Jorge Mascarenhas Interview with Marcela Bolivar
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What is illustration?
An illustration is the result of the exercise of clarifying, illuminating an abstract and even hazy idea with a visual interpretation. An illustration is commonly understood as a graphic and simplified result, but in my opinion this interpretation of ideas, concepts and emotions can be done in different media; sounds, animations, performances – which although they do not result in a visual product, they serve the function of shedding light and clarity on an abstraction that is intended to be communicated and shared.
How did you get started in your professional career?
I’ve had several starts and several breaks marked mainly by my studies in graphic design and photography. My beginnings as a teenager were with bands and musicians, so I spent a long time interpreting the style of music, atmosphere and lyrics of the clients who came to me. Over the years more and more authors sought me out to illustrate their writings, that’s when I decided to take this route seriously as my career path, it was and still is, a lot of fun.
Which illustrators inspired you to pursue this career?
I don’t think I was inspired specifically by illustrators, but more by artists, filmmakers, musicians. I can certainly count Travis Smith as one of the first artists/illustrators who made me understand that a career through the music industry was possible.
What keeps you inspired?
Writing down my thoughts, my dreams, my most random ideas. I usually make sense of them over time and they are a continuous dialogue with myself. Of course I always try to watch films, read stories, poetry and listen to new music constantly, renewing the room in my head and refurnishing it keeps me motivated to do new things, to discover new things about myself and the world I’m in.
Do you think art fundamentals are still relevant in the new age of AI?
Absolutely. I think learning principles like lighting, composition and perspective are vital tools to effectively communicate an idea. An image lit in a certain way, even with the same elements, would communicate a completely different message. Those fundamentals are then very powerful communication tools if they are learned and exercised constantly. And if they are not learned, then it would be like not being able to use the right words to tell a story, a gap in a storyteller’s lexicon.
Do you think AI will obliterate illustration?
I don’t know. There are days when I think that the need for contact with other human minds cannot be replaced, but I am constantly overcome with the certainty that the way we relate and communicate as a species will gradually but radically change. Perhaps in our lifetimes we will not witness an absolute or total change, but maybe illustration and art as we know it will be a very niche commodity appreciated by few. Will humans need their hands and their own thoughts to express themselves? We know that even today, many, many people don’t need this and don’t care.
All I know is that for me it is irreplaceable to observe and appreciate art made by other humans, to enter into their world, into their eyes, to understand what it is to be human through other humans. I find no meaning or value in a random iteration of an anonymous machine regurgitating disconnected and aimless images.
What advice you wish you had gotten as a young illustrator?
Actively seek out the jobs you want to have. Don’t settle for what arrives on your doorstep, the real growth, the real challenge is in looking for what you really want. So write those emails and seek out those mentorships. No one will know about you if you don’t put yourself out there.
What is more important concept or technique?
Both are important to me, but many illustrators and artists don’t need both to be valid and/or brilliant.
Which project or event changed the course of your career?
Leaving Colombia and doing my master’s degree project. It taught me a lot about myself, why I do what I do, my aesthetic inclinations and the non-heterodox techniques I use.
What do you do when encountering a creative block?
I listen to music that transports me, I listen to music while walking around the city, I cry, I work out, I do mindless sketches with music in the background and I let the images be ugly, I let them be, until I find the meaning slowly. But I don’t tend to sit still when I’m blocked, it’s never helped me. I think inspiration comes when I’m working.
If you could go back and do something differently in your career, what would that be?
Not waiting so long to contact the people I wanted to work with for a long time.
What advice do you give to future illustrators?
Follow your creative impulses, don’t examine the urge to create too critically especially if you are just starting out. Have fun. Be sure that creating, making art, good art, bad art, is the quintessential human activity. It is to be awake in a lucid dream and guide it through images.
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©no artwork displayed can be used without permission of the artist, Marcela Bolivar.
