posted: February 2, 2010

Over the weekend Canada's National Post ran nice story on how the Soulpepper Theatre has defined itself and it's productions through illustration. (article here)

"Judging a book by its cover can be important," Lester says. "With a poster that's defining a classic play, people recognize the names, but in order to be evocative of what direction [the play] is going to take, I feel like the poster art or the visual identity is helping with that. It kind of creates another perspective. A contemporary layer." - Leslie Lester, Executive Director

"What Soulpepper does is pretty unique," says Edel Rodriguez, illustrator for the company in 2008. "It should be part of what everybody does in theatre. If you're going to support the arts, go for it all the way. It makes your theatre stand out, but some people don't get that."

"[Soulpepper] comes off as being atypical of the work experience with clients," says Brian Stauffer, this year's artist, on the phone from Miami. "They say, ‘Look, we're treating our audiences like morons by not expecting that they're going to want to see some brilliant, innovative, thoughtful stuff.' These guys are putting a lot of time and effort and blood and sweat into putting these productions together. To not represent it in an equally creative way, it just feels like a missed opportunity."

Above is another in the 2010 season series for the play entitled, "What The Butler Saw."  The play originally opened in London's Queen's Theater in 1969 to much controversy and acclaim.  Consisting of two acts, the scene is the office of a sexually perverse psychiatrist who basically tries to seduce almost anyone who walks into his office.  That's over simplifying it quite a bit but basically it's a farcical comedy about sexual encounters and acquaintances colliding to break down social conventions.

Thanks again to Anthony Swaneveld, the Art Director-Designer at Sandwich Creative who's collaborative spirit made this series possible.  Thanks also to MArk Medley at the National Post, and Leslie Lestor and the fine folks of Soulpepper Theatre.  Their desire to stand-out beyond the pack says so much about the value they place on the productions they bring to life.

posted: January 27, 2010

I'm not a huge fan of authority figures, but I admire anyone who takes-up the call to become a police officer.  They see a side to the world that we blissfully inoculate ourselves from.  It's no surprise then that many officers live and work with the added burden of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Some find help with police department therapists.  But for too many others, relief comes by taking their own life.  "Suicide kills more officers every year than homicides or accidents at work", writes Julia Dahl in this week's Boston Globe Magazine.  (article here)

I want to thank Josue Evilla  and the editors at the Boston Globle Magazine for entrusting me with visualizing such a sensitive subject.  It was impressive to see the level of concern they had for not exploiting this man's suffering by sensationalizing the imagery.  At every step they wanted to make sure to keep in mind the families of the officers profiled.  It was poignant to be reminded that they would be reading this article, and in the end they would either feel closer to the community of readers, or alienated by them.  When AD's and Ed's make the decision to illustrate a sensitive topic, they place a huge responsibility on the shoulders of the artist.  Will the art convey or undermine the text?

Stylistically I explored a couple variations on the cover image.  Below you will see two versions - one with the figure more fully rendered with my collage style and another where the figure is basically a tightened line drawing from the original sketch.  In the end, they went with the line version.  I hadn't planned on doing a version with line only, but the notion of doing so is a by product of my regular process.  I typically work in photoshop, collaging directly over a tight line drawing.  At some point during this assignment it just seemed that an empty line-only figure did a better job of conveying the subjects emptiness, as well as, the desolation he felt in the world around him.

Thanks again, Josue!

posted: January 18, 2010

When a tragedy like the quake in Haiti happens, like most folks, I feel compelled to get involved.  And like most folks we sift through the aid oraganizations and contribute financially to the recovery.  The next thought usually is that I want to illustrate it.  I guess it's just part of my whole "empathy" hang-up.

Thankfully, Aviva Michaelov, the brand spanking new AD of the New York Times Op-Ed page, provided a great oportunity to see this process in print. Aviva has been an amazing partner for me at the NYT.  It was Aviva who championed my unassigned image for the cover of the Week In Review during the Iranian election protests.  Her mind is both wide-open yet sharply focused on the responsibilities that come with being a visual communicator.

The image above accompanied a series of 8 editorials collected around the notion of rebuilding Haiti.  Authors discuss what we have learned from quakes in China, Pakistan, Indonesia, as well as, the cyclone in Myanmar. It's a great read and I encourage all to take a moment out to think about what comes next.  article here

I'd also like to mention that this has been one that hit very close to home for us.  I remember a farewell dinner a few years back for Robin and Melissa Padberg and their 3 children as they were preparing to move to Port-au-Prince to run their family-owned hotel, the now well known Hotel Villa Creole.  We waited an anxious night to hear word from them which finally came the morning after the dust had settled.  "All are doing well, considering the circumstances."  Luckily, the hotel survived as well, and is now both a lifesaving triage center but also a communications center for numerous news agencies.  Although I'm sure most of you have given already, if you feel the need or have the means to help a bit more there is an organization that is specifically supporting the efforts at the hotel.  Project Medishare’s Earthquake Relief Fund could use your help.

Yesterday brought another piece of good news from the family, the 3 children have arrived to stay with an aunt here in Miami.  We can only imagine what they've seen and what this experience has left inside them, but for now, they are among the few to be called lucky.  What's next for the family? Like others they've already started to rebuild their lives.

posted: December 15, 2009

Over the past 2 years, and through the work of both Sam Weber and Edel Rodriguez, many of us at drawger have been introduced to the creative folks at the Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto.  It was my surprise and pleasure to get the call from Sandwich Creatives' Anthony Swaneveld asking if I would be interested doing 8 images for posters announcing the 2010 season.  Given the pedigree of contributing artists, I took it as a humbling and exciting opportunity which was made all the more enjoyable because of the collaborative spirit in which the works were created.  Additionally, an artist could not ask for a better AD in their corner through the back and forth process of client approvals. 

The poster below was for the first play in the assignment.  To me, illustrating "Death Of A Salesman" was about as good as it gets.  The rich and tragic story of an aging salesman approaching a bitter end of his unfullfilled career, who has defined himself through delusions of grandeur.  Willy Loman has lived a life of facades, convincing himself that he is a vital part of the company he works as a salesman for.  He has failed as a father, rasing two unsuccessful dreamers and has left many of his goals unfullfilled (he was unable to grow flowers in his garden as well).  When his boss of many years simply casts him aside Willy's proclaims that "you can't take the orange and just leave the peel".  He is a hollow man, beaten down by his own dillusions.

Given that this was our first time working together I decided to go a bit overboard on the sketches.  We agreed to keep them very loose until we circled in on a handful of directions to pitch.  Anthoney asked that I send everything, even those that i felt were weak or clichéd, because maybe they might trigger an unexpected direction with his input.  This was really hard for me to do because the industry has trained me not to show anything that I'm not interested in illustrating becuase its' sure to get picked. 

Indeed, this project was a dream come true.  Three of the posters, which I'll post in the coming weeks, were accepted into the Society of Illustrators Advertising Show, and limited edition prints will soon be available for sale as well. 
I'd like to thank The fine folks at Soulpepper Theater including the Artistic Director, Albert Schultz, the Executive Director, Leslie Lester and the Director of Communications, Belinda Bale, and of course Anthoney Swaneveld of Sandwich Creative.  I'd also like to send a thanks out to drawgers' own Marc Burckhardt who talked me off a few ledges with his seasoned perspectives.

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