meeting your inspirations

[Ernest Burden III]

Last week I finally got to meet one of my top few artistic inspirations, though only briefly. Syd Mead gave a slide presentation at NY's Society of Illustrators covering his career, methods and various thoughts. I had seen many of the images before, but it was great to have almost two hours of Syd mead talking about why he did this or that, or what a client said about a piece. I've communicated a few times over the years with him by letter, but never had the chance to shake his hand and tell him he had influenced my work from the start.

 

I would never be able to compile a list of all the artists who have shaped my work, but of those among the living, it gets easier. I've now personally met three of the top four, in no particular order:

Syd Mead

Roger Dean

Leb Woods

 

It's pretty gratifying.

 

I doubt these people understand their status as role models, idols, inspirations to younger artists. I don't know if it matters that I've come up to them and told them so. Two I've met more than once, and the other had prior contact but none has remembered me. Perhaps it's too hard to put 'fans' into your worldview and still be a decent person. I assume I got more out of meeting my favorite artists than they got out of meeting me. Still, I'm so glad that I've had the opportunity.

 

Now--where's Jean Giraud (Moebius)? I hope to meet him someday!

 

So I wonder what short list of living artists would others here most like to meet?

[Chris Johnson]

It's pretty cool meeting your inspirations.

 

Mine came a few years ago.

 

The greatest pianist alive is a Russian from Moscow Russia by the name of Yevgeny Kissin.

 

He has greatly influenced my piano playing in a huge way. I got to meet him back in the fall of 2000. I had dropped out of college for 2 years (best thing I ever did), and studied piano and worked. But mostly I studied and soaked and absorbed the piano. During that time, Kissin made his handful of appearances in the United States, and I got a ticket! I had to fly a thousand miles to attend the concert, but it was totally worth it.

He played in this little old concert hall in Kansas City, and my friend ( A PhD student at the time) got me the absolute last seat in the house. I was on the balcony, back row, in the middle. I sat next to some retired ballet teacher, who despite being nearly 60 years old, had more grace and poise than most young 20 year - old girls I'll ever meet.

He walked in, and everyone applauded. He bowed very formally, and very stiffly. He quickly bowed and sat down, and it became deathly quiet. He started with Beethoven's Sonata #18 in D Minor, named "Tempest" after Shakespeare's play. I was astonished at the sound in the hall, it was good, even up where I was sitting. He started the sonata with the slow roll up the keyboard: Done in a fashion that only a true master can, making the mundane boring arpeggiation seem like the most important notes that have ever been written. His whole body went into those notes: The fingers didn't move, and his wrists didn't move, it was his whole body that moved. This playing started from his feet, and went utterly to his fingers. You could tell he enjoyed it.

 

He played after wards Schuman's Carnival, which I don't like (On principle), and ended with Brahm's 3rd Sonata (A long winded bore). Those are some of my least favorite composers. However when played by the likes of a Kissin, they are once in a lifetime events.

 

After the concert was 'officially' finished, he played 4 encores. One of them was a tipsy little Viennese waltz I had been learning. Kissin with the powers of a superman brought grace and finesse to a piece I had been utterly unable to grasp. Needless to say after that concert, I never played that piece again. It was too difficult a piece to play like Kissin.

 

After the concert was over, Over a hundred people stood in line in the lobby for a chance to meet him. I got my chance and shook his hand and got my picture taken with him, and got him to autograph one of his CD's that I packed on my long trip. But most of all I got to shake his hand, and feel the strength and grace of his grip. Many people have hands... some are big hands, some are weak, some are idle, some are indifferent, some stupid and cruel. Hands can say a lot. But some people's hands bring grace, beauty, and magic to the world. And when they do, people listen.

 

Chris "Now with 99 autobackups" Johnson

[TheAllusionisst]

I met Ernest Burden once

[Parker1]

I saw him drive by once...

 

In a red Ferrari!

[kippu]

seriously... i wanna meet ernest and the whole gang of cgarchitect....you guys are the best

[Arnold Gallardo]

Do you have a red hawaiian shirt? I think that's mandatory in meeting Ernest

[Jim Mann]

It is good meeting "celebrities".

 

Lebbeus Woods is quite a character. He was a good friend of Peter Cook and would often join him after a long haul flight for our crits at the Bartlett. He had amazing presence. I remember him doing a lecture and he showed some "photos" of a scheme using recently developed anti-gravity metals. Nobody dared question this even though they would have wnated to but I think that was all part of the show.

 

Again, whilst at the Bartlett I got the chance to interview Neil Denari for my dissertation project. I thought this would be just done over the phone but he suggested that I fly out to LA. When I walked into the studio, the models from all the big projects like Tokyo forum, Tokyo prototype were all there along with a bookshelf stacked full of reference on planes and architecture...and a Fender semi-acoustic. Amazing work and a really friendly, helpful and grounded guy. Whilst I was there (1995) he had been working on the new SGI's at Columbia and had some slides of computer generated images of the Massey Residence. When I saw those, it was one of those moments things start clicking into place, even Scooby Doo took on new meaning.

 

Jim

[Ernest Burden III]

I met Ernest Burden once

 

Yes, and I actually remember meeting you.

 

But please be serious, I'm interested to hear about which living artists have made an undeniable impact on your art. Have you met them, and what was that like?

 

I was surprised by the pianist post, but it was a wonderful read that reveals an artistic passion (couldn't hold back on the composer putdowns) and the impact the meeting of the 'idol' had.

 

I'm not an architect and never went to architecture school, so I'm not going to say any architect has made much difference, although Frank Gehry would come to mind. I watched the DVD of "Sketches of Frank Gehry" yesterday and it is a wonderful piece, by the way. That's part of what moved me to write my post. My arch-vis work was influenced also by Piranessi who was an architect, but like Leb Woods is best known for his drawings and not his built works.

[TheAllusionisst]

Hey, I wasn't being sarcastic, I had seen your work around (and your fathers I believe before CG, in fact I think I have a book of his) way back in my DataCAD days, but I was kind of into your tradtional work more than the CG back then 96-98ish I am thinking. Well I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was being a smart-ass!

[Brian Cassil]

I think this has been discussed on the forums here before but it's probably time for a renewal. Here's my list of inspirations which I have limited to the visually artistic and living:

 

Storm Thorgerson

Syd Mead

HR Giger

Boris Vallejo

 

An eclectic mix, and two of them I realize I have alomost no chance of ever meeting.

 

Actually a fifth would be on the list but I actually have met briefly and that's Meats Miers. It was only after I met him that I discovered he's from Salt Lake, which makes sense because there is a butcher shop here called Mier's Meats, which is where he got his nickname.

[4DM]

Hmm, interesting thought - meeting one's muses.

 

Not sure I have any particular art or archviz "heroes" as such, although there are some people here whose work I really admire, and would certainly like to meet.

 

I was once introduced to one of my musical heroes though, Béla Fleck.

I was so starstruck I could hardly say a word!

Pathetically embarassing!

 

I met Dario Fo one year at the Edinburgh Festival. A lovely man, sitting near to us in a bar, I explained in my imperfect Italian, the story of a video that was playing overhead of a friend's theatre performance. I also mentioned that I had been unable to see his sold out show in London the week before, and that sadly his show in Edinburgh was also fully booked. Don't worry, he said, I will leave two tickets for you at the desk. Which he very kindly did, and came out into the foyer to make sure we got them as well. Top geezer!

 

One experience I had, where work and celebrity coincided (though not quite in the way Ernest meant!) was in Borneo where I went to get briefed for an archviz job, and was invited one night to a birthday meal at an expat club. A tropical deluge was lashing down all around the open verandah, while a band was incongruously thumping out Scottish ceilidh music(!) at full volume. To add to the surrealness of it all, who should walk in and sit down next to me, but Nicholas Parsons (only Brits would appreciate the bizzareness of this scenario, I think).

No, he's not one of my heroes - but I couldn't stop laughing all night at the extraordinariness of it all.

 

Cheers,

 

D.

[Ernest Burden III]

I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was being a smart-ass!

 

Russell

 

No, I didn't think that. But I was looking more for whom your life-long professional heros are, and if you'd had the chance to shake their hand, tell them.

 

Storm Thorgerson

Syd Mead

HR Giger

Boris Vallejo

Meats Miers

 

I'll have to look up Storm

 

I forgot Giger--looking at his books in my studio you wouldn't think I'd forget him. Although I didn't really know his work until Alien. Besides, he scares me.

 

Boris was always the Frazetta wannabe. That's not fair, but while I was always aware of his work, I prefered Frank.

 

And Meats--yeah, he's good. Amazing, really. But that's too recent to fit my 'inspiration' list. I suspect my son may have him on his list when he's a pro later.

[Brian Cassil]

I guess the people on my list are there because they influenced me as a young man.

 

I'll have to look up Storm

 

I forgot Giger--looking at his books in my studio you wouldn't think I'd forget him. Although I didn't really know his work until Alien. Besides, he scares me.

 

Boris was always the Frazetta wannabe. That's not fair, but while I was always aware of his work, I prefered Frank.

 

And Meats--yeah, he's good. Amazing, really. But that's too recent to fit my 'inspiration' list. I suspect my son may have him on his list when he's a pro later.

 

If you've taken the time to look up Storm you probably realize that he's the Pink Floyd album cover guy. He's not necessarily the greatest graphic designer, (although I think he's darn good) but his work intrigued me because I was exposed to it via the Pink Floyd albums, and was thus inspirational.

 

Same goes for Boris actually. I realize there are other more noteworthy fantasy artists out there but his is what I was most familiar with as a young person.

 

HR is scary, which is why I like him. In the 80's there was so much blood and gore horror that I thought it was stupid, but HRG had a style that evoked emotions of fear on another level.

 

I agree about Meats which is why he isn't really on my list. Inspirational but only after I was already in the business. I had to give him a plug because of the SLC thing.

[Ernest Burden III]

If you've taken the time to look up Storm you probably realize that he's the Pink Floyd album cover guy. He's not necessarily the greatest graphic designer, (although I think he's darn good) but his work intrigued me because I was exposed to it via the Pink Floyd albums, and was thus inspirational.

 

Oh, Hipnosys, or however they spelled that. Yeah, for graphics they really shook things up. Imagine what they could have done with Photoshop. All that work was classic retouching, hard stuff to do. Definately mind-bending work. I had painted the shaking robot hands from Floyd on my skateboard helmet.

 

Doing album covers was a great way for artists to get their work in front of millions of people. That's why I knew Roger Dean, the Yes covers. Then I bought his first book and studied how he worked, and a piece of my future was cemented into place.

[TheAllusionisst]

Boris was always the Frazetta wannabe. That's not fair, but while I was always aware of his work, I prefered Frank.

 

Without dissing Brian's list, exactly Ernest, stiff lifeless poses, technically a good artist, but no life, implied motion or kenetic energy. But the rest of Brian's list is great!

 

Frank Frazetta is on my list as would be Michael Whelan. CG wise Steven Stahlberg and though I know him through correspondence, I think picking the brain of Juan Siquier in person would be fun.

 

Did I mention Ernest Burden? LOL