Last year I had the opportunity to interview Stathi Kougianos and, since then, I discovered that south africa had also a rich poster culture, probably pretty unknown around the world. I contacted many artists there but results were not as good as expected. This is, partially, the reason why I am so glad to have Alexis with us today !
Tenaciouse D -
Recently feel in love with them
Can you tell us
more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?
I am currently working as a graphic designer, doing mainly
broadcast work. Other than that, I paint and design stuff. I also play drums
for a hard rock band called Juggernaught.
When did you start
drawing?
When I was a kid in school I used to draw a lot in my school
books. I was mainly inspired by MAD magazine so a lot of my stuff was
ridiculous and crewd, much like it is today.
Did you follow any
course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?
I have always been drawing, but was too lazy to do art in
school. I finally did a course in design and illustration when i was 26 for
three years. Thats when I really learnt to draw.
I wish I was, but unfortunately I have a 9 - 5, but at least
its design. Hopefully in the future I will be able to draw and paint for a
living.
Are you
collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?
Not really. I recently did a drawing for an Art magazine
which was sold in Germany
and over here, which was pretty cool. But other than that its usually personal
work or stuff for the band.
Where does your
influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what
are your influences?
I am pretty eclectic when it comes to styles and influences.
What I like one week usually changes to something different the next. This is
evident in my work, which keeps changing. Consistency is a virtue that I do not
posses. It is something I should try to work on, but I get bored pretty quick,
so Not sure how that is going to work out.
Finding referance and inspiration is the first thing
obviously. I also always do a lot of thumbnails before hand, to get concept and
layout down. Then I draw everything, scan in colour and add text.
Do you do
everything by hand or on computer?
I try to do as much as I can by hand. I usually use computer
for colouring and so on. Sometimes if it is a design heavy poster I just do it
straight on computer.
How long does it
take you to do a poster?
It depends on the poster. If it is an intricate hand drawn
poster then two days or so, but a designed poster can take me a few hours. So
anywhere between that.
Since I am not being paid most of the time, then I do
whatever I want. I have done some commission work where its fool of cheesy
crap. I try not to do jobs like that, because its not fun to work on and I cant
put it in my portfolio afterwards because i find it really ugly. That is a job
just for the money, and I do it if I really need the money,
For which band
have you already worked for?
Most of my stuff is for my band, which is cool because I can
do whatever I want.
For which band
would you love to work?
I would love to do
stuff for "the black keys" and "Pearl Jam" just because
they always have such cool artists doing their stuff.
Id say coming up with the concept. The rest is straight
forward. I spend a lot of time doing preparatory sketches to get my idea
across. Composition is also an area where I try to concentrate on. Trying to
get every band on to the poster in an interesting way but also keeping the
balance cool.
Do you think you
are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?
No, I dont think I am part of a scene. Since my style
changes all the time, means that I cant really subscribe to something specific.
You can view my work at www.wisdumb.co.za or coroflot
www.coroflot.com/oed3. Check out my band as well at
www.facebook.com/JUGGERNAUGHTMANROCK
The best praise
you received lately?
Would probably being featured in "Lines" magazine.
What can we wish
you for the future?
That I get asked to design posters for "the black
keys" or "Pearl Jam"
