Creative Report

SB2 Creative Presence | Creative Report

Creative Presence | Contact

Here is evidence of my contact for the Creative Presence brief:

Left: 1st reply   Right: Questions

Unfortunately, despite sending a further email I've had no response. When it comes to writing my report I will focus on why I chose to contact them in the first place, as well as what they do as a company. This is a little disappointing however my reasons for contacting them in the first place still stand.

Creative Presence | Contacting Breakdown Press

Email

Here is a copy of the email I send to Breakdown Press...

Questions

If they respond to me, I have some questions lined up that I could ask them. I still have time to revise/reword these questions if necessary, but here is just the basic idea:

1. What is your experience of running an independent publishing company? Do you enjoy the collaborative elements of what you do?
2. The graphic novel/comics industry can often be very U.S.-centric, so I enjoy that you are a UK-based publisher that also works with international artists. How do you find new and exciting work from different places? and what do you make of the alternative comics scene in the UK?
3. How did you progress to the stage you're at now with the publishing business? Did you set out with this in mind?
4. What duties does running an independent press entail?
5. Discovering and reading graphic novels and sequential illustration only began for me when I started university. There's so much scope for what can be done both aesthetically and in terms of storytelling, and some of them are particularly memorable (Mark Beyer, Seth, Anna Haifisch, and Kramers Ergot to name a few!) What is the selection process like for deciding to publish a piece of work, and what makes you want to work with particular artists?
6. I read that Breakdown intends to expand into other kinds of publishing (photography, and other types of artist books, for example) - why do you think embracing many different creative disciplines is beneficial?

Creative Presence | Questions and Contacts

I'm thinking of contacting Breakdown Press as part of the interview task for this brief. I think they are an interesting publishing company, and it's a bonus that they are based in the UK. Also they are a little more different than if I was to just get in touch with another illustrator for example.

The reasons I am choosing to contact them are due to their involvement in publishing, comics/graphic art/illustration, as well as their values as independent publishers - only putting out work that they view as important, either in its aesthetic or communication.

Also the company started out of a personal interest in these forms of visual art, and some of them are artists in their own right (Joe Kessler).

          Contact Information:

          editors@breakdownpress.com

          Breakdown Press, 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR

Although I would like the actual interview to be conducted via email so it's all in one place, I'm considering posting something to them. I think that would be a nice personal gesture, and is more likely to be picked up and read than a message sat in an inbox. As well as that, a letter or package can be visually engaging as well as it having some personality.

I'm quite nervous about the idea but I think being able to do this would be beneficial for me.

          What questions could I ask?

• What is the most important or appealing aspects of comics for you?

• In terms of work, what kind of thing stands out to you the most?
• Where do you see comics/graphic art/illustration progressing to next?
• How did you get to where you are now?
• What duties does running an independent press entail?
• How do you discover new and exciting work?
• What's the most rewarding part of what you do
• Collaboration and working with others. What examples of this happens in the line of work you do?

Creative Presence | Researching

Comics publisher based in London.

Breakdown Press is run by directors Tom Oldham and Simon Hacking, and art director Joe Kessler - who also authored Breakdown Press' first comic Windowpane.

Breakdown Press website

What interests me most about them is that their business stems from a personal interest in the comics and illustration medium. They only put out work that they deem as interesting or important.

Extracts from It's Nice That article:

Is there anything in particular, aesthetic or narrative style for example, that you consider when looking for and working with comics artists?

No, it's really simple I think, we aren't looking for a particular aesthetic; its more work that we think is great, really, and different.....it's just stuff that we think is important. So artists that have a unique, defined voice who are formally pushing stuff, and a personal vision that is eloquent, accessible, engaging and just good. People like Antione Cosse, Connor Willumsen, Ines Estrada, Conor Stechschulte, Richard Short, Lala Albert

Comics are an inherently personal medium, and so, hopefully, the work we champion is difficult to categorise...In terms of a Breakdown aesthetic, as well as quality of craft and vision and everything, it's artists who have the idea of the whole book in their heads. You can feel that they're thinking about everything, not just the surface of the drawing or the story but the whole shebang

Could you tell us a bit about your role as art director? (Joe Kessler)

Tom and Simon are the directors of the company, but I'm more opinionated when it comes to the visuals, and maybe more knowledgable in terms of production stuff. I discuss the design of the books with the artists but mostly the artists are good designers and do all the work. I just offer opinions which they ignore. 

Could you tell us about Safari Festival, the comics fair you run?

Tom and Simon curated it, there wasn't unlimited space and we wanted it to be consistent in terms of quality. I find some of these shows can be totally inconsistent and we wanted to buck that trend. There's really quite a vibrant scene in the UK at the moment with lots of different strange people making comics and we wanted to bring them all together and get an idea of what contemporary British comics could be. It's so disparate and mixed up that it's not exactly clear. Which is healthy I think.

Breakdown Press' new partnership with Fantagraphics:

"Breakdown is the UK's most ambitious, progressive, and editorially risk-taking comics publisher, so it was logical to partner with someone we considered a kindred spirit" said Fantagraphics President Gary Groth. "We look forward to getting their books and authors the wider readership in the US that they deserve"

"Fantagraphics are known for working with the best cartoonists in the world and so Breakdown's books will be a perfect fit" said Breakdown Press editor Tom Oldham "We're excited to be working with Fantagraphics to bring our books to a wider audience in North America".

It's Nice That interview [link]

The Comics Journal interview [link]

Breakdown Press partnership with Fantagraphics article [link]

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