V34: Well, Well, Well

WELL, WELL, WELL

THE ILLUSTRATION REPORT QUARTERLY EDITION

theaoi.com/varoom-mag

I L L U S T R AT I O N, C U LT U R E , S O C I E T Y

COVER BY ILLUSTRATION: PATRIK SVENSSON

EXPLORING CREATIVITY AND WELLBEING

Autumn 2016 / Issue 34 / £8.00

18 A HISTORY OF LOOKING AT HEALTH

A history of looking at health Our experience and ideas of health, illness and our body is partly shaped by visual technologies and the kind of medical knowledge and social conversations they enable. CATHERINE DRAYCOTT, Head of Images at The WELLCOME LIBRARY, a major resource for the study of medical history, introduces a survey of some key moments in the illustration of health and illness

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Since the Renaissance, the evolution of the western world’s knowledge of the human body and the diseases that affect it has been driven by images, firstly of what can be seen by the naked eye and then, with the invention of the microscope by Anton van Leeuwenhoek, of the secrets of the invisible.

In medieval times, images of the body are stylised, based on assumptions and observations as far as religious and cultural inhibitions would allow. The thirst for knowledge among artists and scientists during the renaissance led to strikingly beautiful and often disturbing images of the anatomy of the body (Gravid uterus, by William Hunter), the first colour printing technique of mezzotint (Gautier d’Agoty) offering a velvety, subtlely shaded rendering of flesh and bone.

Microscopes gave a new window to worlds of microbes, cells and microorganisms that sowed fear for some (Thames Water) and gave knowledge shared with the consummate skill of the engravers and artists (Hooke’s flea) to fight the threats they revealed.

This evolution of technology, along with the skill of those that work with it to enhance the images has taken knowledge further. Colour is used to dramatic effect in the kidney stone scanning electron micrograph, samples are stained with fluorescent dye to highlight a killer T-Cell latching on to its prey, and data used to inform the creation of a beautiful watercolour painting revealing the structure of the terrifying virus; ebola.

It’s also fascinating to look at the work of illustrators and artists over the centuries, from satirical caricatures showing people’s fears of medical developments such as vaccination (Gillray) to the lifestyle approach of a 1940s syphilis public health poster (Fellnagel). We can also contrast a Victorian genre painting warning against the effects of dissipation with the spectre of syphilis leering through a curtain at a young man with an elegant poster produced for the United States Public Heath Service of swimmers around a pool warning about the same threat. We can also contrast a Victorian genre painting warning against the effects of dissipation with the spectre of syphilis leering through a curtain at a young man with an elegant poster produced for the United States Public Heath Service of swimmers around a pool warning about the same threat.

We can also contrast a Victorian genre painting warning against the effects of dissipation with the spectre of syphilis leering through a curtain at a young man with an elegant poster produced for the United States Public Heath Service of swimmers around a pool warning about the same threat.

The power of illustration and its continued relevance in the technology-led world of medicine is a constant theme in the collection of Wellcome.

All images courtesy of the Wellcome Library. wellcomeimages.org

Knowledge of the human body and the diseases that affect it has been driven by images

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A HISTORY OF LOOKING AT HEALTH 19

DISEASE AND FANTASY ART Gouache and watercolour on board, 'Syphilis', Richard Tennant Cooper, 1910 “By the dawn of the 20th century,” noted The Scientist magazine, “it was estimated that as many as 10 percent of London residents, 15 percent of Parisians, and 20 percent of US army recruits had the disease.” Richard Tennant Cooper’s painting depicts a prostitute leaving and a pock-marked demon entering, signaling a world of pain and shame.

PUBLIC HEALTH Engraving: ‘Monster Soup...”, William Heath, 1828 This 1828 etching with watercolour by William Heath puts a microscope on the eating and drinking in London’s water. The lettering says, “Monster soup commonly called Thames water, being a correct representation of that precious stuff doled out to us!!!” The dedication to the London Water Company includes a quote from Milton:

10 percent of Londoners had Syphilis

“Microcosm. Dedicated to the London Water Companies 1 – Brought forth all monstrous, all prodigious things, 2 – Hydras and gorgons, and chimeras dire.

Vide Milton.”(Paradise Lost, ii)

26 PROFILE: Gemma Correll

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Plwiayithng emotion Like a Tina Fey of illustration, GEMMA CORRELL makes laugh-out-loud images about anxiety, neuroses and the body. CORRELL chats with JOHN O’REILLY, about pugs, the dangers of overthinking and exposing yourself in your work

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PLAYING WITH EMOTION 27

Gemma Correll and Mr Pickles, 2016

It was at a Pick Me Up graphic arts fair at Somerset House in London a few years back, moving through the Wonkaesque joy of illustration being let out to play in corridors of this aristocratic space, when my eye was taken by a card in the Ohh Deer stand – an image of a smiling spider, a strand of silk connecting it to its web, telling me, “I made it with my bum”.

Gemma Correll’s work is one of a handful of creatives who make me laugh out loud, the sheer pleasure of being lost for a moment, in the physical spasm of laughter at an idea expressed through drawing. Though Correll is hugely literate, her work is littered with references often constructed around puns both shamelessly erudite and daft, it’s always the drawing, the doodled line that softens you up for the sophisticated stupidity of the social and psychological commentary.

The animals in her work are carefree, unself-conscious. Like the cat dancing on the keyboard – ‘I re-wrote that essay for you’ – pleased to help. Or the two cats side by side on the armchair, one reading To Kill a Mocking Bird – ‘I must say this book is very disappointing.’ It’s her human beings, herself (or rather the character of Gemma Correll, ‘four-eyes’), who finds the stuff of everyday life difficult and oppressive, that are visualised with a gently menacing quirk.

If Correll is one of the Millennials’ most talented illustrators it’s not least because she makes us aware that while we like to believe our emotions are ‘pure’, the truth is our feelings are experienced through the rhythms and forms of storytelling through which information is framed and processed as a feeling – even the most freshly minted news photography borrows from familiar visual and aesthetic forms. ➳ Illustrator Essentials, Gemma Correll, 2013

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Let’s talk about SWINDLER & SWINDLER. A design duo so confident of their design and image-making skills that they brand themselves as con-artists. Is this what graphic design does? Is this the key ingredient of wellbeing, the trick of confidence? Are these feelings what we purchase when we buy that new pair of shoes? As the SWINDLERS tell us, “Who doesn’t dream to get a bit more self confidence, or to give someone else more honesty or empathy? And we find this idea fun! Our name comes from this project.

If we are able to sell those certificates, then we are some sort of swindlers!”

But the swindle has a fragile beauty, an almost painful elegance in the couple’s dedication to their craft, “we cherished and also hated working on this paper because on the one hand it brings hardness and density to the project and on the other hand the paper fibre softly falls apart when you work on the same area for too long.” Isn’t that what happens to lovers?

The result are the certificates, the validations, the commercial endorsements of Indulgence, Wisdom, Self-respect, Empathy, Honesty – promises implicit in their brand.

A swindle? Perhaps. But what we are buying from them is the beautiful swindle of passion, love and creativity we call art.

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The question for Sudjic (Director of the Design Museum) was, “Did the fact that Warhol had become an artist make his trademark for Benetton into something different from his elegant illustrations? Or was it bluff: was Warhol’s deadpan cynicism really a front for something shallower? We could all love Warhol because he could tell us what we knew all along: that modern art was a confidence trick.

And yet the critics could never be quite sure.”

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TION REP OR TR A

Back in the 1980s when Giuliana Benetton, co-founder of the Benetton brand with her three brothers decided to get into business of footwear she turned to a famous illustrator – Andy Warhol. Benetton used the celebrity portrait of her which Warhol had churned out. In his book THE LANGUAGE OF THINGS Deyan Sudjic, managing not to overdose on the rather delicious irony, points out that Warhol had therefore come full circle, returning to his roots as the provider of footwear illustrations for advertisements and catalogues.

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JOHN O’REILLY ON PERSONAL WORK

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Noted: Reflections & Process

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50 INDUSTRY INSIGHTS : Personal Projects

Illustrators

BRIEF: It was our first project together, for a Parisian exhibition, one year ago. At first we just wanted to make one certificate, then five, then we built up our studio and now we are working together .

This work is entirely hand made. We used black Rotring pens which are technically calibrated pens used by old fashioned designers. They are really expensive, temperamental and fragile, but they’ve got that regular line that no other pens have! Everything is drawn on Arches Paper 300gsm. We cherished and also hated working on this paper because on the one hand it brings hardness and density to the project and on the other hand the paper fibre softly falls apart when you work on the same area for too long. To avoid that with sketches we used layers. Just like Photoshop it allows us to complete ones sketch, going deeper in details, without damages.

Finally we also created the two stamps you can see on every certificate.

MATERIALS:

RESEARCH: We are truly fans of old stuff like ancient publicity campaigns, old billheads, 19th century typographies… so we wanted to recreate this sort of atmosphere in our work. Except that instead of representing money, we wanted to sell impalpable things. Who doesn’t dream to get a bit more of self confidence, or to give someone else more honesty or empathy. And we find this idea fun! Our name comes from this project. If we are able to sell those certificates, then we are some sort of swindlers!

PROCESS: At

first we place the structure: floral elements, typography. What is going to stay for the whole project, what is going to change. Then here we go, just like a four hands concert.

We both work on each design, that means some organisation not to obstruct the other in his creation.

So we usually started two certificates at the same time.

It also permitted us to adjust the design if needed.

This project took us two months and the hardest part was not to be demotivated in front of the huge amount of work. We usually place a white sheet of paper under the sketch so as not to see the rest of it. Luckily we were two, and it helps not giving up!

RESISTANCES:

INSIGHT: Working together is not easy but it also provides ideas, details, compositions you wouldn’t think of alone.

It’s really rewarding! It shows us that we could create something great together. So we decided to create our own studio and go to this great adventure together.

DISTRACTIONS: Not so much, we nearly spent all the time with our noses in our work, even during the weekend. The walk of the day was to get some food at the supermarket.

In Grenoble, where we live, we can see mountains, and nature is really helpful during this kind of work.

NUMBERS: More than 400 hours for each of us for this project of two months. Pretty the same amount in litres of coffee to stay awake late at night...

WELL: Passion, love, and coffee kept us going during this project. And of course our first exhibition at the end of the two assiduous months of work, it’s a good motivator! !

swindlerandswindler.com

Self-Respect, Wisdom, Honesty illustrations by Swindler & Swindler, 2015

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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS : Personal Projects 51

54 10 VISUAL APPROACHES

10 Visual approaches Framing the visual language of health and wellness can be tricky. Get it wrong and you’re doing the equivalent of ‘woman laughing alone with salad’. SHARON BOWES looks at work by illustrators who get it right and extracts some nutritious advice

1. HAUTE COUTURE ZODIAC Astrology is given a fashion makeover in Decue Wu’s Zodiac for Vogue China's young magazine Vogue Me’s first issue. Her love of fashion and Picasso are captured in this series of 12 horoscope panels combining designer fashion collections and the zodiac. Here, Decue’s Virgo Zodiac is reimagined in Gucci’s Fall/Winter 2016 collection.

Her digitally produced elongated shapes, vibrant blocks of colour and intricately detailed patterning is elegant and opulent.

CREATIVITY NUTRIENTS:

ing as fashion event.

Decue Wu decuewu.com

Astrological life choices and wellbe-

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2. SCREEN PRINTING DEFORESTATION ECONOMICS The Moth Collective produced Forest 500 for the Global Canopy Programme as an animated call to action. Forest 500 is the world’s first ratings agency for rainforests, tracking key companies performance in the race to remove deforestation from global supply chains. Their film wants a wider audience to take notice of their consumption. The short running time gave them an opportunity to experiment with technique and editing in keeping with the animation’s theme, “Colour-wise, we wanted to use a palette that was dynamic and vibrant, but that still felt nostalgic and organic. We achieved the latter by using cardboard textures, as well as a “screenprint” look, which helped to tie all the shots together, some of them being more vector and some of them being more hand-drawn.” The sound designer Oswald Skillbard used only wood to create the sound effects for the film.

CREATIVITY NUTRIENTS:

tion. That’s ecology!

Limitation promotes experimenta-

Moth Collective mothcollective.co.uk

3. BIG SLEEP Patrik Svensson’s noir-inspired illustration captures with the lightest of touches, our edgy relationship with the midnight hour. Commissioned by Icon magazine, this is a visual meditation on the importance of sleep, and the effects of our inability to get the elusive shut-eye. Patrik’s client gave him creative freedom to express his love of the line and digital reworking in a subtle and elusive filmic homage.

CREATIVITY NUTRIENTS:

in scale.

Patrik Svensson psillustration.se

The fragility of health as a contrast

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36 THE PET EFFECT

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How does having a furry friend around affect creatives? DEREK BRAZELL asked a range of illustrators to describe their experiences with longterm or fairly recent pets who really do make a difference. With EMILY GILBERT, LIZZIE CAMPBELL, BEN ARMSON, MARIA SUAREZ-INCLAN SOIGNIE, DAVID FOLDVARI, HANNAH JAY HOLLOWED, SONNY ROSS and MARIAN BANTJES

THE PET EFFECT: Illustrators and their pets

Sonny Ross and his cat Alfie

SONNY ROSS Alfie Here's why my pet helps me when work is awful.

My pet cat: Alfie. When I'm doing the things I like the least about work, such as sending out emails to directors and catching up with previous clients. Alfie has a habit of sitting in my studio keeping me company, he doesn't really do this anywhere else in the house but when I'm working he will sit on my desk. He never gets in the way or bothers me, but when I'm doing this admin, bored to the point of tears it's good to have someone around who you can take breaks to fuss over.

It does seem I notice him around more when doing admin work or sending out emails to potential clients, basically the stuff I have to do but don't always like, he's a calming distraction forever reminding me that this whole career thing is for him, for his future.

My relationship with Alfie does have some influence in my work. I go back and forth between very strict illustrations to very loose and energetic ones, and with Alfie around that silliness and playfulness comes out in my work. It's that thing of: if you're happy your work will reflect that.

When I'm drawing, sometimes I do wish he'd just go somewhere else if I'm in the zone, but like I said if I'm sitting down for a long admin session, it's better to have him nearby, and I'd certainly miss him or even shout him up into the room if he wasn't there. sonnyross.com

Illustration created for Varoom by Sonny Ross, 2016

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EMILY GILBERT Sebastian My cat Sebastian constantly makes working from home so much more enjoyable. He will always sit beside me on the windowsill while I am working and he's currently featuring in my new zine, Cats In Action which came out in September, so he's very important to not only my mood, but my work and inspiration. Sometimes he does decide he wants to own the desk and will lie across my paintings, which isn't so helpful.

Sebastian is a bit soothing and also enlivening which is why I think he is so special. On the one hand he can be very calming and relaxing because he loves to sit or sleep on the windowsill by my desk, and on the other hand he can be very playful and fun. The biggest benefit is that he reminds me to take a break. Either by lying completely in the way of what I’m doing or going where he knows he’s not allowed – on my desk and stretching himself across everything. These things are good really, because he reminds me to not take everything too seriously and take some time out. Cats are very enlightened creatures which is why I think they are so loved, especially by creative people.

Sebastian often makes cameo appearances in my zines and graphic novels that I self publish. When I first found him I became really interested in animals and started to paint them a lot in my work. My Cats In Action zine features not only a variety of people’s cats, but also Sebastian – him being the starring cat, obviously. I’ve cited the zine, ‘an attempt to break the stigma that all cats do all day is sleep.’ Most of the cats I know and have met are very characterful and lively. Many of them enjoy galloping around, climbing and causing mischief. Sebastian is especially inspiring though, because he is a rescue cat. Despite his troubled past he is the most lovely, playful and fun friend to have around.

I’d absolutely miss him if he wasn’t around. Sebastian always makes me laugh even if I’m having a difficult or stressful day. He’s just very goofy and always decides to do something ridiculous at the most unexpected moments.

He often likes me to play with him too, which is a good excuse to get away from my desk! His favourite thing at the moment is being being chased. Weird, I know. emilygilbertillustration.com

Sebastian, illustration created for Varoom by Emily Gilbert, 2016

Cats are very enlightened creatures which is why I think they are so loved, especially by creative people Sebastian with Gilbert’s book Manta, 2015

THE PET EFFECT 37

Varoom – the illustration report, is a unique publication commenting on and discussing in depth the contemporary illustrated image. Varoom casts a discerning eye over illustration -­‐ the 21st Century’s defining art form -­‐ featuring interviews with illustrators, image-­‐makers and designers as well as giving voice to critical articles on different aspects of contemporary illustration by leading commentators.

Each issue a range of expert contributing editors reveal their choice of work that has most impressed them over the last few months from the worlds of cartoons and motion, fashion and politics, personal work, children’s books and reportage.

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Self-­‐confidence, the complexities of the human body, anxiety, relationships with pets and a monastic retreat: looking at health and wellbeing through personal experience and historical imagery, the Well, Well, Well issue of Varoom explores how illustrators visualise for their clients and deal with real world issues around the subject.

With a History of Looking at Health from the Wellcome Library, a profile of Illustrator Gemma Correll and her work, 10 Approaches to Health and Wellbeing featuring Moth Collective and Charlotte Day, a graphic novel by Deborah Levy and Andrzej Klimowski on memory and psychology, and a feature on Illustrators and how their pets impact their work -­‐ Varoom 34 lives up to it’s theme of Health and Wellbeing.

Varoom is published by the Association of Illustrators Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA Varoom website info@varoom-­‐mag.com