Friday, March 25, 2011

Mikael Kangas: "Greek mythology, fairytales and fashion magazines"

Mikael Kangas is an illustrator, art director and graphic designer from Sweden. Mikael started studying industrial design, but later on he realized that illustration and graphic design is what he likes best. With tradeyourtalent Mikael speaks about inspiration from Greek mythology and saving the world. 

What are your themes in your work?
Mikael: A lot of fashion and animals and ornaments! I started out inspired by Aubrey Beardsley and did only black and white. Somehow I wanted to update the illustrations and make them more contemporary and take use of all the tools available when working digitally and started experimenting with colors, overlays and transparencies. But even though I like the use of strong colors I try to keep down the number of different colors in one illustration so it doesn’t go overboard.

Where do you get your inspiration?
Mikael: I get my inspirations from all kinds of things in everyday life but also from the Art Nouveau books, Greek mythology, fairytales and fashion magazines.

What are your current projects about?
Mikael:Right now im working on a couple of diffent things. Instructional workout illustrions, a magazine cover and art directing photoshots for H&M!

Is it hard being an artist today?
Mikael:Well there is a tough completion since it's a more global market now but at the same time that also increases the number of clients you can reach. Even though I live in Sweden almost none of my clients are Swedish magazine or brands.

Do you have favorite artists?
Mikael: I loved stories and books illustrated by incredible Swedish illustrator Hans Arnold when I was younger and still think his images are incredible. Unfortunatly he isn't alive anymore but i do like some more ontemporary illustrators like Richard Gray,  Autumn Whitehurst and David Downton.

Did you ever want to do something else besides art?
Mikael: I´ve been drawing and sketching all my life, fascinated by “how to draw” books and addicted to comic books. Later I studied industrial design, decided on illustrations. But if i didn't do that or illustrations i would probebly want to work with animals or something like that. saving the world?

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Documentary: "Following the Ninth - In the Footsteps of Beethoven's Final Symphony"

Kerry Candaele, producer, writer and director (Battle Hymns Productions, LLC) speaks about his documentary "Following the Ninth - In the Footsteps of Beethoven's Final Symphony." Kerry is originally from Vancouver, he attended California State University Chico, U C Santa Barbara, and Columbia University where he was a Richard Hofstadter Fellow and President’s Fellow in U.S. history. He has also worked all over the world (including China, East Timor, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jordan, South Africa, Gaza, and the West Bank) for the Democracy Council,  an NGO dedicated to peaceful reform in developing nations.

You are working on the documentary "Following the Ninth".What inspired you to this project and what is it about?

Kerry: I was inspired to begin a film about Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and it's global impact for two primary reasons. The first is the music itself. The first time I heard the Ninth, I thought it was as powerful and profound as the best of any popular music that one hears today. And as I grew to young adulthood during the 1960s and early 70s, my musical influences came from the great rock and roll artists of that period, most notably the Beatles and Bob Dylan. So in a sense I was surprised by the Ninth's capacity to move me at the depths of my soul, as I didn't come from a background where classical music was a household item. 

The second reason for my attraction to the Ninth as a cinematic possibility is the man behind the music. Beethoven biography is, simply put, the material of justified legend. In brief, here is a man who at the height of his musical powers confronted a cosmic joke: he started to go deaf, to lose the one sense that we imagine would be the most critical for a composer of his stature. By the time he composed the Ninth, his final symphony in 1824 and just three years before his death, he could have added up all his suffering and come to the conclusion that life was a bust, an absurd con, and that it would be fine and just to write music that reflected these existential facts. But instead Beethoven wrote a symphony about human connection across all borders, about how art delivers us from fear, pain, heartbreak and wretchedness. Beethoven composed a Symphony about all these emotions and experiences, but settled on joy as the final statement for the Ninth, about how music can heal and repair. 

Finally, after hearing the music and studying his life, I found that the Ninth had a role in some important world events. Students at Tiananmen Square in 1989 were playing the Ninth over makeshift loudspeakers as the Chinese army was called in to crush their movement for freedom. In Chile under the Pinochet dictatorship, women would march in the streets to the torture prisons while singing a version of the "Ode To Joy," part of the final triumphant fourth movement. In Japan, a nation that has embraced the Ninth like no other, every December hundreds of Ninth concerts are performed, sometimes with 10,000 people in the chorus. 

I then, in a leap of faith, decided to make Following The Ninth. 

What were the hardest and the best parts about this project?

Kerry: The best part of making any documentary film is meeting people who are willing to share part of their lives with me. Making a documentary is a decidedly more interesting way to travel. The individuals in this film took me into their homes, introduced me to others who shared part of their personal histories, and, most importantly, they told me stories, often intimate and moving stories, about how Beethoven's music transformed their lives in some way. Connecting with people at that level is the big payoff. And who would not enjoy traveling around the world to Japan, Chile, South Africa, and various European countries with music as the subject of their art? I also believe that a film crew should have fun on the job. And, indeed, we had a lot of fun making this film, whether it was exploring Shinto temples in the mountains of Japan, or drinking copious amounts of Chilean wine with a group of new friends on the southern Island of Chile.  

The most difficult part for an independent filmmaker is the perennial one: raising money. I had to go out and shoot, come home to raise money, and repeat a routine that can be both discouraging and a good way to sap inspiration. I thought the film would take two years to shoot. It took four. 

Being a filmmaker is hard today.Do you agree?

Kerry: Yes. If you are not backed by a big studio and you don't have a trust fund from which to draw, there is no way around the obstacles, especially for a film that requires travel to several countries. One has to make a long-shot gamble. With such long odds, it's best to make sure that you love the process, because the monetary payoff is, of course, never guaranteed.  

Was filmmaking always your passion?

Kerry: No. I have many passions. I love the study of history, for example, which dovetails nicely with filmmaking. I have taught history at various colleges, and I still occasionally put fingers to the keyboard to work on books and articles.  I also have a perhaps unhealthy attraction to politics, both domestic and international, which also connects to the type of projects I enjoy. My passion for music is a given. The same is true for my family and close friends. 

Your advice to young artists would be...?
Kerry: Cliches are rarely useful for complicated lives in a complex world, but the one about doing what you love and accepting what follows seems to be spot on. I don't think anyone would enjoy the prospect of arriving at the end of life and muttering "I shouda...." It's not at all easy, and the journey is never complete, but Nietzsche's admonition to "become who you are" is worth contemplating. Just ask Beethoven.

Artists Help Japan charity movement

Artists Help Japan is a charity movement initiated by Dice Tsutsumi, an art director at Pixar Animation Studios who was also behind 2008 Totoro Forest Project to help preserve Sayama Forest in Japan and Sketchtravel Project, to gather the force of communities of artists and creative minds around the world. They believe that artists have special roles to contribute to the society. Within a week, 10 art communities from LA, San Francisco, New York, Paris, Toronto and Pittsburgh have signed up to do fund raising events to contribute to this movement.  We are calling for more artists communities to join the forces of  Artists Help Japan Movement. More on Artists Help Japan movement

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Terry Wong "It's always been a part of who I am"

Terry Wong's illustrations are filled with lots of humor. I really enjoy his Mad Men illustration of Christina Hendricks. Terry was not always an illustrator, he started out as a graphic designer in Vancouver. After several years he decided to move into illustration full time. He is a graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design and the Vancouver Film School. Terry Wong is represented by Anna Goodson Management. 

  Terry Wong: Mad Men,

What are  themes in your work?

Terry: A consistent theme in my work is humor. Being able to look at an article, or story and convey the situation in a concise manner with a humorous component. Growing up I was taught up to find the humor in a situation, as an illustrator I've found that finding the applicable humor helps to engage the viewer right away.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Terry: I try to get inspired anywhere and everywhere. A walk in the park, a stroll through the mall, watching a good movie. Inspiration is everywhere, you just have to be aware of it and let it get to you.

What advice would you give young artists for pursuing a career in art? 

Terry: The more you are like yourself the less you're like anybody else. This is a good thing, ultimately clients will want you for your unique way of looking at the world. 

Could you imagine doing something else besides art?

Terry: If I wasn't an illustrator, I'd be doing something else with an artistic component. It's always been a part of who I am.

Terry Wong: Scooter Girl,


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