Jason Filipow Interview

posted by dennis

Former Studio Number One designer and current freelance designer/artist Jason Filipow was nice enough to answer a few of my questions concerning his art, process, and upcoming projects.

Bleached Rectangles
From Jason’s Nonrepresentational Photographs Series, silver gelatin prints and pushpins, 72″ x 100″, 1995.

You had posted on theGiant.org forums that the three components that makes good design are: homage, syntax, and appropriation. Could you please expound on this and how you use it in your own work?

I believe that those are the key ingredients that generally inform good work; homage, syntax and appropriation . I think all creative people unknowingly, or unconsciously, use some form of all three, most of the time.

Homage is simple; no matter what your craft or trade, you must learn the history of that medium. Nobody creates within a vacuum. It’s impossible not to be influenced by who or what has been achieved prior, so it’s wise to always start by looking at the work of others. You’ll undoubtedly get ideas from that process alone. I think Rauschenberg’s ‘Erased DeKooning’ of 1953 in an interesting and unusual example of homage.

Syntax, is more complex. As I define it, syntax describes the literal or empirical qualities inherent to any given medium. Just as photography has multiple syntaxes, so does painting. Even music has many syntaxes. John Cage’s ‘4′33′ is a challenging interpretation of syntax, as it uses two primary elements of music; sound and silence, and those comprise the form of the work.

Appropriation is a slippery slope; the line between appropriation and inspiration is often very thin and sometimes, undefinable. Within our postmodern context, appropriation is process of recontextualizing the familiar. This is typically done with the intent to expose or reinterpret something that may be well seen without being well known. Duchamp’s infamous ‘Ready Mades’ are great examples of appropriation. His act of taking commonplace objects and re-presenting them within the context of an art exhibition blazed a trail for generations to follow.

On your blog you often post about various printmaking methods and how you draw inspiration from these mediums, What about these processes interests you and where else do you find inspiration?

I believe that the thread that remains constant in all of my personal work, regardless of the medium, is content. And more specifically, the compulsion to deconstruct. This is tied directly to my fascination with syntax. I am always curious to understand the processes and techniques of how a particular medium can directly impact, or alter, the inherent meaning of any work of art. Just as learning a new technique or a new process is inspiring, I also think that simple, raw materials can be inspiring, too. The mind is led to wander via imagination and that is always a challenging, and sometimes rewarding, place to operate.

You designed a couple of prints for Studio Number One that depicted paint cans with the Studio Number One branding. I remember that you actually physically made the cans and then based the prints off of them. Do you often take this handmade approach as oppose ot strictly digital manipulation? And if so, do you feel it is important to include handmade elements within your work?

As a designer or an artist, it’s best to use any/all available tools and techniques at your disposal to generate the most creative and successful solution for a given assignment. It’s not always logistically possible, but I prefer to start all projects with preliminary research, quick thumbnail sketches and lots of brainstorming. My work is strongest when there is ample time to ponder and investigate multiple solutions conceptually before beginning any physical production.

As far as the importance of the ‘handmade’ within art OR design, I don’t believe it to be inherently ‘better’ or more valid that something that is machine-made. I am sure that many would argue to the contrary; that objects that are handmade are more ‘precious’ or lend themselves to a more direct viewing experience. I simply don’t believe in the myth of the ‘artist’s hand’; that’s a very dated notion that was dispelled by Warhol in the 1960’s.

Finally, any upcoming projects that you would like us to know about?

Both the art and the design marketplace is really tough right now. Even those who are more accomplished and established than myself are struggling to sell work and secure projects. Therefore, I feel very fortunate to have a humble handful of projects on the calendar. Some of my work that will be cluttering the pop culture landscape this summer are as follows:

I am currently working on a project with House Industries and their assimilation of the PLINC (Photo Lettering, Inc) archives this summer. They are giving me access to some of the more obscure films from the extensive PLINC library, from which I will be designing and hand-pulling, a limited edition series of tee shirts to help promote the Photo Lettering concept.

I have a new suite of screenprints being released in July to coincide with the debut of Poster Child Prints. They are a brand new art edition publisher based in Los Angeles and are working with a wide variety of artists. My release is a completely new design and unlike any print I have previously conceived, so I am very excited about it.

I recently designed a graphic for Black Sheep, a small, independent, skater owned and operated retail shop in Charlotte, NC. They will be also be releasing the graphic as skateboard, a tee shirt and a sticker and should be available to the public in July.

Earlier this year, I participated in ‘Skate and Create’, a public awareness exhibition displayed at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. That project was organized by the Pour It Now Foundation in South Carolina and they have again invited me to participate in another upcoming event. I will be creating a one-off skateboard for exhibition and sale for a fundraiser show they will presenting in September.

Action sports lifestyle brand, Hurley, recently invited me to participate in some interesting and hopefully inspiring, webisode videos. Currently in post production, a light-hearted and fun series of ‘How To’ shorts will be released on their website later this summer. The first one, ‘How To Make a Zine’, loosely documents the dying craft of physical, DIY publishing.

Most importantly, I am continuing to work diligently on self-directed fine art projects such as drawings, screenprints, monotypes, letterpress, and the like. I may also host my first open studio event this summer. There are a few groups shows on the calendar for fall, but those are still in the planning stages. I blog as frequently as possible, and that’s always the place to watch for my latest activities…. at JulietRomeoFoxtrot.com