The Illustrators Journal Fall 2019

FALL 2019

the journal LevinLand’s

JULIA SIDNEVA

Upcoming Russian Artist

Illustrators

Light Master

BRUCE MUNRO

TANYA MARRIOT Unique Toy& Puppet Creations

ROLLI

Art & Words WENDY EDELSON True Pro Glasgow School of Art's:

MATTHIAS HILLNER

Front Cover Art : Chor Boogie

Co-Publisher/Editor Gregg Masters

The Illustrators Journal/Fall 2019

Publisher/Creative Director Lon Levin Contributing Writer Leslie Cober-Gentry Contributing Writer Heather Leary Sonia Simon "Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." — John Wooden

All the work depicted in this magazine are the property of the artists who created the work and cannot be used in any way without the expressed written permission of the publisher and artists.

JULIA SIDNEVA Imaginative Russian artist Julia works in pencil, pen and water color to make her art come to life TANYA MARRIOT Creating Dolls & Puppets that come to life on stage and film..

ROLLI Born to think. Rolli is a poet, writer and artist who mixes insights, wit and delightful pen and ink art SONYA SIMON Sonya's "Je ne sais quoi" gives us a lot of design and artwork from her very unique world.

WENDY EDELSON Wendy's kidlit artwork is traditional, warm and fuzzy and extremely appealing to children and adults alike MATTHIAS HILLNER The Director of the Glasgow School of Art in Singapore talks design, art and education with us.

BRUCE MUNRO British artist Munro is an experiential light installation artist famed throughout the world for his masterful work.

JOHN CUNEO Contributing writer Leslie Cober-Gentry talks with one of the best political satirist artist working today.

it's just

my opinion

by Lon Levin

trying to master the drawing of eyes, noses, torsos and the dreaded hands. I still think I'm not very good at drawing classically but at least I can make something look like it's supposed to. As I said that's not the reason I'm an artist and I maintain that no you don't need to draw like a master to be a great artist. But it would help to at least know what it takes to be one. So no, if you want to be an artist, then be one.

Two things I hear all the tme from friends, students and aspiring artists of all ages... "Do I need to know how to draw in order to be an artist?" and "I could never be an artist because I can't draw a straight line." Now I'm not so sure what drawing a straight line has to do with being an artist but these two questions are really silly.

Let's take the first question. "Do I need to know how to draw in order to be an artist?" The short answer is no. In fact a lot of today's most creative artist wouldn't know what grade of pencil to use from another, let alone pen nibs, conte crayons or prismacolors. Ok but stop there,because I'm someone who went through classic drawing programs copying the Masters like Rembrandt, Durer and Watteau. I can't tell you how many hours I spent

The second statement is the sillier of the two. I've always found it a little condescending. It implies a complete lack of care or knowledge about what it takes to be an artist. Almost as if, we artists are another breed of person who is not really connected to "real" society or as my unenlightned father used to say "the real world". That creative people are someone fortunate to have such a great talent because without that they'd probably be total failures. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Some of the most creative people in the world are also the smartest and have succeeded wildly in the "so called" business world. The fact is, drawing a straight line has nothing to do with anything. It is certainly not a measure of being an artist. To be an artist at any level takes imagination, vision and a will to never give up. So, the next time someone says I can't be an artist because I can't draw a straight line just tell them if they have an imagination, a vision and a will to be great they can be an artist, otherwise they should just keep their day job.

JULIA SIDNEVA WITH STYLE

"It was because of the big influence of the Polish illustration school that I finally found the way I want to develop my style. "

When did you first think about art as something you wanted to do? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers?

It is difficult to answer this question precisely, it seems that this idea was with me from birth.

My most favorite children's entertainment is to be alone with papers and pencils. My Parents immediately appreciated this state of affairs, because I could entertain myself for hours on my own (laughs). And then everything is simple: every year I grew and changed, but my love for drawing remained unchanged, so neither I nor my family had any options. And it's silly not +to do your favorite thing and do something else.

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up? What were your influences?

I grew up in Soviet Moscow in a normal quiet apartment area. I dreamed a lot, I thought that someone was living under the bed, I was bored at school. And for the whole summer I was sent to my grandmother in the village and there my favorite place was a huge pile of building sand in front of the house. It was possible to build entire cities and highways.

I painted all the time, I made up small plots, ironic scenes, for a long time I wanted to become a multiplier. When it became clear that being a professional artist was inevitable, my parents sent me to art school. Most of all I was interested in the image of any living beings, their characters, dynamics. I remember well a still life with a stuffed crow, which almost no one could do, but I was delighted. My classmates asked me to help when the teacher left the classroom.

I could not refuse them, and instead of drawing one crow, I drew a 5 or 6!

But a really big influence on me was the education at Moscow University of Press.

It was a time of real discovery! Elena Nenastina has become my main teacher, with whom I was already a wonderful friend.

Has the computer affected your work? Do you work traditionally and digitally?

Of course! I draw pictures on paper, but always modify them in graphic editors. Sometimes it's hard to see. First of all, I make the image clean, bright, remove unwanted garbage: random lines, splashes. A few years ago, I stopped at this. Now I increasingly combine drawing with computer graphics, it helps to achieve original effects and textures.

You do a lot of whimsical art. How did that happen?

I don't think that I do whimsical art. But I am primarily interested in character, emotion, moments. Always loved to watch different types of personality and explore their characters. That is why I often make sketches of the life of my city on the street or in transport - this is the greatest pleasure and entertainment for me. This is my personal library of characters! I think the plot is secondary, so all the attention in my illustrations is directed to the characters, and the environment and interiors are very conditional, without details.

Still important to me is the composition of the image. This is primarily an analytical work. I love the combination of emotionality and analytics in illustration and I try to work actively in these two areas.

What do you do to promote yourself to get work? Have you worked for Western counties like America, England and France?

I show a lot of my work at Russian and international exhibitions, sometimes I participate in markets, I show city sketches in social networks.

Sometimes I have individual exhibitions in Russia. I always have a job here, but I haven’t cooperated with foreign publishers yet, but I would really like it. I think this is the next step in my professional development.

What’s the future hold for you? Any ultimate goal?

Everything is very simple. I would like to grow to the world-famous illustrator!

Your style is very unique. Did you work on developing a style or is that what naturally came out of you?

Undoubtedly, my style was influenced by 6 years of study at the Moscow State University of Press named after Ivan Fedorov, founded in 1930.

The University emerged from a creative professional association that can be considered the first largescale design workshop in Russia.

The ideas were close to the principles of the German Bauhaus school. The first teachers of the graphic faculty were the famous graphics of the Soviet Union, and the first dean was Alexander Rodchenko.

I was lucky to learn from teachers who were students of the most progressive

theorists and practitioners of illustration in the USSR. This is a powerful composition base. This is the development of expressive images. This is a great foundation for an illustrator. I am proud of my school.At the same time, the tradition of Soviet graphics is very strong at the university of print, naturally this reflects on the drawing style of students and graduates. Therefore, several years after university, I wanted to make my drawings more modern and relevant. I am working on it so far, I try to study modern world illustration, I watch a lot of my Western colleagues. I want my style to remain recognizable, but at the same time I change a little bit all the time.

I think it is very important to discover something new all the time and respond to the demands of modernity without changing yourself.

"Undoubtedly, my style was influenced by 6 years of study at the Moscow State University of Press"

Tanya

MARRIOT

When did you first think about art/dollmaking as something you wanted to do? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors? Anyone stand out as a supporter?

I started making dolls when I was about 10 years old when I went to a school holiday doll making workshop for a day - we painted porcelain pieces and made a baby doll. I was really intrigued with the process and came home and had a go at making my own doll. I have been making little critters in Fimo, so I had a crack at sculpting a head, hands and feet, with a soft body construction and hand-sewn clothing. I made “Will Scarlet” played

by Christian Slater in the Robin Hood film - now I’m showing my age!!! I took it back to the doll shop to show my tutors. One of the doll shop owners told me it was the most horrific thing they had ever seen!!! The other thought it was wonderful. She became my life long mentor and supporter, we have been friends for 30 years now :) My parents encouraged all of my wild creations. My mum is a textile designer and taught me to sew, and dad the engineer helped me with construction problems. They used to joke that my bedroom was like a museum and that they could sell tickets. They were immensely proud, even if they didn’t always get what I was making. My husband

Garry is my most stand-out supporter, he keeps me grounded and helps me to refine my craft. We share a studio together and often collaborate on projects.

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up?

What were your influences?

I was a very outgoing and noisy kid, always busy making something. I grew up in Taranaki and Wellington in New Zealand. All of my childhood homes backed onto farm or forest land, so I spent my childhood outdoors building tree forts with the local kids. My indoor time was spent sculpting, sewing and drawing, and building very badly made cardboard models! I was really into conservation and was a member of the Kiwi Conservation club, I was also a keen reader of fantasy novels. The Lord of the Rings was my ultimate favourite and the Dragonlance series, and my earliest dolls were characters from these books. Later on I was lucky to get work at Weta Workshop on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and more recently I did some volunteer work with Kakapo recovery - I feel my doll work has enabled me to come full circle to achieve my childhood dreams.

shows a signature style, so I worked really hard to define a style that was uniquely my own. I found drawing my ideas out before sculpting really helped to keep my design on track in the development process.

Although trained in design, my dolls were always developed organically, as a reaction to what I was feeling when I worked with clay and fabric. The key I found to developing my style was ensuring I planned my designs, and staying true to the design schema throughout the making process.

Your work is whimsical. How did that happen?

My design aesthetic is guided by magical realism. I ground my characters within a believable reality, often referencing the lives and ecosystems of existing species, and then add a fantastical element. I am really interested in the notion of Kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and the relationships between my characters and those who protect, guide and nurture them. I use my characters to discuss difficult conservation narratives such as predation and habitat destruction, so I use the playfulness of my designs to engage the audience to empathize with my characters and their plight, and to take the time to stop and listen to their stories.

Your style is very unique. Did you work on developing a style or is that what naturally came out of you?

For years I just focused on becoming a better dollmaker and crafter - I honed my sculpting skills, and refined my modelmaking to build more elaborate and technically complicated pieces. I made a lot of dolls that were riders, so I needed to work out how to make animal characters, as well as making pieces that were structurally strong. For years my work was very dark and gothic - it was an aesthetic of the time and many of my fellow artists worked in a similar style. About 15 years ago I started to combine my doll and toy aesthetic together. I had been working in the toy industry and I was keen to try making more toy like designs. I was really inspired by the character personification that toys and dolls for play have. I was very keen to play with colour and more pure shape language. I wanted to develop a style that had shapes that were proportionately iconic (I was inspired by the golden section) and I wanted to bridge the gap between doll and toy. I was very inspired by the pop-surreal movement and my artist heros are Nathan Jurevicius, Tara McPherson, Jeff Soto and Femke Hiemstra. By then I was making almost exclusively anthropomorphic characters, I find animal shapes and textures really fascinating, and they have so much scope for characterisation. In 2011 I joined the National Institute of American Doll Artists as an artist member, it is a requirement for membership that our work

Has the computer affected your work? Do you work traditionally and digitally?

Computers have completely revolutionised my work! I still work in both traditional polymer clays and 3D printed resins, both have benefits in my making process and yield different aesthetics. I work in Maya and Zbrush and I work in Maya and Zbrush and then 3D print on a Formlabs

(Continued) Form 2 printer. We call it the “magic cupboard”.

You send files down a usb cable to a cupboard, then several hours later a tangible design appears! I love being able to scale and iterate my work, and the digital pipeline enables me to do this. I can work with the same character and re-pose them in different dimensional illustrations and then print them out. I have made automata, and Zoetropes using 3D printers that would been incredibly difficult to make by hand. I still paint and costume all my dolls and toy by hand, and just use 3D printing in the sculpting process. I also sculpt by hand, but I find the output is slightly wonky and not symetrical - my hands shake a bit, but I see this as all part of the physical authenticity of the piece. I find nothing beats being able to see your work tangibly, and I find when I am working with polymer clay pieces I am definitely more experimental, as I still tend to work out the design as I am going along.

What’s going on in your head when you work on a piece? Your fears, anticipation, confidence, etc. How do you know something is finished?

Something is finished when it hits the deadline! I am a bit of a night owl and I tend to keep working on my dolls right up until the moment they head to the gallery. I find doll-making really cathartic, and very really do I love the process. I find my technical limitations frustrating sometimes, and I need to take the time to do each step properly, especially where sometimes I am just too eager to get to the next step.

Sometimes a doll just doesn’t speak to me and I need to put it aside and work on something else. I often work on several pieces at once so that I can vary the work. Even if I do put a doll down, I will go back and finish it. Some of my most favourite pieces are remade dolls.

What does the future hold for your puppetry and film-making?

We are seeing quite a resurgence for the handmade and tangible puppets, prosthetics and models being used within film and animation. Tangible designs are real, they are governed by real world physics and can do some really unexpected things when challenged.

I think audiences are looking for something more real.

Digital effects and characters are amazing, and it is incredible what you can do in a CGI environment, this is also based on reality - but a more hyper fabricated reality.

I feel there is nothing like working with the actual source material in front of the camera, and witnessing the serendipitous moments that only happen by happenstance in the “real world”. I have shot a few puppet films and it is amazing how quickly the characters become real living breathing actors. The magic begins when you start to play with the object.

I’m curious about how you choose what to work on.

What does your process entail? Start to finish. Can you give us a short step-by-step? Either a personal project or an assignment.

Most of my characters are designed as character sets, with variations on the same scene so I can explore different personalities within each design. I generally start with a brief as to what I am going to create a doll or a toy.

I spend time exploring the world they might inhabit, their environment, social structure, species, character personality, and then I start to draw. My drawings are usually quite rough and sketchy and they serve as a shorthand blueprint for the design that I’m going to make. The next stage is sculpture. Whether I am working in digital or physical clay, I start with a head and then move onto the hands and feet. Depending on whether the body is solid or fabric sculpture I will create a wire armature base which I will wrap with batting and fabric to build up the musculature and the body. Sometimes I will build up the body with epoxy clay to make a solid form and then sculpt back into the surface. I tend not to have a consistent form of making, rather I adapt it to what is required for each figure. Next, I sculpt hair, and then I begin to paint the figures. I use acrylic paint, and build it up with a dry brush technique, and then seal it with a matte coating. The costuming comes last and this is one of my most favourite parts of the process as this is where the character ready gets its personality, and I get to play with how they pose and how they look. Sometimes the character will start standing and I will adjust its position to sitting as I’m developing it in order to get the pose to best suit the story it needs to tell. I collect a lot of vintage fabrics and materials which are used to build the costumes.

What do you do to promote yourself and get work? Do you work worldwide?

I am an artist member of the National Institute of American doll artists and I exhibit with them annu ally in the USA and in Europe at a variety of doll shows. I have had my work published in various magazines and books through the years and through these opportunities I have built-up

a following, and have been picked up by a variety of galleries through these connections. I promote my work mainly on Instagram currently but I do use Facebook as a way of documenting my process. I am part of several New Zealand based creative communities which collectively help to give exposure to me work. In my professional work I am a senior lecturer in design, teaching into concept design for animation, toy and game.

My character designs are part of my research work, so I also attend academic conferences to discuss the power of characters as communicators. I had my first solo show in 2003 in New Zealand I lived in Canada and the UK which really helped to connect me with the international character world. I have also participated in the Pictoplasma character Academy in Berlin, and exhibitions at Stranger Factory and Mothership Gallery which has opened up some amazing opportunities to exhibit with fellow international toy designers.

What’s the future hold for you? Any ultimate goal?

My immediate goal is to complete my PhD!. My project looks at how to effectively design toys with eco-fiction narratives, that encourage children to play in the outdoors.

I see this as a wonderful opportunity for me to develop a variety of character designs and toy ranges that have been in my head for a really long time. I am doing my PhD part time while I’m teaching so I have another four years to go.

Long term, when I’m old and grey I would like to retire to a remote island and run an artist retreat and work on designing my dolls and toys full time. In the midterm I really love the academic life, mentoring and supporting young designers in developing characters and worlds and telling amazing stories.

If you could meet anyone in the field you’re in who would it be and why?

I feel I’ve been incredibly privileged to have met many of my design heroes so I think the one person I would love to meet with the Lauren Faust who was the designer for the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic reboot. I am a huge My Little Pony fan, and have a large collection of the first generation ponies. I would love to talk with her about her design process and her reasoning behind the world she created for the new ponies. I have also recently been down a rabbit hole collecting artwork and researching toy industry packaging illustrators. In the 1980s almost all toy packages had hand illustrated watercolour images, which set the context for the product. The work is amazing! And I would love to meet and talk to these illustrators.

ROLLI

by Lon Levin

I grew up on the Canadian prairies. Roughly in the middle of nowhere. On a little farm, a grain farm.

Wheat fields, flax fields. I was asthmatic, not much help to anyone, and left mostly to my own devices. As children will, I made my own fun. Drawing, reading, daydreaming… I lapsed into imagination.

I’m not sure what influenced me and what didn’t, but I’ve always enjoyed old school cartoonists like Chaz Addams and James Thurber. Cartoonists are a dime a dozen, but stylists are rare birds. Dodos, almost.

The first poet I loved was Poe. He’s still a favorite.

I like Shakespeare quite a bit. And Agatha Christie.

Your style is very unique. Did you work on developing a style or is that what naturally came out of you?

It reminds me a lot of John Lennon’s work. Any connection there?

When did you first think about art as something you wanted to do? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?

I don't know. Somehow it turns out that such images arise in my head. It will be necessary to go to the doctor.

I didn’t begin to draw in earnest, or write, until my mid-twenties. This was during a long convalescence. I was a scribbler before that, a practiced doodler - - - and many other things, besides.

I don’t remember ever receiving a word of encouragement. As I’ve always written (and drawn) to please myself, that didn’t dissuade me.

If teachers saw potential in me - - - perhaps they did - - they kept it to themselves.

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up?

What were your influences?

I was a solitary child. A daydreamer. A manufacturer of mischief. I haven’t changed much, I don’t think.

I’m not deliberate. Not about anything. Intuitive. I’m an intuitive person. For better or worse, my style is a natural one, and my own.

I like Mr. Lennon’s music very much. The Beatles, very much. The White Album - - - that’s a good one.

I don’t know much about his artwork, I’m afraid. I’ll look into it.

I

You do a lot of whimsical art. How did that happen?

I’m beginning to suspect that I must be a whimsical person. I really do try to draw things as I see them.

Has the computer affected your work? Do you work traditionally and digitally?

I draw the old fashioned way - - - that’s ink on paper - - with minimal digital touchups.

The difficulty is… Digital illustrations look wonderful.

They also, to my eye, stylistically, look identical. Magazine illustrations in particular have never looked better - - or more homogenous. I expect that, in ten years’ time, everything will be AI-generated, and look phenomenal.

As far as writing goes… I used to scribble everything

down in beautiful notebooks then lose the notebooks.

The novelty of that wears off. Everything goes onto a laptop now. Those are somewhat harder to lose.

What’s going on in your head when you work on a piece? Your fears, anticipation, confidence, etc. How do you know something is finished?

I work on something until I get bored of it. If the piece is still unfinished, I toss it. If it’s finished, I’ll either toss it or, if I like it well enough, keep it. Most everything gets tossed out. I’m not easily impressed by anything on this planet, and that extends to my own work.

Nothing particularly goes on in my head when I’m working. “As we suspected,” said the critics, nodding in unison.

"Cartooning was an arduous climb up the ladder. Several rungs were missing."

Do you prefer writing/poetry to art or vice versa or are they on equal footing?

keep the best one. The rest I incinerate. I don’t recycle them, unfortunately. It’s not cathartic.

I enjoy both - - - most of the time. Writing and cartooning, they’re tricky businesses. Trickier still, if you aren’t mediocre.

Writing involves a lot more daydreaming, and less incineration. On a good day.

Maintaining enchantment is key. If I find myself growing disenchanted with one field, I switch to the other.

Once I’m disenchanted with that one, I switch back.

It helps keep things fresh.

I’m curious about how you choose what to work on.

What does your process entail? Start to finish. Can you give us a short step-by-step?

Well, as far as cartoons go… I daydream until I come up with something. It isn’t very scientific. I have a phobia of pencils, and work exclusively with ink. I’ll redraw a given cartoon up to 24 times, and

What do you do to promote yourself and get work? Do you work worldwide or exclusively in the States?

Cartooning was an arduous climb up the ladder. Several rungs were missing. Once my work started appearing in bigger outlets… It may sound strange, but I was contacted by an elite group of cartoonists who share market information and opportunities. It’s a secret society of sorts - - - I can’t say much more about it - - - but that association has made things easier. And now that I’ve teamed up with Cartoon Collections, my published work can be viewed and licensed by anyone on the planet.

I mostly work for U.S. magazines and newspapers - - that’s where the market is - - - but I also publish a fair bit in the U.K. and Australia, and sporadically in Italy, India, China and Canada.

What’s the future hold for you? Any ultimate goal?

Who can say? I’m fortunate enough to have had a number of books published. Over a dozen, though, are still unpublished. A story collection, a poetry collection, ten-or-so children’s books. Virtually all of my best work has never been seen. Finding a home for it… That’s my immediate and ultimate goal, always. My dream.

I’ve done an enormous number of cartoons, too. For The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, The Harvard Business Review and others. I’d like to put out a collection of those one day.

I’d enjoy, also, traveling from country to country, sampling desserts. I’m a great fan of cake. Chocolate in particular. A Grand Dessert Tour. It would be wonderful.

If you could meet anyone in the field you’re in, who would it be and why?

James Thurber. For his cartoons and humorous writings, both. The Years with Ross - - - that’s a good one. My Life and Hard Times - - - that’s even better.

His literary style is elegant. His drawing style crude and beautiful.

But he isn’t much read anymore, Thurber. Of course, he’s been dead for ages. I liked The New Yorker a lot better when it was a humor magazine. There’s already an Enquirer, a Time. Tragic masks are the fashion.

Perhaps that will change one day. Perhaps not.

Je ne sais Quoi

by Sonia Simon

This past January, on a cold winter night in Portland, Maine, I stumbled upon these treelights, dancing against slate rooftops. The delicate texture and shapes just made me smile in spite of the minus 17 degrees weather.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.�

-- Albert Albert Einstein Einstein

As a designer, trend forecaster, activist, Sonia Simon links art, fashion, design and consumer culture to provide lifestyle concepts for leading brands. Fueled by an extreme sense of curiosity and an inquisitive eye, she searches for signals that tell us things are changing and creates unique environments blending past and contemporary design. A trend researcher and creative product developer, she navigates between different cultures. with the wanderlust of a cosmopolitan. Her aim is to offer concepts that help others see the world through different lenses honoring great design traditions while remaining ahead of the future and being conscious of the dark consequences that our footprint is causing on Earth. Un Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi, touches on the unexpected, out of the ordinary with a cosmopolitan flair and highlights edgy design trends in art, fashion and interiors.

Drawing from nature’s magical palette I photograph during my travels, I picked a few shades for my new upholstery line of textiles for FALL 2020.

Recently in Mexico I found unique interior light fixtures functioning more as sculptures which are elegant and ideal for a more subdued atmosphere.

ART FAIR SEASON At the Zona Maco fair in Mexico City, I noticed new embroidered and tapestry works from emerging artists Mitchell Anderson and Carlos Luna. The great textile artist Olga de Amaral, in a completely different genre, and now officially retired, had also a few pieces left on the market. For its first Los Angeles launch, Frieze art fair was all the buzz at Paramount Studios and brought the expected stellar galleries from NY and London. Rumor had it at the VIP opening, (more a cocktail party scene), that all

Bruce Conner

major work had already been sold.

Except for gems from the talented Michal Rovner at Pace, or the late Bruce Conner drawings, there were few discoveries. Both artists share a sense of timelessness and universality which stands

Carlos Luna

Mitchell Anderson

Olga de Amaral

out. Do Ho Suh’s rendition of smoke detectors in polyester fabric, from all the various homes he has lived in, was also simply magical.

Do Ho Suh

Michal Rovner

The LA Felix Art Fair, free and open to the public, was set in the restored Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and brought dealers showing a mix of emerging galleries in bedroom and suites, an affordable option for dealers hard-up for cash. If you are what I call “ecologic,” you too can create an iconic work of art with a $3.99 soft drink of your choice.

Who knows, it might even sell at Sotheby’s in twenty years or less for $ 390,000.00! As they say “Il fallait y penser”!

For my taste I prefer the ingenuity of Kim McConnell, a seminal artist of the Pattern and Decoration movement; ahead of his time and still going strong.

Kim MacConnell’s lamp and rug detail

Voila for my introduction of Je Ne Sais Quoi.

Stay tuned for more on fashion, food, art & interiors. A bientot!

- Sonia

Wendy

edelson

An Interview with Lon Levin

ARTWORK THAT WARMS THE HEART When did you first think about art as something you wanted to do? Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?

I started drawing when I was two. Almost all children start scribbling around that age but I began in the back of the family station wagon when we moved from New York City to Southern California. To keep me entertained ( quiet ) I was given paper and pencils and began drawing mothers holding babies, animals, children playing, the landscape out the windows…I would hand my drawings up to my parents in the front seat, and from what they tell me,,, they were very surprised. My parents both had wanted to be artists, my Dad a sculptor, my Mom a fashion designer… so they were very aware,

of art and drawing.

I never stopped after that fateful cross country trip.

My Dad had a sort of studio in our garage and he mostly carved large figures in wood, from fallen trees. I would draw there, to be with him. I remember being tired and saying I was going to go in the house and he looked at my drawing and said, “ NO! you cannot stop until you get that foreshortening of the foot right! To be a great artist you must first be a great draughtsman, you must draw, draw, draw and make sure the anatomy is correct… that your figures can STAND on those legs… until then, any technique is worthless, color is meaningless…. The drawing, the skeleton MUST be accurate!!!!” He was very passionate and not kidding, so I’d stayed and drew until he told me it was good My family was enormously encouraging and never said I should, “ learn X in case

the art didn’t work out, so I’d have something to fall back on”, like many well meaning parents do. They were kind of all or nothing people.

When I was in seventh grade a friend of mine’s father was a fairly well known painter. After a while I’d just go visit him in his studio. He introduced me to mediums other than pencils, like pen and ink and technical pens and gouache and watercolors.

I was very fortunate and was surrounded by people who encouraged and supported me.

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up? What were your influences?

I was very fortunate and was surrounded by people who encouraged and supported me. To be honest, I was a kind of strange kid. I was an only child, the daughter of two bohemian parents who had no interest at all in “ fitting in “. I was a loner and spent virtually all my time drawing.

I went from kindergarten straight into the second grade

so I was always younger than the other children. I grew up in Chatsworth, California. My Dad used to go to yard sales and estate sales all the time and brought me an OLD encyclopaedia for children called The Wonder Book of Knowledge, which was filled with engravings and B & W drawings and color plates by artists like Howard Pyle, the pre-Raphalite Brotherhood and Arthur Rackham. I was positively smitten and he brought me all the books he could find by them. I particularly loved “The Wonder Clock” by Howard Pyle and also the wonderful fairy tales from Russian illustrators.

All of these influenced me greatly, the strong drawing , design and detail, imagination, and pattern!

"To be honest, I was a kind of strange kid."

You do a lot of whimsical art work. How did that happen? Do you prefer kidlit art to other forms?

I really love drawing and painting the subject matter that often lends itself to children’s books, fairy tales and fables, natural animals or animals in outfits, magical creatures, children and elderly people, forests and gardens, imaginary scenes…I didn’t really start out wanting to illustrate children’s books…rather I wanted to draw and paint what appealed to me and it naturally led to children’s books. A lot of my work has also been licensed for puzzles, decorative items, fabrics…a lot of various applications.

Has the computer affected your work? Do you work traditionally and digitally?

I work traditionally almost exclusively. I use PhotoShop to clean up pencil drawings, occasionally flop or shrink/enlarge elements in a sketch and I print my final pencil drawings which I often change to a light

sepia onto 140# Arches hot press watercolor paper on a wide format printer. From then on, it’s all watercolor and often some acrylic gouache when I want to paint lights over darks, like sunlit leaves What’s going on in your head when you work on a piece? Your fears, anticipation, confidence , etc.

How do you know something is finished?

The drawing is the work, it requires much more focus and more quiet. When it flows it is pure joy, other times a hand needs to be drawn 20 times until it just “ feels” right. The painting is my favorite part, I just love everything about it. While I’m painting I often

(continued from previous page) watch British mystery series or listen to audio books… often times a particular bit will become somehow embedded in the painting and I can look at a particular section of a painting and the scene from the movie or passage from a book will come flooding back! The piece just tells me when it is finished, and I’ve learned to listen.

Your work is reminiscent of classic warm and fuzzy children’s art. Is that intentional? Who if anyone influences your work?

Not really intentional, it’s just how I see the world. I really would enjoy creating some “ fantasy art” projects but a lot of them need to be kind of dark and I just don’t pull that off very convincingly.

As I mentioned before, early on I was influenced by the pre-Raphaelites like John Waterhouse, Millais and Burne-Jones…also William Morris, Arthur Rackham and Howard Pyle, Norman Rockwell and Maurice Sendak.

I’m curious about how you choose what to work on. What’s does your process entail? Start to finish. Can you give us a short step-by-step?

A lot of my work over the years has chosen me. As a working artist, besides being my avocation and calling, it has also been my means of support. Luckily for me, as time has gone by, because of my very particular and recognizable style, the projects that come my way are ones that I am happy working on. No one ever comes to me for an edgy, very graphic digital illustration with no detail!

When I begin a project there is usually a period of percolating and marinating…if it is a commercial piece, an editorial or advertising piece that is usually very short as those generally have tighter deadlines. Then I begin looking for reference photographs, medieval villages, elephants, bumblebees, oak trees, people leaping….I don’t look to copy photographs but rather to look at the form of a wing, the texture of that particular bark, anatomical information.

Then I begin scribbling. At first it is blobs which represent people, things, animals …just to get the rhythm of the piece, pieces, the book. If it is a book I need to get to know the characters… what do the people look like, who are they? Sometimes I’ll write little bios for them, for myself to help me know their personalities and how they carry themselves…all the little details that contribute to how I draw them.

My favorite projects are those stories written without many adjectives or adverbs. One of my heroes is author/illustrator and Caldecott Medal winner, Uri Shulevitz who wrote a book called “Writing With Pictures”. In it he describes how words and illustrations in a picture book should be like a string of pearls, that the illustrations should SHOW things that the words do not SAY, so together words and pictures create the book. When I receive a story to illustrate I am overjoyed if the words just say, “ Joe”, and I can show that Joe is tall and gangly and has red hair that sticks up and a long, sad face.

From there I continue tightening and refining the sketches , adding detail, light and shadow. Eventually I feel the sketches are finished and then I submit them to the Art /Creative Director with whom I am working. If I am supremely fortunate they will tell me they LOVE my sketches and to go PAINT!!!!

Often times some changes will be made, usually fairly minor and relatively painless….VERY ( luckily ) occasionally major changes will be requested and then one complies, happy that no one is a fly on the studio walls.

Finally the go ahead is given and the painting can begin. I scan my very finished pencil drawings, clean up unnecessary pencil lines, fix previously unseen tangent, ghosts etc. and scan them, and colorize the sketch to a light brown Then I staple the printed sketch onto a brown gatorboard panel and slosh water all over it. When it dries, it is tight and will not ripple or buckle under subsequent wash.

Depending on the image, sometimes I will paint a very light blue or raw sienna wash over the entire piece. Also, at that point I might apply frisket, masking fluid to certain details, areas that I want to remain untouched as I apply washes to the surrounding areas.

From that point on I apply many light layers, glazes, of watercolor, building up the color and working all over the painting.

My process is slow, but I am pretty fast at it, and it makes me happier than almost anything else.

When they are finished I scan them at a high resolution and send them to the publisher via an ftp service, or occasionally send the publisher the actual completed paintings… and feel a sense of accomplishment that another book has been completed but also feel a bit adrift and overwhelmed at the thought of beginning the whole process again. When I finish a book very late at night it’s a little weird, there one is, finished, after many months of work and one is just simply finished There is only the finished work and the silence, broken only be a softly snoring dog…. Once to remedy that my husband made me a recording of a cheering crowd, rousing applause. I feel silly playing it but it makes me smile just to know I can, What do you do to promote yourself and get work?

Have you worked for publishers in European countries like England or France? If not would you want to?

Not nearly enough. For most of my career I have had agents who took care of that for me, but at the moment I am unrepresented. I think about promo campaigns and mailings, postcards, portfolio sites, looking for new representation but I am currently busy with several projects so I tell myself maybe in the Fall since Summer in publishing is so sleepy.

I have never worked for any English, or French publishers, but would love to. Many European books are very beautiful. There is a Russian publisher who is publishing some wonderful children’s books… I would jump at the chance to work with them given my love for Russian illustrated children’s books, fairy tales, and admiration for what they are publishing now.

What’s the future hold for you? Any ultimate goal?

Good things! I am involved in several projects that I am loving and the beginnings of something very special. Ultimately, I would love to author, not only illustrate picture books.

If you could meet anyone in the field you’re in who would it be and why?

I would love to meet Uri Shulevitz. He really

brought home the magic and joy of picture books as an art form to me. His own illustrations and words are beautiful and clear and full of emotion and sweetness. I would love to thank him for being such an inspiration.

"My process is slow, but I am pretty fast at it, and it makes me happier than almost anything else."

Matthias Hillner Supreme Educator years, I forced myself to push my typography and layout skills. Connecting typography with multimedia and digital technologies was just another step for me. Animating type on screen allowed me to explore aesthetic experiences which static information could not produce. Using means of animation, and through the orchestrated fluctuation of visual ambiguity, I tried to emulate the aesthetic impact which good quality photography can produce through atmospheric means such as light, depth, selective focus, obscurity.

How did that evolve into the position you hold now?

When did you first think about design as a profession and writing about design and typography as something you wanted to do?

To begin with, I was simply looking for ways of using my creative capabilities as much as possible.

My art teacher in school warned me not to become an artist, because earning a living was thought to be far from easy. When I asked him about design, I was told that this would be a much better option. In retrospect I also realized how important design is for culture and society, for innovation and for creating sustainable futures. My problem was that to study design in Germany requires having an internship. As I could not secure any, I decided to train in advertising photography first, before embarking upon my design education. I did not know anything about typography and of its cultural significance until I was half way through my under graduate studies. However, I am generally attracted to the unknown, and I felt that excelling in typography might be the only way for me to prove myself worthy a graphic designer. I did not want to rely too much on my photography skills to succeed with my studies. It is ever so easy to turn an ordinary layout into an impressive spread or poster using stunning photography. Through working without photographic elements for a couple of

This was a long journey. After publishing my first book entitled as ‘Virtual Typography’ in 2009, I was regularly invited to speak at conferences and to give visiting workshops.

Thus I learned how to share my skills and knowledge with design students of different caliber and cultural backgrounds, and this inspired me to think a little bigger. At the time I was working at a range of British design institutions in and around London. Here I taught numerous exchange students from Singapore who impressed me not only with their extra ordinary commitment to their studies, but also with their proficiency, design knowledge and experience. When I gave a workshop in Kuala Lumpur in 2015, the opportunity to lead a few design programmes in Singapore emerged, and I decided to emigrate to Asia. The progress that can be made here within a short period of time is extraordinary. This is partially due to the continuously growing range of development opportunities and partially due to the working mentality you typically find here in Singapore. In half a year ago, I received the offer to join Glasgow School of Art Singapore as the local Director of Programmes, and I could not have wished for more. Through this role, I joined one of the world’s top-ten art and design institutions, and also a very seasoned team of research-active academics. From 2012 to 2019 I carried out a PhD study in innovation management, and GSA provides me with the p erfect en v i ro n m en t t o b ri d g e d es ig n a n d

"Myths become dreams, dreams become goals, goals become reality." (continued) innovation within a very wellestablished academic framework. So now I am back with a British employer, but at the same time located in a country which will most certainly be one of the world’s future frontrunners in design and innovation.

"I had very limited exposure to art and design practices. What drove me more than anything was my curiosity and ambition."

Were you encouraged or discouraged by family, friends, teachers, mentors?

I would almost say the contrary. My parents were very skeptical of my career choice, until I received my first few awards. Soon after, one of my mentors in advertising photography, Manfred Rieker, who was based both in Stuttgart and in Greece, was rather disappointed when I told him that I would go on to study design instead of accepting his employment offer (although I did carry on working for him freelance for a couple of years whilst studying). My first design mentor, Rolf Müller, now deceased but at the time AGI* president, was equally disappointed when I told him that I would go to the Royal College of Art (RCA), instead of joining him in Munich.

Again, we stayed in touch and he was very * Alliance Graphique Internationale

respectful of my career choice. I think to explore unchartered territories, one must be self-motivated, and be able to rely on one’s own perseverance and stamina, perhaps follow one’s inner vision.

External support and inspiration do not suffice here. As James Dyson puts it in the subtitle of his autobiography: One must be able to defy the odds every once in a while.

What kind of kid were you? Where did you grow up? What were your influences?

I do not remember much of my childhood.

Maybe too much happened since. I grew up in a small town in South Germany spending a lot of time wondering how big the world really is.

I had very limited exposure to art and design practices. What drove me more than anything was my curiosity and ambition. When I took my first job in advertising photography in Ingolstadt, the town where Audi Headquarters are based, there was talk in the studio of this person who invented his own photographic lighting system, and then secured an exclusive contract with Audi, and subsequently set up his own open air photo studio in Greece. I was amazed by this story. It seemed somewhat mythical.

About three years later, I would work for that very person, Manfred Rieker. I remember him telling me his story over a gin-and-tonic when we were on a

shoot in Greece. Myths become dreams, dreams become goals, goals become reality. But then it is time to watch out for new opportunities. Even adventurous advertising campaigns can become a routine affair, unless you introduce something new from time to time.

Your style and way of handling design & typography is very unique. How did you arrive at that way of doing things and why?

I was trained in a very modernist way at the College of Design, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany, an offspring of the famous (or infamous?) Ulm School of Design. Everything was logical, had to be rationalized, intellectually analyzed and justified.

But how do you rationalize atmosphere and poetics without suffocating it. The Royal College of Art in London, UK, was the polar opposite of Gmünd: liberal, student-led, non-dogmatic. It shares a lot of characteristics with Glasgow School of Art, actually. I felt quite lost half way through my MA. I had lost track of my agenda. I remember traveling to Paris in my summer break to meet Gerard Paris-Clavel from Ne Pas Plier in order to talk to him about my dissertation subject. But the meeting was cancelled. So I went to the Centre Pompidou instead to see a Picasso exhibition. There was one piece of work that puzzled me, a sculptural sketch

aimed at a piece of work in tribute to Guillaume Apollinaire. This was very different from Picasso’s other works. When I sat in the museum café afterwards, I felt inspired by Picasso’s three-dimensional assembly of mostly straight lines, I started scribbling a font, imagining it to be three-dimensional.

This was the typeface I later called Futura. I first created physical prototypes cast in resin, and then rendered it digitally. I did not do it for any purpose other than to demonstrate that it is rather easy it is to do something out of the ordinary. But I remember Gert Dumbar, who was Visiting Professor at the RCA at the time, being really fond of this interim project of mine. So creating three-dimensional typefaces became a bit of a hobby. When I worked for Pentagram Design, in 2001-2003, I would spend the days in the office, and return home to fiddle with three-dimensional fonts during the evenings and during weekends. A commission to create a music video provided an opportunity to explore possible applications of the typography work in 2003. This was the start of my independent, perhaps slightly unusual, typography art and design practice.

Do you prefer producing design work or writing about it? What was it like to put together your books?

Generally, I am quite hands-on. However, having held managerial posts for a few years, my daily practice has shifted towards the theoretical kind.

Therefore I had to learn to be creative in relation to leadership and management. Fundamentally art and design is as much a matter of decision-making and so is the running of an institution or a faculty.

Thus I enjoy my new role at Glasgow School of Art very much. Writing too is a creative activity if you look at it in the right sort of way. I am now embarking upon my second book publication, which will focus on Intellectual Property, Product Design and Innovation Management, and I can barely wait to get started. I think it is important that we feel passionate about what we do, be it writing, designing or creating fine art work. I much enjoy getting my hands dirty, and no matter what the surrounding circumstances, there is always a piece of work or two in the making. “Sometimes (I hit the nail on the head but mostly I don’t” was a project that I brought over from UK to Singapore. I finished it here, and it was exhibited as part of a joint exhibition at LASALLE College of Arts Singapore in 2016. The statement was used in tribute to a project presentation, which I gave at Ravensbourne College during a study exchange in the late 90s. My tutor told the group of local students that “I had hit the nail on the head”. Due to my poor English I understood “I had hit someone with a nail in the head”, and I thought I had done something really bad. When I received a first, I was not only surprised, I had also learned a thing or two about language metaphors. Metaphors have become really important for me, as they allow to trigger unusual thought processes. During my first solo exhibition in Singapore in 2017, I exhibited “The (not so) Great War”, an installation piece which I had created in memory of World War I. When I pursued my MA, the concept of the “reflective practitioner” was quite popular, sometimes this is referred to thinking-through-making.

GSA’s studio-based practice is a good example thereof. The key is to connect critical reflection, design research and writing effectively with design practices. This can pave the way towards new directions in art and design.

In your position now do you still work as a designer or are you strictly on the administrative side?

Administration and operations management is a big big part of my role here at GSA Singapore. But it

is much more than that. It is about understanding the future and leading staff and students towards it. It is about building and managing relationships with industries and other stakeholders in the creative sphere. As much as we ought to connect design theory with practice, I also like to connect academic teaching and learning to industry practices in order to futureproof and enhance design curricula.

I am inclined to believe that design teaching and industry practice will be increasingly interwoven in the future, and that design-relevant skills will be increasingly embedded in other areas of industry practice.

How has working on the computer vs traditionally affected your work and the work of your students?

Have creative people become too dependent on using tech?

I think that there is an interesting, though coincidental parallel between my personal experience, and the way in which GSA Singapore works. When I started studying design, the PowerMac just came out, and the internet began to conquer the world of telecommunication. Throughout those years I became increasingly interested in digital technologies (although I never neglected the significance of concepts.) My aim was to decelerate communication processes through creating immersive experiences.

After exploring animated typography on screen for several years, I explored how similarly captivating experiences can be created through sculptural work and installation-like arrangements.

None of these explorations were of a pragmatic nature. I sought to raise questions about visual communication in the context of digital technologies, perhaps raise awareness for certain issues. At GSA Singapore we drag students away from the computer during the beginning of their studies in order to enhance their critical thinking

and their creative skills. Later they can use those skills in order to engage with digital technologies in unprecedented ways. As regards trends, I think it is difficult to comment on the creative community as a whole. We are looking at a very diverse group of people here. Technologies bring challenges and opportunities, and it seems only n atural to engage with those. Some people may be more creative than others, or more daring, if you like, and they will occasionally push the boundaries of common practice. In the late 90s there were concerns about

I see value. I enjoyed my investigations so far, but because of the experience that I had, not because of the end-result or the added line in my CV. I do think that research plays an increasingly important role in conjunction with design practice and innovation. This is why I think engaging with sound research methodologies is of value. Design research can be surprisingly creative. As much as originality matters in relation to design studio practice, the point here is to make a difference, to do something out of the ordinary.

Can you explain Typography”?

technology-driven design, partially because technologies were somewhat restrictive at the time.

This has changed. Computer technologies provide a wide scope of possibilities for creative engagements, and the benefit of "thinking".

I’m fascinated by the fact that you have a Philosophy doctorate. How do that play into your role as director and as a designer/teacher?

Personally, I do not give too much significance to titles. There are good PhDs and there are not so good ones. When speaking to people, one quickly realizes how much individuals have to offer in terms of new knowledge, or in contribution to the creative community. Doctoral degrees are often seen as a tick-box exercise, not only by individual researchers but also by academic institutions. I would recommend contemplating carefully what is worth investigating, to focus on what one is truly passionate about. A good book or speech can be more valuable than a mediocre PhD. Having engaged in design research at various levels, commissioned research included, helps me to support and inspire colleagues at times. Therein

a

little

about

“Virtual

This term was born out of a somewhat unusual train of thought which my MPhil supervisor, Jon Wozencroft, the author of the book “The Graphic Language of Neville Brody”, and I constructed during a conversation.

Digital communication has been accelerated beyond that which the human brain can process. These days texts are scanned rather than read, and the US-American philosopher Michael Heim argues that there is a reciprocal relationship between the amount of information obtained, and the meaning that is conveyed. Jon and I concluded that to make communication more meaningful, it needs to be slowed down. And instead of defining ‘virtual typography’ simply as screen-based typography, we argued that virtual typography is that which is ‘virtually’, i.e. almost typographical. So, as typographic forms emerge from ambiguous graphic patterns, they undergo a process of transition during which they appear “virtually” typographical.

This can be visually intriguing and entice viewers to focus on text information for longer periods of time. I must admit that I doubt that this lends itself to communicating larger amount of texts, but it can be quite effective in the context of branding.

When I embarked upon my research, British TV Channels such as Channel 4 began to use emerging forms of type more and more frequently for branding purposes. By the time my book came out, the idea of emerging type had already become mainstream practice. This was perhaps part of the reason why I shifted my focus towards possibilities of creating transitional type within physical environments. If you want to make a difference, you cannot remain still.

Does living in Singapore give you a certain tone to your work and the work of your students that you couldn’t achieve living in the UK?

(Hillner/Continued)

I have always striven towards a universal language.

Therefore my work is usually not very location specific. For the students that is a little different because they are encouraged to engage with topics of local relevance. We help them to understand their cultural heritage, and to contemplate Singapore’s future. Both London and Singapore are interesting cities which provide plenty food for thought. But Singapore is developing at a rapid pace. So it is comparatively easy to make new discoveries every day. Both cities are creative hubs, but Singapore seems a little more transparent, and it feels easier to engage with the right sort of networks.

Why should a student consider your school as opposed to other great art schools around the world?

GSA has been founded in 1845. As an art school, it carries unique history and heritage. But interestingly it is not hindered by that: GSA is guided by an underlying ethos, but there is no dogmatism. There is a liberal collegial working culture which impacts equally classroom practice, research, and management styles. Having worked at quite a number of colleges and universities, I have never encountered anything like it. There is a positive supporting atmosphere everywhere you go. Learning is by and large student-led, and programmes are kept intentionally small. GSA attracts a very large number of student applications, which results in strong cohorts, which in turn enhances the peer learning.

What’s the future hold for you? Any ultimate goal?

I am very grateful for the position that I am currently holding. I want to support Singapore in their ambition to become an innovation-driven nation. I want to help connect design and innovation meaningfully and effectively. Overseeing GSA’s provision of design education in Singapore is likely to play an important role here. Introducing competencies developed within GSA’s Innovation School in Glasgow to design teaching and learning in Singapore can make a significant difference to the performance of Singapore’s creative industries.

Since summer 2018, I have begun to support the development of a startup incubator, Rockit Venture, which has emerged within Singapore’s investment scene. So I hope to help establish clarity about the synergies here, to build bridges between the stakeholders, and foster creative collaboration. We need to think beyond design here, and also beyond

institutional and geographic boundaries. My continued work in the field of fine art is mentally liberating, it allows my mind to breath from time to time, and to be open to emerging opportunities.

Being a full-time artist will perhaps be my retirement occupation. I will then have come full circle and look back at my art teacher’s comment and ask myself: Was he right? Was he wrong? Chances are that that won’ t matter anymore.

Matthias Hillner became the Director of Programmes at GSofA Singapore in 2019.

He oversees undergraduate programmes in Communication Design and Interior Design.

Previously an Associate Lecturer at Royal College of Art, London, Matthias then became Programme Leader in BA(Hons) Design Communication and in Diploma Design Communication at LASALLE College of Art, Singapore, following which he become Head of School, Design Communication in 2016 before starting at GSofA Singapore in early 2019.

Authoring multiple peer-reviewed papers, Matthias’s research interests include typography, digital communication, media design, intellectual property, design entrepreneurship and innovation management and has completed two postgraduate research inquiries both of which were nourished through conference papers.

“My parents really encouraged my art.

They were very open minded and loved to see their kids happy and inspired”.

“Growing up, I was lucky to have a lot of encouragement to pursue art (aside from when I drew on my bedroom wall of course My parents, teachers, and peers often encouraged me to continue drawing.”

m e.)

master 0f light British artist Bruce Munro is best known for immersive large-scale light-based installations inspired largely by his interest in shared human experience. Recording ideas and images in sketchbooks has been his practice for over 30 years. By this means he has captured his responses to stimuli such as music, literature, science, and the world around him for reference, reflection, and subject matter. This tendency has been combined with a liking for components and an inventive urge for reuse, coupled with career training in manufacture of light. As a result Munro produces both monumental temporary experiential artworks as well as intimate story-pieces.

As a kid were you interested in art? Were you encouraged to pursue it by parents, siblings, friends?

I loved it from a very early age. I can remember painting a picture of the sea and hoping that moving the paint around the paper in a similar way to water crashing on the rocks it would look like the sea. It did not but I recognised I had captured an essence of the sea. My parents really encouraged my art. They were very open minded and loved to see their kids happy and inspired.

When did the aspect of light and illumination as art come to you? What were your first attempts at “lighting as art� like?

Experimenting with Light formally started in Sydney when I was 24. My first conscious pieces were started at art school where I created irregular 2D window hangings from white layered paper.

These were in part inspired by a Disney film The Castaways that I had seen as a child. A sequence in the film involved traveling through a glacier on an iceberg. I remember the beauty and colours of the ice.

How did art school shape your work? Did you have any teachers that helped you or inspired you. What other professional influences did you have.

My first art teacher (at eight) was a lady who wore no nickers . That inspired me!

My next art teacher (sixteen) taught me to love drawing and keep skech books (that inspired me). At art school I learnt that I could not live happily without art (that inspired me) at twenty four in Sydney an advertising man called me a butterfly. That angered me but led to me focusing on light. (that inspired me).

How did you come to splitting your company into commercial lighting installations , lighting sculptures and lighting art?

I wanted to make art from the beginning but I realised I must wait until I found the truth of what I wanted to do. Meanwhile I set out to learn about light , and raise a family. At forty just after my father died I felt I had enough experience to give it a go. I also discovered that I wanted to express those fleeting precious moments of clarity where one becomes almost invisible from the ego.

What process or processes did you use to promote yourself? As an artist, commercial lighting firm and as a light sculptor?

Initially it was simply word of mouth. I have been lucky and had many lovely clients. Eventually I decided to look into PR because I live and work in the countryside. Fortune has favoured me again.

I found a company who is as passionate as me in what they do. Claude Communications have been brilliant!

“My parents really encouraged my art.

They were very open minded and loved to see their kids happy and inspired”.

“Growing up, I was lucky to have a lot of encouragement to pursue art (aside from when I drew on my bedroom wall of course.)

My parents, teachers, and peers often encouraged me to continue drawing.”

master 0f light continued

Do you create your own fixtures exclusively or do you mix them in with available components?

The sculptural components we make them from scratch . But I purchase off the shelf and specialist luminaries .

When you get a project what is your approach or process in coming up with the optimum design and usage?

It varies. Installations are often site specific so one is responding to the environment . I keep sketch books and have lists and doodles of things I must create so many of these are introduced into projects when I feel they are appropriate.

Can you tell me about Longwood and how that came about? Also some of the challenges in lighting such a spectacular area?

Longwood came about because they originally saw my work at The Eden Project, which was very well publicised

by Claude Communications. Longwood invited me to see the gardens and I was gob-smacked by it on my first visit.

It was a challenge but did not feel like that. I felt like I had won a Willy Wonka bar!

Do you test your design and fixtures before you install them or do you install then test?

When I was younger I was much more Cavalier... But these days we test thoroughly . But there are still a few surprises . Thank goodness real life is always different to theory.

What is your favorite installation or piece of art you’ve created?

They all remind me of special moments of my life so in that respect I do not have a favourite . I love the whole process from inspiration , idea, execution,and installation. By the end I am ready to move on. I often think I could have done things better . I see this more as a way to be rather than producing finite things.

Do you work in any other mediums to create art?

I love painting but am pretty bad at it. I am light based but i have many projects in other media that I want to bring to fruition ....if any of your readers are interested give me call!

Do you have any hobbies or interests away from lighting?

My family and friends. Not much time for anything else.

Advice to young emerging artists?

Love it!

Postcards For A

Greener Earth

by Leslie Cober-Gentry A little while back Leslie let me know that the theme of the upcoming show she was having would be "Postcards For A Greener Earth". This was music to my ears as I am all in on changing public knowledge of the greatest threat to mankind.

I've used whatever platforms are availale to me to consistently post messaging about climate change especially as it pertains to polluting the ocean waters. As a lifelong surfer I've experienced pollution first hand, from plastics floating on the ocean's surface to getting infected by toxins in the water on the shores of Hawaii. I've seen documentaries and read numerous article about mountains of trash floating in the Pacific Ocean to shoreline waters littered with trash in the Carribean.

I was honored to have my art shown with all the other great pieces and if it contributed to heighten awareness to this global issue I am fufilled.

Thanks to Leslie for her committment to making our earth "greener" and for providing a platform for other artists to express their feelings Illustrations by Lon Levin/Levin Studio

year, Start Making Sense (choosing one of the 5 senses), the second, Illustrating Our Landmarks (marking the 50th Anniversary of NYC’s Landmark Law), the third, Artists Illustrating Artists, the forth, Drawn To The Music, the fifth, Food Fight, and the most currant, an important environmental issue, Postcards For A Greener Earth.

As Illustrators we become “visual journalists” covering various significant topics around the world and assist in spreading the word through our art and knowledge. This year, artist members were asked to create a postcard 6” by 4” that is Earth, environment or climate concerned, addressing a global threat to our Earth. Our environment is constantly changing. As our environment changes, so does the need to become increasingly aware of the problems that surround it. With an influx of natural disasters, warming and cooling periods, different types of weather patterns and much more, people need to be aware of what our planet is facing. The artists were asked to cover one or more of the megatrends that present major threats to the planet earth; air pollution and climate change, deforestation, species extinction, soil degradation, overpopulation, and plastic pollution in our oceans.

POSTCARDS FOR A GREENER EARTH exhibit at the Society of Illustrators NYC. For the last six years I have had the opportunity to curate the annual NYC Society of Illustrators Member’s Open Exhibit.

An exhibit, where the art is created by current members of the Society of Illustrators. Each year I choose a wellrespected jury of three current illustrator members; this year Stephen Gardner, Wendy Popp, and William Low, choose the winner and two honorable mentions for the prestigious Stevan Dohanos Award. An award that exemplifies the best illustration in the SI member’s show. Stevan Dohanos (May 18, 1907-1994) a past president of the Society of Illustrators and a founding member of the Famous Artists School of Westport CT, was an artist and illustrator of the social realism school who was best known for his Saturday Evening Post covers and World War II propaganda posters and murals.

Each year I choose a theme that is new, interesting and far from the theme of the previous year in order to spark the interest of the professional and busy members. My first

Over fifty original postcards were entered into the exhibit, all greatly varied in ideas and technique, making the judging a very difficult decision. After over three hours of careful deliberation and discussion between jurors, Youlin Tabokov was chosen for the Stevan Dohanos Award. Honorable mentions were awarded to Heidi Younger, and Veronica Tolentino, a new member who recently graduated from the School of Visual Arts NYC.

The Earth's climate has changed throughout history.

Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.

Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is extremely likely (greater than 95 percent probability) to be the result of human activity since the mid-20th century and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented over decades to millennia.

Earth-orbiting satellites and other technological advances have enabled scientists to see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate on a global scale. This body of data, collected over many years, reveals the signals of a changing climate.

The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th century.Their ability to affect the transfer of infrared energy through the atmosphere is the scientific basis of many instruments flown by NASA. There is no question that increased

Artwork by Heidi Younger and Wendy Popp levels of greenhouse gases must cause the Earth to warm in response.

Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers show that the Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence can also be found in tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and layers of sedimentary rocks. This ancient, or paleoclimate, evidence reveals that current warming is occurring roughly ten times faster than the average rate of ice-age-recovery warming.

The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with the five warmest years on record taking place since 2010.

The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of more than 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969.

- Nasa Global Climate Change

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John Cuneo Interview with

by Leslie Cober-Gentry WHO WERE YOUR GREATEST INFLUENCES IN ARRIVING TO YOUR CREATIVE GENIUS? In the course of a lifetime of looking around, the drawing influences just continue to accumulate don't they?

So much so in fact that I sometimes lose sight of my own course while I"m being buffeted around by whoever's work I've recently become helplessly enamored of. I mean I get crushes. It's embarrassing.

As a kid, I always drew, and I always preferred drawings to paintings in the books and and newspapers and magazines I was exposed to ( the only museum I ever visited as as child was in Central Park and had stuffed animals and a giant whale hanging in it).

So, it was those artists who drew black and white pictures on a page, surrounded by type - that's all I knew, and that's what got me off; E H Shepard's Wind in the Willows and Pooh stuff, Garth William's Stuart Little ,John Tenniel's Alice pictures.

YOUR SHAKY LINE WORK IS EXTRAORDINARY. PLEASE ELABORATE ON HOW YOU DEVELOPED IT Someone will occasionally mention that "shaky" thing, and honestly I'm not all that aware of it. I try and hold my pen rather loosely , I suppose that's partly to blame.I went through a long stretch making heavily cross hatched advertising illustrations in a style that owed a lot to the mostly European pen and ink guys I saw in the Times and certain magazines. They were doing gorgeous, ponderously metaphor-heavy drawings to represent big, serious concepts like war, famine and dictatorship. I was doing dumb drawings for bank ads. My imitative efforts were almost robotically mechanical in their lifelessness , as if drawn by an angrily clenched fist in a very cold room.

Maybe my slightly "wandering" line today is in rebellion to those efforts. Maybe it's an apology. Btw, I'm not sure at what age I first saw your father's art ( the great Alan Cober); but his work , his loose, eccentric line, how he made his marks and decisions in progress on paper- it was profoundly important to me.A kind of permission to think about drawing in an entirely different way.

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 As a kid,  I always drew, and I always preferred drawings to paintings

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"I was very naive growing up."

ARE THERE ANY PROJECTS/DRAWINGS THAT YOU HAVEN’T COMPLETED YET, BUT ARE WEIGHING ON YOUR MIND TO CREATE? I sometimes think about trying to do a Children's Book and I've have been involved in a few projects that didn't work out. My style may be a little too brittle and not cuddly enough. ( Did I just describe myself ?) I always have several sketchbooks, ideas and drawings in the works around here, and am constantly trying to find time to work on them. Nothing elaborate- just quirky little drawings in various pads and books that I'd like to finish. Too much ambition will undermine my confidence and critically humble me.

YOUR DRAWINGS ARE FILLED WITH GREAT HUMOR, AND ARE OFTEN SUBJECTS THAT OTHER PEOPLE WOULD BE INTIMIDATED TO EXPRESS, BUT CAN IDENTIFY WITH…CAN YOU GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS? I presume you're talking about my personal stuff here. I work a lot in sketchbooks and on loose scraps of paper , uncommissioned and in between asignments. Almost all of those things start with a figure, and kind of evolve from there. It's all very random but I try , as a kind of practice or discipline , to make something happen on the page with that person or persons, no matter how absurd. And I suppose I drift towards scenarios and subjects that interest me or are on my mind. I make it a rule to try and not "explain" (or even justify) this work, or how, if at all, it relates to me, but I don't think it's any great "reveal" to say that there are elements of violence, self-harm, depression, sex and self loathing sprinkled around in those drawings. Donal Trump makes an occasional appearance. Also animals, I enjoy drawing animals.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS TO CREATE IN YOUR DRAWINGS?

Given a choice, I like to draw sad, middle aged men, usually in a blazer or sports jacket, but occasionally naked.

DID YOU EVER DREAM ABOUT HAVING ANOTHER CAREER WHEN YOUR WERE CREATING YOUR PATH, OR WAS AN ILLUSTRATOR/ARTIST YOUR CONSTANT GOAL?

I was very naive growing up. I just assumed that if you were a kid who drew pictures, you would eventually just waltz into a career where you drew pictures and got paid for it .

It was an entitled attitude born of blissful ignorance. I should add that I also played a lot of basketball in my youth but never considered that as a career option, so in retrospect I may have been just naive enough.

"I suppose I learned backwards - copying how other illustrators and cartoonists drew people, and as got older , looking hard and doing lots of observational work . "

YOUR DRAWINGS OF WELL-KNOWN PEOPLE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE LIKENESS TO THE SUBJECT, TOTALLY CATCHING THEIR PERSONALITY. CAN YOU SPEAK ABOUT THE REFERENCE YOU USE WHEN YOU ARE DRAWING A WELL-KNOWN PERSON’S LIKENESS? There was a time when magazines would assign a job involving likenesses and immediately fed ex out an envelope stuffed with crisp photos of your subject(s) culled from other magazines and books and various sources.

They were just great to work from. Now we are relegated to scrolling through the internet , finding our own reference and printing it out.

I understand that many folks work from those photos , backlit and directly on their monitors, but I am very, very lame with computers, I don't know how to arrange those images on one page and I don't like having a machine on my table unless it's a pencil sharpener.

DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR WORK MORE DRAWING THEN PAINTING? IS IT DRAWING BECAUSE YOU ORCHESTRATE THE TONE TO BE SUBSERVIENT TO THE LINE? I think of all my stuff as drawings. Everything starts with a pen, and that first dab of paint is a necessary violation.

I do try and keep the watercolor "subservient to the line", but it's a struggle for me. The more facile I get the more I fuss around. In this regard I wish I had the training and restraint of some of my friends and colleagues like Joe Ciardiello, Barry Blitt , Tim Bower,the late Jack Unruh, Gary Hovland, David Hughes and Oscar Grillo, who all seem to know when to just stop with the damn paint already.

HOW DID YOU DEVELOP SUCH A MENTAL INVENTORY TO DRAW SO MUCH FROM IMAGINATION? WAS IT DRAWING FROM LIFE FIRST TO BUILD THAT ABILITY?

I didn't have much in the way of art schooling , so formal life drawing was not at all part of my education. I suppose I learned backwards - copying how other illustrators and cartoonists drew people, and as got older , looking hard and doing lots of observational work . I do life drawing from a model now and wish I'd had access to that practice earlier in my career ( along with an art education that would have turned me on to the fine artists I came to love belatedly; Goya ,Klimt, Grosz ,Sargent, Beckmann and on and on. I live in a constant state of catch up, trying to compensate for my artistically cloistered upbringing. If, instead of Mad magazine , I had found a damp volume of Rembrandt's etchings on that New York City sidewalk, I might not feel so behind.

BECAUSE YOUR DRAWING IS SO SENSITIVE AND SKILLFULLY CREATED, DOES THAT ALLOW YOU MORE PERMISSION TO PUSH THE VIEWERS THRESHOLD OF WHAT’S PROVOCATIVE. WILL PEOPLE ACCEPT RISQUE ART IF IT IS DRAWN BEAUTIFULLY? I'm not sure who it is exactly that grants that "permission", but I have been on the receiving end of complaints by other artists saying I "get away with" a lot on Instagram

John Cuneo (born January 4, 1957) is an American illustrator, whose work has appeared in many major publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, Sports Illustrated and The Atlantic Monthly. He has been awarded several medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York City. He is also the author of the 2007 book EuROTIC

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