and perspective altering ideas including the philosophy behind bright colours, unique ideas on human connectivity, destruction and temporality, and the University of St Andrews as a sociological machine.
How has St Andrews shaped you and your artistic career today?
Colbert explained how he loved the historical aspects of St Andrews the most, such as the stone heads found in St Salvator’s Quad, and St Andrews Cathedral, particularly because it housed the relics of St Andrew the Apostle and this led to theories of a secret crypt in the Cathedral. He went down this rabbit hole as a student, which informed his love for antiquity today, despite his contemporary artistic style.
St Andrews was where the foundations of his artistic career began in diverse ways. For example, he independently created an Art Foundation Society and also founded an Art Against War Society that came soon after the tragedy of 9/11. He channelled his anti-war opinions at the time into his society, alongside turning the kitchen roles in his student flat into evocative shapes of Greek Columns.
His renowned Lobster, an artistic design of his that is known to ‘take over’ various cities across the globe, was first inspired by St Andrews. Colbert noted that his family who were based in Perth, often took him to St Andrews for the day to get ice cream, and he vividly remembers passing all of the lobster catchers by the sea. Since then, he has seen lobsters as his sort of spirit animal and values how they are an emblem of mortality in philosophy.
For his dissertation during his final year at St Andrews, Colbert created a philosophy for kids cartoon named ‘Plato and Friends’, which he premiered on the big screen at the local cinema to the philosophy department, after sending them each an invitation. His dissertation was written on the back of the cartoon’s CD, and so he achieved a way to make his dissertation both practical and kid friendly, using his creativity, and he has continued to apply this mindset to his career.
When the lobster appears in various cities, do you hope for people to think about the philosophical meaning behind it, or for viewers to enjoy it in a playful way?
Colbert responded saying that the ultimate goal of the lobster is human connectivity in an immediate way, as people are instantly united in wondering what the lobster means and why it has arrived in their city. Colbert sees endless value in humour, connection and light-heartedness, and he hopes to create these feelings in people through his art.
He describes himself as working within the orbit of a sunflower, he is fixated on bright colours and aliveness, and he believes that colour is the ‘punk rock empowerment of art.’ Red in particular symbolises vivacity, boldness, blood, life and death, and he mentioned that when a lobster dies it turns red, indicating the intense and multifaceted quality of red; his favourite colour.
Your AI Lobster Bot is a fascinating addition to new technology being introduced to art, what is your view on the influence of AI in the artistic world?
In response, Colbert considered how AI is taking people’s jobs, but also how it is good to embrace new opportunities such as AI and seek creativity in them. He accomplished this during COVID-19 lockdown when people could not attend galleries, by having robots attend instead, which gained him a huge amount of publicity. His overall take is that AI is a huge concrete disruption that can be either fought or embraced, and he has tried to embrace it with his own robotic creations.
Alongside his appreciation of modernity, he loves the idea of temporality and how art can survive the test of time, which has recently led him to fixate on Celtic stone carvings. On one hand, there is a notion that mother nature destroys everything one day, and on the other, there is the proof of temporality in long-lasting antiquity. Colbert sees our ability to create lasting things as our revolt as humans against destruction.
Tell me about the version of you at St Andrews, and how would you describe the student experience?
Colbert recalled himself sitting in the dyslexic library at the university late at night where he would write his philosophy essays, feeling scruffy, and thinking that his dream of being an artist was a faraway one. He imagined how he would have felt if he looked out the window and saw a huge red lobster outside instead. This has inspired him want to bring play, joy and wonder to people in mundane moments.
His student house was located a mile out of the town centre, towards Crail, and it was a farmhouse he lived in with a few friends. He would drive to and from town in a bright red car lent to him by his dad, which was an early symbol of the lobster. He remembers thinking that St Andrews is a sociological machine; it has a distinct culture where there are different demographics of people, with certain roles and a particular dress sense. He thinks of it in a nostalgic way, assuming it has not changed much since he was there, and he likes the traditional aspect of this. Yet he also sees how the environment could be creatively stifling at times.
Within the sociological machine, Colbert decided to socialise and connect with a variety of groups, never sticking to one friend group. He enjoyed the balance of mixing in different circles, reflective of his expansively creative mindset and ability to appreciate and find fascination in a variety of concepts, reaching from modernity to antiquity. He is looking forward to holding an art show in Perth in 2028, which is the first museum he went to as a kid.
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