In this special editorial, Matt Taylor takes us on a journey through his process, sharing a few secrets from his research stage and right through to the end result. Available now as a limited edition screen printed poster, we hope you enjoy this behind the scenes – thank you Matt for sharing!

Matt Taylor: the making of Kiki’s Delivery Service movie poster for Spoke Art

Preparation

For any movie poster, the first step for me is watching the film. I’ll pop it on and watch with a notepad to hand, usually writing down notes and thoughts about the film, but also some small thumbnail sketches if an idea comes to mind as well as time codes for scenes that I feel might be worth revisiting.

For Kiki, my initial thought was that I wanted something to communicate with the poster was the hustle and bustle of the piece – Kiki working in the shop, making friends and growing as a person. Obviously, there’s no scene in the movie where everyone is in shot at the same time, so I thought I’d build one, with the key cast going about their day and Kiki off on one of her errands.

With animated movies, I feel like it’s really important to stay on model to the character designs and backgrounds so that it feels recognisable. Ghibli has such a strong aesthetic to its films, it would be mad not to try and capture that. When I made my Akira poster for Spoke Art back in 2022, I created the layout solely from collaged screenshots, which I could use as the guide for my drawing, and it felt like this was the right choice for this piece too.

Thankfully there’s a bounty of websites devoted to screenshots from movies, so I went through the film shot by shot and grabbed a whole bunch of images that featured poses or elements that stood out to me. Once I had them all, I created a new canvas in Photoshop and set to work.

Building from the blank canvas: the importance of typography

The first thing I wanted to nail down was the title treatment. With any movie poster I work on, type is always the starting point. At the end of the day, a poster is a tool for communication, and if you can’t see what the title of the movie is then you’re not making a good poster. 

I had an idea that I wanted something big and bold to run through the center of the image (I’ve been increasingly drawn towards large dynamic title treatments this year). I wanted to have most of the text in Japanese with just the title repeated in English. I hate working on a white canvas, so I threw the blue in there as a base color – mainly because it’s the color of the Ghibli title card and was fresh in my head. This turned out to be unexpectedly fortuitous because it unexpectedly presented the idea for a variant colorway, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Experimenting with image placement

Once the type was locked in place, I started to place the screen grabbed images from the movie around the page. I found a nice unobscured view of the shop to serve as the centerpiece of the poster and then experimented with placing different elements around the page to see where they felt right. I’d like to say there’s some logic and mystery to this stage but it’s really just a case of moving things around until they feel ‘right’.

Linework

When I had enough of the key pieces in place to begin drawing, I started to put in fairly loose but detailed linework – there’s nothing worse than when you’re making a finished painting and you come across a section that you really didn’t think through at the sketch stage! Once this was done, I basically had my finished line sketch. 

Usually I would start throwing some color on, but when I took a step back I realised that the black line on blue looked just like a Ghibli title card and it was great! There was no way that it would be the regular colorway of the poster, but I sent it over as it was to gauge what Ken and John at Spoke Art thought about it. 

They liked it! And because we’ve been working together for more than ten years, they trusted me when I said ‘I’ll figure out the actual colors for it when I’m painting’ – for which I’m always grateful. Having that trust with a long running partnership really makes the whole process so much easier.

Making the final design

Once the sketch was signed off, it was just a case of making the final art. This piece was a little different because I wanted to match the visual style of the anime, which meant everything has a black outline around it – something I don’t always do. With a view on avoiding nasty surprises down the line, I drew the entire piece as an outline first – moving a few elements from the sketch and substituting a couple of characters as well.

Generally I draw each character in a separate group on Photoshop so I can move them around. I’ll usually draw a little extra of any characters that fall behind others, so I have some flexibility to move them around. Once the art is moving towards a finished state you see things that aren’t obvious at sketch – usually, lines meeting each other awkwardly, or areas of similar colors next to each other that make it hard to read – so having the ability to adjust without having to repaint it is super helpful. I try to make my art as modular as possible without it feeling too stiff or awkward.

Once the line art was complete, I moved to the coloring. Because each character was in their own group I could paint quite loosely – mixing up tones and textures without worrying about painting outside the lines. In terms of the actual painting, there’s no real explanation other than ‘I just painted it’. So much of it is intuitive by this point – moving textures around and constantly editing as new components are finished so that everything feels harmonious. I’ll usually just work on a piece until it feels ‘right’.

I set a rough palette of contrasting colors in the swatch menu so I could swap colors quickly when painting. Instead of using traditional grey values, I cheated slightly and used colors that are higher contrast. This way you can have an image that from a value point of view is almost the same tone, but your eye reads the contrast and the whole thing can remain really bright and vibrant. I think from a color-theory perspective it’s not the best way to work, but it’s where I’ve landed!

My defaults when I’m painting are blues, pinks and oranges, with maybe a pop of bright yellow. Oftentimes I’ll use adjustment layers to change the finished piece once I’m done, but in this case, it felt like I’d really captured the mood of the movie without simply aping the palette of the film.

Once the color is added it’s then just a case of looking at the whole piece and picking out any errors – usually, areas where the contrast between the foreground and background isn’t clear and making sure all the type is legible. I’ll often paint the amends on a single layer on top of the artwork because at this point everything below it is locked and it’s faster to add the last details to everything at once.

Because I spent a long time on the sketch making sure it was readable, there weren’t really that many edits to make; in spite of its relative complexity, it was a pretty straightforward piece to paint. Planning made it so much easier than other pieces that I’ve only had a very vague idea of what they would look like when they’re done…

And that’s about it!

Want to get your hands on a copy of this limited edition screen printed poster? The work is now available via Spoke Art’s online shop – but be quick, they are selling fast!

About Spoke Art

Matt Taylor is an artist and illustrator based in the UK. With a visual style that leans toward the figurative and dynamic, he has found himself working for a wide range of clients from Nike to the BBC. Over the past few years, he has created sought after movie posters, trading cards and comic book covers.

Matt’s clients include: Amazon Studios, Apatow Pictures, Apple, 20th Century Fox, BBC Worldwide, BOOM! Studios, DC Comcis, FIFA/Triad Berlin, The Guardian, GQ, JWT, Jack White, Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment, Mutant, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Pearl Jam, Penguin Books, Phish, Queens of the Stone Age, Spoke Art, Sony, Vertigo Comics, and The Washington Post.

About Spoke Art

Spoke Art is an exhibition space and curatorial venture specializing in new contemporary painting, sculpture and illustration. Started in 2010, the gallery puts on pop-up shows and participates in conventions and art fairs around the country. You can usually find us in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or Miami at least once a year. 

Matt Taylor Social Media Accounts

Website | Instagram

Spoke Art Social Media Accounts

Website | Facebook | Instagram | X

The post Behind the scenes with Matt Taylor: the making of Kiki’s Delivery Service movie poster appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

In my latest interview with Cirius Scion, we delve deeper into her turbulent journey as an artist and learn more about the latest step in her vastly growing career.

Interview with Cirius Scion: a new age

So, what have you been up to since we last chatted almost a year ago?

Last time we spoke, I was working on getting into the American art market. Fortunately, I was able to stay focused and haven’t let setbacks affect my progress, no matter how emotional and insecure this rollercoaster can get at times. But this is the challenge every artist must face at the beginning of their path.

Let’s face it, there are no guarantees in the art world. My anxiety was the size of a planet, but I was still positive at the same time. I wasn’t sure when or what would happen, exactly, but I knew that my mind could manifest it eventually through persistence and patience. My art was basically the only thing on my mind, and it manifested like magic. I truly believe this type of thinking – along with hard work – is essential in manifesting exactly what you want.

So, I just kept studying the best in the industry, history, and trying to improve every day.

Cirus Scion

Copro Gallery in California opened the first doors for me. I was humbled when they gave me a solo exhibition alongside Benz & Chang, Web Benscoter and Dan Seagrave. It was like a dream come true.

Previously, my focus was often at war with my insecurities. I felt my work wasn’t yet at the level to exhibit in the galleries I wanted to show at, and so I delayed my plans. Additionally, I was spreading my energy out more into film and music rather than entirely into painting, hoping that I would attract opportunities with one of those passions as well. This plan was not working. I realized that I had to focus on one passion completely and then include the others during my free time. So far, this has been the most successful route; it’s been giving me more peace of mind. Even so, I constantly wish I had more time and didn’t need sleep just to make more art!

Pushing the limits: working against the clock

Indeed, congratulations on the impressive amount of group exhibitions throughout 2022! It must have been quite manic to keep up the pace.

Yes, I’ve had to really push myself to create new pieces at a faster pace because most exhibitions required specific themes. Naturally, I paint more than one piece, producing a minimum of two to three pieces a month, sometimes four. Honestly, I’m just thrilled to be able to show new works at amazing galleries. It’s really helped me experiment and grow as an artist. And yes, I’ve had to dedicate most of my time to this path, if not all. If I do take time off, I’m still thinking about how to improve the art, what ideas should be painted next and how to execute them.

Thus far, you’ve exhibited in Copro Gallery, Modern Eden Gallery, Haven Gallery and Arch Enemy Arts Gallery.

Yes – and these were all of the galleries I was aiming to show works at! I’m hoping to get into more galleries in the near future but for now I’m focusing on getting more works done and improving.

Also, I have to mention that Steve Diamant, the owner of Arcadia Gallery, was the one who took the time to review my portfolio on my website and offer valuable feedback and advice on how to improve it and the galleries that would best suit my style of art. Because of his good word, I was able to catch the attention of one of those galleries I’ve wanted to exhibit at for so long. So, a huge thank you to you, Steve!

The beauty of surrealism

Based on recent paintings, you’ve moved away from the Shakespeare series. Still keeping a historical feel, you seem to be getting more playful with the compositions of your characters and more surreal with your backgrounds.

Surrealism liberates the mind from the conscious thought. Surrealism presents a new physical mode characteristized by remarkable happenings and uncanny otherworldly juxtapositions. This is what motivates me to create art which lean towards surrealism.

Although interpretation is imposed by others, and paintings are to be admired or contemplated, I still want to be the one who leads the viewer along a journey with some idea of the experience. I try not to create art that looks repetitive; the last thing I want is to be predictable and boring.

Cirius Scion

I spent a great deal of time studying the work of historically regarded artists I admire, identifying why certain works of art were so successful. Ultimately, this allowed me to apply all of the lessons that I learned to my own practice – but with my own original twist. My art will become more surreal and experimental over time; I just need to gain more experience and sharpen my skillset!

Are many of your narratives built from personal experience?

No, right now I don’t paint exactly from personal experience, but rather from interesting stories. I spend a lot of time inside my head, instead of reality. I just paint narrative art through the lens of intellectual cognitive empathy.

A multi-medium artist: paint vs film

You mentioned earlier that you previously spread your energy out across painting, film, and music. I’m always impressed at the imagination and design which you also utilize for your website and social media posts, including some striking teaser videos. What’s more fun: creating films or painting?

Thank you, Natalia! I love both film and painting. Honestly, filmmaking feels more natural for me; it just flows out intuitively and somehow comes together without much effort. I’m not as restricted with the film medium as much as with painting. For instance, in painting I have to really focus on making sure the piece is aesthetically pleasing; constantly thinking about where the details will be applied, proportion, values, colours and composition. Sure, many of these elements are applied in cinematography too, and many of the frames are treated like a work of art. But not every frame is perfect, and only lasts for a couple of seconds or less.

I really enjoy creating interesting stories with my art and I always try to incorporate something cinematic to entertain the viewers. Creating film has helped me experiment as an artist. Additionally, it’s just a fun way of expressing thoughts and ideas through motion visuals.

You definitely have your own recognizable aesthetic! What influences and inspires you?

Thank you for confirming what I’ve always tried to do, which is to differentiate myself. I gravitate towards the unknown, psychological, spiritual themes. Most of my influences come from a darker world with, of course, elements of theatre.

I’ve always known myself as an old spirit, so my inspirations come from the history books, poetry, and art of the great masters. I like to explore concepts that either captivate me or haunt me. The world that I’ve been creating, which involves ideas of power, royalty, witchcraft, beauty, the human condition and spirituality, has been a timeless touchstone for me for so long.

Cirius Scion

At the moment, I’m particularly interested in esoteric themes and the dark realm; it’s my fascination with the underworld. You know, you can’t believe what you hear most of the time until you’ve experienced it yourself. Marilyn Manson, Seether and Jared Leto’s art were influential to me at a point too. I’m sure you’re able to recognize this in my paintings with gothic, post-grunge influences. It’s just my style.

Overcoming internal struggles

In general, I think times have been difficult for everyone. It’s as if we’re still healing from the recent few years while struggling to deal with new difficulties arising in our paths. Would you say this resonates, or have you managed to stave off being sucked into this common strife?

I’ve been cooped up in my studio for the past 10 years, so the pandemic didn’t affect me as it did others. But that’s not to say I don’t suffer from any mental challenges. That’s far from the truth; I’m on the spectrum of Borderline Personality, with some form of paranoia, anxiety, along with obsessive thinking (OCD checking). It’s not always easy to continue working on the days when I’m triggered. I try to limit my social media time because that is one trigger.

Naturally, I’m a very introverted, contemplative person, so almost everything around me that I experience will be analysed and dissected many times. This becomes mentally distracting and exhausting. So, working alone in a quiet environment with some inspiring music to set the mood is perfect for my type of personality and creative process.

As a working artist, you have to get used to being alone and work long hours with nobody to talk to when you have your own studio. The eeriness of silence feels spiritual. But my gratification comes from the mental journey of finishing a painting well and being proud of it.

The learning and striving never ends.

Cirius Scion

It’s good that you have found a way of working which motivates your strengths, I think that is something a lot of people are still striving to find! Focusing back to your personal achievement this year, out of your 2022 exhibitions, do you have any favourites?

My favourites are always the new pieces I create because each painting is made with more knowledge, and expertise than the previous. The learning and striving never ends. The show themes still allow me to freely express my style, so it doesn’t play a limiting factor, and it’s also fun and inspiring to see what others are also creating.

And finally, what is next for Cirius Scion?

The plan is to show at more dream galleries as well as forming a more distinctive recognizable style in the art industry. Additionally, I will be producing more inspiring art in the form of painting and cinema to support my stories, and possibly some music to connect with other like-minded individuals. It’s my way of connecting on a more intellectual level. There is a lot of work for me still to do on this journey!

Cirius Scion Social Media Accounts

Website | Facebook | Instagram

The post A new chapter for Cirius Scion: liberating the mind, fulfilling the heart appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Kin Fables has started with a trilogy of short films, Kin, Salvage and Requiem, and is now going on with a feature film. With his new video, Kin Fables: The Stolen Child, director Seb McKinnon wants to tell a simple yet essential story. Music is replacing words, giving their full space to emotions, in their utmost expression, captured inside epic and intense landscapes. Just a look at these films and you will be adamant that absolute beauty exists and they will remind you to admire nature again. But let’s start our journey with the original trilogy.

Set in wild nature, full of elemental beauties, Kin is taking us back to innocence. In the short, it takes the form of a young boy and a young girl, separated by what looks like two different magical worlds. In one of these, strange masked creatures display a bewitching ritual, between paganism and dream.

The second one, Salvage introduces us to a pilot, falling in the forest and meeting an older version of the young heroine of Kin, but also a group of old wise men, in a breathtaking storm. Contrasting with the first two movies, Requiem is set in a cold and impersonal city, where the young hero of Kin has grown up. If the urban landscape can be beautiful, it is dark and full of frustration, and the young man is looking like an inmate inside a prison of glass, concrete and disillusioned relationships. When the masked creatures, old men and the pilot of the previous films are starting to appear in the streets, the hero leaves the city in order to find the settings of his childhood’s dream again and to be reunited with his kindred soul, the heroine.

The amazing reception of the trilogy is proving that human beings are craving for inspiring fictions and art such as Kin Fables. With many well-deserved awards and an ever-growing number of followers and fans, the short films have triggered an artistic impulse, with the creation of massive fan art.

Created by brothers Seb and Ben McKinnon, of Five Knights Production, the success of the project convinced the team of Kin Fables to extend their fantasy universe with exciting upcoming projects such as a graphic novel, a feature film, as well as a new album for their gorgeous music project CLANN. Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and Seb McKinnon have decided to team to make you discover The Stolen Child in exclusivity: enjoy!

With Kin Fables: The Stolen Child, the team is giving us a glimpse to a bigger project. The short is also the music video for the track “The Stolen Child” from CLANN’s album, Seelie. We’re meeting a young faerie child, portrayed by a bewitching young actress, dancing with the Spirit, angel of Change, Death and Time. We also witness the encounter of the Knight and the Faerie Queen, who comes to him in the night and tells him things he once knew, but has forgotten. Needless to say, this is an amazing appetizer of the final feature film…

For the occasion, Seb McKinnon has accepted to take us on a tour inside the Kin Fables wonderland and its future, with a captivating interview.

How was the idea and story of the Kin Fables born? Can you tell specific influences and sources of inspiration that have shaped the project and its esthetics?

It all began when I purchased a copy of Logic and started experimenting with music production. Around the same time, my brother Ben and I decided to take a month-long backpacking trough Europe, starting with Scotland. I had one of my songs with me on the trip, and I remember listening to it and getting visions. Characters started populating my mind; masked spirits, fairy children, knights, horses… The more I listened to the song, the more the scenes became clear, and the more I felt the need to somehow make all this real. Film was the way to do it. I spoke of these ideas with Ben and we agreed to throw ourselves completely into bringing these visuals to life, to tell whatever story was presenting itself to us, to make decisions with pure feeling alone and trust our gut instincts.

There were many sources of inspiration, which formed aesthetics of the project, some perhaps more on a subconscious level. There are parallels with Celtic and Scandinavian myths and legends, and even our own Canadian Aboriginal folklore. The design of the spirit masks/costumes were heavily influenced by Inuit designs and the art of animation filmmaker Myazaki. And I was really into the films of Tarkovsky and Bergman while coming up with the ideas and how we were going to tell this story.

The idea of getting lost is a sort of underlying theme in the trilogy and more evident in the title of the feature film. What is the meaning of this lost state? Is it a personal feeling or something we could all relate to?

I think at some point in our lives we all become lost; it’s a completely relatable feeling. I’m particularly interested in that lost state one might feel at the junction between childhood and adulthood. The loss of innocence so to speak. The transition occurs without us truly being aware of it most of the time; life just happens. We grow up. And it’s only something we can look at with retrospective wisdom. On a personal level, I had this fear of losing my true self as a child, and not being able to find my way back. I believe there is magic in the world, and the source of that magic comes from holding on to what is true, being true to oneself. Anyone can harness that magic, and use it like a power. For some reason, many of us lose sight of this in adulthood. The concepts of Truth, or the Sacred are met with ridicule or indifference by many, if not most of society; they are drowned with the noise and static and illusions of the non-essential.

Would you say that nature is one of the main characters of the project? What is the part played by this particular character, especially in connection with the human ones?

It is. In connection to the characters, nature is the way back to who they once were, the recollection of something they thought they had forgotten. In a way, the masked Spirits are agents of nature, of the flow of life itself. They nudge the story along, pulling the strings behind the scenes so the characters may go through their transformative journeys.

What are the natural locations featured in the films? How did you select them?

The scenes in KIN were shot in Montebello, Quebec. Our family has a cottage there; it’s where I spent my childhood summers. The locations have special significance to me for this reason. SALVAGE was shot on the West Coast of Newfoundland, which I was drawn to for its resemblance to Nordic countries/Scotland in terms of look and feel. It’s a very beautiful island, which exudes a strong air of mystery and desolation. REQUIEM was shot in Montreal, where our company Five Knights Productions is based.

In the third film, Requiem, the city and our contemporary way of living are pictured with a shade of frustration and even angst, but not without beauty: what do you want to show with the contrast and similarities between the urban and natural worlds? Do you think that those two worlds are compatible?

For me they are two different worlds, and I’m still questioning myself whether they are compatible or not, because in a way, the birth of a city means the death of nature. I think this is an incredibly subjective question; I can only speak for myself when I say I suffocate in a city environment. My being needs the quiet and solitude nature offers, and I can say with certainty I’ve only felt peace and profound happiness in nature. But in the films, it was important for me to not portray the city itself in a negative light. That’s not what the message is. At the end of Requiem, the boy perhaps chooses to return to the city, once having reconnected with his past, it’s up for the viewer to decide…

Magic is the main element of the project, with two types of characters able to convey it, old men and children… would you say that your project is a reminder that adults need magic too, and that they can find their innocence back by reminding ancient cultures?

This has something to do with the concept of the Sacred mentioned earlier. Not from a religious point of view, but from a more spiritual outlook. Ancient cultures recognized the Sacred, at least much more than humanity does today I think. Love is sacred. Purity and Innocence are sacred. Morals/values should be sacred things. Because they are beautiful and fragile. Human actions can break them so easily. They can be lost. We have to be careful with them, and take care of them. Children can remind us of the magic these things hold, and the wisdom of age give us to the tools to protect them.

The project has many different artistic facets: the movies, but also the graphic novel, the art book and the music; can you tell us more about these aspects and how they interact with each others?

It’s all about world-building. KIN Fables is a cinematic universe in development. The graphic novel (still a work in progress), is the starting point for the feature film we’re currently developing. The art book collects all the paintings, sketches, behind the scenes photos illustrating the creative process of the project. The music is definitely a strong driving force behind everything; it’s the heartbeat of KIN Fables. The music we make under the name CLANN conjures images in my imagination, and inspires me to create more films, and the actual filmmaking inspires the music creation in turn. All artistic facets feed each other constantly, giving life to the world we’re building over time.

Is there already a release date for the feature film? How is different or similar to the Kin trilogy?

We’re still debating between 2 titles “ The Sad Prince” or “ The Stolen Child”. Our fans are also split down the middle on this decision. At the moment we have a final script, and we’re seeking financing for the feature, which is an incredible challenge. It’s not an easy film to sell to studios/investors/distribution companies since I’m striving to create something new, something different than what’s been done before… In a way it is similar to the trilogy in terms of look and feel, and the themes are echoed in the events of the feature, but “ The Stolen Child/Sad Prince” will take place only in the world portrayed in the first short film KIN. The main difference will be of course the addition of dialogue in the feature, and the introduction of new exiting characters that will interact with those present in the Trilogy.

What are your future plans, both for the Kin Fables universe and other projects?

The feature film is the one goal our team is reaching towards. It’s something we’ve been fighting for a long time. After that, who knows?

According to you, if there would be only one thing, one message, to find in Kin Fables, what would it be?

May I answer this with a poem?
From Rilke:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.
Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself loose me.

The post Interview: Inside The Graceful Cinematic Universe Of Kin Fables appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Irish filmmaker Graham Jones’ latest work – Nola and the Clones – follows the story of a young homeless girl on the streets of Dublin, where she encounters a series of men eerily similar to one another. “It’s realism with a touch of magic realism,” Jones says.

The girl, played by Caoimhe Cassidy, is trapped within the limitations of society – and thus, her gender. At one point, she tells a man that she: “wishes she could not be her gender anymore”. She is caught up in survival and “survival sex” – sexual favors in exchange for basic necessities, as well as panhandling – the norm in homelessness; relying on the fickle kindness of strangers.

Jones, whose previous films include How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate, Fudge 44, and The Green Marker Scare, is apart of the new style of filmmaking – Nuascannan – a term paying homage to Italian Neorealism, French New Wave, and Danish Dogme, and the avante-garde approach to experimental filmmaking which usually involves shooting on location with non-professional actors and using portable equipment, lending to these films a style bordering on documentary.

“Now,” Jones says, “the way films are shot, cut, mixed, and especially distributed is what we’re experiencing as the evolution from celluloid film to digital – its revolutionary.

The film came about,” he continues, “when I was volunteering at a homeless shelter years ago. I realized that individuals offering some of the greatest insight into society, sadly receive the least attention from it… this particular shelter was men-only, and got me wondering what female homelessness might be like – so over the years I sought to find out. Of course, it’s worse for women because there’s a far greater sexual threat and risk of falling into prostitution, either while homeless or to stave off homelessness… Nola is a strong female character, negotiating her way through a series of very difficult men, and we are trying to give her a voice.”

In an interview via bruisedknuckles.com, Jones talks about the “commodification of femininity… the myriad images of beauty programmed into girls at such a young age via the media, and programmed into boys as well… (in some ways) men have women in a kind of cultural bondage… (he agrees with the suggestion by Naomi Wolf that) as women have gradually become more powerful, patriarchal society has tried to increase their oppression with images of ‘beauty’.” In this way, media and advertising shapes both the way women feel about themselves, and how men feel women should be, look, act and behave. It’s twofold. Nola and the Clones hones in on these themes, and by placing Nola in the vulnerable streets of Dublin, she is forced to confront these subtle, societal implications and men – each and every day.

Where did the actual term “Nuascannán” come from? Was it coined by you (or who) and how?

I coined the term Nuascannán roughly a year ago, while writing an article about the future of cinema and did so simply by fusing the Irish words for ‘new’ and ‘film’ – although obviously the movement I describe is international in scope.

What kind of platforms, specifically, do you think best represent independent filmmakers work today (as well as in the near future)?

In my opinion the best platform for indie filmmakers in the 21st century is the ‘internet’ or ‘web’ or ‘online’.

But I hasten to add, those interchangeable terms will soon become redundant. Children growing up today may not even grasp the meaning of them in future. Perhaps a more future-proof and satisfying way to state this is: the best platform for indie filmmakers is digital, because it has no borders or limitations or limits. It’s just data. If a piece of filmmaking has meaning, it can now reverberate in infinity, or ‘go viral’ as they say.

Great movies could not truly go viral in the old days. Although film lasted longer than digital, it was far harder to distribute and so a movie could be great and simply die for commercial reasons or even circumstantial ones. I suspect many great movies have been lost forever, sadly. Whereas nowadays movies don’t risk getting lost in the same way. Nowadays, movies are data and the kingmakers the audience. It’s not all about the critics. Indeed, the very concepts of audience and critic are merging and it probably won’t be possible for us to ever completely separate them again.

Now that we convey movies digitally, they can end up on a person’s phone or in a massive auditorium. While the cost of a phone and auditorium may differ, the cost of transmitting the digital file is really no different. So, to answer your question, it would appear the independent filmmaker’s platform is the digital realm and all that encompasses…

How do you feel about film festivals, big and small?

I have been a guest at so many over the years and always enjoy the experience, both in terms of meeting people who appreciate my work and moreover getting to see the work of others. But I would like to see the media broaden its focus when it comes to film festivals. There are 3000 such events in the world and the notion that only 10 are important is a foolish notion. That’s just an inside track, insular and elitist – and precisely why the digital revolution is a revolution. Because it deconstructs those kinds of arenas and allows filmmakers create their own.

You mention that today there is no longer the need for an army of workers in a film production… that people can just get up and go as in French New Wave cinema and Italian Neorealism. What are the various difficulties posed to today’s filmmakers versus filmmakers from bygone eras? What are the downsides to not having that army and doing it all (mostly) on your own? 

As far as I can tell, there’s only one downside. Just one. Which is that it’s now a lot harder to make a film people will notice, that will turn heads. But that’s only really a downside to people who are conservative, elitist and like to keep the masses out. For the rest of us, it’s not what we call a downside. On the contrary, we recognize that it only means people will be forced to make better films, in order to stand out. That’s an upside. That’s progress!

What would you say consists of a modern-day experimental film (or what is the future of experimental film)?

The term ‘experimental film’ has always been a broad one and hopefully will always remain so. By definition, an experimental film can’t be straightforward to prescribe. It should be an assault on some level. I’ve thought about this for years, because I like to test boundaries and my own conclusion is that it’s really very personal. Experimenting means trying something new to you. But what that really means is: questioning your assumptions. One of the most important things in life is to question your assumptions – but it’s very difficult to know what your assumptions are! It’s like living in a glass house and not seeing the walls.

But that’s what an artist does. When I made The Green Marker Scare, The Randomers, and Nola and the Clones, that’s what I was doing – experimenting.

You mention in an interview the “cultural bondage” that in some ways, men have trapped women in… can you expand on this at all (as well as what you say is the “commodification of femininity”)?

There were a number of texts that influenced me when I was in my late teens and early twenties. One was called Women’s Ways of Knowing, which is a great book. But another very significant one was The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf. Wolf’s basic thesis is that as women have become more emancipated, patriarchal society has pushed back by using images of beauty against them. It’s a horrible notion, but completely true, in my opinion. The theory is that it’s implicit, not explicit – like a code, a secret language. Society’s way of warning women, not to get too above themselves, because they are always being measured by this arbitrary beauty ruler. Of course, that’s just what it seems like to me, as a man. I’m probably perpetuating it by talking about it. But that’s why I make films, to explore things honestly, rather than go round in circles.

In the film, Nola panhandles but also uses “survival sex” as a means to get by… can you talk about why you chose this route (a common one I’m sure, though I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of the term before!) for her to go down?

I hadn’t heard that term either, before Allison Pinski over at Bruised Knuckles used it, when writing about our movie. But I think she’s absolutely right, it’s precisely what Nola is engaged in. As for why I chose that milieu when writing the character, I just felt it was a valid way to dramatize that cultural bondage that I talked about, or that oppression that Wolf talks about. I wanted to show it dramatically and cinematically. I felt it would have been too subtle in an office environment, for instance. Or perhaps if the whole movie was set in nightclubs or pubs or in the United Nations or so many other places in the world where I believe sexism is rampant. On the street, a homeless girl faces many challenges and included among those challenges are the ones women face everywhere. You could say I needed an extreme version of something that is otherwise so ubiquitous that it’s become invisible. It was Caoimhe Cassidy who made it real for me.

The post Nola and the Clones: Interview with Filmmaker Graham Jones appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Stop-motion animation has always fascinated me. Anything from Wallace & Gromit to the Quay Brothers; it’s like a secret, sacred obsession I only indulge in when no one is around. In a world full of fanciful high-definition CGI creations and people with the attention span of goldfish, a special populace not only appreciates stop-motion, but also knows how long it takes. Two hours of work will produce 30 seconds of animation; it’s not a skill for those who want immediate payback. Keeping up with the underground animation community can be an intensely rewarding past time, especially when one comes across works such as the film “Blood Tea and Red String” by Christiane Cegavske. It was love at first sight. The medium film makes it possible for people to dip into another world for a good span of time. Everything else is suspended while you float in the vision, in the reality and world of another person; a most perfect act of escapism. Christiane Cegavske’s marvelous microcosm is one you will want to stay in and experience long after the hour is up.

The first picture is a portrait of Christiane by photographer Robin Laznak, and the first two film stills are from her upcoming film, “Seed in the Sand“. While “Seed in the Sand” is filmed digitally, “Blood Tea and Red String” was filmed in 16mm, and has the loveliest colors and grainy texture that only 16mm can deliver. It has been shown at 30 film festivals globally, has won awards, and has received incredible reviews from the New York Times, as well as many others. “Blood Tea and Red String” will satiate any craving you have for the surreal and strange.

Justine: Your work is incredible on its own, but to fully comprehend that you not only wrote and directed Blood Tea & Red String, but also animated it, did the costumes, the sets….it’s mind blowing. Where did you learn all of the techniques that you so skillfully wield? How has your personal background supported the birth of such a beautiful creation? 

Christiane Cegavske: I’ve been making dolls, puppets, costumes and stories since I was very small. I learned to sew with the help of my mother and grandmothers, and spent a lot of time with my father helping him make things in the garage. My parents provided me with plenty of craft materials and I spent my free time making dolls, doll clothes, doll houses, doll food and other items. I was also encouraged to draw and make stories. By the time I headed off to art school, in my late teens, I was well grounded in many forms of craft and art. My studies at San Francisco Art Institute helped me to develop a mature sense of aesthetics and conceptual thinking.

Many people are unaware of the particular process involved in making a stop-motion film. It’s a vast undertaking; how did you manage this project from start to finish?  

The first step for me is to let the ideas grow in my imagination and my sketchbook. Once I start to fall in love with my characters, I begin the puppet making process. This helps me to get to know them more fully. They help to inform the story development and the sets and props that will come next. Work on the script happens as the puppet making and set building happens as one informs the other. For Blood Tea and Red String, I completed all of the puppets before starting the sets. For Seed in the Sand, I made the puppets for the first scene and then that set. The sets for Seed in the Sand are much larger than those for Blood Tea so they must be made as needed.

Blood Tea and Red String took about 4 years to animate. Final editing and sound took a few years because I needed to involve other people in that process. When you have little to no budget, it can be a tricky time in a production to overcome. At first I tried to do all of the sound myself, but found that my skills were too rough for the job.

Your aesthetic is very specific and wonderfully honed. When I first saw your film, I was immediately reminded of one of my favorite animators, Jan Svankmajer. What inspires you? When did your style start to appear? Do you have advice for artists who struggle with developing their own style? 

I did not intentionally create my aesthetic. It developed as I developed, incorporating influences without being overly conscious of doing so. I gravitated towards some influences that became important because they validated and reinforced the way I was already working, maybe showing me another step or a deeper rabbit hole. Svankmajer inspired me to take the leap into animation when I was in the painting program. I was already interested in bones and strange old found objects, but seeing how he made them live was really exciting. Crocodile Street by the Brothers Quay had a similar but smaller impact. The work of Frida Khalo was important to my early development too, as it validated my exploration of a deeper personal narrative and of the artist using herself as a subject. The dream logic of her fellow women surrealists like Leonora Carrington, Leonor Fini and Remedios Varo is also infinitely inspiring. The Masks of God series by Joseph Campbell was very useful as inspiration and grounding for my dreamed and invented mythology in a cross-cultural historical collage. Films like Juliet of the Spirits by Federico Fellini and Santa Sangre by Alejandro Jodorowsky, encouraged me to consider less traditional narrative forms based heavily in personal symbolic systems and nonlinear storytelling techniques.

As far as advice for emerging artists seeking their own style, what I have to say is that you already have your own style within you. Make work from your heart and it will be yours. If your work is authentic, your audience will find you. Don’t be afraid of the critics and don’t try to please everyone because you’ll just end up not pleasing anyone, not even yourself.

Follow your muse and see where it takes you.

Your talents are obviously very multi-media based, and animation seems like a perfect step for you to take. What first started you on the stop-motion animating journey, and do you remember the first stop-motion film you saw? 

Alice by Jan Svankmajer was the primary trigger along with the influence of my friends Christine Shields and Dame Darcy whose wonderful animation projects created in Larry Jordan’s animation class made me eager to take the same class the next year. Larry Jordan was an inspiring teacher and mentor. His encouragement made a big impact on my devotion to animation and faith in my process.

“Blood Tea & Red String” has been interpreted in many different ways. When I first saw it I couldn’t help but think how much it embodied, albeit surreal, the experience of being a girl. Not only the romantic, lovely side, such as pretty dresses, admirers, tea, and cake, but also this idea of being created, molded, and owned. Your poem “Doll” also seems to echo these concepts. Were gender roles something you were exploring with this work? Does the doll signify your self in any way? 

I did not enter into the project intending to explore gender roles in any specific way. As a female artist telling my own story, it is something that enters into the narrative on its own. I let the story develop with very little self censorship. When I am in the creation phase of a new project, whatever wells up to the surface becomes part of the whole. Most of the content is autobiographical in some way but not precisely. I think the doll signifies the public self. The construction that protects or hides the tender inner self. The doll is the mask that is mistaken for the real face. She may be me in some small part, but is meant to be a symbol that goes farther than an individual frame of reference.

Another thought that occurred to me as I was watching Blood Tea and Red String was the idea of birth and creation. The strange raven creatures care very much for their sunflowers and for the doll, they created, and she in turn gives birth to the splendid blue harpy girl. Since you conceptualized, conceived and created not only these characters, but also this world, it seemed incredibly intimate. How do you feel about the label “artist” and “creator”? Is there a God-like concept tied to being an artist?  

I don’t pay a lot of attention to labels. I consider myself an artist, but the label “artist” seems somewhat inadequate when applied to creation of an entire animated world. I use “creator” as a film credit that brings writing and producing together with artistry and because it is a pre-existing term used to signify the person who initially comes up the foundational idea of a piece. God-like? I don’t know. What is a god, really? A patriarch? Maybe, while I think I’m creating and controlling everything, it is really my characters who are guiding the story.

The costumes for each character were made with exquisite detail. Even the mice had tiny little pearl buttons on their sleeves! How do you create an identity for your creatures? What is your character building process like? 

The characters first appear to me when I am daydreaming and sketching in my sketchbook without direction or expectations. They will keep coming back to add more details and eventually some of them become part of a story concept. From there I’ll refine them in both character and concept. When they feel like they are fully realized and ready for existence, I’ll make the puppet. For costuming, sometimes I come up with it all in my imagination and sometimes I do some historical research to work it out. Usually some combination of the two.

Are there any artists, filmmakers, designers, or the like that you aspire to work with in the future?  

Not that I can think of right now. I’m a loner.

Your next film “Seed in the Sand” is in the works. I watched the video on your website and it said you expected to have it finished by 2022! I look forward so much to another look into this marvelous world you’ve created. Is there anything your followers can do to support the process? Do you need interns? Funds? Lovely letters or Fan mail?

I’m giving some serious thought to bringing in an intern or two for the fall. My next scene involves a huge sand ocean that will need to be in constant motion, so that would be more easily accomplished with some help. If someone wanted to offer financial support they could become my patron on Patreon. For a pledge of $2 or more they will have access to a monthly unlisted Google+ video Hangout On Air session hosted from my film studio where they can get an inside look into the creation of Seed in the Sand and ask me questions about production, animation or anything really.

Encouraging letters are always helpful. I love those.

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The post Blood Tea and Red String Stop-motion: Christiane Cegavske Interview appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Last year, Forced Perspective swept through film festivals, gaining a large amount of recognition. The piece won several awards. Directed by Nick Cavalier as his debut documentary, the movie relates the art and life of Derek Hess, and is currently being shown at Copro Gallery as part of his current solo show, ‘I Told You Not to Call the Police’. Based in the US in Cleveland, Ohio, Derek is largely responsible for creating the underground Cleveland music scene with his well-known music poster art and Euclid Tavern concerts. Early on, Derek was influenced by comic books and the technique artists used in them called forced perspective. He has been a Cleveland legend for over fifteen years, growing up on his art. Derek Hess is famous for his dark, emotive mixed media drawings that help people express and realize their pain and heartbreak. Derek creates fundamentally sound work that describes feelings we all have experienced at one time or another. Although already considered a hero among his fans, Hess won a Local Heroes award, officially deeming him a superhero.

Forced Perspective was beautifully put together by Nick Cavalier, a former Clevelander. Nick, like so many, found Derek’s art guided him through his darker days. The film brings you closer to Derek Hess and his process. During the film, you learn about his artistic evolution, struggle with alcoholism, and his philosophy on art. All the while witnessing Rommel the dog’s role of studio helper. After seeing the documentary, I felt a stronger understanding of his work, and a deeper connection to artwork that I have admired since childhood. The film also touches on the topic of mental illness, as both Nick and Derek have Bipolar Disorder. This not only added another level of social relevance to the documentary, for me it also made this artist I have admired most of my life more human… a real life person with real life problems. Forced Perspective makes Derek Hess more relatable, though to me and to a multitude of others, he will always be a superhero.

Nick Cavalier and Derek Hess generously gave me some of their time to answer a few questions about Bipolar Disorder and their film Forced Perspective.

Directed & Edited By: Nick Cavalier
Produced By: Martin Geramita
Executive Producers: Chris Rentner, Evan Hareras & Beau Miller
Cinematography By: John Pope & Sergio Salgado
Titles And Color By: Coat Of Arms
Location Sound Mix By: Ben Stockton
Post Sound Mix By: Chuck Bein
Original Music By: Matthew Santos, Chihsuan Yang, Joel Coan, Dustin Currier & LT Magnotto
Additional Music By: The Felix Culpa, Thereafter, Chris Zabriskie

Forced Perspective has won multiple awards, including Best Cinematography (Beverly Hills Film Festival), Best Documentary (Kingston Film Festival), Best Feature (RIFF), Local Heroes (CIFF), and Excellence in title design (SXSW).

Preorder Forced Perspective by May 27th, also available through Google Play, Vimeo, and iTunes. The current showing at Copro Gallery is available to see in person until Saturday 28th May, 2016.

How did the idea for this documentary come about? The film has a strong focus on mental illness, related to Derek’s struggle with Bipolar Disorder. Was mental illness awareness a catalyst for creating Forced Perspective?

Nick: Not at all actually. I was just a Derek Hess fan, and wanted to make a film about his relationship to his art. A portrait of a modern master. However, being that most of his images are morose and dark subject matter, I had a good inclination that there was more to his story to explore in a much deeper, more profound way. As you know, I have my own struggles with mental health so finding a way to illustrate what it’s like to deal with the conditions I have and working with Derek was a great way of doing this. I also wanted to show how difficult it is for people suffering from mental health issues to get help. For example, Christian residential treatment centers are very hard to find so people of faith can find it nearly impossible to find a treatment clinic that will heal them using their beliefs. I wanted to show how hard it was for people to even reach out to people for help and then being unable to find the right place for them when they do.

Derek: Well, Nick contacted me. I didn’t know him, and he pitched it at me, so I met with him. He seemed like a nice guy, I looked at his website, and was like sure, if someone wants to film a movie on me, ya know, why not. How often does someone want to do a movie on somebody? So I’m like sure. As far as mental illness goes, that’s just part of the story. It’s not like we were planning to explore that, we weren’t like “Let’s try to shine a light on this” or whatever. I just blurted it out, and it somewhat just went from there. We didn’t have an outline of how the movie was going to go. We just started filming, and Nick goes “Let’s talk”, so we talked. In the beginning I say “We all have different paths to the same destination.”. Bipolar is part of my history, those people may be or may not be. So that’s how Bipolar Disorder came up. It was an unplanned thing. I’ve actually gotten attention from mental health Boards. It’s a point of interest, it’s more than I thought it would be. I’m Bipolar 2, I live with it, I don’t see it as being that big of a deal. I guess many people don’t talk about it. I’m so used to talking about it to friends and the doctors and my therapist and all that crap, that it just seems like second nature. It’s like I’m a diabetic. The parallel to that is people talk about the meds, ya know because I’m on meds, and I am a big supporter of that. Whereas some people aren’t. Some people take their meds, feel better, and then go off them. Then they get crazy, ya know? With the meds – this is where the diabetic thing comes in, [it’s like] insulin to a diabetic, you’ve got to take it every day- it’s a chronic issue, you’re treating it but you can’t cure it. So yeah, I don’t know how I got on that [topic of meds], but that’s how I feel [laughs]. Mental health…people are focusing on that a lot, which I think is cool. That kind of surprised me.

What scene from the film was most successful in your eyes and why?

Nick: The intro to me is very special. It sets the tone of the whole film and gives insight into what “Forced Perspective” means on a subversive level. Derek Says: “What gets me to there is my story.” So, it foreshadows that there is more to his story. Really happy about that. One of my favorite moments in the film is when Derek is telling the story about trying to kill himself in Switzerland and Rommel [Derek’s dog] is comforting him. Shortly thereafter, as he talks about the urge to throw himself in front of a bus, the bus goes by on Superior Avenue [Derek’s studio]. You can’t plan something like that if you tried.

Derek: I always liked the scenes with my dog. I thought those were the best parts. I liked talking about the comic book art; we didn’t do enough of that. There’s more of that in the outtakes. I like that; I enjoy discussing other artists that I admire. When we got into the alcoholism and the alcohol, I didn’t like that. But that’s part of it and had to be in it, ya know? I watch the film, I reminisce on it, and I kind of cringe. The alcoholism stuff bothers me, but it’s part of the story. We didn’t dwell on it too much. I do like that it came out of the blue, since we weren’t filming based on a story line, it was straight through. We got to it. When I started drinking was when I went overseas. [The film] wasn’t really clear when I started. I was feeling suicidal, and when I made the choice not to step in front of a bus, I made the choice to go start drinking. So that’s when I fell off the wagon. I had sixteen years [sober] up to that point. Then I came home, people knew me in town for being sober, no booze, no drugs. I wasn’t straight edge, it just wasn’t part of my lifestyle. Only a handful of people knew me from before in the 80’s, I was a major problem in the 80’s. We barely touched on that. So I had to hide my drinking, I was closet drinking, and you can only do that for so long.

You both have Bipolar Disorder. What advice would you give to those afflicted with mental illness and/or addiction?

Nick: I can’t speak for Derek, but for myself, turning my manic energy into the arts was always cathartic to me. Instead of pushing that energy outward into something that could damage your life, channel it into something that makes a real difference in the world. Make your weakness a superpower. Addiction is hard to tackle alone, and with there being plenty of services and facilities out there to help – outpatient alcohol rehab dallas could be one such solution for addicts to turn to – fighting it alone doesn’t have to be your go-to answer.

Derek: I touched on it with the meds. If you have a mental illness, you need to address it. It’s not something that’s just going to go away. You need to see a doctor, and you need to be assessed on whether you need to be on meds. If you’re diagnosed and they want you to be on meds, then you should take them. A lot of people are like “well they make me feel funny”, or don’t take them, they go “I feel great” and the don’t take them anymore. Honestly, that’s the worst. If you go on and off, on and off, it really screws up your chemical balance. I think that you should take care of yourself. You have to be responsible for your own health, that’s as big a health issue as diabetes or cancer. You need to take responsibility and get help. If you need help, ask for it. There are plenty of resources out there.

You both are from Ohio. The film was made primarily in Cleveland. I’m also from Ohio, so I may be a bit biased, but it seems like great things come from this state. To be honest, watching your film made me a little homesick. How do you think this area has impacted your creativity and form of expression?

Nick: Totally. I agree. Like Rick Manore says in the film it’s “the great wrong place, and living in the great wrong place requires you to express yourself of the void you are living in” I agree with that 100%. Cleveland has seen some tough times over the years. It’s full of hearty working class people who don’t take no for an answer. I believe the hottest fires make the strongest steel. And Cleveland creates character.

Derek: I think that at the end of the film, William, the guy that owns the gallery, William Busta Gallery, was speaking about artists’ regional cities, and how your art is affected by your environment. It’s true of Cleveland. I think it’s a pretty great place. It’s gritty, but I love the lake, I love Lake Erie. We’re blessed to have that resource here. Water could be a huge issue in the future. We have the largest source of fresh water in the world with the Great Lakes. We need to take care of it. I don’t know, everyone approaches it differently. There are a lot of uniform ways people approach things across the country, but here it’s different. There are a lot of pierogi, kielbasa and sauerkraut, and it’s wonderful. Stuffed cabbage. It’s Slovenian, it’s Croatian, it’s German and Irish and Polish. A lot of those old world ethics, those hard work ethics, from the 1st generation of people that came over here have spilled over into our local culture.

Any upcoming projects you’d like to share? Any plans to pursue more with mental illness awareness?

Nick: Absolutely. I’m working on a few commissions right now. One for a vinyl record plant in Cleveland called Gotta Groove Records. That will release the end of the month. I am working on a piece for the Warrior Angels Foundation that will release on July fourth. That explores the underlying causes for PTSD caused by Traumatic brain injury. Hopefully it will help a lot of people. As far as mental illness goes, I was approached by Project Semicolon to tell their story, and we are working out those details now. Outside of that, I have some irons in the fire for some bigger projects. Pitching a TV show involving food, which I’m really excited about. Can’t say much about it yet, but when I can I will.

Derek: No plans to work more with mental illness awareness, unless somebody wants to talk about it. I was working with a mental health [organization] in Virginia; I did a drawing for them. They showed me what they were going to do with the graphic and it was terrible. But I volunteered to do this. Then they were getting all picky about it. They wanted me to go talk with a bunch of authors, and I’m like I shouldn’t do that, I didn’t write a book. If they wrote a book, they have to be incredibly versed in the subject, and I’m just living it. I hadn’t done any great research or anything like that. So yeah, I declined that. I didn’t want to be the loser up there with three decorated doctors [studying me]. It’s like “please don’t set me up”. But I’m not opposed to it. If people want to talk about it, that’s fine.

I don’t really have any projects lined up. I am going to get a radio show; it’s going to be a lot of fun. We did a screening at Cleveland State, and I’ve been on college radio stations doing promotions throughout the year. I’ve been a guest a lot. I love radio, and I’ve always wanted to do a show. I spoke to the station manager after the screening, I told him my passion about it, and he’s like “Well, our ratings are down, we may try to get you”, a use-my-name type of thing. And I’m like yeah, whatever it takes, give me a radio show [laughs]. So, they’re going to do it. On a college radio show, only the students get to be on there, so they’re making an exception. I think it’s going to be really, really cool. I start training next week. I’m just going to play music I like. I’m going to have random cool people come on, like the weather woman from Channel 3, she doesn’t know it yet though. And my local district detective that used to be a bouncer for my [music] shows, and DJs from other radio shows. We’ll see if I can make it work. I’m worried about all the technical aspects, making sure I get all of that right. I don’t want to blow it.

We are also exploring doing instructional videos… one would be how to draw the hand, how to draw the head, the ankle, the whole body… whatever. They’d be like 10 minute videos. I guess there are bunch out there, I’ve never seem them. Marty [my manager] searched it, and he thinks we should try doing that. Or I should try doing that [laughs]. He’ll do a lot of the work, but I’m the one that has to be on camera. We’ll give it a shot. Fundamentals in drawing aren’t really a priority to artists anymore.

What do you want your viewers to take away from the experience of watching your film?

Nick: The most important thing I want people to feel is inspired. Inspired to become a hero like Derek did. To inspire others with their craft. The movie is a beacon of creativity screaming loudly “You can do this too. There are no excuses.” That’s transcendent of the arts. The film is about defying the odds, and adversity. Chasing your passion. Outside of that I hope people who have mental illness see the film and hear the message (hidden in the subtext) that you can be extraordinary. Channel that “illness” into an advantage.

Derek: Well, I’d like people to have a grasp, or a better grasp, of where I’m coming from. I’ve heard a lot of “I like this piece, but now I really like it [after seeing the film]”, now that they know the story behind it and how it’s produced. So I think that’s great. And for somebody that’s not aware of me, I just hope that aren’t bored [laughs]. For people that like art or are art oriented, I think they will like it. Or at least can find parts to appreciate. It’s good for people to get an idea of where the art is coming from. That’s what I’d like for them to take away from it.

Derek, the film goes over your artistic evolution from your beginning to today. How do you hope to continue to evolve?

Derek: I have a crummy answer for that. I’ve no idea. People say set goals, what are your goals in 5 years, 10 years, what are you going to do? And I’m like “I have no idea”. I’m just kind of doing things. Opportunities present themselves to me, I choose which one to go down, and if I’m fortunate, more opportunities will come. I don’t think like that. I don’t have a 401k, I really don’t have set goals. I just want to be able to continue to express myself and find my higher power and people still appreciate it. I want to continue making a living at this. But yeah, I have no idea what I’ll be doing next year. Hopefully it’ll be something cool.

Having spent a lot of time together working on this film, how would you say you two affected each other as a result?

Nick: Derek was a huge inspiration on me. Always has been. His work ethic is almost superhuman and his need to create is a part of his fabric as a person. That was the most inspiring thing. Seeing him draw. His philosophies on art and life mirror that of my own, and seeing his process was the most valuable thing. I now break down the anatomy of my own work (if you will). I’m more critical of the fundamentals all because of Derek.

Derek: Well, let me tell you about Nick. Nick said he was going to be at my place at 8 in the morning, and I’m like “what?!”. He says, “I’ll be there at 8 and we’re going to get started”. Nick is very gung-ho. I said all right. So I get up, it’s 7:30 am, I’m like I’ve got another half hour, I’ll drink some coffee before we get started. It’s 7:30, there’s a knock on my door. Nick. Never failed. Whenever he said he was going to be at my place, he was there a half hour early. Because he was so pumped, and ready to go, and so passionate about it, he just wanted to come here and do it. I’m like “C’mon, Nick, we’ve got all day”, let me drink my coffee, Christ. I think we influenced each other positively. He’s a good dude. We have similar interests; we have similar tastes in music. Music bonds people, He listens to a lot of the same metal stuff that I am into. So there was a like mind right there, a common thread. Yeah, I’d hang out with Nick whether he did the movie or not.

Nick, during the film, you ask Hess fans and collectors how Derek’s art has affected them (brilliant addition to the film, by the way). Yourself being a long time Hess fan, how has his work impacted you?

Nick: When I was 14 and an angst-y metal kid, I used to go to Derek Hess shows. The Strhess fests in the film were a part of my youth. I too got in a lot of trouble when I was a kid. Derek’s art always spoke to me I think because of that. I also can draw quite well, and have been doing so since I was a kid. Derek’s art always inspired me to simplify my line work and anatomy, and long before I met him was pushing me to be better.

Derek, you’re a huge music fan and it is obviously a huge part of your art and life. Any more upcoming with your Strhess Fest music festival?

Derek: No, I’m doing those any more. That’s a young man’s sport [laughs]. It’s a hell of a lot of work. There was a time and place for that, but it has run it’s course. It’s nice not doing that because now I can really enjoy the music and not be worried about guaranteeing agents, promoters, ticket sales, bands…there are a lot of rock stars out there. Just enjoying the bands anymore.

Nick, we see the end result of your hard work, watching the film on screen. What we don’t see or necessarily think about is what it took to create the film. Not being experienced with filmmaking, I would love to learn a little more about how you made Forced Perspective. Give us the nitty gritty.

Nick: Wow, that’s a tough one. Outside of the tremendous amount of work it takes to make a film like this, and the talented people I was lucky enough to work with, the process is what makes it special. It was a small crew, and we kept things intimate so we didn’t spook Derek. That allowed us to keep it more conversational and natural. The most fascinating part to me was piecing it together in the edit. I had Derek’s timeline down, but I didn’t want this to be a biography film. That’s not exciting to me. So I was reading a lot of Greek myth at the time, and about halfway through the edit it clicked. Derek is a super hero. Literally. He was born with an extraordinary ability, cultivated by a mentor. He was pushed out into the great unknown, and he used his powers to face his adversities, and in turn, inspire others to greatness. This is a universal story, and that was important to me to make the film an archetype. Accessible and relatable even if you don’t know who Derek Hess is.

Derek, in the film, you mention that you’re not religious, but you talk about tapping into your “source”. You give the example that God is a source. What is your source?

Derek: I think a source is a source. I think it’s everybody. I think it has a lot to do with positive energy. I think the source is what we all try to connect to. We all do it differently. Every religion has a ritual. But I think everyone is trying to connect to the same place. Wars over religion…obviously that’s silly because you’re all fighting over the same damn thing. It’s not good to be warring about anything, really. It’s not good as far as energy goes. I think my source is my higher power. I believe that it’s there, I think I’ve touched on it a couple times. I meditate with a guy, a normal guy who paints houses during the day. He told me that this is his last incarnation, and he’s just here to elevate others to the force, to the Divine is what he called it, he mediates with everyone and doesn’t charge. I thought that was cool. I’ve sat with him a lot. During deep meditation, I’ve touched on my source [my higher self].

For the sake of those newly introduced to Derek Hess, let’s pretend that I haven’t been a fan my whole life. The film is now out for preorder, with some interesting packages such as a limited edition print and a book. Tell me why I need to add this documentary to my collection, and describe the fun add-ons.

Nick: Well, if you are a fan you are in luck. We decided to make a 200-page art book mirroring the chapters in the film with art from each era of his life to accompany it. From his college years, through the Euclid tavern posters, into Strhess and post hardcore, all the way into today. Each chapter has insight from Derek and some art you have never seen before. I also wrote a whole chapter about production and we get a behind the scenes look into what made the film work. That book comes with a Blu-ray extra feature disc with 90 minutes of additional content… deleted scenes, extra features etc. It’s pretty great, and I made it because I myself selfishly want one for my own collection.

Derek: If you buy the film book, you get to see all the outtakes that didn’t make the film. There’s more comic book talk. There are different groupings for the book sales. We are doing a limited edition silkscreen print of 100, you can get the movie poster that both Nick and I are going to sign. You can get a Blu-ray DVD, and the outtakes DVD. It’s quality stuff. We’ve been at it so long, we don’t cut corners. The book is nice; there is a lot more artwork in the book than there was in the movie. We made sure we got as much art in there as possible.

The post Forced Perspective: Interview with Derek Hess & Nick Cavalier appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Michael Sharp is a video artist, creative art director, photographer, and just an overall incredible man. He was brought up in the UK, but has lived in Amsterdam, and Australia, and he is now based out of New York. A perfect place for a visionary of his caliber to find the supportive and creative environment that helps his work flourish. Although he is currently living in New York, his work is extremely collaborative, and uses artistically global thinking to create pieces that are inclusive and imaginative. His projects include graphic design for experimental music groups, editorial fashion collaborations with Brendan Burke that pushes the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of fashion as art, as well as multiple video pieces that elucidate the human condition in exciting, innovative, and prolific approaches. He is a founding member of the China Heights Gallery in Sydney, and Founder of the non-profit arts organization Wasted Spaces, an art space that hopes to break down the pervasive white walls always to be found within the usual contemporary art galleries dotting the city.

We sat down to chat at the ConArtist Collective in the Lower East Side to talk about his background, his inspirations, and his latest concepts. His newest project will be on view at the gallery Lazy Susan, and the event is meant to spur dialogue about one of the foremost sociopolitical issues of today. 24 people will be standing, an hour each, over the course of 24 hours, in support of those facing inequality, brutality, and injustice on an ongoing basis.

Standing Up: Black Lives Matter

Opening Reception:
May 12 | 6pm – May 13 | 6pm

Works and discussions surrounding the exhibition run through May 17, 2016

Lazy Susan Gallery

191 Henry St. New York, NY 10002

Justine: Your work is extremely collaborative and global in its approach and it’s incredible to see how many projects you’ve been involved in. I’d love to know more about what brought you to such a vast reach of mediums and concepts.

Mike Sharp: I’m from a place called Loughborough which is near Nottingham which is where Robin Hood and his Merry Men lived…which I always say because no one knows about Loughborough. Nottingham they might know, but they definitely know Robin Hood. I grew up in a very working class family, my dad’s a contractor, bricklayer, and I was always interested in art, but I don’t know if I’d call it that because growing up I had no reference to art whatsoever. I’d never been to a gallery. Probably the first time I went to a gallery I was 25. So I had no connection to art, I was interested…but I suppose my first interest was fashion, because that’s accessible. When you’re 14/15, that’s how you can express yourself. I think if I had a different upbringing maybe I would’ve been a fashion designer. I was really into it…but I didn’t know anyone who was remotely creative. There was no thought of me, doing anything creative as a job…because it didn’t seem as possible. I went to university and did a degree in geography…I don’t know why I did that, I had bad advice…and I needed a job…I came back home, got a job in a call center and hated it. Then I was offered a job in Amsterdam, and that was what started me in a different trajectory.

How did moving to Amsterdam change your life?

I met people with different backgrounds and perspectives.  I could start to grow…that was when I was 24. I started to be move involved in art and started making it. I went to Ikea, and I was like “This is shit. I can do better than this.” I went home, and painted on a found piece of board, and I really liked it, I enjoyed doing it, and people enjoyed it too. Then I had a show, and people liked that, people bought them…and that was it for a while.

The China Heights Gallery and Wasted Spaces are both really awesome, both in concept, and conception. How did they come to fruition?

I moved to Sydney, Australia, started working in a bar and I met some other artists who I’m still in contact with and we opened China Heights Gallery. And that was great…we were living there and it was kind of like that bohemian fantasy. So we were running galleries, and making art, and I decided to become a working artist. Like try to make a living from my art, and I started to really hate it. I was making art that wasn’t very good, because I was trying to make it to sell it and I didn’t enjoy it. No one wanted to buy it. So I was like, this is shit. I came back to Amsterdam…stopped making art for 6 or 7 years. Concentrated on commercial design and art direction, and then moved to New York 6 or so years ago, and took stock of my life.

The switches you’ve made in where you live are inspiring, some people will stay in one place their entire lives, but what made you come to New York? What was so attractive about this city?

Obviously, NY has a long history of art, and a lot of the art I’m inspired by has had its home here. Like punk rock, that attitude in art I really liked. The untrained style of it. I’m not a huge fan of the art school necessarily, I think it’s great to concentrate for 3 or 4 years and experiment, I think that’s fantastic. However, there’s also a danger that you can know too much, and you start to make art kind of by numbers, formulaic, and self referential and I find it very boring. I think it should come from another place, I think that’s what the role of art is. It’s to try and figure out what it is to be alive, big questions…not “I’m referencing some Renaissance painter because I’m so clever.”

It’s not interesting to me…so, I moved to NY and I thought I want to make art again. I made a list of the things I love about making it, and didn’t. On the list of things I didn’t like was the commercial aspect of it. I couldn’t do it for money anymore…I didn’t know how to make that work. So, I thought the easiest way to resolve that was to decide not to sell my work.  As soon as I made that decision, it completely changed my outlook. And it was great because now I’m doing it for myself and I enjoy it again. I do it for the pure pleasure of doing it. If people like it or they don’t, I don’t really care…and that’s a nice place to be.

What is your process like as an artist?

I try to be as un-self-conscious about it as possible when I’m making it, which is hard to do with video art. Because there’s a process….if you’re doing an abstract painting, you can lose yourself in it, but video art, or anything that involves production that’s really difficult.  I create a concept or loose idea, and then I try not to think about it again. I try to think about it as little as possible when I’m doing it too, just enough to get it done. Because if I think too much, I’ll be in the middle of it and realize how ridiculous it is. Like, there’s this girl wearing a plastic tarp on top of a roof and this is crazy! But if you over think everything you wouldn’t do anything.

It’s difficult sometimes because we live in the world…not a cave…so it’s hard not to be affected by what’s around you or what people think, but generally I try to really just do not think. And also try to not think about what it is about…everyone wants to know “What’s it mean?” and “How do you do it?” And for me those two things are…it’s very similar to the relationship we have with magic. Art is magic. When we know how a magic trick is done, we’re disappointed, because we feel let down. It’s the same with art. We want to know what’s behind it but when we find out, we’re disappointed, because its trick.

And we lose the personal connection we had when we first saw the piece.

Exactly. If I tell you what I think my work is about, then it can only be about that now. You can’t put your history and personality or perspective…it can’t be a mirror anymore…and I think that’s the power of art, it’s a mirror. I don’t mind talking about how I did it…but I find that quite boring.

What about video really engages you as an artist, and why do you find that it’s the medium you choose to work with so often?

I think there’s something about the moving image that really gets us. A few hundred years ago when we didn’t have electronics, a huge oil painting was very impressive…but now in this world we live in, it has to compete with 3D movies, virtual reality glasses, and I think it’s a lot more difficult to engage people with a painting.

Their attention span seems to be short these days too.

Yeah. And we should give a painting time, but I also think that time moves on, and a painting that was done ten thousand years ago, won’t have the same relevance that was done 500 years ago…there’s a context. It loses its power. And I think it’s not necessarily the fault of the viewer, I think it’s just the way it is.  Having sound or moving images, you can affect people a lot more, especially sound. I think sound really grabs people. Like with “Wasted Spaces” one of the things we are trying to do is to try and break down the walls of the gallery, and bring art to the people and one of the ways we do this is with sound. Like popular music, people don’t usually think “what’s it about?” they hear it, they feel it, they like the way it sounds. With contemporary art, in a gallery setting there’s this huge pressure to have to understand it, and everyone has this intense stare, but I don’t think it should be like that. Conceptual art is now the same as contemporary art, everything has to have a press release, a concept, some deep meaning, and I think many of the time artists just makes it up afterwards, or the gallery. There’s no benefit to it. I think it’s okay to just be not engaged by something.

Chelsea galleries especially. Something on the Wasted Spaces website was talking about breaking down the white walls of the gallery and how people are there but it’s so exclusive and inaccessible. A lot of the time, I see tourists walk in with their cameras and fanny packs, and they step in, and then immediately recede because they’re intimidated. But then on the flip side, there’s the MET and they’re looking at Renaissance paintings or whatever, they run up to it, snap a picture, and then run off to do the same thing to another master work. It’s kind of like people don’t know how to engage with art on a meaningful level anymore because it’s everywhere. I did enjoy how Wasted Spaces is a felt and experienced event rather than a purely conceptual event. You have a very engaging way you work…its very collaborative. Even where we are now, ConArtist, it’s a collective, and film is very collaborative. It’s difficult to do it by yourself.

The things I like about art, is making it with my friends. Particularly in New York I find it difficult to hang out with my friends…I’m not really sure why. I think it’s because everyone is always looking for the next, better thing to do or a better offer. There is a lot of cool stuff going on. Every night there are ten different amazing things to do in Manhattan alone. So I wanted to collab with my friends, to hang out, and not just party or get drunk, but to spend quality time with them and produce something…and I think that’s the best way to hang out with your friends.

The reason why I started to make films, was I was making installation work, large scale, and it’s really a lot of work to make them, install them, but also to get people to come out and see them. I’m not very good at that. If, say for instance, you get 1000 people to come out, that’s still only 1000 people who have seen it. So I started to film it, so the art could have a life outside of the time it was installed…and then that video, started to become work. Then I started creating the sound, and it all came from installation.

On top of everything else, you also teach at The Shillington School of Graphic Design. You are so busy, so it must mean a lot to you in order to make time for it.

I started teaching about 5 years ago, and people always told me I should be a teacher…I wasn’t particularly interested in it, but I started doing it so I could do less commercial design. I was surprised how much I loved it. It’s amazing to be able to basically change someone’s life and give them new skills.  They are usually doing a job they don’t particularly like…they come to class after work, and their dedication is amazing, and at the end of the class they create a portfolio and go out and get a job. They go from installing air conditioners to being a graphic designer, and I feel honored to be part of that process. I have a very pragmatic way, sometimes, of creating…sometimes, it’s sort of mystical and airy-fairy, but I think with design I see graphic design as a trade, it’s the same thing as being an electrician or plumber. It can be taught at a degree level, but at the end of the day, you learn more when you’re actually on the job.

That’s very true. Just because someone has the technical skills doesn’t mean they have an artistic eye.

The great thing about it is that we tend to focus, in the creative industries, on the big names. But some of these people don’t want to work for Mother, right? They’d be happy working in house for Coca Cola. Everyone can find their own level, and I try to be realistic with them. Most of these students won’t ever work for Mother, but they wouldn’t want to either. It’s not really about what I want for them, its what they want…professionally.

So you’re very respectful of their autonomy as students?

Yeah, I try not to force my style on them. When I first started being creative, I was just designing for myself and that’s kind of the key: design has a problem to solve, and a client to make happy, a demographic to reach. When I first started designing, I was just doing it for my friends, and me. I was the demographic, so it was easy! Then I took a job for an agency that only did banking and insurance, because I wanted to be a proper graphic designer. And that’s the role of a good graphic designer. There should be no ego involved to figure out the best solution. There’s also some psychology involved…getting into the head of who you are trying to reach, which I find interesting. So, yeah, I try not to push my taste on them…but I can’t help it sometimes.

I went to Pratt for fashion design and there were teachers, like you, who would give me the skills I needed, but then there were others who had a very specific minimalist, everything must be oversized in white or black, outlook on contemporary fashion design.  They wanted everything to fit that aesthetic. I think the best teachers were the ones who gave me the skills so I could make what I wanted to make. It’s boring if everyone creates the same aesthetic, the same vision.

Yeah, exactly, and that comes down to confidence. A lot of problems we have in life, in general, come to lack of confidence. So, if you’re very confident in yourself, just being comfortable with who you are, then you don’t have to force your style or opinion on someone else, you know that there’s a huge gamut that’s correct. If you lack confidence, you may narrow your parameters a little bit because you’re scared, and usually that’s because you don’t understand.

Sometimes people are swallowed up by other people’s aesthetics, or other people’s ideas of who you are and what you should be. There are so many people who have jobs they hate, because they were thinking more about what they were told they should do rather than do what they wanted to do. 

Your work also tends to be sociopolitical and emotionally charged. Have you always been interested in political art?

That’s a relatively new thing for me. I’ve been sort of non-political for a long time. I have never shown an interest in politics or activism. I believe strongly in fairness in life in general, and when I see things that are not fair, I want them to change. There are many things, right now, that are not fair at all. I think if everyone did one small thing, it would turn into a big thing. That’s how real change is made.

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