US Based illustrator Andrew Haener makes lively, contemporary, human-centered work with nods to conceptually led Polish and Soviet illustration of the 1950s and 60s that blended surreal elements with colourful playfulness. His work bustles with powerful geometry, mysticism, and humor - all of which has made him sought after by the likes of The New York Times, Washington Post and NPR. Here we chinwagged with Andrew about the importance of expanding ones practice, doing thorough research and his love of 80s movie posters.
Could you define the approach or philosophy of your work Andrew?
Big bold shapes with lots of energy and a sense of humor. It’s important to me that my work always makes sense to whoever’s viewing it, even if the concept is really weird or kind of silly. Most of my time working on a project often gets spent iterating and reiterating different versions of little details to make sure that the underlying message reads as clearly as possible without being too obvious. I really like my work to be accessible to ordinary people who may not be very familiar with art or illustration.
Which piece of work or project have you learned the most from and why?
I recently finished a graduate degree which culminated in a big self-directed thesis project. I spent a whole year researching regional folk art traditions and exploring vernacular crafts like quilt-making and chalkware sculpture to try and expand my illustration practice. I grew up around a lot of self-taught artists in the southern U.S. and I’ve always been really drawn to the expressiveness and personality that seems to naturally end up in their work. I wanted to see what I could glean from them.
It was a little ambitious, I think, but I ended up making a pretty big multimedia installation with quilts, augmented reality 3D elements, and lots of little paintings which referenced those homey sorts of traditions. It was a great opportunity to explore some unconventional approaches to image making, and it helped me understand how to better balance personal art projects with commercial illustration without getting too carried away by one or the other.
'By exploring some unconventional approaches to image making ... it helped me understand how to better balance personal art projects with commercial illustration without getting too carried away by one or the other.'
What are the skills you think are needed of a good art director and how does it help to improve your work?
I’ve really lucked out so far and have only ever had good experiences with art directors. The best ones though, have offered feedback on specific elements and have explained their rationale. As a contract illustrator, I usually only get a brief snippet of what a project is really about. Maybe there are implications to a kind of stylization of particular elements or to placing them in a certain order. Maybe the tone of the actual written piece is different from how my illustration’s sketches are progressing. Feedback that addresses those kinds of big overarching messages has usually been the most helpful and has taught me to pay closer attention to the details of what my work is communicating.
How important is research to your work and why does it matter?
Crucial! I think it’s really important for artists to be aware of the histories and ideas that inform their work, whether that be political, conceptual, or whatever else. I personally use a lot of symbols and simplified imagery in my illustrations so I spend a ton of time looking into historical artists and social movements for inspiration and to see how others have incorporated particular elements into their work. I also like to check and make sure I don’t accidentally reference something or someone I personally disagree with, especially when it comes to older symbol-driven stuff like medieval alchemy and labor movements. Thorough research helps me feel more comfortable with the ideas that I’m perpetuating in my work.
Which illustrator alive or dead do you most admire and why?
I don’t think that I’d have ever picked up illustration at all if it weren’t for John Porcellino’s “King Cat” comics. The way he abstracts drawings and simplifies compositions to heighten the emotional impact of his stories is crazy. I can’t think of another artist who’s felt so real and approachable from first glance. Huge fan.
There are a ton of illustrators and artists that I reference pretty regularly, though. Some of them are older gallery artists like Philip Guston, Leonora Carrington, and Miguel Covarrubias, but I keep close tabs on a handful of contemporary illustrators like Roman Muradov, Lisk Feng, John Malta, David Huang, and JooHee Yoon as well.
What is one part of your working process that you do well, something you could improve and something you wish you never had to do again?
Abstracting the important parts of really broad concepts comes fairly easily to me, I think. I always start projects with a lot of written word association and mind maps. I think it’s the most fun part of an illustration, kind of like a riddle, and I’m pretty good at transforming vagueness into new concrete ideas - “visual solutions,” if you will. That said, I can get sucked into that “deep work” creative zone and get a little too lax with responding to emails. I’m getting better I think, but correspondence doesn’t come quite as naturally to me. That and networking events. Those are something I wish I never had to do again (but probably will).
'I always start projects with a lot of written word association and mind maps. I think it’s the most fun part of an illustration, kind of like a riddle, and I’m pretty good at transforming vagueness into new concrete ideas - “visual solutions,” if you will.'
What is your favorite film poster and what film do you wish you could have done the poster for?
There are some film posters that I really love and look to for inspiration pretty frequently. Artistically, I admire the attitude of the Polish School of Poster Art and illustrators like Jerzy Flisak and Maria Ihnatowicz, who really pushed conceptual illustration and abstraction in their subversive adaptations of movie posters. I also have a big soft spot for wonky American horror and sci-fi stuff from the 1970s and 80s, which tended to promote the studios’ wild depictions of monster characters in their advertising and made for a really fun era of artwork. Renato Casaro’s poster for Never Ending Story and Peter Mueller’s Fright Night illustration are a couple of my favorites.
I think if I had the chance, I’d like to take a crack at the poster for Village of the Damned (1960). The movie did a ton with hardly any special effects and it’s still genuinely scary. The original poster from the 60’s is a little too straightforward, I think, and it doesn’t communicate a whole lot about the story aside from the creepy eyes-staring-at-you idea. I’d love to see a version that focuses more on the characters’ amnesia and the underlying mystery of the plot.
© (left) Renatao Casaro (right) Peter Mueller
What film do you recommend to others most often and why?
The original Suspiria from 1977 had a really interesting use of color that I talk about pretty often. It incorporates this bold, in-your-face palette of really garish color filters that constantly change to follow the story’s uneasiness. Most of the scenes feel more like paintings or hair metal concerts than a film. I can’t recommend it enough to visually-inclined horror movie lovers.
©1977 Seda Spettacoli
What object from a film do you wish you could own and why?
This might be pretty dorky, but I’d like to have the original egg from Mothra vs Godzilla. I was obsessed with old Toho monster flicks as a kid and I think they made me a much more interesting person in the long run. I’ve always liked Mothra as a sort of protective force for good (if there is “good” in the kaiju monster world). She’s a symbol of rebirth and an advocate for second chances, which I think would be a nice reminder to have around.
©1964 Toho
The great film critic Roger Ebert described film as an 'empathy machine' suggesting it is a way for us to connect fully with lives and experiences of others that we will never ourselves live. With this in mind, what film have you watched that has had the greatest impact on you emotionally and tell us why if you can?
One that’s stuck with me over the years is the musical stop-motion short film The Burden by Niki Lindroth Von Bahr (the original title in Swedish is “Min Börda”). The whole thing is only about fifteen minutes long, but the scene with the fish in the hotel gets me every time.
The overall story’s pretty loose and ping pongs between lighthearted dance numbers and total hopelessness. It follows a few different groups of characters at their menial jobs as they sing and commiserate about the things they have to do for money - mop floors, telemarketing, that kind of thing. I think it taps into a particular kind of existential despair that I, myself, felt for a long time before I fell into my life in illustration.
A lot of my young adulthood was pretty aimless and spent working dead-end jobs in kitchens and warehouses and things. “The Burden,” was the first film that ever seemed to sincerely address the kind of end-of-the-road blandness that my life in the service industry felt like. I wish everyone in the world would watch it and go tip their bartender.
©2018 Film i Väst
'I think the short film The Burden by Niki Lindroth Von Bahr taps into a particular kind of existential despair that I, myself, felt for a long time before I fell into my life in illustration.'
Andrew has illustrated the article 'Lost In Space' about William H. Blatty's film The Ninth Configuration for the Fun and Games Issue, out in October.
