SB2 | Creative Presence

Today we had the briefing for SB2 and although it is extremely daunting at this point in time, it could very well be beneficial to me not only in terms of my practice and knowledge of industry, but in pushing me out of my comfort zone by approaching a person off my own back.

I thought I would consider what areas of the creative industries interest me and what is relevant to the things I am doing now.

Publishing

Publishers, small press houses, basically people that deal with putting out comics, sequential illustration and visual art, paper-based artifacts.

• Breakdown Press, London. Art Director: Joe Kessler (Safari Festival, alt-comics and illust)
• Landfill Editions, Nottingham
• Nobrow Press, London
• Good Press, Glasgow
• Kus! Comics, Latvia
• Misma Editions, France
• Drawn & Quarterly, Canada

• Koyama Press, Canada
• Tan & Loose Press, Chicago U.S. (Clay Hickson) > The Smudge Paper

• Fantagraphics, U.S

Curation?

Galleries? Art directors? Exhibition organisers?

Editorial/Informative/Research-based

Newspapers and magazines?
Mould Map - publication series, Leon Sadler and Hugh Frost
Wrap Magazine - contemporary illustration
The Jaunt - travel and art
Creative Review

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The Task

• Identify a person you are going  to interview. Types of people: illustrator, practitioner, agency, publisher, creative director, art editors, curator. If from an organisation, who would I need to speak to from there?
• Produce a 500w report based on the interview; their journey and current position in industry. Why this person? Why is their career/field relevant to me?
• The report should be: relevant to you and your practice, supported by contextual research, illustrated (photos, images, screengrabs), structured. All within an ISSU document.
• Structure: Intro, rationale, main body, conclusion

How can you interview a person?

• Face to face
• Phone
• Skype
• Email
• Letter/handwritten

Dominic Kesterton | Visiting Lecturer

Today we had a talk from Dominic Kesterton. He is a freelance illustrator working in print and publication, editorial, as well as many applied and product illustration formats. 

Has created many self-initiated zines, and explored how comics could be made in a non-conventional way. Such as non-linear, non-narrative, and using panels unusually or not at all. I found this part to be really interesting.

[link]

Sometimes the publications he made weren't strictly comics at all, he described his publication called Hoss Bay about 'seaweed pickers' as more of an encyclopedia - a place for all of his illustrations and the world they come from to belong in. From sequential images, to character designs, to made-up languages and histories. All forming a way of telling a story or narrative in a more engaging, rich format!

I really love these images of Hoss Bay. Because of the meaning that has been created for this little book, it seems much more thought-out and has depth.

He also mentioned the use of simplified characters that didn't necessarily have a complete backstory, but just existed within the odd publication or illustrative piece. Referred to them as 'micro narratives'. 

With the 'resolved' pieces being very considered and controlled, he said the sketchbook is a place for him to be much more loose and playful with drawing. It didn't have to be perfect.

When working for clients, he said many pick and choose parts of his work that they enjoy. Some even send an image of a previous piece of work and say "we want this".
Personally, I would find this very frustrating. And it would suggest that they see the work as just an aesthetic or style, not as a meaningful/conceptual thing.

However, in some ways what I liked about his practice is that it could be made to suit many different purposes and contexts. Being placed in a magazine to accompany an article, or applied to apparel and other items, or even just as a printed piece of artwork.

Reading Articles

Reading this article from It's Nice That, and I think the content of the article isn't that forthright but I really enjoyed a response left by Rob Lowe (supermundane) regarding illustration and the topics addressed. In particular this bit:

"I agree that illustration needs to become better but that means people engaging with ideas over just style. For an illustrator to have a cohesive and critical outlook on life normally takes time, a lot longer than the four years given here from made-it-to-past-it.

If anything, many illustrators are given the limelight too early and maybe it would be better for them to be developing at a more natural rate and then promoted when their work actually means something and they have developed an opinion as well as a style."

Well done, Rob. This is important to me and has made me think.

Leeds Comic Fair

I've been interested in participating in this year's comic fair, thinking about creating work to display and sell. We were told that LCA would offer Level 5 and 6 students a number of tables, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to test run being a stall-holder at this type of event.

I've never been to this particular comic fair before, but I think that involving those in illustration will make the fair seem broader - involving print based media, and graphic/illustrative art - not just traditional comics.

Part of what we had to do was publicise the event, so I made some quick poster designs on the photocopier (DIY!!) and printed a few of them on coloured paper.

Above are some mockups I made from cutting out pieces of photocopied drawings I had made. I eventually chose one and put some around college. I chose to work in this way because it was a quick process, could be cheaply printed, and meant I couldn't spend too much time deliberating over when it was finished.

Jan Lenica

Ben recommended this Polish graphic designer to me, and I really enjoy his poster designs.
What I like is that the visuals take a front seat, really dominating the space of the page, with the information and type coming second.

Although I think it's important for posters to inform people of the event/purpose, I think part of what makes a good poster is its ability to draw people in for a closer look.

It seems like a lot of traditional media is used, such as brush and ink and collage. The jaunty, weird and slightly-off appearance really appeals to me. Posters don't have to be boring.

Tin Can Forest

Tin Can Forest is the name of Canadian artists Pat Shewchuk and Marek Colek who work collaboratively. Their work is interesting to me because their collective name encompasses a body of work that is cohesive, following a similar realm of themes and moods; relating to slavic folklore and the occult.

These themes seem deeply researched in their visual works, or as if they come from a place of interest because of the level of detail/authenticity to them.

As well as that, I find what they do to be appealing because it spans across more than one creative medium. From publishing books, prints and paper-based items, creating sequential illustration, to dabbling in animation and film. By working across all of these different formats it gives the 'world' they have created through their practice a greater level of depth.

Wax Cross (2012), cover and page

When thinking about my own practice I like the idea of working on many varied projects, not limiting myself to one 'type' of illustration or visual art. Tin Can Forest have worked with different writers, which in a way offers them the opportunity to put their visual stamp on and/or enhance someone else's concept through the use of illustration.

Being able to work on many different projects from interlinking fields of the creative industries is a very exciting possibility to me, allowing you to think in different ways and not always be doing the same thing. This would also bring about the chance to collaborate with those who have different skills from your own, such as those working in animation, design, etc.

What is a Witch (2016) cover

Stedelijk Museum | Karel Appel

The Appel Wall, Stedelijk website

Another artist that had their work exhibited at the museum was Karel Appel, and I was instantly taken with it. The childish, messy appearance of the paintings really appealed to me. They seemed very immediate, straight from Appel's head, and didn't come off like they needed to be understood or dissected by the viewer.

This huge wall mural was painted in 1956, and has been restored by the museum. Even though it was from over 60 years ago it looked so new and vibrant.

poster, 1962

Amongst Appel's inspirations are primitive art, children's drawings, and the artist Jean Dubuffet (art brut). Although his work faced a lot of negative criticism during the early years, I think it could very well appeal to contemporary audiences due to the graphic appearance. I like how the work isn't elitist, or staunch in its attitude. It's just expressive and, I think, made on a gut feeling.

Two Owls and Untitled