FORGE. Issue 2: Solace

COURTNEY WIRTH

Courtney Wirth Submitted November 2nd 2013

“It took me awhile to figure out this theme and the piece I drew because it could be interpreted in so many different ways. I had several ideas, but this one came out easily without even trying and the peace it visualized was exactly what I wanted to portray. I find solace in solitude, but also in someone else’s arms. While that attention can be helpful, I’ve learned that being at peace with myself has helped me grow as a person and it’s reflective of how I would go to the park in college and just sit there, whether I was reading, drawing, or just sitting and listening to music. Sometimes I would daydream or over think certain things that were going on in my head, but it also shows how I could find solace in just reading a good book or zoning out while sketching. I did initially want to draw another person, but in the end, I’ve realized while I’ve grown from certain experiences and help from other people, I’ve done a lot of self growth and reflection to become who I am today.

I had to sit and think for awhile of all the different scenes I could illustrate and even asked my roommate where he sought solace, whether it be metaphorically or physically. From there I just drew with my pencil and tried to include certain things I wanted to add, but realized the simple quality of the image probably visualized what I wanted more than a more complex sketch with a completed environment. And that’s why I kept the coloring simple too.”

-Courtney Wirth Name Courtney Wirth(it)

Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

I was born and bred in the town of Frederick, Maryland.

I grew up drawing and painting and the high school I attended was fortunate to have an Arts & Communications Academy focused on Visual Art, Music, and Theatre. I decided to apply for it in my junior year entering my senior year, and I was accepted and I spent half of my days in art classes. After high school, I attended the Savannah College of Art & Design, initially majoring in Fashion Design, but the summer before my last year, I decided it wasn’t for me, so I switched my BFA to Illustration, making Fashion my minor and stayed an extra year. I’ve had a lot of formal education, but some of the best things I’ve done and discovered has also been through experimentation and self-taught.

What is your current occupation?

What people, books, films, (etc…) inspire you the most?

I am an illustrator, focused on editorial work, but I would love to break into comics as well! I work as a barista to pay the bills and rent, but I actually have learned that even though the hours can get tough and customer service isn’t easy, I’ve met a lot of great people, both customers and coworkers, who support me and the interaction with people has been inspiring even if it is just a job to help me get by.

I like reading. I like reading A LOT. At the top of my head, my favorite books in no particular order include Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, and Murakami Haruki’s 1Q84. I recently fell in love with a character in Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl and I also grew up with comics and manga. I have an attachment to Yazawa Ai’s Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, Takeuchi Naoko’s Sailor Moon (how can a girl not grow up with Sailor Moon?), and Yoshizumi Wataru’s Marmalade Boy.

Age 24 What is your current location?

I’m located in New York!

Where are you from?

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I go to Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Wolf Children when I’m sick and I also really like Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away. Other films I like constantly rotate, but recently I love Pacific Rim and Midnight in Paris (talk about two different extremes). I’m usually willing to watch any movie except thrillers and horror.

Music plays a big part in my inspiration too. I usually have music playing on my computer or my record player when I’m working, or even when I’m reading. I work with noise in the background and I’m that person who plays a song on repeat when I’m walking to and from work or on the MTA. What materials do you like to work with?

Ink! Pencil too, but it never truly feels like my work until I ink it, whether it’s with pens or brushes. Lately I’ve used a brush pen simply because it’s more convenient and my cat keeps knocking over my ink water onto the carpet. I usually color my work digitally, but if it’s just a doodle or sketch, I’ll do some quick coloring with watercolor or marker.

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

I just recently finished a piece for Light Grey Art Lab’s “6 Degrees” Postcard Exhibition that will go up in December! Other than that, a few freelance projects and I’m part of an illustration collective, Square Carousel. We do challenge’s each month to keep us all active and this coming challenge is a wintery comic, which I’m super excited for! I’d love to collaborate but I’ve never really done it or had the time.

Previous Work

Websites: http://courtneywirthit.tumblr.com/ http://thecourtneywirthit.com/‎ Contact: courtneywirthit@gmail.com

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What music do you listen to while working?

Whatever I feel like listening to. Lately it’s been Los Campesinos!’s new album No Blues or HAIM or CHVRCHES. But I also go through phases with random songs. For awhile I was listening to a lot of Gregory & The Hawk and that was really reflective in the work I was creating for “Inktober”.

Where do you like to work?

Usually at home because it’s a pain to carry everything I want with me around even though I have a nice bag to do so. My roommate usually finds me on the floor in the living room circled by my paper, brushes and pens in front of the tv before Pi, my cat, knocks something over. I have a desk, but that’s currently just another place to dump random stuff on. I go through phases with my desk, and I definitely use it when it’s clean! But currently, it’s been the living room floor or my bedroom floor. When I did a lot of sketchbook work, I used to meet friends at the local coffee shops and draw, and I miss that a lot.

What is one of your earliest memories of making art?

I was that annoying kid you probably hated in preschool and kindergarten who held up the class because the teachers would let her finish drawing and coloring before everyone could go outside to play.

ALEXANDER DERWICK

Alexander Derwick Submitted September 22nd 2013

Name

What people, books, films, (etc‌) inspire you the most?

Alexander Derwick

Anything with a compelling narrative but mostly my close friends from art school inspire me the most.

Age

What materials do you like to work with?

24

Printmaking techniques like intaglio and lithography are my favorite ways of producing work but a blank piece of paper and simple markers and pens are always a blast.

What is your current location?

Buffalo, NY Where are you from?

Olean, NY What is your current occupation?

Adjunct Professor at University at Buffalo teaching Intaglio & Collagraph Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

Received my BFA from SUNY Purchase, my MFA from University at Buffalo, and my grandparents always took me to community art classes when I was little.

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

I am working on a series of photographs that involve inch-tall drawings that are cutout and used as props for staging scenes of pity and regret. Very uplifting stuff.

What music do you listen to while working?

Gorillaz, Horse the Band, Jonathan Richman, Girl Talk, Weezer, Kanye West, Chris Garneau, Mew, Eminem, Bright Eyes, Ab-Soul, Titus Andronicus, and Barenaked Ladies before 2003 are among my favorite artists.

Where do you like to work?

At my desk in the living room with a movie playing in the background.

What is one of your earliest memories of making art?

I remember being in first or second grade and making a small comic about characters from Mortal Kombat with my friend Josh. He wrote a story and I drew it.

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Previous Work

Websites: http://alexanderderwick.tumblr.com/ http://www.alexderwick.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexderwick/ Contact: aderwick@yahoo.com

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JONNY RUZZO

Jonny Ruzzo Submitted November 1st 2013

“The piece I submitted is done in aluminum and oils on canvas. I started painting cat heads after painting a large one for a group show inspired by the stray cats around Brooklyn where I was living at the time. I like the boldness of the image, but I also think cats are interesting animals, and I respect their independence. I also like the play on words for the titles, fooling around with grotesqueness, vulgarity, and sexuality.

I started making this painting by laying down a ground color, which I usually choose something bold and bright.

I did the aluminum next, which is aluminum leaf applied with an adhesive, putting it where I knew the eyes would be as I was using a reference photo for the painting. I then started putting color where I saw it, as part of my painting process, painting around the eyes to keep the aluminum shining through. The fine hair lines are the last touch, and usually my favorite part of every painting.”

-Jonny Ruzzo Name Jonny Ruzzo Age 23 What is your current location?

New York, NY Where are you from?

Coventry, RI What is your current occupation?

Artist Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

Yes, I studied illustration at SVA and graduated in 2012.

What people, books, films, (etc…) inspire you the most?

I was never into reading until after I finished school and wasn’t forced to do it anymore. My favorite author is J.D. Salinger and I love all of his books/stories. I am inspired by Basquiat; not only is his work is inspiring, but more so, he just seems like he was a complicated and intriguing person and I find his life really interesting. My favorite films tend to be Disney movies, or Pixar animated films.

Having a good friend who studied computer animation when we were at SVA together, I can watch CG animated films and really appreciate the amount of time and work it takes to create something like that. I am inspired by a lot of models and famous women that I think are beautiful, most of them with short hair, such as Linda Evangelista, Emma Watson, Anne Hathaway, Agyness Deyn. I have tons of favorite artists, and a folder on my computer titled “inspiration” full of over 1,000 illustrations and paintings that I absolutely adore. I can always look at Bob Peak for inspiration, as well as Egon Schiele. I have also been inspired by the work of contemporary illustrator Daniel Egneus for the past 5 years. At the moment, I’ve been looking at a lot of John Singer Sargent, as well as a lot of vintage photographs that I either find in thrift/vintage stores or on Flickr. I’ve also been inspired by nature a lot lately, which I only realize once I go outside of NYC. I really want to live in a log cabin in isolation for a year and make a whole body of work.

What materials do you like to work with?

As far as experimenting, I think I have got my hands on almost every practical artistic medium except for gouache paints and lithography. If I had to choose one material to use for the rest of my life it would be graphite. I use a lot of 3B pencils, as well as wax pencils, when drawing. Nothing too pointy or hard.

For painting I used to like acrylics the best for layering bold, opaque splotches of paint, but for the past year and a half I’ve been using mainly oils for the richness and creaminess, and I realize I like having the ability to move the paint around once I put it down. But I miss the cleanliness of making paintings solely with acrylics and I hate the toxicity, smells, and everything else that comes from oils. I like Golden brand for most acrylic paints, and don’t really have a preference for oils, but when I buy oils I probably mostly go with Richeson.

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I don’t use much medium with my paints, mainly linseed oil with oil paints, or retarder for acrylics. I also find myself using matte medium quite often.

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

I just finished up a big book project illustrating the novel “Washington Square” by Henry James. It was for a publishing company that publishes Spanish translations of classic American novels, whom I had worked with in the past to illustrate “The Great Gatsby”. I also have a couple of other smaller projects going on in the worlds of book illustration, gallery shows, and portrait commissions, but I’m trying to get more steady things in my schedule. I would love to be hired by ad agencies to do illustration work with them, and would also love to plan out my next solo exhibition. I am planning to make some personal work in the next month or so to use as promotional material to get some more exposure and also to reach out to some clients that I want to work with.

What music do you listen to while working?

I ALWAYS have a noise-maker going while I’m working, whether it’s music, movies, interviews, etc.. It’s usually Pandora but I get tired of every station after about 2 hours. I’ve been listening to a lot of Grimes lately, as well as Of Mountains And Men, and Royal Teeth. And Robyn, but I could listen to Robyn any and every day. I tend to only listen to upbeat music while I’m working, such as dance, electronic, or techno, because it gets me really excited and makes me feel motivated.

Previous Work

Website: http://www.jonnyruzzo.com/ http://likeomfgitsjonny.tumblr.com/ Contact: jonny@jonnyruzzo.com

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Where do you like to work?

I work from home, in my tiny studio apartment. It’s working out for now, but I get distracted easily and I would love to have (and someday will need) a separate workspace where I can get messy and not worry about getting paint on my area rug or bed sheets. I sometimes draw on location, only for fun, but I would never take a project that I am currently working on outside of my apartment to work on it.

What is one of your earliest memories of making art?

I remember when I was 5 years old during a kindergarten lesson, the teacher’s assistant was pulling us off to the side of the classroom one by one. She gave me a piece of copy paper and told me to draw a triangle at the top of the page. Then she asked me to draw a square below the triangle. Then she asked me to draw a circle below the square. When I was in my third year of college, my grandmother sent me a letter, and with the letter she included this small clipping from the edge of a newspaper that I drew a row of about 10 flowers on with magic marker. It was dated ’95 which means I was five years old when I drew it. My grandmother said she watched me draw it at her kitchen table. I have no recollection of ever drawing the flowers but obviously I know they are mine. I’m not sure which of these instances came first, but I think it’s strange that I don’t remember the latter even though I was the same age. I also don’t know if the first instance is considered art.

LUCAS LASNIER

Lucas Lasnier Submitted September 14th 2013

Name Lucas Lasnier aka Parbo Age 36 What is your current location?

I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Where are you from?

Mar del Plata, Argentina.

What is your current occupation?

A full time artist and designer, founder in KidGaucho.

Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

It’s a kind of 50/50. I had a fine arts education and been taking classes and workshops in art between the age of 11 and 15 and after that I develop and keep working myself into graffiti and street art for the last 12 years.

What materials do you like to work with?

If I have to pick one, the basics of a simple piece of paper and a pencil always fits my needs and I think that’s the media I feel more comfortable working with, beside this, it’s always a big challenge to paint on canvas in acrylic and oil paintings.

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

Nowadays I’m working and projecting three different series of art work, all paintings, one of female portraits called Get Thrashe that is kind of a second phase of a series I did years ago called Girls and Roses, a new collection of paintings about Johnny Ramone, also connected with a group of painting about the Ramones produced in 2008 and the third is about the artwork that you are featured.

What music do you listen to while working?

I’d rather not to listen to music when I’m painting, it’s a habit I got when I started to paint on the street. I never used headphones ‘cause I wanted to be listening to what was happening around me at the moment of painting– the traffic, the people around, just to feel safe and alert. So when I paint at home or in my studio I prefer doing it at night and in complete silence.

What people, books, films, (etc…) inspire you the most?

Mostly my parents and grandfather push me into fine arts and when I was a teenager I was really inspired from the skate and punk culture.

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Where do you like to work?

What is one of your earliest memories of making art?

It depends: if I have deadlines, I choose my studio, being alone without distractions but if I have enough time to produce and relax from time to time, home is a better place, to connect with my son and my wife.

Being with my grandpa every Saturday morning drawing with him and watching my grandmother cooking.

Previous Work

Websites: http://lucasparbo.tumblr.com/ http://cargocollective.com/parbo http://www.flickr.com/photos/parboart/ Contact: parboart@gmail.com

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BEN MCLEOD

Ben Mcleod Submitted October 27th 2013

“It took me a while to get started with this image. I usually have a more restrictive brief to work with and that helps me make my choices. So to just be given the word ‘Solace’ and given free reign was hard for me.

So I decided I wanted to show the idea of solace through my choice of composition, colour and elements. I wanted to illustrate difficulty being overshadowed by something more serene.

Perhaps subconsciously I visually leaned towards the stresses of the day to day grind and the frustration that comes with that. It would be interesting to know if people got that from it without reading this.”

-Ben Mcleod Name Ben Mcleod Age 30 What is your current location?

Manchester, England What is your current occupation?

I do have a regular job but I consider my illustration and design work to be my “work” Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

I have a degree in illustration I got from Stockport College, Manchester.

One of the best things I ever did, it really gave me my passion for what I do.

What people, books, films, (etc…) inspire you the most?

I am into films in a huge way. Most of my personal work is based on films, alternative posters and so on. I love the work of Paul Thomas Anderson, along with Steve McQueen. I’d say they are two of the best film-makers around today. Wes Anderson is also a real inspiration, with any art it’s all about making the right choices and Wes Anderson has really created his own style. I read a lot of really cheesy sci-fi books, I really should branch out. I also like George Orwell’s 1984, I’ve read it a few times now.

I’m a huge fan of designers Paul Rand and Saul Bass, both giants of designs in their day. Such bold and gutsy design really inspires me to make good decisions in my work.

What materials do you like to work with?

I used various printed, drawn and painted elements and textures and put them together in Photoshop. I try not to over use Photoshop though. I use it more as a compositional tool.

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on an illustration for a yearly competition for London Transport. I’ve just finished a poster for the film Jaws for the Hero Complex Gallery in America. I also want to start a series of images along a more personal theme, something a bit more experimental.

What music do you listen to while working?

I listen to a lot of Queens of the Stone Age. I love Arctic Monkeys, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, The Stooges, and a lot of soul music and old blues and jazz.

Where do you like to work?

Just where ever I happen to be. If I’m out and about and I have an idea I need to get to a computer or my sketch book fast to get it down.

What is one of your earliest memories of making art?

I always remember the sheer excitement of getting new pads and pencils. I was just obsessed with stationary. And making those precious first marks in a sparkling new sketch book was always a well thought out affair!

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Previous Work

Websites: http://benmcleodillustration.tumblr.com/ Contact: benmcleod2003@yahoo.co.uk

26 FORGE • DECEMBER 2013

SID BLACK

Sid Black Submitted November 4th 2013

Name

What materials do you like to work with?

Sid Black

I mean, as a photographer, I kind of have to say film. Although I like to think of my photographs as materials in themselves, that I can then work with, or on top of, or into, rather than just looking at the photograph as the final piece.

Age 18 What is your current location?

South London, I’m a student at Camberwell college of arts.

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

What is your current occupation?

Someone very close to me is pretty ill at the moment, so I’ve been photographing a lot of moments with them just to keep them all in my memory, it’s kind of more a personal project, I guess. I’ve been looking at memories a lot actually, and how they’re not really photographic, but a lot more abstract, so I’ve been looking at ways to make my photographs less figurative, and more dreamlike and distorted, closer to how we remember things in our own brain. (Well, in mine at least)

At the moment, just a student.

What music do you listen to while working?

Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

At the moment, a lot of this band called future islands, a fair bit of Nordic music (Múm, Olafur Arnalds, Rangleklods, Sin Fang, Teitur), and some a tribe called quest and tom waits, just to name a few.

Where are you from?

I’m just a boring English kid, really. I’ve spent most of my life in Oxford, but I was born in Banbury.

None whatsoever! I’m pretty much self taught, but I would like to go on to study photography, or just escape education and travel for a while, with lots of cameras. I haven’t really decided yet.

What people, books, films, (etc…) inspire you the most?

I’d say it’s constantly changing depending on what I’ve read about/watched/listened to recently. In terms of photographers, Daido Moriyama and Wolfgang Tillmans are my biggest inspirations at the moment, but I take inspiration from a lot of other things too. Lately I’ve been obsessed with René Redzepi and his restaurant Noma, I just really like his mindset of making everything himself, living off the earth, it’s really interesting. I’m not sure how I’d translate that into photography, but it’s great nonetheless.

Where do you like to work?

Outside. Preferably in a forest.

What is one of your earliest memories of making art?

I mean, like anyone, I guess I’ve been been drawing for as long as I can remember, although I do it a lot less now, which is sad.

I can remember the first time I got into photography though, I must’ve been about 7 or 8, I was in the Philippines with my mum for her job, and there were lots of deer, everywhere, all I remember was using our crappy digital camera to take pictures of them, and lots of awful pictures of flowers.

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Previous Work

Websites: http://sidblack.tumblr.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/sid_black/ Contact: sidblack@hotmail.co.uk

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ZEKE ROTHFELS

Zeke Rothfels Submitted November 7th 2013

What is your current location?

What materials do you like to work with?

Montréal

When I am making collages it comes almost entirely from National Geographics, a lot of them from 1996 as the second-hand bookstore I frequent seems to have a surplus from that year. Recently someone gave me an issue of Vice that contains the Bob Guccione (the founder of Penthouse) archives. It’s full of sepia babely naked ladies, which is fab, and very useful.

When I’m not working solely in cut and paste, I’m usually doing some pen and ink, although over the summer I discovered the joy of water colour painting, which I hitherto despised.

Where are you from?

Toronto Island What is your current occupation?

Art student and waitress Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

I attended an arts high school but with more of an emphasis on theatre than visual arts, and am currently studying fine arts in university.

What people, books, films, (etc…) inspire you the most?

I really like reading old National Geographics and that’s where a lot of my work comes from. I like over-the-top kitschy films like Mermaids or anything by John Waters. Buffy the Vampire Slayer inspires me a lot. I also watch a ton of movies and television, so probably whether I’m cognizant of it or not, I’m drawing from there. Lately I’ve been doing my artwork whilst watching stand-up comedy by people like Mike Birbiglia and John Hodgman.

Reading that gets me in the mood for making things includes (but is not limited to) Ann Marie Macdonald, Daniel Macivor, Shakespeare, and J.K. Rowling. In terms of visual artists who inspire me, lately I’ve been pretty interested in the kind of appropriation that Richard Prince gets up to. It’s not very contemporary but I spend a lot of time thinking about the Gutai movement in general.

In regards to collage work that inspires my own, I draw a lot from Claes Otto Jennow and Franz Falckenhaus. I also have the fortune/misfortune of being constantly surrounded by very talented artists in a variety of fields, which is both inspiring and motivating and occasionally overwhelming.

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

I just finished putting together the first issue of a collaborative zine called Geez Louise which is a mélange of poetry, artwork, comics, and fiction by various talented people I know. I’m now working on a performance piece inspired by the very beautiful Mount Royal cemetery here in Montréal, which sounds rather morbid, but it isn’t.

What music do you listen to while working?

I realize this isn’t music but I really like to listen to Dan Savage’s Savage Lovecast podcast while I’m working. Other than that, David Bowie, Blondie, Thao Nguyen and The Get Down Stay Downs, Cat Power, Josie and The Pussycats, The Velvet Underground, Culture Club, Chance The Rapper, Iggy Azealia, Cake, The Clash, Talking Heads, and Prince.

Where do you like to work?

I really love to work in my mom’s and my living room, it’s full of chaise-lounges and samovars and kind of resembles what I imagine an opium den would look like. Alas that is back in Toronto, and now in my one room apartment my options are limited to bed/floor/table covered in school papers and empty tea mugs.

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Previous Work

Websites: http://porpoisesandkings.tumblr.com/ Contact: zeketron@gmail.com

34 FORGE • DECEMBER 2013

MAXINE CRUMP

Maxine Crump Submitted November 10th 2013

Name

What materials do you like to work with?

Maxine Crump

Oil paints are a favorite of mine, but I also enjoy working with pens and markers. They have a more infantile feel that I really dig.

Age 16 What is your current location?

Baltimore, MD Where are you from?

Baltimore, MD What is your current occupation?

Student Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

I’ve taken high school level art classes for the past three years, but I work best outside of a structured class.

What people, books, films, (etc…) inspire you the most?

I draw a lot of inspiration from the work of many modern artists and illustrators (Yoshitomo Nara, Roy Lichtenstein, Dieter Roth) but I’m also a huge fan of outsider art and impressionism. I’ve also been watching and rewatching a lot of François Truffaut films of late, and I really like to try to capture the same sort of incidental realism in my pieces that he does in his films.

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

At this particular moment, I’m working on a distorted self portrait for school and a HUGE (68x54) portrait of Jeff Mangum, both in oils.

What music do you listen to while working?

Mainly EDM and rap. It’s a little bizarre because neither of those are particular favorites of mine, but when I’m in the middle of a piece, it totally gets me in a groove.

Where do you like to work?

My bedroom is pretty much the only place I CAN work, in terms of my paintings. I try to keep it as well-ventilated as possible.

As for my smaller-scale drawings, I really like to be somewhere public, so as to draw inspiration, but quiet enough that I can focus my efforts.

What is one of your earliest memories of making art?

When I was 5, I lived in a rental house with my mom and a friend of hers for a year. Right before we moved out, the owner renovated the kitchen, and so I was allowed to draw on the walls until they painted over them. Frankly, I wish I could do that in my own room!

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Previous Work

Websites: http://maxinecrump.tumblr.com/ Contact: maxinemercedescrump@gmail.com

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J. POWERS BOWMAN

J. Powers Bowman Submitted September 20th 2013

“The idea of solace is very relevant to my work, although it is not in itself a theme; in fact, none of my artwork carries any intentional theme. Art, as do most other forms of creative media, enables people to find solace through escapism. I attempt to provide the viewer with the best possible means for such escapism through a hypothetical world, comprising the greatest possible variety of structures and other features, presented in the greatest possible detail. Rather than consider any intended theme, the viewer can explore this landscape on his or her own terms. The artwork’s detail is such that repeat viewings will hopefully yield new discoveries and impressions, hence a more immersive viewing experience, making the artwork an accessible and reliable means of escapism and therefore of solace. While this intention is common to most of my artwork, the piece entitled 004 that I submitted is a particularly detailed and densely packed landscape, exemplifying the sort of immersive world that I try to provide.”

-J. Powers Bowman Name

What materials do you like to work with?

Joseph Powers Bowman

I use Pilot Precise V5 pens, 26 lb. acid-free paper, and a 17”x 11” flatbed scanner/copier.

Age 31 What is your current location?

What pieces, projects, or collaborations are you currently working on?

United States

I am currently working on a new series of larger size posters.

I went from 17”x 11” to 34”x 22”, and as my library of freehand illustrations grows I am graduating up to 60”x 36”.

Where are you from?

What music do you listen to while working?

United States

Lately I have been eating a lot of Bossa Nova music while working.

What is your current occupation?

Illustrator Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in, or are you self taught?

I’ve never had any specialized training in the arts, but I have been working with pen-and-ink as a medium since I was around twelve.

What people, books, films, (etc…) inspire you the most?

Where do you like to work?

I have a small home office, with a good size work table, a comfortable chair, and a separate computer desk.

What is one of your earliest memories of making art?

My earliest memory of making art must be from kindergarten, when I would spent all my available time at the arts & crafts table.

The Alfred Hitchcock/Fred Banberry collaboration Haunted Houseful contains a great deal of superb, spooky illustration.

My copy was always among my most prized possessions, and was among the first things that motivated me to start drawing.

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Previous Work

Websites: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpowersbowman/ Contact: jpowersbowman@gmail.com

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CALDWELL TANNER

CALDWELL TANNER

by MATTHEW JAMES-WILSON

Since the internet has changed the way art is shared and displayed, it’s often hard to really get a perception of what

the artists are actually like. Frequently, artists have a hard time showing their true personality on their own websites and blogs, and have to hope that their attitude and ideals can be expressed through their art alone. Some artists, on the other hand, successfully integrate their personas and senses of humor into both their work and website to create a much more engaging and personal experience for their audience. Among the many artists on the internet that try to achieve this sublime combination of personality and content, Caldwell Tanner has been one of the most triumphant.

Caldwell primarily produces art through his job as head illustrator at CollegeHumor, where he writes and illustrates

one of the sites most frequently viewed articles, Almost Reading. Along with his work for the site, Caldwell makes drawings on his website Loldwell.com, films drawing-tutorial-esque videos with his equally hilarious CollegeHumor co-worker Owen Parsons for Drawdwell Drawing Show, and wrote his first full length comic, Cirrus Skylark and the Tomb of The Thunderlord. In each of his endeavors, Caldwell is able to incorporate a wonderful balance of original detailed work and his own personality.

When we first contacted Caldwell, we were delighted by the enthusiasm in his response. All of us at FORGE. have

been huge fans of CollegeHumor for the past few years, so when Caldwell invited us to their office in Chelsea, Manhattan, we were elated. We were amazed to find common interests and Caldwell’s incredible ability to articulate his feelings toward art and the internet. This was the first interview where we got the chance to meet the artist in person, and it set a high bar for the rest of the interviews to come.

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What was your reason for moving to New York?

Well, I got a job at CollegeHumor. So basically someone said they would pay me money to live in New York, so I moved here. I kind of always wanted to because I interned with CollegeHumor in 2008 when I was still in college and it was really great and a lot of fun. I basically just needed the impulse and finical backing to do it.

How has New York impacted your work?

New York is its own little world, and you’ll want to make a joke about like “How bad the subways are.” and then you’ll have to remember “Oh right, nobody else has those...” France would like those jokes maybe… get some big London Underground fans.

Where in New York do you live?

Here’s my exact address…

How has the environment at CollegeHumor affected your work?

It’s a really encouraging environment, I guess. You know, we’re just trying to make funny stuff for the internet, and you can be as experimental or inventive as you want. We’re always trying to keep up with everything that’s happening, and you know… everybody just wants to make good jokes.

What have you worked on at CollegeHumor besides illustration?

I’ve written one or two Hardly Workings. Then I wrote some video series, like this one called BearShark that came out recently which was an animation similar to Wile E. Cayote and the Roadrunner, but if Wile E Cayote always won. It involves these two characters, Bear and Shark, and they’re always chasing this guy named Steve. Doing that was really fun. I did

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all of these shows for the Nintendo 3DS video service, and you could download all the episodes and they were all in 3D which was really cool. Then I also did the show Dinosaur Office which was another one of my favorite things. So occasionally I’ll do videos for the site, when I have time.

How’d you get the opportunity to work with Harry Partridge on BearShark?

The fun thing about working for a big internet comedy company is that you have money to give to people. Initially Nintendo came to us and were like “we’re launching this Nintendo video service, and we want you guys to make some pilots for potential shows for it”. So we made five shows, Dinosaur Office, BearShark, Next Level, Duel, and Pizza Quest. So we made all of theses things for them and they just came back to us and said “We like these (Dinosaur Office and BearShark), now you can make full series out of them”. With BearShark we knew we wanted this kind of old-timey Warner Brothers style animation. So we reached out to Harry Partridge because he was the closet thing to someone who animates in Flash, but that doesn’t make characters that just slide into frame or just tween all over the place. I think he’s one of the best animators on the internet.

Is all of your work made on the computer, or are there any analog aspects of your work?

I’m pretty much 100% digital at this point. But one of the thing I like to do, if you go to my website loldwell.com you can see theres a little tab at the top that says “Postcards”. What I’ve started to do, just to keep in practice, is send post cards to people with a little drawing on it. Thats really the only traditional media time I get. But it’s really nice to get a little break, and actually sit away from the commuter. I do love digital, and I think it stream lines everything, but you definitely miss the feeling of a pen dragging across the paper. It’s a trade off.

“It’s a really encouraging environment I guess. You know, we’re just trying to make funny stuff for the internet, and you can be as experimental or inventive as you want.”

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What pros and cons has the Internet had on art and the way people view it?

Oh boy… This one… Oh man… Thats the fun thing about making art for the internet is that you’re spending hours and hours making art and then you spend like five seconds posting that art to the internet. I would say, in general, I’m spending like four to five hours preparing something to go on the internet, and in that time I’m just thinking about the internet and art in general and the scene, and it’s just this huge torrent of regret.

Well, maybe not regret, but you’re thinking about expectations and delivery and how you think people are going to perceive things. I would say that the internet loves art and the internet loves creators. But unfortunately theres a weird “scavenger” culture around the internet. I think we’re all sort of guilty of it, and it’s a little good and bad. People praise people more for finding cool things than they do for people making cool things. I think eventually (as an artist) you break through a bit, if enough people find your stuff, and people are more like “Oh this person made this, and this person is cool”. But if you go on a site like reddit or imgur, which are sites I visit everyday so I have a right to critique them, you’ll notice that the biggest posts are always people being like “My friend made this.” or “Look at this dumb thing my dad did.” and everyone is sort of just shifting the blame from themselves, for better or for worse, creatively or not. The main gist of it is that they’re finding something and bringing it to you as apposed to making something for you. I think it’s good because artist want people to find their stuff, and that sort of thing has helped me a lot. But it’s also dangerous because too often you’ll see people put the emphasis on them finding artist’s things, and the person that made it doesn’t get enough credit. It’s a balance and it’s sort of always been like that. But I feel like the internet has illuminated it a bit. I think Tumblr is actively better about letting creators source their stuff. You can upload a source for anything, which is usually helpful. The main structure of it is like, if you like something from somebody you can reblog it to your blog and it’s not like “I found this thing!” it’s like “I follow this person who made this thing!” I just think the site architecture is better for artists.

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What films, books, or music have influenced you?

I’ll say for purposes of art and for purposes of humor. For art, I love Miyazaki films, and I think Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is my favorite. It’s got that real 80’s vibe of environmentalism, but not in an overly harsh way. It’s got that Captain Planet, 80’s environmentalism, vibe. It’s like “Oh man, we’ve got the save the Earth because things… are BAD. Because BUGS have taken over. Maybe WE’RE the bad guys?!?” Its also got this kicking 80’s soundtrack that’s just all synth. Miyazaki is really great at world building, especially in that, because I think that was actually a manga that he wrote then made into an actual film. I feel like that was back when he was young and passionate about stuff and now he’s like “Imma make a movie about a pig in an airplane.”

I also really like Tim and Eric, I think they just changed the game to a degree. They made weird OK. How have games influenced your work?

Anytime someone who likes making jokes is playing a video game, you’re always winding around in your head “This is weird. This is weird for these reasons.” You’re kinda building jokes as you’re doing it. I like making comics about video games, because like I said, it’s a fun cheat. You’re already in the readers head with that world. Video games are great because they’re just these style resources as well. Wind Waker is a great one. I love that whole style since the Wind Waker style wasn’t just a visual one. They set up this whole different universe, like the difference between a Christopher Nolan superhero movie and a Joss Whedon superhero movie, it’s like Joss Whedon remembers that superheroes can be fun, where Christopher Nolan is like everyone is frown-town all the time. Spirit Tracks and the other DS one are similar to that. They knew that Link could be fun and they specifically engineered his face to be an emote machine. If he’s reacting to something, he’s reacting very loudly and in very fun ways. His whole face is just this blank palette for emoji essentially. Spirit

Tracks is just so wacky, and that would never fly in a Twilight Princess-style game. That’s an example of a style and an aesthetic and a voice that are all wedged together nicely.

I should mention this, I grew up with a Sega Genesis, so Sonic the Hedgehog was huge for me. It’s actually very heartbreaking for me, watching his whole rise and fall, but also going on the internet and find out a lot more people like Sonic a lot more than me, in the underwear department. They really like Sonic the Hedgehog, so much so that they drew themselves and Sonic the Hedgehog doing things to each other. But that was how I learned to draw, I got a Sega Genesis in second grade and I just taught myself how to draw Sonic, which is basically just a hotdog, with a little nose on the hotdog and some spikes, then the weird eyes that connect for some reason. Those games were very lush in their visual style, and the music was really good and poppy and catchy. Each world had a very familiar video game theme where this was the ice level and this was the fire level, but they all felt so big and polished. It was a good intro for me into aesthetics. I was going to mention that I liked Sonic so much that in second grade I drew fan comics of him that fill in the story of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It’s just a retelling of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 but I thought it would be better if there were word bubbles and dialogue.

Are there any projects you would like to start, that you just don’t have the funding or resources for?

Oh, so many things. I did this thing for the site a little while ago, it was this digital choose-your-own adventure, and I loved that.

I love branching narratives like that. People like branching narratives in general! I would love to be able to do a visual novel style game. OH! We should go back in time and I can tell you about my favorite game series that I forgot to mention, Phoenix Wright. I don’t know if you guy have ever played it, but holy fuck, Phoenix Wright is the best thing in the world. It’s such an unconventional video game, it’s more of a visual novel overall.

You get excited for such minutia in that game, and it’s really fantastic. I’d love to be able to do a visual novel style game at some point. I’d also love to be able to do more animation type stuff like I’ve done with BearShark and Dinosaur Office, so I’m trying to keep up with that. This has always kinda been my approach, which is I’ll basically do anything that anyone lets me do, so I’ll just keep trying to do things.

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JEN MANN

JEN MANN

by MATTHEW JAMES-WILSON

Jen Mann is one of the more distinct and inventive portrait artists from the past 5 years. Unlike many of her contempo-

raries, Jen takes a much more conceptual approach to her portraits. She explores the different ways color can be used to change the mood and aesthetic of a portrait, and is totally willing to make a few mistakes to truly find out what she wants to make next.

Meeting Jen in Toronto was an absolute pleasure. I love any excuse to go back to the place where I grew up, but being

able to meet one of my favorite artists and interview her made it an even more exciting trip. On a warm sunny morning in August I boarded a GO train in downtown Toronto that would take me to Mississauga, a suburb just outside the city. Once I arrived at the station, I was greeted by Jen, who then drove me to the house where she had lived her entire life. Once we arrived, Jen offered me an assortment of her favorite David’s Teas, and she showed me some of her enormous paintings that I’d only ever seen on a computer monitor. Seeing them first-hand added a new dimension to my appreciation for her work.

Where are you from and where do you live currently?

I’m from Mississauga Ontario, but it’s right outside of Toronto, so I consider it Toronto. I’ve lived in the same house my whole life, so I guess I’ve never really had that much travel.

manipulate the images. Once I have a bunch of mock ups, I then print them out and transfer the images on to canvases.

I do a bunch of different canvases at once, and start with the backgrounds, and the background-backgrounds. Then I’ll paint and individual image inside that from top left to bottom right.

Did you go to school for art or were you self taught?

Has painting always been your main medium if art?

I went to high school for art. The one in my region was Cawthra School of the Arts, so I went there. Then I went to Ontario College of Art and Design, which is now called OCAD because they keep changing their name. But it’s the oldest biggest school in Canada for art.

No, painting has not always been my main medium. I actually don’t think I painted until after university. When I was a kid, I guess I always drew and doodled and had fun with that kind of medium. Then in high school a experimented a little bit with print making, and I really liked it. When I went to university I wanted to learn print making so I got my undergrad in print making. A lot of people don’t really know what print making is.

I think a lot of people in art do, but every body else is like “So what do you do? Print off a printer?” and I’m like “No...”. I wanted to learn something that I couldn’t learn outside of school, so I went through for print making, but when I was finished I was so sick of multiples, because you’re not actually working on the surface that you end up with. I was so sick of this long process where you don’t end up with something that people actually understand, so I was like “I’m going to paint!”.

All of the stuff I had been doing in the past really translated easily into painting, and I’ve just been developing a style since then.

How has living in Toronto impacted your work?

I’m not sure how living here has really affected my work. I feel like a lot of influences are now online so you don’t have the same cultural impacts in the way that “you live here so you’re impacted by the work thats around you”. I feel like the work that’s all around us is the work that’s online so we’re really impacted by the people we maybe follow on tumblr. Though I’m sure I’m affected by living in Toronto, I’m just not sure how I am. I guess it’d be easier for an outsider to see.

Could you take us through the process of making one of your pieces?

First I write things that inspire me. So I’ll write poetry or a short story, and sometimes they’ll influence a series of work. Then once I kind of have this idea for what I want to do in a series, I then do photo shoots with friends and family or people that volunteer. Then I take those photos into Photoshop and look at different colors or different things I have ideas for, and just

How did going to school for print making prepare you for or influence your paintings?

In print making you use oil inks and the reason I went to oil was because I really the texture of oil and I liked the gem-like qualities of the colors. I felt like it was really different from acrylic. I think I did experiment with acrylic in college but I didn’t

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“I was frustrated when I started the Strange Beauties series about just being stuck in a rut of not knowing what to do.�

like how quickly it dried, so I decided oil was the way for me.

I’ve looked things up online like “What are you supposed to do with wood, how do you prime it?” and there’s answers.

I’ve also always been interested in photography. I had a nice SLR when I was going to university and in high school I took photography classes with 35mm film where I’d develop my own. The photography was just like the Photoshopping. My dad was a graphic designer so I’ve worked for him for a really long time doing photo retouching, close cropping, and layouts for catalogues. I’ve been using Photoshop since I was able to be on a computer, since we had a computer in our house. We had Macs growing up because my dad owns his own graphic design business, so we’ve always had Macs with Photoshop.

Learning painting was a struggle, but it’s actually funny because people always ask me “What paints do you use?” and I’m like “I never thought to ask what paints people use.” I was always like “Well, I’ll get these ones and see how they are.” and eventually I started researching, especially for this series Strange Beauties and my next series which is also really colorful, color vibrancy because the color density, the amount of pigment in the paint, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s vibrant. You have to look at different companies that make high end paints because certain ones specialize in different colors. For example, Old Holland is great for cadmiums. I guess I researched on Dick Blick’s online pallets, like this color mixed with a medium, and you can see how vibrant it is when mixed with those colors at the same quantities. You can actually see this company’s

cobalt versus this company’s, and get an idea. I did a lot of that because I really wanted a lot of saturated colors and it’s really hard for oils to be a certain type of vibrancy like neon or really super saturated… I’m just trailing on.

How did you first come up with the idea to use heavily saturated and vibrant colors for your Strange Beauties series?

I don’t know how the saturated color really came on, but I was frustrated when I started the Strange Beauties series about just being stuck in a rut of not knowing what to do. I didn’t have any new photos to work from or any photo shoots set up. I was really frustrated and uninspired. I went back through some of my old photos, and saw that I’d wrote about being interested in the idea of wrong and what magic laid behind that world of bad and mistake. I was playing with these images that hadn’t turned out, where people were blinking, things that I’d cast off a long time ago, saying “Nope, this isn’t good.” So i went back through those images and was like “Can I find something magical in this moment?” I was editing this one photo and I didn’t know what I was doing with it, I was just playing around, and it ended up being the Bubblegum piece with the really bright hair. She was my first really super saturated edit. My parents came into the room and I was like “Do you like it?” and they were like “Eww” and I was like “It’s great!” and they were like “I don’t know…” and I was like “It’s gonna be huge!” and they were like “I don’t know…” but I knew it.

“It ended up being the Bubblegum piece with the really bright hair.

She was my first really super saturated edit.”

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How do you choose the models for your portraits?

Kind of convenience. Most of my subjects are chosen based on whether I think their face is intriguing. It’s usually just people around me that I find interesting or have a relationship with.

How do you feel your work has changed since you first started painting?

I think you just kind of get older. You have more experience with your own style, your own practice, and things become easier. You kind of stylize certain things that you’ve done so many times, so you get used to a certain pattern of working and it becomes easier. I guess I’m just more confident with making a mistake. I think that’s the piece of advice I give, whenever anyone asks me “What advice would you give to a young artist?” and I wish this was the advice someone had given to me. Don’t be afraid to fail, because the fear of failure will stop you from succeeding. If you’re afraid of the blank canvas, you don’t want to mess up because the idea in your head is so amazing and you don’t want to start, then you’ll never get anywhere. So if you don’t have expectations from yourself and you just play, then you’ll wind up with a much greater outcome.

I guess my style has changed along with the way I’ve changed.

I didn’t necessarily plan anything, it just kinda happened. I guess stylistically, it’s flukey. You come by what works for you.

I guess if you go back through my work, with my older series, they’re all different, they’re very unique in their style and it’s a weird transition I guess. I usually hate the work I was working on before, once I start working on the stuff I’m now working on, and you kind of get sick of your own imagery. At the time, I guess you’re in love with what you’re working on. I think that’s

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true with most artists. They’re always like “My next piece is my best piece.” Stylistically, I don’t know.

How did I develop a style? I don’t know, I just kinda experimented with things I found fun, I was just trying to have fun basically.

Is there anything you were able to accomplish in your older work, that you feel you haven’t been able to accomplish in your newer work?

I’m usually happier with my current work than with my past work because I feel like it’s developed more. I think I started a little looser than I ended up. So as I painted, I developed more realistic, and more realistic, and more realistic. As i keep going, I’m getting less realistic and less realistic. It’s this sort of pendulum. I started off this certain way and I went a little more realistic and now I’m going to another end of the spectrum.

It’s not that it’s not realistic, I’m just using more digital forms of abstraction to make it not real, as in it would not exist in reality. Like the image of the guy behind me (Wind and Wave), it doesn’t exist in reality, though it is realistic in a way, because it looks like a photograph but it also doesn’t look like a photograph, because of its colors. So there’s like lost reality to it. I’m going in a direction that was fairly realistic, but now going back to less realistic.

How did you come up with the concept for your white on white series?

It was a weird kind of happening I guess. I was doing this painting where I’d had this idea for a zebra that was white on white, but its stripes were see-through. I ended up doing that painting and I loved it. I liked the idea of something being there

“I’m just using more digital forms of abstraction to make it not real.”

and not being there and the idea of everything being the same.

If you’ve ever watched I Heart Huckabees, I was inspired by the blanket theory. This is a cheeseburger, this is an orgasm, all that. I liked the idea of everything being connected and painting anything and showing that they’re all connected in this weird way. I felt the white encompassed that by being everything. That’s where the white on white came from anyway.

It was very overwhelming at a certain point and I wanted to use color. That might have influenced the crazy use of color in my new works.

Do most of your series start out really conceptual like that?

Usually the start of a series in entirely conceptual. The ideas are based on writing that I’ve done or something that’s happened in my life, or something that inspires me. Then it develops from there. Different things will tie into it and as I work on the images for it, it’ll develop even more, so things that I haven’t planned will come out of the visual side. It kinda all happens at once. It’s not planned really, it just happens.

How do you feel the internet has impacted art and how people see it?

I think it’s amazing. The internet has really brought the regular viewer to the art world at a very approachable stage. A lot of people might feel intimidated to go into a gallery and see work, where as online, you can browse through it and feel very comfortable looking at art all on your own. You can be in your pajamas! It doesn’t even matter. I feel like it’s brought widespread distribution of art to so many countries without really having to pay for it. You don’t have to sell out. I think it’s really important for young artists especially. It’s not

necessarily indicative of whether an artist sells if their art is well known online. People who might like or reblog your work aren’t necessarily the ones buying your art. I think it’s because the art world, although it’s approachable online, is actually intimidating in person. That’s how most art is bought, in person, at a gallery, through a dealer. Most artists sell that way. I feel like it’s great for getting well known, but there has to be some way to connect the viewers online with the people in the gallery. It’s these two worlds that aren’t really connected, because some people who are very well collected aren’t even known online.

It’s just this interesting world.

How has Tumblr in particular affected you and your success?

Business-wise I’m not sure how it’s effected me. It’s definitely really fun. I like getting emails from people. Sometimes there’s a lot of emails from people. It’s overwhelming some days. It’s really nice talking to people about art and it connects people all over. Recently somebody from tumblr messaged me saying that they were going to feature me on the artist page. They have a certain page where they suggest certain blogs for art or music, and they wanted to suggest me. I was like “Wicked!”

Within three weeks there was like 30,000 new followers. I was like “Oh my god… What is this?” It’s overwhelming sometimes, but it’s really nice to have that kind of support behind your work, so that you know you’re not doing something that nobody likes. It is hard as an artist, especially when you’re working alone in a studio, you don’t have the kind of feedback that somebody at school has, or somebody in an artist community working in shared studios has. Being online, you get a lot more feedback in terms of what people respond to. People will leave comments, like “I love that color.” and you’ll be like “Yeah, that color is good.” It gives you an idea of what people like. Not that

your work necessarily is determined on what people like, but it is nice to know that people like it.

What artists have made an impact on you and your work?

I went to New York last summer, and my friend works for Sothebys Art Auction House in New York. She has her masters in Art History and we went to school together. She was like “Come out to New York!” and I was like “Yes!” She took me to all the different galleries for free and that was amazing.

When we were going through there I got to see a lot of work again, and I guess I don’t go to major institutions all the time. I saw a lot of paintings that I hadn’t seen in a while, and I found Van Gough’s work really inspirational. I’ve always like him. As an adult looking at the work, it was a lot different than looking at it as a student. I started realizing that they were people. I think you kind of distance yourself from anyone famous. They become this person on a pedestal, and you forget that they were people, just like you, looking at a canvas painting, and they decided to mix this color and put it on the canvas, and they were looking at something while painting this, or they had an idea in their head. They were just like you. I was looking at Picasso’s work and was like “He changed his mind here.”

There were things I didn’t really look at when I was a student because I was like “Oh I have to learn about this.” When you’re looking at it for fun, I feel like it’s a little different than looking at it for serious. It was a lot of fun looking at all that work, but I found it really inspirational to see his use of color in all his work.

Newer artists that I like… actually there are so many artists that are my contemporaries, that those are my favorite artists probably.

What books, films, or music have been inspirational to you?

Definitely Tom Robin’s books. They’re hilarious. I suggest them to anyone. I would suggest starting with The Jitterbug Perfume because it is hilarious, especially if you like beets. I have a couple of top movies that people should see. The first one is The Fountain. I don’t know who it’s directed by or anything like that, but I found that one very beautiful. Another one, I mentioned earlier, I Heart Huckabees. Another favorite with an existential plot line.

Are there any projects you’d like to embark on, but that you just don’t have the time or funding for?

If I won millions of dollars, like jackpot? I would definitely open my own gallery, start a magazine, do fun things like that. Help other artists, do residency programs. I would want to do that kind of thing. I don’t feel like I’m held back by funding for myself. I don’t feel like when I’m making something I’m like “Oh I don’t have enough money to do what I want to do.” I just find a way to do it. I don’t feel very restricted in that way. If I only had $500 in my account and something cost me $500 to make, I’d be like “Done. I’m milking it.” I don’t stress about that kind of thing. I know that whatever I put into my art is okay. I don’t feel guilty about spending money on work.

“A lot of people might feel intimidated to go into a gallery and see work, where as online, you can browse through it and feel very comfortable looking at art all on your own.

You can be in your pajamas!”

DAN METH

DAN METH

by MATTHEW JAMES-WILSON

Rarely does one get the opportunity to meet someone whose work has greatly impacted their sense of humor at a very

impressionable age. This past summer two of us here at FORGE. were given the chance to do exactly that.

One of the first artists we set out to work with when we started this magazine a year ago was Dan Meth. Dan is primarily

known for his popular Channel Frederator series, The Meth Minute 39, and the various weird or psychedelic illustrations that inhabit his website Danmeth.com. Because of the various mediums he works in, and how important his work is to the world of Flash Animation, Dan was always someone we looked up to prior to creating FORGE, and he was one of the few artists that we contacted to interview in our first issue. Unfortunately, nothing immediately came into fruition and we decided to wait for a better opportunity to do something with him. Luckily that opportunity came several months later, in June, when we went down to New York to interview Caldwell Tanner.

We were warmly greeted by Dan and his cat when we arrived at his home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After we filmed the

interview, Dan gave us a guided tour around his home and studio, talked to us about what we were doing for school, and even gave us a few over-stock books he had lying around.

Do you have any training or formal education in the field of art you work in?

Yes. I studied illustration at Syracuse University, but the rest of my skills are pretty much self-taught. Just a lifetime of doodling nonstop.

How has living in New York impacted your work?

I’m from the area, I grew up in the suburbs of New York, and after college I moved to California for a few years. It sounded like all my friends from college were having a lot more fun in New York, so I said “Okay I’ll move back to New York.” Why am I still here? That’s the real question. I’m not sure.

New York is a great place, because given the level of stimulation here, you’ll never be at a loss of ideas. There’s something in your face every moment of the day. You’re just so assaulted with things, good and bad. It develops a personality where you have to laugh at everything. I feel like people in New York have a really good sense of humor. They talk a lot, and they complain a lot, and there’s a lot of humor in discomfort and neurosis. New York brings that out in me as an artist. There’s so much culture and art and music here. There’s just a lot going on here.

When did you first start working for Channel Frederator?

That was around 2006. Fred had seen some cartoons I did online and he invited me to pitch a short for his Nickelodeon show at the time, Random Cartoons. So I pitched a couple, but none of those came to fruition. He liked my work and saw another possibility, which was web content, that he was really starting to get into at that time What were you doing prior to working at Channel Frederator?

I was doing sort of commercials… sort of cartoons. A lot of companies were hiring me to do short little “viral” cartoons that people would email each other and send around. This was even before Youtube. I think there was a lot less on the web at the time, so you could make a lot bigger impact. There weren’t SO many videos on the web, so when someone made a cartoon on the internet, it kinda meant more.

Has animation always been your main medium of art?

It hasn’t. In college I studied illustration. I thought I was going to be an illustrator really. I didn’t know animation was going to become so easy for anyone to do. Back then you needed to work at a huge studio and there was cell animation. Then around 2000, you could make animations in your house without anyone’s help. Right around the time I graduated it became really easy to do, so as soon as I got a computer it was like “Okay, I guess I’m an animator now.”

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“I was like ‘Just let me do whatever I want to do.’ and somehow he was like ‘Okay, that sounds like a good idea!’”

How did you start The Meth Minute 39?

The way I pitched it to him, I said “I want to do 39 cartoons that are unrelated.” because I was having trouble coming up with just one character that I could do 39 cartoons about. So I was like “Just let me do whatever I want to do.” and somehow he was like “Okay, that sounds like a good idea!”

Each episode was basically a backlog of ideas I’d already had for years and I said “Okay, I can do all these different characters. As soon as it started happening, it became easier to think of stuff. It was very low budget, and there wasn’t a budget for hiring actors or anything, so most of the voices were friends of mine who were funny. I’d come up with these scenarios and we had a connection with a sound studio, so I’d put my friends in a sound booth and we’d tell them what was happening. There wasn’t always even a script, I mean there was a basic plot, but I thought it was way funnier to have people improv and make up dialogue on the spot. I think that’s why it has a unique kind of sensibility to it.

What was the process for making an individual episode?

I was sometimes working on four or five at the same time. I was thinking ahead the entire time. I mean, I didn’t have years to make this, and they were overlapping the production. I also had some interns working on it. It was all in my mind, I was like “Okay, you’re going to be doing this one, that’s like five episodes from now.” The last episode was a song about how it was over, I wrote that like the first week I was producing it. The timeline of production caught up with me, so by the end I was finishing the last episode the night before. This is never the way a series is produced, some primetime animated show, it’s like the whole thing is…. oh I don’t know actually. I’m talking out of my ass. I don’t know how they make real series. That’s how I did it.

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In what direction has your work gone since you finished The Meth Minute 39?

I think I’m more into drawing right now. I’ll probably go back into animation, I just needed a break. The Meth Minute was a very exhausting production. Also I’d like to say that my art is probably getting a lot weirder. I think I care a lot less if everyone will laugh at this and more about what I think is funny and a lot of strange people will think is funny. I’m not going for viral, cover-of-Youtube type of cartoon.

How would you describe your overall sense of humor?

II think weird. Weird but funny. I thought of it this way; the best way to make art, for me, is to think about what you’re interested in and what you think is funny and what other people think is funny. You have to be true to the weird stuff that you’re into if you want it to be any good. I’ll do cartoons about things that interest me, and the other people out there who are also interested in that will love it. That’s my philosophy. Try to stick to your gut feeling.

What was it like working in the office where popular things like Adventure Time and Tumblr were conceived?

It was great! Just about everyone was in their 20’s. David Carp, who created Tumblr, he was like 19. You would have thought he was an intern. We used to get lunch together. Maybe I’m wrong but it feels like 2007, the viral video world was sort of different than it is now. Okay that’s not really about the office, but you had things like chocolate rain that were like accidentally viral. It was before companies were really trying to manufacture huge videos, and things that were being forwarded around seemed more organic. But anyway, the office was great. There was cartoon stuff all over the walls, people who knew how to do everything were all around you.

We had a great library of cartoon memorabilia and research and everything. It was like 20 people in the office and everybody knew each other. It was great. The first week there, they were like “Hey what do you think of this cartoon?” It was like the animation for the pilot for AdventureTime, which was not for Cartoon Network, but was for Nickelodeon. It was like the first rendering of the pilot, without sound effects or anything. I was like “This is some of the best writing. It’s so strange.” I loved it. I knew that if it was ever made into a show, it’d be great.

Why were Tumblr and Channel Frederator sharing an office?

David had been an intern of Fred’s a few years before. They were just kind of sharing this office space, and Fred was, I believe, an investor in Tumblr. It was all just kind of in the same room. Not so much that Tumblr and Frederator had much to do with each other in terms of business. Office space in Park Avenue is expensive, so you share it with other companies.

I think it was great though, because you see a bunch of Adventure Time stuff on Tumblr, and I think they boosted each others success in some ways.

How do you feel Tumblr has impacted art on the internet?

I think it’s great. It’s been like five years now. I made it a mission early on, as best I can, I’ll try to put something new up once a day, on Tumblr, at the same time every day. It just became part of my routine, and it helps me have a drive to make someone new, and also, for better or for worse, I call it an instant nielsen’s rating. You put something up every day, and you can instantly tell the appeal of every single drawing.

You know, I’m still trying to please, as weird as I want to take my art, I’m still hoping people will like it. So on Tumblr, as you get more followers, you get a better census of if it’s a funny drawing or whatever. So, yeah, it keeps me going. Five days a week. Putting something up. At least something

“You have to be true to the weird stuff that you’re into if you want it to be any good.”

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