Varoom 37 - the Love issue

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L OV E

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e Illustrators develop a close connection with their materials. Poppy Chancellor, MaricorMaricar and Olimpia Zagnoli reveal what they love about papercutting, embroidery and experimenting with new materials Olimpia Zagnoli, Poster to celebrate Spaghetti al Pomodoro for Barilla

Reportage

varoom #36

Innovators – Reportage

Derek Brazell on Felix Scheinberger’s club drawings

Love

felix scheinberger illustrator brief: I was asked to do drawings about the

Relationships, and the range of emotions around them, are played out in many different ways. Some, such the ones developed in the fetish clubs of Berlin, shrug off the conventional and embrace an openness that might be trickier to achieve in the world outside. “It’s sounds weird,” says illustrator Felix Scheinberger, describing the feeling of community within them, “but the atmosphere in fetish clubs is much more friendly than in normal clubs”.

Scheinberger has been recording club clientele since he was asked by a Berlin newspaper to do reportage drawing from the Berghain techno club (famous for a very stringent door policy) for a comics issue several years ago, and he is a witness to the empathy that’s found between the dressed up (or naked) clientele on the fetish scene. No one found it objectionable being drawn — “drawing is not photography, and nobody was bothered by it,” and as a regular to the Berghain and KitKat clubs who enjoys the free atmosphere of the hedonistic scene, he always takes a small sketchbook along.

The energetic, speedy illustrations depict the clubbers with respect and humour: figures are not idealised, while remaining assured of themselves, and their sass, vigour and enthusiasm is captured in the moment by Scheinberger. Their sexiness is carried in their confidence, and his drawings bring their playfulness to the fore — whether sporting a comprehensive mixture of fetish gear or full on shagging.

It’s important for people to feel safe on the scene; entrance is vetted by bouncers, and those who get in know each other through this community — even in the big clubs like KitKat and Berghain. Photography is banned to ensure privacy, but the majority of the clubbers enjoyed being drawn. “I know most of the people,” says Scheinberger, “They are my friends — or friends of friends — and most of them feel honoured that I sketch them. And of course it makes it easier that I’m not a complete stranger.”

Familiarity, friendships and community — it’s back to the relationships that hold individuals and groups together, specialist interests or not.

Berghain club for a comic issue published by B.Z. Berlin newspaper five years ago, and found it very enjoyable. Since then I have often brought my sketchbook when I go out with friends. Last year I showed my publisher my sketches. He was fascinated and asked me to do the Hedo Berlin book, which included many of the drawings.

idea: Photography is forbidden in Berlin clubs,

and especially in hedonistic techno clubs.

That’s why I took my sketchbook to the clubs and just drew there. The interesting thing was that no one took offence at it. Drawing is not photography and nobody was bothered by it.

materials: I always take only a small

sketchbook, no bigger than A4. In addition, I have a few pens (mainly Fineliner) and a very small watercolour case with a water brush (with reservoir) for colouring.

research: I just jumped into the nightlife, drank one or two gin and tonics and drew all night.

process: I have always just coloured ‘on the spot’ and left the results as they are in the sketchbook. I think this preserves the authentic and the immediate, and captures the atmosphere in the clubs best — and of course I didn’t use erasers. The only thing I have sometimes changed are names and notes — for example phone numbers — in order not to cause the protagonists any trouble. resistances: In fact, there were no

problems. Most people react differently when you draw them than when you take pictures.

Drawing is an older artform and retains much more distance than a photograph. Photos can feel a bit pornographic — drawings are much more respectful. It sounds weird but the atmosphere in fetish clubs is much more friendly than in normal clubs. I think the people are aware of each other and this might be a form of love. For most people in clubs the club is some kind of living room, not a strange place.

insight: With the Hedo Berlin book I wanted to show a piece of Berlin Underground which probably only exists there at the moment.

distractions: During the evenings in

the clubs I lost the sense of distance from the Hedo scene, and on the contrary made a couple of friends there.

numbers: 15 euros. That’s how much

a taxi ride costs from my home in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg to the KitKat Club in Mitte — or back again.

Derek Brazell has co-authored three titles on illustration with Jo Davies, including Becoming A Successful Illustrator (2nd edition) and Understanding Illustration, covering a broad range of illustration practice. He is Varoom publisher at the Association of Illustrators

love: Berlin, my girlfriend and my friends. felixscheinberger.de Felix Scheinberger, from Hedo Berlin published by Jaja Verlag

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Design

varoom #37

Innovators – Design

Dan Witchell on Rob Bailey’s work for Smirnoff’s Choose Love

rob bailey illustrator

Love might well be the trickiest thing we are ever asked to represent through illustration, at least with any depth or authenticity. Teetering on a tight rope between candifloss sickly-sweet and downright cynical, hitting the spot becomes either a matter of art, accident or skillful intention. I first encountered Rob Bailey’s work when a friend of mine set up a new illustration agency called Outline Artists back in 2013. To celebrate their launch they sent me, amongst other things, a small risograph poster called Waders & Freestylers by someone called Rob Bailey – and my social media relationship with Rob was born.

brief: I was approached by Design Bridge to

When we decided the subject of this issue was Love, Bailey was the first person that popped into my mind.

Before actually looking back at his work, I could clearly visualize inter-tangled, uber-simple shapes representing women and giant cats, men in lycra and their bicycles, sad-looking stationary swimmers in speedos and more poignantly the individuals in deep contemplation - depression even - serving as a stark reminder of the dark side of love.

The work is full of elegant contradictions – heavily stylized yet subtle, bold yet reductive, it is beautifully observed yet so simply executed that the stories and emotions are left to the viewer, to be created from our own personal experiences. I love the purity and flow of the forms in his work; the softness that alludes to that warm and gooey feeling that only love can give you.

The Smirnoff ‘Choose Love’ campaign was created to support Pride 2017, an event that celebrates diversity in gender, sexuality and challenges preconceptions and prejudices from the wider world.

Although Pride is a contemporary celebration of love, it’s actually the transparency of expression that is new.

Time has allowed us to be more honest, to be more out, to love who we want and be proud to share it with the world. It’s a continuous and ever-changing transformation that we are all part of. It’s progress and thankfully, we have artists like Rob to capture and share its spirit with us all.

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create six limited edition bottles for their ‘Choose Love’ Campaign for Smirnoff in celebration of Pride 2017.

materials: Adobe Illustrator and endless

support from the wonderful Chloe Templeman, Design Director at Design Bridge

research: The positions and couplings had been signed off prior to my involvement, so it was really just a matter of trawling the internet for decent reference material to draw from.

process: I work directly in Illustrator and in full colour from the start, which I think helps when there’s a tight turnaround. In this instance, I made lots of versions in the first round, and through plenty of back and forth with Chloe, Design Bridge whittled it down to six or seven images that I could then go on to refine and finalise.

resistances: Not so much a resistance

but more of a close call to be honest; my computer shut down never to work again the day after I delivered the final artwork.

insight: The project was a slight departure

from my normal style of working. For example, I wouldn’t usually choose to draw facial features, but it was interesting to work outside of my comfort zone. Whilst it hasn’t necessarily inspired a wave of new work all with detailed faces, I can definitely see how working on this project has influenced my personal practice.

distractions: Usually endless. But on this job the timings were so tight that I took the things I needed from my studio and locked myself away in a room in my house to power through.

numbers: 0 = the number of these bottles I actually own. I never got around to buying them while they were on the shelves. 1000 = the estimated number of bottles my parents have bought, so I guess I could always borrow some from them.

love: Was a pleasure to be a part of this

project. It was great to see large companies supporting Pride, and using Illustration so prominently on their packaging. Chloe and Design Bridge were a dream to work with, and I was really pleased with how it turned out, which is unusual for me. robbailey.studio

Dan Witchell has developed a reputation for excellence in brand identity, typography and broadcast design. He co-founded and curated Kemistry Gallery. Commercial highlights include the recent NatWest rebrand, groundbreaking work in broadcast for S4C and the identity creation of Dutch national broadcaster.

Rob Bailey, limited edition bottles for Choose Love Campaign for Smirnoff. Design by Design Bridge

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Love Letters

varoom #37

Love

Paula Amaral, Creative Director, McCann Enterprise.

Adam Simpson

Renée Lam, Art Director, 72 and Sunny.

Henn Kim instagram: @henn_kim

adsimpson.com

hennkim.com

Henn Kim, Love Hurts

Adam Simpson, Tired Mind. Artwork for The Royal College of Art summer exhibition.

Earlier in the year I was wandering the rooms of the Photographers’ Gallery in London when I heard a tutor say to his students that they should never read the text on the wall first and that they should just let the connection with the images happen instead. That really resonated with me. I remember seeing Adam Simpson’s Tired Mind for the first time at the RCA summer show and this one piece of work stayed with me until I luckily recently rediscovered him for a commercial commission. The amount of detail is astounding and that goes beyond the technique — it’s in the stories too. Your eyes are endlessly feasted and your mind suspended in time. That’s why I love Adam’s work — and for that I don’t need a wall description.

For someone who’s never fallen in love - had crushes yes, even infatuations — I can’t say much on the topic. I’ve definitely had my heart bruised more than once though. Surprise, surprise, my rational side couldn’t protect me from the perils of my emotions. love, or something close to it, can be irrational. Even to the point of involving self-inflicted pain.

Henn Kim’s piece Love Hurts, for me, so deftly communicates this idea. In the end one can either cry, or laugh about all the complications surrounding love. I, and it seems Kim also, choose to do the latter.

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Th e

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Client

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A wine-maker has worked with one of France’s most celebrated illustrators to deliver a series of charming, quirky and classically beautiful illustrations celebrating love Floc’h, illustrations for Château Angélus print and digital advertising campaign, 2018

Varoom 37 the Love issue The “Love” issue of Varoom explores the communication, commerce and creativity of love: from brands reconstructing the visual languages of love to connect with new markets beyond heterosexual norms, to the politics of sexuality, to the love of creativity expressed by illustrators in the act of imagemaking.

From Smirnoff vodka’s ‘Choose Love’ bottles celebrating Pride, to the explicit but empathetic sex clubs drawings that Felix Scheinberger sketches in Berlin, to the bespoke Valentines created for her commissioners by designer Marian Bantjes.

Olimpia Zagnoli is this issue’s cover artist, and our profile, The Sensation of Reading, explores The Folio Society’s love of producing strikingly illustrated books.

We talk to the publisher, illustrators and designers who bring a new approach to classic texts.

Obsession and love makes us do extraordinary things. In Beauty School Gave Me Brain Damage we explore the work of Seth Bogart: an explosively messy confection of punk, PeeWee Herman and products – anyone for ‘Manty Hose’?

Our relationship with the images we fall in love with are truly, madly, deeply complicated. So we asked six industry professionals to write a love letter to an image-maker and image they fell in love with…

The regular Innovators section focuses on notable commercial work and personal projects selected by Varoom’s industry insiders, including David Roberts’ fashion detailed children’s book, Tobias Hall’s Warburtons campaign and Samuel Wingate’s Grindr Project

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Varoom is published by the Association of Illustrators Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA