martedì 15 novembre 2011

Interview with Kris Trappeniers






q)Let’s start with the basics; what's your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?


a)Kris Trappeniers, 40 years old, living in Belgium.


q) Do you have any formal training?


a)Phd in Chemistry. Art history, advertising art, screenprinting at the royal academy of Leuven, Belgium.


q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?


a)Not the place - but growing up in the eighties definitely shaped my feeling for graphic design. My passion for monochromatic design is related to the dark eighties.


q) How do you come up with your concepts?


a)They mostly fall into my mind while walking, cycling, watching a movie or during a conversation. I'm not really thinking or brainstorming about concepts, they just come and go. Usually everywhere I go I take a small sketchbook with me where I write down ideas and opinions.


q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?


a)Detailed photography based papercut portraits, occasionally used as stencil.


q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?


a)Screenprinting, 3D street installations.


q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?


a)Very early in the morning, as the sunlight breaks directly into my studio. I mostly wake up very early around six in the morning and start work right away. In the evening I reserve some time for answering emails and blogging some photos.


q) What are your artistic influences?...and …generally who or what influences you the most?


a)Japanese paper crafts (Kiri-e and origami), clair-obscur paintings, calligraphy, poetry,


q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?


a)Ernest Pignon Ernest, C215, Velasquez, Pollock, Swoon, Richter, Blek le Rat


q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?


a)In 2001 I have two solo exhibs coming up in Louvain and Cologne and group shows in Bern and Paris. I'm looking forward to collaborate with a body painter (Fluxser Manser).


q)What are your plans for the future?


a)None, I don't make plans on a long term, I'm already glad to have my day planned.


q)Are there some web sites that You would like to recomend? Artists, art communities, xxx,...!?


a)http://www.dudecraft.com/

http://www.stencilhistoryx.com/

http://www.souljazzrecords.co.uk/

http://www.veggiebelly.com/

http://www.carhartt-wip.com/


q)What sort of music do you listen to?


a)Jazz-funk, hip hop and deep house. While I work some modern classical music does the job.


q)Do you collect anything?If so what?


a)Magazines and newspapers from the fifties and sixties, preferably National Geographic and Photo Magazine


q)What do you do for fun?


a)Surfing, visiting flee markets and city trips


q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?


a)Be patient .. Blek Le Rat and Jef Aerosol have been spraying stencils for 35 years and have just recently been recognized as founders of stencil graffiti. If you would like your art to be noticed you need to develop step by step until you have something unique to show. But if you work with full passion, it doesn't really matter how long it takes before getting recognized.

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