ALTPICK.COM

Truth be told, Borge had been drawing since his toddler days, influenced by his parents' art books and his older brother, a photographer. Twentysomething years and a Master of Fine Arts degree (from the University of Arizona) later, Borge is a hot property. Proof of this can be found in his client list, a resumé that practically reads like a Who's Who in corporate America: Fatbrain.com, Polygram Records, Atlantic Records, Sony/Epic Music, MTV, Raygun, Microsoft Networks, Time, AT&T, Ford Motor Company, Buick Motor Company, American Express, Reebok, IBM, Coca-Cola and Chevron. Borge also recently started a greeting card company with his brother and sister-in-law called GravityWorkshop (www.gravityworkshop.com).

In addition, Borge been featured both in Adobe Magazine, and on their Web site's (www.adobe.com) studio art gallery section. He has also been featured on the cover of American Showcase Illustration, and in the following annuals: Communication Arts, Print, The Society of Illustrators, The Society of Illustrators Los Angeles and American Illustration. In other words, he's come a long way from his humble beginnings in Fargo, North Dakota. "I really feel fortunate to be doing this," says the New York City artist. "As a career, the idea of making pictures for a living is awesome."

How would you describe your style?
In my work, I use a combination of drawing, painting, assemblage, collage, photography and the computer. I usually try to find a marriage between traditional and digital media.

What about tools of the trade?
Aside from the obvious - film, paints, brushes, etcetera, I use a lot of things that I find in New York City. For example, if a building across the street is being gutted, you can find me nosing around in the dumpster. You can always find something good, like wire and wood.

Take us through the creation of some of your work. How long did it take you to do something like the Fatbrain Ad?
It took me about three days to build it, then another couple of days to photograph and Photoshop it. I sculpted the head out of a claylike material called Sculpey. The computer board is an actual computer board that I took apart and painted. I made this very dimensional piece, lit it, shot it with a 4x5 camera, scanned the transparencies and worked with it pretty heavily in Photoshop. The trick is to make it look like it wasn't done on Photoshop.

What are all those numbers and letters? That's some sort of programmer code that Fatbrain e-mailed me. I collaged it onto the face.

What about the "Mental Health" image?
I did this for a Webzine article that talked about how insurance companies have no problem paying for your physical ailments, but don't want to pay for any psychiatric bills. As for the piece, the head is plexiglass and painted on both sides. I used graphite, spray paint, oil paint, acrylic paint and ink. The thing in the middle is a metallic door hinge. The idea is that there's a whole mind/body separation. The body part, which is all paint and collage, is more pastel and sort of comforting.

What about "Networking?"
I built all the models, photographed them, and did the rest on the computer. I got the idea from the "God Created Man" painting in the Sistine Chapel.

Not your typical corporate image. I think there's a hole in corporate America artwork. It doesn't have to be so uptight. So much of it just looks the same, but there's room for interesting ideas and concepts. I'm trying to make pieces that are corporate in nature, yet still have an edge to them.

Then there's "Jumping Over Hoop." This piece is appearing in the next Alternative Pick book. I have to say that The Alternative Pick is a great place to show work that's a little more personal and edgy. It's really about the art. This piece is about corporations and going beyond expectations. I did it for myself as an ad. Clients sometimes want you to jump through hoops, but it's like, yeah, I can do what you want, but I can do better than that, so just let me do it (laughs).

What do you see as the future of illustration?
I think it's going to focus more on moving images and making animated things. The technology's getting so powerful now.

How has the fact that everyone and their mother now owns Quark and Photoshop changed the industry?
Well, let's say a company is looking for someone to do spot illustration for $500 - rather than hiring an illustrator, they might just have someone in-house do it instead. I remember when my first Mac retailed at $8000. In those days, anyone who owned a Mac was considered to be serious about what they did. Nowadays, the technology is powerful and cheap. Still, it all boils down to strong ideas and concepts and that doesn't come easy. One thing that does bother me is the issue of stock artwork. There's one big company that offers tons of interesting stock illustration at very cheap prices. I find it depressing to look at those books. If you work at a magazine and can buy those images very cheap, there's no need to hire an illustrator for $1000 to do a page. I think that's having a negative impact on the industry, and I think that illustrators should be encouraged to think about maintaining their own stock and working with magazines directly.

What advice do you give to up and coming illustrators?
Well, I teach part time at the Rhode Island School of Design, and I also serve as an advisor at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. I usually tell students to find their passion and follow it. It's also important to continue with the original plan upon graduation, getting their work out and meeting people. I've run into former students - ones who did great work - and they say, "I'm still working on my portfolio," and I'm always like, "C'mon, you've been done with school for awhile. Get out there." You have to keep moving forward.