Archive for July, 2007
This month our featured artist is Californian designer and illustrator Steven Harrington (www.stevenharrington.com). With an imagery connected to 70’s aesthetics and its organic feel you would say his style is retro while we believe it’s, in fact, one of the freshest artists around so we decided to interview him for this site.
First of all: Why, where, how… did you become an artist?
I have a few theories. It may have started the day I was handed my first crayola crayon or maybe it was that hand-print Christmas tree I made when I was 5. I’ve always really liked making imagery and playing with color, and for some reason I just kept on doing it, right through middle school, past high school and then I really decided to get ‘serious’ about it in college. I guess you could say that’s when it became a reality. I met Justin Krietemeyer while attending art school, and shortly after graduating we formed National Forest (www.nationalforest.com), a collaborative design studio specializing in art direction and print design. National Forest keeps me busy, but I still, somehow, make time to work on personal artworks and prints and things. It’s been a pretty natural progression.
It looks like much of your personal visual universe comes from your childhood. And I would say also influences from the 70’s and hippy-psychedelic culture graphics. Is this so? Could do try to detail the ingredients in the mixture of influences that your work feeds from?
My childhood has had a tremendous influence on my personal works. I constantly find myself digging back into my ‘memory banks’ for inspiration and ideas. I feel that young people have a natural ability to see the animate world around us; they relate to objects as if they had a character and as if they were alive. Later on you are taught quite the opposite: wood is dead, fruit can’t breathe, the wind isn’t a person… the only other relevant beings are humans. I guess I’m trying to find my way back to my younger days of thinking. I want to be able to see the world as it was before I was taught that reason and logic and science had to be superimposed on the universe. It seems like somewhere along the way most of the westernized world has lost the sense that fire, mountains, water, rocks and the whole of nature is a dynamic living organism.
And there are a few elements that keep showing up in your work: triangles, circles and squares, winks, animals… I guess you want viewers to make their own assumptions but any clues on what all these represent in your world?
I enjoy using reoccurring imagery. The triangles, circles and squares are easy… According to Ed Emberly, all things visual are created using these three simple forms. I agree with Mr. Emberley. As for the other things, I like to give myself time to develop and explore simple ideas. Many of the elements I use have a lot to do with multiplicity. A puzzle piece represents connectivity and community because it’s identity is found when connected to another piece. A wink is a gesture with many meanings depending on the receiver, the sender, and the context in which it is given. A circle, square, and triangle mean a whole lot more together as complex shapes than as individual ones.
And I also noticed that there’s not just many animals in your work but also quite some other elements from nature. I don’t know if you come from an urban background but you live in a big city now, like many of us. How’s the relationship between you-the city-nature and how does it reflects on your work?
I grew up camping a lot with my parents. Spending time at places like Big Sur, Yosemite, San Elijo, El Capitan−pretty much all of the California state parks. So I love nature and being outdoors. Don’t get me wrong. I think that Metropolitan areas have a lot to offer culturally within the arts, music and film. And although I enjoy living and working in Los Angeles I would rather surround myself with sky, mountains, ocean and forests. It just feels more comfortable to me, and this is why I like to use it in my work.
I guess we could say you are a proper artist probably just because you feel like one (or maybe you don’t) but also because of the fact that you do purely personal work and show it in art galleries and so on. But you also have this company, National Forest design studio with your partner Justin Krietemeyer. First question is maybe obvious: How do you manage to do both things: the commercial and the “purely artistic” stuff?
It’s hard to balance life in general, but you just have to make the time for the important things. When everything’s important, then you have to make the time for everything. Balancing National Forest and Art-time is the easy part. Its fitting it family time, girlfriend time, beer time, party time, cooking time, healthy time, love time, happy time, that’s the hard part.
Also, do clients ask you to do the same type of art they see in your personal work when they ask you to do something for them? Does is depends from the client? Do you expect to someday feel as free to do whatever you feel, no matter if it’s a commissioned work or not? Do you think the challenge to create what the client needs also enriches your work and you enjoy the restrictions commercial work has for that reason?
Depends on the Client. Sometimes clients want a signature art piece and sometimes they just want something designed or art directed really well. I like to do both and the balance between the two is important. I can’t imagine only making commercial work, nor can I imagine producing solely personal work. The two fuel each other. The restrictions of commercial work can be great because it tends to push me out of my ‘comfort zone.’ I like that it forces me to make things that I wouldn’t typically make. At the same time, I enjoy the challenge of making personal work. I am my toughest client. Making work for myself teaches me a lot about my own being, a self-realization in a sense.
I would like you tell us about your creative process. How’s the balance between analog and digital, between the process and the result,… can you elaborate on this, please?
Really, all I need is a pen, a piece of paper and a table to start my projects. Some ideas are scribbled in a sketchbook I keep next to my bed. Most of the work I make at National Forest for clients is created within the computer, so I love being able to make things for myself by hand. By the time I get home to work on my own art I reach for a pen before a keyboard. I’m not saying that I don’t use the computer for personal work; I’ve just recently made an effort to try and do more drawings instead. The balance between the digital and the analog is a fine line. I feel it’s very important to always let my viewer know that there is a human being behind the work.
What have you been working on recently?
Slowly but surely making new work for an upcoming art show scheduled for November of this year. Always making new things for the ‘Sixpack’ clothing line in France. I’ve been contributing to a bunch of new publications as well: two new books put out by Die Gestalten Verlag, one very large book published by Victionary and several books put out by Maomao Publications. I will be releasing a three-color screen print through Youworkforthem very soon here and possibly a couple of pieces with the radical dudes at Kidrobot. National Forest has been very busy as well−some new things with Burton recently and collaboration between NF and WeSC in the future.
And any interesting project coming up that you can tell us about?
I do have several art shows planned for the next year or so. The first is a two-man show with Justin Krietemeyer. We will be showing at ‘Subliminal Projects” in Los Angeles CA mid November. I will be releasing a bunch of new prints through my online shop ‘You&I’ shortly after, so keep your eyes peeled. The second art show is a solo show scheduled for May of 08 at the Lazy Dog gallery in Paris. Lionel from Sixpack.fr is helping out with support/sponsorship so we’ve got a bunch of really exciting things planned for that one. I might even see you in Spain around that time if everything works out.
Some project you would love to do but didn’t have the chance or nobody has asked you to do yet?
I’d be really interested in creating three-dimensional sets for a large-scale fantasy play. It would be radical to build a life-sized world of fictional environments using old world gadgets.
Can you turn us onto some artists or something interesting that we should know about?
I went on a camping trip to Yosemite and stumbled on a little shop in the woods that had the most amazing collection of mugs with owl designs on them for a quarter each. I bought every single one. I fought with my girlfriend over who got to keep which mug since we both discovered them. She ended up with the best one.
July 31st, 2007 11:40pm
Administrador
Not long ago, our friend Ana Neto, was sent us an article with her first impressions after arriving to San Francisco during her world tour. Now, we finally have the chance to know what else she found in that amazing city before coming back to good old Europe.
Text by Ana Neto
Os gemeos piece at Market street
Living in a big city can be a truly difficult test. The struggle to survive is endless, as it is the amazement of being in such a place. Each day is a brand new day, and that’s what keeps us floating. Maybe, that’s why cities are full of people who look out for that special opportunity, the one that’s going to change their lives completely. The American dream can be bought in every corner, but strangely enough only a few walk the streets with a happy look on their faces. Like in any big city and San Francisco is no different. After the predictable love affair, the insatiable curiosity tends to end fast and a ruff lonely morning is what you’re most likely to find. The wind, unforgettably cold, wakes you up for a reality that doesn’t seem exactly the expected one. To have the ability to see through a work of art and ask yourself what are they really trying to say can be the answer to so many broken hearts. Maybe it’s time to start paying attention and look closer. Art can tell us many things but maybe just not what we’re expecting.
Robert Crumb at The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
The true anti- hero when talking about the good old american ideals, Robert Crumb doesn’t exactly defend the land of the free and the home of the brave. Father of the underground comics movement, he revolutionized the illustration world and never doubted to put his finger where it hurted the most. Totally ignored by the comic book publishing industry he decided to take matters into his own hands creating a whole new language, an unforeseen universe. Satire, politics and a lot of sex made Crumb a problem for the institutions. After more than 30 years the creator of Fritz the Cat has, finally, decided to cooperate and lets the mainstream peek into his world filled with strange “dangerous” characters that will fill everyone’s mind with bad intentions. Robert Crumb makes us see that there are many ways to fight the power, he teaches us to, simply, say no to an elitist society, a corrupt reality. Once again The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is to blame for making good curatorial choices and so for having the honor of presenting the work of a master that feeds himself on the underground world, a reality that always seems to be just around the corner.
Margaret Kilgallen at The Luggage Store Gallery, Market street
Jessie street
“People say that we hate the city. We don’t hate the city. We love the city. It’s our city”. This is what a graffiti artist says in the documentary “Piece by Piece”, where, in 78 minutes, Graffiti art in San Francisco is tracked and explained, literally, piece by piece. A love for the city, that, only another Graffiti artist is willing to recognize. An art dangerous for it’s double face, an art that saves and at the same time needs to be saved. The will to create a new style, different from New York or Los Angeles, was what made these artists struggle with bravery. The need to defend their territory and by that making San Francisco a city with the ultimate style was what made them fight against everything the society was in favor of. What’s this love about then? Why people choose to see it as hate? Graffiti, like a species almost reaching extinction, still fights for it’s life searching new ways of breathing, adapting to a reality that has never, really, appreciated what was being given to her. Call it old school, new school, muralist art etc the so-called love for the city remains the same and finds its way trough the newer generations.
Andrew Schoultz
Two different artists, two different exhibitions, one same gallery; White Walls Gallery is, decidedly, a name to remember. March was time for Andrew Schoultz, an artist well known for his large and thoroughly detailed murals. He has his style all right! Something clearly has to be said here, and you better be prepared because he does ask for your attention. So you should stop and listen because the effort and the energy that comes out from his work are well worth it. Releasing his first book: “Ulysses: Departures, Journeys & Returns”, Schoultz shows that he’s not here to decorate. His work is strong in its meanings, where politics and social issues hide behind “innocent” birds. One month latter the talk is on Caleb Neelon and Ben Woodward’s show “Child’s Prey”. For someone who only knows Neelon for his writings (Swindle Magazine, Juxtapoz etc) this was a good surprise. A curious world, full of color and strange furry characters makes us, strangely enough, feel at ease. It seems quite obvious that there’s no fear, at all, in experimenting and in trying new ways of showing art. There’s humor and imagination. No chance of getting bored.
Ben Woodward
At the end of the day what does the city, really, gives us back? Why do we continue to fight for it? There are no more opportunities; the dream has been sold out. And now what? Well, stop looking for something that doesn’t exist and start giving value to what’s being done now. Instead of asking for one more chance we have to be the ones that actually give that chance. We have to allow ourselves to listen to what the others have to say. It can be a comic book, an exhibition or a mural. It’s time to stop and make time to see what’s on the other side of the mirror. In the big cities each day is a brand new day full of surprises, full of endless opportunities. At the end of the day it’s on us to make that choice.
San Francisco you won’t be forgotten.
July 15th, 2007 07:36pm
Administrador
This past saturday, 14th of july we had the opening of a new amazing show by the people of Rinzen (www.rinzen.com), and specifically Rilla and Steve Alexander, members of the Australian design and art collective, where they expose their obsessions and share their secrets in Rinzen’s first show in Spain. Together they shed light on the shadows of an inner world inhabited by monsters and beasts, primitive actions and guilty thoughts. And, in a mark of their deep affection for Spanish art and culture, they explore the national animal, the bull - and its metamorphosis into that famous symbol of unconscious desire, the Minotaur. The series of watercolour and ink studies, continue experiments Rilla and Steve began in exhibitions in Hamburg (Helium Cowboy, 2005), Berlin (Neurotitan, 2006) and Portland (Compound Gallery, 2007).
July 14th, 2007 10:57am
Administrador
The artist that we interview and that designed the header for this month is KRSN (http://nsrknet.free.fr/): He’s a french artist son of the massive explosion of Hip Hop in France during the 90s, decade that he spent with a spraycan at hand, that later evolved to become part of the Paris Street art secene and whose talent was rigthfully and finally appreciated so he could start making a living with his illustration work.
First of all when, where, how and why you started to do work in the streets? And… have you stopped entirely nowadays?
I started at the end of the eighties by painting song titles in Vichy. I remember being very impressed by Boxer Sheek and Muck during a trip to Paris in 87 but by that time I didn’t know what it was about. After that, Hip Hop exploded in the 90s in France and I spinned on my head with spraypaint until 2000. I like the fact of painting on something, somewhere, alone. I would like to still do it now, but I just don’t have enough time now and I don’t have the motivation anymore. I just looked at my old photos and it was like somebody else did all those pieces. Especially the ones I had forgotten about.
The whole Street art thing seems passe now but do you feel part of that and how has that affected or helped shape your own particular attitude as an artist?
It was very fun to be part of this Street art thing during the first part of the
00s. At the same time Internet was becoming big, it all coincided. But people need to move on, little by little you discover new things in your work you want to develop so you need to explore new ways. This Street art movement was a way to think about new things to explore.
You do work as an illustrator and I feel that fits very way your graphic style but how different is your commercial work to your personal purely artistic work? How would you define the way your creative output steps on those two different ways?
For commercial works you need to take in consideration the needs of your client, which is not a bad thing because like I said before it gives you the opportunity to discover new themes in your work, and that can help you for more personal projects. It is an endless exchange between commercial and personnal but sometimes the client just want a very specific thing you already did several times before and that is a little bit more boring. For example Sixpack is a very good client, because they need to sell their stuff but at the same time they give total artistic freedom, so I must find solutions to please both myself and the person who could buy the t-shirt.
And about Akroe (www.akroe.net) you two, seem to have connected real well and have done lots of collaborative work. Can you elaborate on how that started and has developed until today?
I met Akroe in 99… I’m not sure. I think we began to paint together in 2001 or 02 in the streets of Paris. We share a lot of common interests, and even if our works are very different, we have a common way to create.
Not being an artist, every time I find an artist whose work I enjoy, I’m always intrigued on the creative process. In your case is it fast and wild and not rational at all, is it meticulous and slow, do you dismiss a lot of the stuff you do?… I don’t know, tell me a little bit about it.
I observe a lot, but I do not spend to much time on a piece, I like when it
flows out naturally and when some cool accidents come along. Sometime I’m not in the mood for that and in this case I just do rubbish.
The use of just black lines over white backgrounds seems to dominate your work and it somehow depicts reflective attitude. Can you elaborate on the use of color or lack of it and how it helps you portrait a given feel?
You need only one color to draw and express feelings, so if I use two I would say that I’m already doing a big effort! I rather focus on the emotion of my pieces than on the decorative side of it, but it is something that is evoling during these last months, I think I will use more colors in the future.
What have you been working on recently?
I’m working on some edition projects with people who write and I just finished a mini collection for Sixpack. I also did drawings for magazines and the new album of Amstardus. I’m also thinking about some group art shows in the future.
Can you turn us into some artists or something interesting that we should know about?
Check Stewart Mackinnon, an illustrator from the 70’s.
July 1st, 2007 06:22pm
Administrador
