We recently had the chance to connect with Eli Glasper and have shared our conversation below.
Eli, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
What can make me lose track of time is creating and indulging in the creativity of others. Whether that involves painting, drawing, or admiring others’ work outside of the fine/visual arts. Movies, TV, books, and other forms of media. As a lover of stories, I find myself getting lost in the creations of others, which helps inspire me to further develop my talents in the process.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Eli Glasper, and I am an artist and Designer from St Louis, MO. My professional background spans about four years of freelance work for employers. I have a BFA in Graphic Design, but I have pursued and actively practice several different mediums, surrounding themes of identity, politics, and pop culture.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was unstoppable.
I was just Elijah, a kid who loved cartoons, who drew because it felt natural, believing that joy didn’t need justification. I climbed toward the sky without ever thinking about how far I might fall, trusting that the world would catch me if I did.
Then the world corrected me.
Elijah is a Black man.
The world taught me the history of the Black man. And with knowledge always comes a weight.I learned that we have always been a people of resistance. There is pride in that, and strength, and something sacred beyond words. But carrying it reshapes you. It changes how you move through the world, how the world moves toward you. It changes you at the core.
He has to understand that he isn’t just Elijah, the cartoon-loving artist, anymore. He is, and will always be, a Black artist. If I am to be seen, it is always on those terms.
He loves cartoons and media, even when it never reflects him. With a child’s colorblind trust, he loved his white teachers, only to realize later that not all of them loved him the same. That realization doesn’t arrive loudly. It settles in slowly, and it stays.
I never allowed it to break me, but rather hardened my clarity.
There was innocence in feeling unstoppable. The loss comes when you learn that the things you love don’t always love you back for reasons you never had control over. Elijah, the lover of life, is forever changed by that truth. Not because he chose to be, but because the world told him who he had to be.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Choose you, even if it may feel selfish. Even if you upset the people in your life, you have a right to express how you truly feel. Don’t let those things go unsaid and hide parts of yourself from those who care.
That kind of stifling not only does a disservice to yourself but also to the people who would love to know the real you. Prolonged emotional suppression will build resentment for those around you, but also for yourself. There’s anger and sorrow wrapped up in those regrets as well. Get used to saying the uncomfortable things, even when we’re young.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Authenticity is something I strive for in everything I do, in a world of personalities and parasocialness. The public me is as real as I can be with a mind that constantly overthinks interactions. I’d say I am far quieter in person, but that’s somewhat normal. I am equally passionate about arts and pop culture media in person, so that stays pretty consistent. But I feel the awkwardness and overcorrection is also still me being myself when I think about it, so I’m gonna yes the public me is the real me to a fault.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
With my full heart, I would say an artist. A soul that yearns to create something from the everything he has experienced. Also a lover of life, people, and experiences who wants to see humanity win and gets to see that every day..
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