tribe magazine issue 17
DESCRIPTION
tribe international creative arts magazineTRANSCRIPT
2009
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Rei Bennett Photography
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Editor In Chief Mark [email protected] Editor (Art)Ali [email protected] Editor (Writing)Tilly [email protected]
Marketing & PRSteve Clement-‐[email protected]
CorrespondentsAurore Plaussu, Hannah Lewis, Francesca Didymus, Jennie Mika Pinhey, Alistair Gardiner, Becky Mead, Helen Moore, Sergey Kireev, Blake Thomas
ContributorsTami Vibberstoft, Niels Gade, Sandy Wager, Fred Baier, Rebecca Glen, Keita Sagaki, Ni.Co.La, Carl Melegari, Kaiser Kamal, Lee Conner, Kev Harper, Luka Basyrov, Rei Bennett
Regular ContributorsGlyn Davies, Sarah Ahmad
Cover Fred BaierInside Cover
General [email protected] [email protected]
Websitewww.tribemagazine.org
Press and Media Enquiries to Steve Clement-‐[email protected]
Artists have given permission for their work to be displayed in tribe magazine. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the copyright
holder(s)
ISSN: 2050-‐2352
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fred baier >>> page 8
rei bennett >>> page 32
apperaat >>> page 48
keita sagaki >>> page 66
ni.co.la >>> page 92
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Keita Sagaki
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EDITORIAL
I’m writing this editorial a few days after being appointed as a Project Manager for a National Trust
project in Devon (UK ) promoting the fact that the Trust recently discovered that they had a
genuine Rembrandt self-‐portrait in their care at Buckland Abbey. It is the only Rembrandt in the
Trust’s portfolio.
During the preparation for the interview I did a lot of background research and reading. Some of
what I read was an eye-‐opener for me. Rembrandt was a practicing artist during what was known
as the Golden Age of Dutch culture. Painting was immensely popular – and there were literally
hundreds of artists – mainly based in Amsterdam. It is estimated that during a 20 year period a
staggering 1.3 million paintings were produced for the consumption of an insatiable art-‐market.
Given that – it says a lot for Rembrandt that he stood out from the crowd and was regarded as the
premier painter of that era and is still regarded as the towering figure of 17th century art. In many
ways he was to that century what Picasso was to the twentieth. A transformer and a challenger.
What was different from Picasso was his financial and business acumen. Rembrandt was reckless
and feckless – earned stacks and spent it on art and memorabilia and died potless – an employee of
his own son and his dealer ( the only way he could legally carry out his trade in Amsterdam at the
time ). He was buried in an unmarked grave.
The most interesting aspect of that side of him was the fact that much of the art he bought – it’s
alleged – was his own. He was price-‐fixing to maintain his market value and keep himself in the
premier league of artists.
That’s an accusation levelled at some current-‐day ‘megastars’ and their gallery representatives –
vehemently denied of course. Robert Hughes – the late Australian art critic described art-‐dealership
as the last unregulated market outside of the drugs trade.
Financial success ….. transitory – we all end up the same way.
Still as Rembrandt and Picasso prove – it’s the art that matters in the end.
Steve Clement-‐Large
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FRED BAIER
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Fred Baier is a higly-‐regarded experimental funiture designer, whose work is
characterised by radical experiments in structure and form. He took some time
out recently to talk to tribe about his stunning work.
Where does a piece start for you? Can you
describe your creative process?
A wood machinist I use is proud of his
tattoos. He had Love and Hate done on the
fingers of each hand. Recently he
unfortunately lost a finger. Now they read
Love and Hat.
Having creative ideas is a complex thing. I
think art colleges are much better at
teaching this than they were when I was
learning. You need to observe and be fired
up by a whole cacophony of ingredients
from disparate places and cook them up
together into your own particular recipe. I
was always keen to side-‐step what other
people were doing, looking to be a whacky
individual rather than a member of a
movement.
My role model might be more of an
inventor/explorer than an artist/designer.
I’m trying to come up with new forms and
compositions in the creative furniture
arena and looking out for processes,
imagery and theories that might help me
develop these creations. All the things I
have discovered that have excited me are
the elements responsible for molding my
particular palate. I’m still looking,
improving my skills and adding to my
envelope of possibility. I try to be in the
now and looking forward.
How does working on a commissioned
piece differ from a personal piece? Are
there ever any creative tensions between
yourself and a commissioner?
Commissioned pieces are my life’s blood.
I’d say a good two thirds of the dosh I’ve
ever made has come from commissions. It’s
the British way. In the States people prefer
to buy what they see. It’s less risky . . .
more like shopping. That way they feel they
can be a patron without being patronising.
When I work for a client I try to please
them through flexing my abilities. The
budget and the brief, which I help a
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customer to define, sets the parameters of
how experimental I can be.
People usually want a bit of Fred Baier so it
works out fine and I’m not aware of any
dissatisfied customers. Being professional is
what keeps things sweet. In between these
commissions or if there’s holdup for some
reason we work on personal pieces,
experimenting and trying things out,
creating objects that need making and
which will go in exhibitions.
How would you describe your work? There
are so many influences in the lines and
shapes you use, but they are very much of
your style. How did that originally come
together?
My work is attention seeking. I intend that
it promotes itself because people find it
interesting, inspiring and uplifting. I bring
issues from other, unexpected realms into
furniture world. I’m not a fine artist but nor
am I a designer. I make arty furniture
statements that lie somewhere in the
margins of both art and design. There are
not many who work like me so the
competition isn’t too fierce. I love
craftsmanship but avoid harping back. My
mantra, ‘Form swallows function’, subverts
Bauhaus philosophy although my pieces
are always well made and appropriately
functional. My lines come from drawing,
either what I see or what I’m thinking, and
my shapes develop through all the different
ways you can draw things.
What’s the most difficult part of the
creative process for you?
I do fine but I’m not great at selling. I still
get my costings wrong, mostly through
being over ambitious and I’m slow because
I often bite off more than I can chew. I
always make things better than the
minimum required to get the point across.
So the most difficult part is making loads of
money.
Which materials do you like working with
the most? What properties do you like in a
material?
The studio is kitted out to work in wood
and that’s what we predominantly use.
When I specify other materials, metal,
glass, plastics and composites that work is
subcontracted to people who will allow me
to observe and discuss how they work and
even be there when they are working on
my piece. This is important. I need to
understand their processes and play to
their skills. In the last year we have used 5
axis CNC milling and spark eroding
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machines, folded 10 mm thick steel and
electro-‐plated various metals. One piece
involved bubble jet printing of anodising
dyes.
How often does a design change when you
are making a piece? Is everything followed
to the letter from design to end product, or
do you also allow for an element of
impromptu development?
Every piece is it’s own adventure and no two
jobs are alike. With commissions some
people are happy to trust me to detail up
what may be only a sketchy idea of the piece
they want. Others find this too risky or
unsettling and need every ‘t’ crossed and ‘i’
dotted before implementation. Either way
and also on my own pieces there are often
moments during manufacture where it
becomes obvious that the initial approach or
intention is better served by a change of
tack.
How do members of the public react to your
work? What kind of reaction are you looking
to get from people with your public pieces?
Usually people are complementary and
admire the craftsmanship but are perplexed
as to who my customers might be. I suppose
the confusion comes from comparing my
work to normal manufactured furniture.
I think of them as museum pieces and in fact
many pieces have been purchased for
museum collections. They are rarified
objects that embody more intentions than a
commercial tool for living. I hear comments
like “surprisingly comfortable” or “can you
actually use it” so I often feel the need to
explain that because they are pieces of
furniture as well as art objects they do have
to be perform their function successfully.
When I was teaching at the RCA I was
accused by some of my students of
pandering to the bourgeoisie which in some
senses is true. So my way of absolving any
guilt in that is to seek out publicly funded
projects to create objects for public spaces.
Seating compositions for a high street,
reception desks for museums, time capsule
cabinet for a hospital atrium. I hear reports
from my commissioners that these pieces
attract positive attention and are well used
What are you currently working on and
what does the future hold for you?
My wife, Lucy, and I are working on an Art
Trail in a town in North Wales called Ruthin.
The idea is to link the towns internationally
renowned Craft Centre which attracts a lot
of visitors with St Peters Square up the hill in
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the centre of town. We have proposed an
array of street furniture, figures hidden in
the roofscape and facades of public
buildings and a series of myths, memories
and legends portrayed in cameos seen
through spy-‐holes in the towns walls. After
several months of public consultation,
development and refinement, a committee
has now approved our ideas and we are
about to make and install them all. I am
also making a couple of plant stands for a
woman in Hong Kong.
Hopefully the future holds more of the
same. I have been asked to consider ideas
for another stair banister and I recently
made a table commission which included
an experimental construction technique
that has lots more potential.
This year the Gordon Russell Scholarship
fund and the Quenington Sculpture Trust
have funded an internship for a college
leaver to come and work in the studio. We
were inundated with applicants and the lad
who got the gig is making some very
interesting things under my guidance. <
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www.fredbaier.com
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Kaiser Kamal
kaiserkamal.com
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"Let them eat cake"
Photographer: Rei Bennett PhotographyLocation: Rei Bennett Photography studio, DerbyStylist: Falcieri DesignsModels: Alexa Jay and Peggy SooMUA: Kelly OdellHairstylist: Flawless by SangeetaClothing Designer: Lovechild Boudoir
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"Let them eat cake"
Take yourself back to a past era. Imagine the 18th century, born into wealth, royalty, being the woman that men desired and the woman all women wanted to be. This was a Fme of opulence, precious jewels, lavish embellished costume and over indulgence in every sense of the word.
Marie AntoineIe was the 'it girl' of her Fme -‐ Archduchess, Dauphine and Queen. A woman whose life was draped in expense and decadence at every turn. She parFed hard, spent recklessly and was the epitome of extravagance. She exuded richness everywhere she went, from her perfectly powdered and polished appearance to her sheer power. Whatever Marie wanted, Marie got.
Sickly sweet and innocent with her doll like features, she has another side to her -‐ sultry, sexy and screaming spoilt brat. These were exciFng Fmes -‐ greedy, excessive and full of tantrums.
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The drawings that I produce under the Ftle Weirdfolk are constructed via two very different drawing techniques. The iniFal drawing, or skeleton, is drawn completely blind unFl I can sense that the main details have been put onto the paper. This is followed by the details being added in a much more careful way looking at the paper and the subject/source.
The combinaFon of the wild abandon of the blind drawing and the careful, meFculous details is a process that I find very saFsfying. I believe that it fulfills my various impulses as an arFst to draw in this way. The tension between freeness and control, insFnct and deliberateness and imperfecFons and correcFons are all contained in a single drawing. The acFon of 'fixing', or almost trying to jusFfy the iniFal blind drawing is the main driving force behind the process.
In terms of subject maIer, I am drawn to found images which sFr something in me emoFonally, and I try to be insFncFve in this. The contemplaFve Fmes when alone and the intensity of love are something that I try to capture in my images. The acFon of embracing imperfecFons is something that feels poignant considering the numerous ideals in modern society.
Rebecca Glenweirdfolk.carbonmade.com
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Sandy Wager
artbysandywager.com
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apperaatcomprising of duo tami vibberstoft and niels gade,
apperaat are a vibrant creative force covering audio,
photography, film making, performance art,
installation and music. one thing is for sure, they
don’t do dull.
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Having looked through your website and reading your bio's, its hard to describe exactly what Apperaat is -‐ how would you describe yourselves to a new audience?Tami: Apperaat is an art act. We make music, photos, performance, films, music videos, decorajons, installajons and more. Many arjsts work with one specific type of art but we, on the other hand, do not separate the different disciplines. Instead we try to make use of all our
competences and combine them in one big project, namely Apperaat.Niels: Our philosophy is to create everything in-‐house. We do everything in-‐house... Our visual expression is not affected by a different video director, the music is not altered by another producer. We are not saying we are fantasjc, but we have some competences.. and that's what we make use of in Apperaat.
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Where does the creaFve process start for you?Niels: Actually everywhere and 24/7 – more precisely we both get new ideas all the jme, Tami in Utrecht, or wherever she is, and me in Aarhus. These ideas can be thoughts or words, but also sound clips, photos, video clips etc.Tami: the big ideas are created face to face with a glass of wine (or several) accompanied by endless talking. Or in the car where we on the contrary
somejmes nourish the silence for hours. Silence doesn't mean we're not thinking. We are very good in coaching each other too. In our business meejngs where we have to propose a certain solujon. One of us says a word, the other one replies with a sentence and in the end it's a complete solujon.Niels: we are quite good at improvising.
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Can you tell us about your working relaFonship -‐ how do you work together? How do you spark each other's creaFvity? Niels: We've known each other for many years and done smaller projects together. Then for about a year ago we were having a cup of coffee at the Women's Museum in Denmark, where we enjoy to come. Here the idea of collecjng all our arjsjc competences in one box started. And that is indeed what Apperaat is about. (Apperaat is by the way spelled with as many errors as possible, because we like to work with mistakes).Tami: Because of the distance between us (Aarhus/Utrecht 700 km) Apperaat is naturally an online project, in which our projects take shape in a never ending wave of file sharing. When we are together, which is quite onen, we finish off the projects for instance when we have to record my vocals on a track. We do finish some projects separately though. This goes for ambient music and instrumental tracks as well as music videos, installajon videos or online videos. When the raw material is shot, I finish the visual part while Niels finishes the audio. And BAM! There you go!Niels: We regard this online concept as an effecjve and creajve advantage, which we would recommend to other people as well. We have no fixed roujnes or rehearsal days. We both work in Protools and administrate the creajve processes separately: song wrijng, video, and photographic producjon, performance producjons, recordings and mixing. Tami: By splipng up the producjon process I believe we give room for experiment and risk within our field and I think we avoid some potenjal conflicts too.
Are there any conflicts?Niels: No not really. Not big ones anyway – you might think that the age difference would cause conflicts, but we never regarded it as a problem.. rather the opposite. But when you know each other as well as we do and both have an arjsjc mind, there are obviously moments where we can be a bit bitchy towards each other. But it's only
cool with some dynamics. Pain can be construcjve. If it doesn't hurt every now and then it's not art, right?Tami: Or maybe it just doesn't maser enough to you. And then it's also not art, I guess. Luckily we are both Libra, so basically we are both pleasers and perfecjonists.Niels: Our only real problem is when we don't see each other for a long jme and there's an issue we want to discuss. In this case it can be problemajc even though we have online meejngs.
You work with corporate clients -‐ what sort of reative work do you do with them? Niels: It's different every time. We've made wall art for offices, video installations and online videos. We've created exhibitions and arranged photography workshops. We would however like to emphasize that we choose carefully and only for the things we find exciting. And this is not to be cocky but it's a question of time and about using our resources right.
How did you get started in that area? Tami: In my opinion the artist has to employ himself and always look for ways to do so. Not meaning that he or she should sell out. The young talented artists have to get out into the real world. Out of the safe box or the white cube. In Apperaat we both like confronting the predictable and we love being challenged. That's why we took the chance to make wall decoration for a company.
What was the attraction? Tami: I'm constantly looking for challenges and ways to express myself. I can never get enough. That's why I started bands, that's why I travelled and moved around. That's why I thought I could take a fresh look at my art practice and bring it a step further. The projects we do with corporate clients have broaden my view on communicative and collaborative art. It's motivating because they provide you with a platform and an audience and in return you get a big but exciting responsibility.
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Niels: That was to make a company dare to enter something unknown. The most logical thing for the company is to focus on the well known and safe. In this sense it was an innovative risk from their side. Beside this I think we should have much more innovative and unpredictable business relations. I believe this is a good way for young artists to enter the market and a lot of companies and institutions appreciate this collaboration. But you have to go search for it yourself because they are not coming to you.
Personally, I'm most taken with your music -‐ do you see yourselves as musicians first, visual artists second, or do you make no such distinctions? How do you see the relationship between audio and visual creativity?Niels: Basically I'm more musician and Tami is more the visual artist. Already from the beginning this seemed to merge very well together. Tami is of course in charge of the visual part and me of the music. We know our strengths and use them well. But we constantly cross over each other's fields of competence and provide the other with ideas and critique. We can't do without the other.
How do you see the relationship between audio and visual creativity? Niels: It's a beautiful relationship.Tami: I believe me and Niels have the same kind of brain. And that goes for all creative heads out there. We are like-‐minded. It doesn't make a difference if you express this creativity with sound, shape it in wood or perform it in dance. That's why it's great to combine the disciplines as well as challenge their definitions.
How has the internet and social media changed the way you work and interact with an audience?Niels: In fact it hasn't changed anything for us since we've worked with it all the time, but the internet and social media are very important for us. It's our mean of communication with the outside world
and possible fans. This way we have been featured on several international blogs, we've got airplay.. and american radio stations are asking for our album. It's as well the way we got in contact with you guys. Tami: If the internet was gone tomorrow we were done. We are completely depending on it.. scary actually. But true. So why not just get the best out of it?
In regard to your film making, what area's or subjects interest you the most? Tami: When making a film my main focus is to make a simple, clear expression with as few means as possible. I like the pure version, the music video that has a touch of home video in it, the interview which is down to earth. It's about being accessible and relatable while giving the viewer a surprise, something fresh. Niels: As with all kinds of art, for me it has to be interesting. It has to say me something. It has to want something. There are too many artists who are making art they only understand themselves -‐ what's the purpose? But I'm not picky. I like the nice short film, music video, documentary or feature film. If it has something, if it does something, if it want something.
What do you see as being wrong with creativity in the mainstream? Are we living in perhaps too sanitised a creative environment? Niels: I think too many people want the same.. not enough people dare to take chances. Too many people want to become artists, but they don't have the talent and they will never become anything. Besides this the new generation of artists are obviously affected by the reality wave and mainstream wave, and I think it weakens their ability to relate critically. It makes them waste their time with work which simply doesn't have the quality. Concentrate on what you're good at,think differently, create the unpredictable networks and knock the illogical door. <
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Carl Melegari
carlmelegari.co.uk
arushagallery.com
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KEITA SAGAKIJapanese illustrator Keita Sagaki has a distinctive
style of illustration. He talked to us recently about
this unique take on his art.
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How would you describe your style of illustraFon?
The concept of my root of creajng it is the [whole and part]. And I can express it in other words with "life and death", "a microcosm and macrocosm ",""individual and universe". Specifically, look at the following arjst statements; all things are composed of whole and part. For instance, the human body is built from 60 trillion cells. Moreover, every maser is formed by an atom or a molecule. When all people live in this world, everybody belong to some organisajon such as a family, school, company and najon, even if we are unconscious. Let’s broaden your horizons. Your country is part of najons all over the world. And, the solar system including our planet is a part of the Galaxy. however, the concept of “ whole and part” is not fixed. It’s in flux. If we interpret from a different viewpoint, the wholeness which we defined is converted into the parjalness. Domain in the relajons of both, it never ends. The concept of my creajon is the relajons of borderless “whole and part”. As I draw a picture in this concept, I want to express conflict and undulajonfrom relajons of “whole and part”, amd cannot be measured in addijon and subtracjon (the whole in the grand total of the part, and the part by the whole division)
私の絵のコンセプトは「全体と部分」です。また、それは「生と死」、「ミクロコスモスとマクロコスモス」、「個と宇宙」と言い換えられるかもしれない。詳しくは以下のアーティストステートメントをご覧ください。
世界に存在する万物はすべてにおいて全体と部分で形成されているといっても過言ではない。人体は約60兆にも及ぶ細胞によってできているし、すべての物質は原子や分子という部分的な要素の構築によって成り立っている。また、私たちが生きている世界を考えていくと、意識していようがしていまいが、私たちは家族、学校、会社、国家といったように何かしらの組織に属しながら生きている。さらに視点を拡大すると、日本は地球上にある世界の国々の一部分であるし、その地球は太陽系に属していて、その太陽系は銀河系に属している。しかし、そのような全体と部分の概念は固定的ではなく常に流動的である。全体性として捉えられていたものは、見方を変えるだけで部分性として捉えることができるように、両者の関係における領域にはきりがない。私はそのようなボーダレスな全体と部分の関係をコンセプトに制作活動をしていく中で、部分の総和としての全体でも、全体の分断による部分でもない、足し算や引き算では図りきれない、せめぎやうねりのようなものを表現していきたい。
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Where does a piece start for you? Can you describe your creaFve process?
I begin to usually draw it from the corner (leaning to the len or the lower len) of the canvas. Anerwards, earnestly, I muljply a character to totally cover the paper. I don’t dran (and rough sketch) when I draw detail of my works (doodle character). I use pen and ink from the beginning when I confront white canvas. I do not know what kind of character is born unjl I begin to draw it. The reason is because momentary inspirajon and improvised drawing are very important for me. The pen can copy my inspirajon into paper with preserve freshness, and I gradually draw detail of picture. It seems to totally erode over paper. This process can take an excessive amount of jme.
私は主に画面の角、左上か左下から描き始めます。その後はひたすら紙を侵食させるようにキャラクターを増殖させていきます。私の制作のプロセスを説明すると、まず私は下書きをしません。直接ペンで描いていきます。どんなキャラクターが描かれるのかは描き始めるまでは私自身も分かりません。その理由としては、私にとってその瞬間瞬間のインスピレーションと即興性が大切だからです。ペンという道具は私の感性を直接、最短距離で紙に写すことができます。私の絵のプロセスはとても時間がかかります。
You have reinterpreted many famous works; how do you think the likes of Hokusai would view your interpretaFons?
First of all the reason why I chose Hokusai as is that it is a famous picture. When many people watched a picture from far away, they recognize that it is a picture of Hokusai. However, they nojce that it is aggregate of doodles when they get closer to a painjng. The gap is important. There is not the reason to be parjcular about only Hokusai. It is important that I use a famous picture. However, Hokusai is one of the arjsts whom I respect.
北斎の作品を使用する一番大きな理由は彼の絵が世界的にも有名だからです。多くの鑑賞者は絵を遠くからみたとき北斎の絵だと認識します。しかし、じょじょに絵に近づくと、それが多くの落書きの集合体であることに気付くと思います。その鑑賞者が離れた時と近づいた時に感じるギャップがなにより重要なのです。なので北斎のみにこだわっているわけではなく、世界的に知られている絵であるということがなにより重要なのです。もちろん北斎は私がリスペクトする画家の一人です。
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What has been the impact of digital technology on the art of the illustrator?
I think that many arjst or illustrators are more or less affected by digital technology. When the person himself does not nojce thanks to a digital technology, we can easily work hard to polish our works. We can thereby examine much possibility. In the case of myself, I think about composijon and a hue on a PC. In addijon, it is the masterpiece series and the ukiyoe print series I use with the PC -‐ at first I print a picture of the exact size level from a PC. Then, I perform tracing of rough abozzo and shadow from there. I use only a pen anerwards. A PC is the tool which is important for the base of the picture. I use only a pen and ink anerwards. However, I use the PC in a preliminary stage of the creajon.
多くのアーティストやイラストレーターは多かれ少なかれデジタル技術の影響を受けていると感じます。それは本人が気付いていない場合でさえです。デジタル技術のおかげで私たちは作品の推敲が容易になりました。可能な限り作品をやり直し検討することができます。私の場合、絵の構図や色合いをPC上で考えます。いわゆる設計図みたいなものです。また、名画シリーズや浮世絵シリーズでは、まずはじめにPCで実寸大に拡大し印刷します。それを元に大まかな輪郭線や陰影をキャンバスに付けていきます。そのあとの作業は完全にアナログで、ペンとインクのみです。デジタル技術は私の作品の下準備の段階でとても重要なツールです。私はペンとインクを主に使用します。しかし、制作の準備段階ではコンピューターも使います。
Is there anything that inspires you to create? What are your main influences?
I was greatly influenced from the following two things; first one is a mandala. It was when I was eight years old that I went to a village set in a mountain with my father. I saw a mandala for the first jme in the village-‐ a mandala is a religious painjng of Buddhism and the esoteric Buddhism. When I saw it, I felt that it was very psychedelic painjng (its muljplying Buddha and gorgeously coloured, pictures depicjng hell) I felt excitement and a mixture of fear and pleasure. The minute drawing and informajon content of my works comes under an influence of a mandala. Furthermore, I drew a mandala with some inijal works. That much, mandala is an important mojf for me. The second, is comics! The reason why I use comics and doodle for it is one of the most familiar items to me from childhood. I've dreamed of being a cartoonist since I was a child. I drew a comic every day in the days of an elementary school. My textbook or examinajon-‐paper was full of my doodles. It's not too much to say that these doodles are roots of the current my works. It's my early intenjon. Those two elements are the deepest roots of my work
私は2つの大きなものに影響を受けました。まず一つ目は、曼荼羅です。曼荼羅は仏教や密教の宗教画で、私は子どものころ父親に曼荼羅を見にある村へ連れていかれました。そこで初めて曼荼羅を見たのですが、それはとてもサイケデリックな体験でした。極彩色で、仏像が無限に増殖していく感覚、地獄の光景のようにも感じました。私は恐怖と快感を感じました。その体験はとてもトラウマになっています。私の絵の細密な描写と情報量は曼荼羅の影響です。また実際に曼荼羅を描いた作品もあります。それくらい曼荼羅は私の中で重要な要素なのです。2つ目はマンガです。私は作品の中でマンガや落書きのような絵を描きますが、その理由はそれらが子ども時代から一番身近なものだったからです。私は子どもの時はマンガ家になることが夢でした。なので、私は小学生の時から毎日のようにマンガを描いていました。さらに私の教科書は常に落書きで満たされていました。それらの落書きは私の今の制作のルーツといっても過言ではありません。それは私の初期衝動のようなものです。これら2つが私が影響をうけたものです。
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sagakikeita.com
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Kev Harper
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Lee Connor
leedavidsonconnor.tumblr.com
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Linda Hoey
lindahoey.co.uk
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NI.CO.LA
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Ni.co.la is an Illustrator and theatrical set designer based in London. Aner graduajng in Illustrajon from Plymouth University she developed her passion for 3D design and theatre work, which led her to go on to work with clients such as The Theatre Royal, Plymouth and The Barbican Theatre. She talks to tribe about her work.
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Your patterns are beautifully intricate and captivating to behold. What goes into the process of making them? To what extent does your work with pattern provide inspiration for theatrical set design?
For my patterns, I start with thorough research into historical art as there are many invaluable techniques to be learnt from the past when creating something individual for the future. I absolutely adore eighteenth century art styles like, 'Rococo', which have a great influence on most of my patterns.So, after some intense research and once my creativity is sparkling with inspiration, I produce many intricate little drawings with black ink. I then actually use the Adobe Creative suite to combine all the highly detailed drawings together to create my desired compositions, as opposed to drawing it as one large image. I guess the influence my pattern work has on my set designs, is my fascination with dazzling my audience with a type of, 'spectacle and attention to detail'. I really like my audience to engage with my
work, to study it for some time and take in something they may not have seen before. The set sketches I have worked on have been drawn out in a very similar way to my patterns, disjointed and playing around with many elements to create an atmosphere. All my sets to date have an Illustrative nature about them, which in their own way have also created a type of 'Tableau Vivant'.
Does having a degree in illustration prove to be advantageous when designing sets for clients?
I believe so. It is a creative discipline in which I learnt to research and sketch successfully, getting to know my boundaries and pushing them. I always took risks while studying for my degree, this allowed me to develop a unique style and to experiment with the world of theatrical set design. The experience and knowledge I’ve gained through studying my degree in Illustration has enabled me to progress into theatre set design, running successful, creative team
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meetings and creating visuals that have been well regarded by clients.
What has been the most enjoyable aspect of you work thus far?
That is a difficult one to answer as there have been so many enjoyable moments in all the projects I have worked on; but I have to say, nothing can beat that feeling when the theatre is in darkness and suddenly all your hard work has paid off when the stage is suddenly lit up and your work is brought to life!
What influences your designs for a theatrical set?
It is the nature of the script, the way it is written, and the way it begins to take form when performers begin auditioning. I will always start by making notes and drawing the relationships between characters and the feelings and emotions evoked through the spaces created (I’ve learnt how to successfully perform this
technique in a short theatrical costume course at Central Saint Martins, London).
Theatrical history also has a significant influence on all my designs, again, there is an incredible amount of inspiration to be taken from past techniques and reviving them through modern designs. I'll often be in an old library or museum to find solid research for designing my sets.
Since leaving university, what has been your involvement in set design?
For months after I graduated I was involved in a fantastic site-‐specific production called, 'The World At Your Feet'. It was part of the Cultural Olympiad to raise awareness of the positive impacts of migration in a city and to challenge racism. My role involved working as the assistant set designer for the production, and as it was my first, 'site-‐specific' production with a cast of eighty, it had to be designed
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with care and intelligence to ensure consistency and successful interaction with the audience. It was such a fantastic success and had great press coverage.
What do you aspire to be doing in three years from now?
Working for myself, full-‐time, producing artwork for clients and of course designing more sets for theatre companies. Another passion of mine is also rejuvenating old furniture with my patterns and selling them on...perhaps that will lead onto running my own business, 'NI.CO.LA', which is the ultimate dream!
In your aspiration to run your own business, I am interested if you are influenced by the highly recognisable mass produced prints of Cath Kidston?
Based on my last answer, i'd say definitely yes! She has her patterns on so many objects and fabric. I'd love to be in the position one day to print my patterns onto things! Owning a shop one day will be the goal. I can connect to set design through visual merchandising as well as designing the shop windows and inside and so on. <
www.ni-‐co-‐la.com
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Luka Basyrov
luka-basyrov-art.deviantart.com
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