Louis Farkovitz innovated the perfect fusion between art and music to express his obsession for the electric guitar and classic Rock and Roll. Farkovitz has thoughtfully created jewel-encrusted headstocks, pickguards and body adornments in thematic arrangements on his personal collection of custom guitars. Each theme is representative of a heartfelt concept that inspires him.
We recently had a chance to ask Farkovitz some questions about his life, profession, and hobbies. We hope that you’ll enjoy!
1. Tell us about yourself growing up
Being the first of my generation born in the United States of Holocaust survivors and post 1956 Hungarian Revolution run-away immigrants, probably contributed significantly to my work as an artist. It was a struggle growing up and there were so many distractions. I used to love to draw, and it was the only way to make everything that was disturbing- pleasant. And there was plenty that was disturbing. A healthy interest or aptitude for academics was not my strong point for as far back as I can remember. I’m 6’5 now, so always being the tallest in class put me way back in the last row where I could fade into obscurity while doodling pictures of Batman, Superman, and other whimsical cartoon characters I created. Needless to say, I was no stranger to facing the corner in front of the class room until that freedom bell rang. I was more about hearing the biblical stories being verbalized, as opposed to reading and writing about them, and that never pleased the Rabbis at all.
I grew up in the Orthodox community in Borough Park in Brooklyn, New York. My struggle in school here, led me to Haifa, Israel in 1970, where I lived with my cousins until 1973. After taking aptitude tests, I entered into a technical jewelry school soon after landing back in New York. Excelling there, I finished the course early, and was placed and began my career journey on 47th Street in the Diamond District in Manhattan. I had just turned 17 years old.
2. You worked as a goldsmith in your younger days. What was that like and who taught you the trade?
I was not as fortunate to have a formal apprenticeship as many of my colleagues in the luxury jewelry industry had, early in their careers. Artistic self-expression is what always drives me and has continued to evolve over the decades. What allowed me to be successful in my career was that, once I learned a new technique or mechanism, I never forgot it. I went into every job I had like an unquenchable sponge and learned as much as I possibly could. I would stay as long as there was a challenge and something to learn.
3. What attracted you to guitars?
My attraction to guitars was kind of like my attraction to women; same kind of curves, beauty, song and shine. I can’t get enough. I always wanted to play but while I was a teen, in Israel, I fell and totally wrecked my wrist, so I can’t hold the guitar to play it. I noodle around but the only way I was ever going to be any kind of ‘rock star’ was to adorn the guitars I loved with the work I loved doing. The way it started was that a friend of mine knew I loved guitars and gave me one for my birthday. I kept staring at this beautiful thing, yearning to make it my own in some way, when out of the blue, it occurred to me to adorn it in metal, as I would to anybody who was meaningful to me.
4. Tell us about the very first guitar you custom made.
The very first guitar I ever created was called The Rocket, and it was made on an Ibanez 240S guitar. The entire piece was made by hand and the knobs didn’t even have a mold made for them. I sold it for a song. About a year or so ago my wife saw it for sale on Craigslist in San Francisco and tried to buy it back, but never heard back from the seller. The pictures are not professional, and this is all we have to show for it. But it’s definitely distinctive as a Farkovitz piece with the lip, and the depth with the retro/deco feel to the rocket ship. I love Science Fiction and anything from the post WWII era that has rivets or a pin up girl. I’m totally into Nostalgia. This piece was definitely inspired by Flash Gordon. There was a second guitar, I made back then, that was called “Melody”. It was stolen and is now still floating out there somewhere. Other than the two for Victor and Laura, all the other original designs are with us.
5. Who is your favorite guitar player of all time?
It’s a toss-up between Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. Jack White is great…so is Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck – I can’t possibly pick just one.
6. What guitar brand is your favorite and why?
I would say that Gibson is my favorite brand. Every Gibson is a timeless classic and they are made impeccably. But, my finest and most expensive guitar is a handmade beauty made by my good friend Andrew Bradshaw, right here in New York.
7. What is your favorite guitar in your entire collection?
I like the Paisley. It’s the only one with two different types of metal (and colors) and it was the first one I did with custom cut stones on the knobs. Even though the guitar is a Jay Turser and not a Gibson ES 335, I like the color and contrast of the entire piece.
8. What’s the most expensive guitar you’ve ever sold? (can you tell us who the buyer was?)
I sold a few pieces when I started messing around with the guitars twelve or thirteen years ago. At that time it wasn’t really something I aspired to do all the time. They were sort of like the custom jewelry and Judaica I did in reference to other interests and roots that I observed. I sold them when I was flat ass broke and between jobs, and the economy was abysmal. I’ve traded guitars for my branding work, or other things that were expensive, a few times, but in 2009 my wife and I decided that we wouldn’t sell any of my personal collection of guitars before there were ten or twelve finished. I really wanted to show them somewhere in Chelsea and we decided to keep, whatever else I made, in a private collection. I made a few as gifts for friends of mine that are entertainers; my close friend Victor V. Gurbo, and my sister in law, Laura Bell Bundy. It wasn’t until 2014 that we had the full project pulled together, and now my wife still doesn’t want to part with them. So, in compromise, I agreed to show what we’ve done and sell limited editions of the design and none of the originals are for sale. We were featured in Sotheby Real Estate’s Reside Magazine very recently, so your readers are some of the first to see our collection for the first time. The cost ranges from $12,500 for a reproduction, and $50,000 for a new design. To create a new product with a guitar manufacturer my fees would begin at $100,000.
9. Will you ever move into other instruments?
The guitars are my own passion, and I’ve got a mandolin I am about to work on too. But sure, I’d accept commissions to work on other instruments.
10. If you could own any guitar in the world, which one would it be?
I’m a collector of guitars and I don’t work on every one that I buy. So, if I could have anything? I’d love to have a 1957 Gibson ES175.