{"id":35860,"date":"2014-03-11T19:30:14","date_gmt":"2014-03-11T11:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/?p=35860"},"modified":"2016-08-23T20:43:32","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T12:43:32","slug":"interview-damon-kowarsky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/2014\/03\/11\/interview-damon-kowarsky\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Damon Kowarsky"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

I’m so thrilled to share an interview I recently did with Damon Kowarsky<\/a> \u2013 an artist who has exhibited regularly in Australia and abroad and worked as a scientific, courtroom, and archaeological illustrator.\u00a0His latest exhibition with Kyoko Imazu is currently held from from 7 – 30 March 2014,<\/strong> entitled “Life Along the River<\/em>“, and is installed at the Aesop headquarters in Hong Kong while also being shown at the Odd One Out gallery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Collaboration is the the focus of my interview this time \u2013 Damon has worked with Kyoko Imazu and Muhammad Atif Khan, and I dig a little deeper to find out more about how he works with others, how the collaboration with Aesop came about, and what advice he has for young artists.<\/p>\n

Enjoy!<\/p>\n

\"Damon<\/p>\n

Hi Damon! Could you tell us a little bit more about yourself and the work that you do? What is the primary medium that you work in?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I\u2019m primarily a printmaker and make etchings from copper plates. It\u2019s a very old technique \u2013 500 years or so \u2013 and has evolved from a commercial process into one that is used exclusively for fine art. I tend to make images of people, places and things. These could be models from local life drawing classes, cityscapes of New York or Cairo, airplanes, plants or portraits of friends.<\/p>\n

You’ve travelled intensively to South Asia, Europe and the Middle East \u2013\u00a0how has this influenced your work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hugely! Travel is when I do the research for all my images. There is nothing like being a stranger in a new place to force you to look around. I was fortunate to work on an archaeological dig in Egypt and study miniature painting in Pakistan. These experiences changed the way I make pictures and opened all sorts of unexpected doors.<\/p>\n

What’s the core message behind what you do?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In terms of the meaning of the work I have no idea. I simply make images that I like to look at and say something about the places that inspired them. If there is a larger message it is that picture making is critically important, and that hand crafted images are even more essential in these days of everyone having a camera and access to everything you could ever have seen with a few clicks of a mouse.<\/p>\n

You’ve done a lot of collaborations \u2013 most recently\u00a0with Muhammad Atif Khan and Kyoko Imazu; how did that come about?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The collaboration with Kyoko began because we were both working in the open studio of Australian Print Workshop. One day Kyoko came up and said that she\u2019d like to \u2018vandalise\u2019 my work. It was impossible to say no. This was in 2008 and we\u2019ve been working together ever since.<\/p>\n

A few years later Atif saw the work Kyoko and I made on the web and suggested doing a project with him. This was a great opportunity to get further involved with the country after having taught and studied there. Atif and I produced 20 prints for \u2018Hybrid\u2019 in 2012, and in the process become very good friends. We are working on part two of the project for when I return to Lahore in September.<\/p>\n

\"Damon<\/p>\n

Could you tell us a little bit more in detail about how you come up with collaborations, and what does it entail? (some details about who bears the cost, what happens when there’s a sale, etc)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With Kyoko I generally give her a drawing that she then modifies in some way. In the series \u2018Along the River\u2019 those drawings came from a 3m panorama that I made of Kyoto. Once we have both worked on the drawings and are happy with the results we process and print the copper plates together.<\/p>\n

With Atif there is a bit more back and forth as we each take turns to provide the first drawing. Atif works mostly with found and appropriated images and I work mostly with drawing. In \u2018Hybrid\u2019 we tried to synthesise these two languages. We are sticking to a similar plan for \u2018Hybrid II\u2019 as we wanted the images rather than the process to be central focus.<\/p>\n

With both collaborative projects we\u2019ve been lucky to have support from partners including the Japan Foundation Sydney, Arts Victoria and the Australian High Commission Islamabad. We have also used our own resources to make sure things happen. Sales are divided equally between the artists.<\/p>\n

Do you think collaborations are important for artists?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

They can be. If you are lucky to find one that works that\u2019s great. But there is no pressure to do so, and there are many artists for whom collaboration would just be a bad idea. Collaborating is like have a conversation. Some people are easy to talk to, others are not. And there are always times when you prefer to be alone with your thoughts for a while.<\/p>\n

\"Damon<\/p>\n

You are also a teacher \u2013 has it influenced your own work in some ways?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I teach very little really. Most of what I do is in Pakistan where there is a strong sense of responsibility between practicing artists and students. Even artists with enormously successful international careers [like Imran Qureshi who recently won the Deutsche Bank Artist of the Year Award] are still involved in the education system. I can\u2019t imagine artists of equivalent stature teaching in Australia.<\/p>\n

Teaching is demanding, but it is also fun. It is a chance to pass on what you were taught. For me many of those lessons came from Godwin Bradbeer during my time at RMIT. Godwin is a brilliant artist and educator, and has influenced generations of young artists in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

I understand that you’re a part of Odd One Out \u2013 an artist agency based in Hong Kong.\u00a0 For your latest exhibition with Kyoko Imazu that’s going to grace the walls of Aesop’s Head Office in Hong Kong, how did it all begin?<\/strong>
\nWhat role does Odd One Out play in the exhibition?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The collaborations with Aesop began in 2009. The Australian Print Workshop was then under renovation and I was doing a paste up of proofs [the trial copies and mistakes in any edition] on the hoarding outside the building.<\/p>\n

Just as I was finishing a man asked if I\u2019d like to do a paste up in his shop. Without asking who he was or which shop I said yes. The man turned out to be the founder of Aesop and the shop was their Gertrude Street store. Since then I have installed work in six Aesop stores in Melbourne, Sydney, Tokyo and Hong Kong. It\u2019s been great to work with a company that has such a strong focus on contemporary art and design, and is keen to support it in concrete ways.<\/p>\n

Odd One Out represents my work in Hong Kong. Phemie Chong, Odd One Out\u2019s director, is extremely dynamic and is always looking for partners and opportunities to promote the gallery and the artists she represents. Phemie is also a lot of fun, and was happy to spend a day with her hands in wallpaper glue sticking proofs to Aesop\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n

\"Damon<\/p>\n

Do you have any advice for young artists and illustrators out there?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Keep going! Too many people stop too soon after graduating. Say yes to stuff. The projects with Aesop happened because I was out on the street doing wacky things with old prints.<\/p>\n

Be nice. Or failing that be damn good.<\/p>\n

Read Paul Arden\u2019s “Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite<\/a>” and “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be<\/a>” and take his advice. Especially the bits about working hard, setting your standards high, and showing an utter disregard for where you think your abilities end.<\/p>\n

Listen to or read Neil Gaiman\u2019s 2012 speech to the University of the Arts Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keep going!<\/p>\n

Work hard. Make the most beautiful things you can. Remember that beautiful is not always pretty. Or even nice.<\/p>\n

Go out and look at the world. Draw from life. Travel. Visit museums and galleries but also listen to music and read books. Learn from the past but don\u2019t be a slave to the present. Tell anyone who tells you it can\u2019t be done to f*** off. And mean it by making those impossible things happen.<\/p>\n

Work hard. Have fun, but work hard. Really hard. Really, really hard.<\/p>\n

———————<\/p>\n

Thanks so much Damon<\/a>! Life Along the River is happening now in Hong Kong until 30th March 2014, and you can read more details about the exhibition here<\/a>.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

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