'Brian Rea produces drawings and paintings for magazines, murals, fashion and film projects around the world. His work has been exhibited in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Barcelona at the Fundació Joan Miro. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Art Center College of Design and a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife, his son and his plants.'
http://www.brianrea.com/about
Questions:
- Firstly, I was just wondering about your college life, if you went to college. What did you study and what were you like as a creative person then?
- What or who inspires your work? It always seems so imaginative!
- Your new animation work seems really exciting and developed – how did you get into animating?
- What do you see as your best achievement so far?
- Do you have any advice for a young designer? I'm looking to go into publication design one day.
1. I studied at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore-
earned a BFA in illustration, but I was always curious about design and
took quite a few painting classes.
I was a studio nerd and a
library nerd. Had to be. I was away from home and didn't really party a
lot in school so just put most of my time into my work- As a student I
always felt like I was playing catch up with things I didn't know. I had
a great high school art teacher who really inspired me and helped my
drawing along, but I was really lacking in any historic reference for
what I was doing or exposed to what I wanted to do. So I had a big hole
in myself as an artist (context). When I got to college, I had a handful
of teachers who really pushed me, I owe a lot to them for inspiring me
in the right ways- they'd say "Go look at this artist" and off I went-
or I'd see something and then go find out who the artist or designer was
and who they were inspired by- most of this was pre-internet, pre
social media so I spent a lot of time in the library going through dusty
old design annuals or books no one bothered to read or even open- no
one fucking cracked these things. It was like a secret treasure- going
down the rabbit hole took time, so I spent a lot of time in that
building. The library was located in an old converted train station- I
was convinced it was haunted.
2. When I was
trying to figure out my own work early on in my career, I was super
inspired by other work, but when I found out the stories I enjoyed
telling then I turned to my life for inspiration- family, friends and
things around me. Simple moments, things that are emotional and magical-
some might say cheesey or boring, but I love that stuff- the human-ness
of a situation or the connection between two people or two things- I
think those are the biggest influences in my work.
3.
A young designer from NYC, Pablo Delcan reached out to work on a simple
project about 5 years ago- no money, lots of creative room and a
willingness to allow me to change the storyboards. He was going to
animate and I was free to just draw. It was a unique partnership, but
one that worked really well that first instance, so we tried a few more.
Our process became more efficient, the stories became stronger and we
continued to collaborate more and more. We've done about 15 projects
together. Love working with him. I trust him to be brutally honest with
me about the drawings and the stories and we collaborate completely on
all aspects from idea to execution.
4.
Achievements are funny things- they change as you get older. Honestly I
think my best achievement is simply being able to make a living doing
what I love.
5. I had a good friend visiting
me for the last week- he has 30 plus years of experience as a designer
and his work is in most major museum collections- I asked him why he
stopped teaching and he said, "I got to a point where I felt I could
teach my entire 14 week class in the first minute of the first
class....I would say, Pick something you love, committ to it fully
(sacrifice time with friends, family, partying, etc), ignore quick
financial gain, fucking grades, awards, etc. and just keeping making
stuff, keep making and making and making and painting over, destroying,
battling, making and making and making and making, over and over and
over until eventually you're the best at this one thing."
Sound advice. Brutal, but true.
I
would say if you don't love doing "this" more than anything, then do
something else- because there are so many others out there who DO love
it. You're trying to get on an elevator that's already full of talent-
and that's tough- be kind, be strong and don't stop making things- as
long as you're spinning you'll move forward- I think once you have self
doubt or you stop, then you're sitting on the sidelines watching
opportunities and your life pass you by.
What I have gained from this:
I found Brian Rea's discussion of reading very useful, it appeared to me that he was incredibly motivated as a student and took inspiration from many books. The value of library's shouldn't be understated and sometimes I think I forget their usefulness in place of social media. From hearing this, I hope to spend more time in the library - reading all I can from designers and artists that inspire me.
He talks about taking inspiration from everyday life, this was another interesting thing to hear. I find myself looking for it in impossible places, overlooking real inspiration for more 'exciting' inspiration. I hope to now examine everyday situations with attentiveness, looking out for things I can illustrate or draw from. Maybe I will keep a sketch book on me?
The last answer to the question I found SO motivating, his recommendation of dedication and commitment really sparked something in me. I felt like I wasn't working hard enough, design felt like a secondary thought rather than a primary. I realised I needed to delved deeper in the design world and myself to make sure I much my work to its limits. Brian Rea is truly inspirational.
No comments:
Post a Comment