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When David Hollenbach was asked by Art Director Meg Birnbaum of The American Prospect magazine to illustrate a feature on racial injustice, he made the color scheme red, white, blue, and black, knowing the powerful essence of simplicity.
The assignment was to illustrate an article about how Alabama judges use judicial overrides to disregard juries and impose the death penalty, thereby determining the fate of African Americans' charged with capitol crimes. "I have a shotgun approach to sketches," says David, whose concept was to use a flag layered with the element of a noose dangling over the figure's head like his impending execution. "I created a face, which I thought captured the emotion," he says.
Despite having always drawn as a kid, David never thought it would be his job as a grownup. When questioned by a high school art teacher if he was considering art as a career, David said, "No, art is too fun. If I do it as a career it won't be fun anymore." Although he ended up applying to Pratt, his decision to go was mainly out of spite: "I overheard someone saying it would the biggest mistake of my life. That New York City would eat me alive because I was from a small town in Maryland." Of course that sealed the deal; David subsequently graduated from Pratt in 1998. After a few months of what David describes as "drowning in the illustration field with little work," he stumbled into artist rep Frank Sturges group, and things, quite simply, took off. David spoke to Altpick about his work and keeping it simple.
What was your first paying job?
I was a junior in college when I did a small black and white illustration for Quarterly Black Review of Books that paid $30. A few months later I got a call from an art director at the Chronicle of Higher Education who saw my illustration. The director asked to see my portfolio and this led to a small black and white illustration that paid $375, and many more jobs for the Chronicle. How do you think technology has affected the craft of illustration? It's another tool in the creation of images, similar to when they came out with acrylic paint, although on a much grander scale. It has changed the idea of an original. Some originals are not as tangible anymore, consisting of digital data and code. This doesn't make them any less important than analog images, just different. Digital images exist in the computer like a thought exists in someone's brains..
What were some of your career influences?
I've become semi-addicted to daytime TV small claims court shows. There is just something about watching people on national television making asses of themselves over toasters, dogs, and engagement rings. Some artists are inspired by nature. I get inspired by human nature.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?Wow, I'm not sure. I came into this with a foggy idea of how things would work out. It seems like every week I'm surprised by something new. I hope in 10 years to be exploring different areas of illustration. And still having fun Toughest lesson learned? Know what you are doing or have enough time for damage control.
- Contributed by Mary Beth Holland >> See more work from David Hollenbach >> See other member spotlights on the member spotlight index >> Find out more on how to become an altpick.com member |
