Santiago Pozzi (Argentina)

 

Santiago Pozzi (Argentina)

If you are familiar with the blog, you know already my taste for Quilmes and empanadas de jamon y queso, as I already explained you all of that when I received Csr Jara on the blog.  Is this important to know that ? Well, maybe not that much, but it can definitly hemps you understanding why, everytime I discover an artist from Argentina, I feel so happy to welcome him on the blog. Especially when the guy produce things like the Alamos poster you will see hereunder and many other stuffs I really like ! Bienvenido a bordo Santiago !!

 

 

Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:

what are we listening to when we come to visit you

Right now I was just listening to Los Pels’ new EP: http://pels.bandcamp.com/album/nancy-y-julio

Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?

Friends call me Santi. I’m a freelance designer/illustrator. Still attending college at Universidad de Buenos Aires. I built my screenprinting workshop Imprenta Chimango, when returning to Buenos Aires right after having spent 3 months working along Ron Donovan, Dave Hunter and ChuckSperry at The Firehouse Kustom Rockart Co.

When did you start drawing?

Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?

I’ve been drawing all my life. Just for fun or as a refuge maybe. Never took any courses. I still keep many of my carefully cut schoolbook margins filled with my early drawings.

Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?

I can’t say that I live from my art. Making posters is not a very rewarding job, economically speaking, here in Argentina. Here there’s not such a big poster culture as you might find in the States. But people are starting to appreciate it as an art, and becoming interested in the whole screenprinting process.

Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?

I used to make a small comics fanzine with some friends, it was called Milime, but I don’t anymore.

Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?

Having worked directly with guys like Ron, Dave or Chuck, was a big influence on my art. They taught me a lot about the technique, Dave made me very conscious about the final quality of the prints, keeping a tight register and stuff. Ron taught me a lot about colour theory, and he always kept pushing me to make bolder and more expressive designs. Chuck showed me his whole design process from original drawing to final print.

Other artists I admire are Muñoz Bachs, Rostgaard, Reboiro, Ñiko and the rest of the 60’s Cuban poster artists, or the Chilean brothers Vicho and Toño Muñoz; Jan Lenica, Peter Strausfeld, Wiktor Gorka, etc.

I also enjoy very much Joanna Wecht and Zach Hobbs’ work.

What are the principal steps in your work ?

Do you do everything by hand or on computer?

How long does it take you to do a poster?

I always start sketching with pencil on paper. From there I choose the technique according to the idea, sometimes it’s a collage, sometimes I’ll paint with a brush, or draw with pencil. Then I scan all of it and use to computer to make the final layout and colour separations.

The whole process can take between a single day or a whole week, depending on the project.

You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?

I don’t think I have a distinctive style, I’d like to, but I always keep trying different styles according to what I want the poster to look like.

But I wouldn’t take any job where they wouldn’t let me do my own thing.

For which band have you already worked for?

The only international band I’ve officially made a poster for has been Tame Impala, one of my favourite bands nowadays. I’ve also worked with many local bands from the underground scene like Tulus, Dani Umpi, Doris, Los Alamos, Julian and Suena Olivia.

For which band would you love to work?

I’d love to work for The Soledad Brothers, Radio Moscow, The Black Diamond Heavies, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, and specially for Dan Deacon, he’s awesome.

Local bands would include Los Colmillos, Morbo y Mambo, Prietto viaja al cosmos con Mariano, Banda de Turistas, Mompox, and Violeta Castillo.

Do you choose the artists yourself?

Sometimes I try to convince the artists in letting me do a poster for them, they often agree.

What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?

I’d say that the most difficult part is finding the idea or concept to illustrate, that will guide the whole design process. Sometimes it just comes to your mind instantly, sometimes you have to sketch or start working without even knowing where you are heading, it can be nerve-wreckring, not being sure whether it’ll come to you or you’ll just end up doing something you won’t really enjoy.

Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?

I’d say that I consider myself as part of the whole global gigposter scene. Locally there are a couple of very talented guys I know that are doing something similar, like El Feder, or Emi Freakout.

A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?

You can finde and follow my work through here: http://www.facebook.com/imprentachimango

The best praise you received lately?

My girl always tells me I’m a “capo”, she’s sweet.

What can we wish you for the future?

That I’ll be able to finish college, that’s my biggest karma right now