INTerview: Fred Birchal

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I first saw the work of Brazilian artist, Frederico Birchal, in 2013. He had just introduced his 'Famous Costumes' series, which looked at the outfits of famous celebrities. It was such a unique, creative idea and the graphics were amazing as well. Fast forward to 2015 and Frederico Birchal is back with another amazing art series called 'Famous Movies & TV Shows Setting'. In this series, Birchal has recreated architectural elevations from famous films and television shows. 

In an exclusive interview with Interiors, we talked to Frederico Birchal about his art and his latest series. 

INT: Your series, Famous Movies & TV Shows Settings, looks at Architectural Elevations from various films and TV shows. What made you want to capture the facade of these spaces?

FB: In my work, I always try to get people to pay attention to the details, specifically, objects that nobody notices. My latest series wasn't any different. I tried to show the maximum amount of details for various movie locations. These locations have a great expressiveness and they are where many things take place. Each place is a thought out location so the audience can recognize it as part of the movie. I think they are extremely important and the details cannot go unnoticed. 

INT: Some of your earlier work covered famous costumes/outfits and even famous vehicles. Now that you've examined Architecture, is there another area that you'd like to explore?

FB: Every object that represents something serves as an inspiration to me. Because of this, I want to explore other areas, but I do not know what my next series will be. Recently, I have been thinking about alternative transportation devices, such as the Tardis from Doctor Who and Pee Wee Herman’s bicycle.
 

INT: Your selections range from The Grand Budapest Hotel to Breaking Bad to Star Wars. Was there a process in which the Movies and Shows were selected? Which one is your favorite?

FB: The selection process consists of thinking about movies and television shows in which the locations express the plot. For example, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a movie where most of the plot happens in a specific place. After that, I think about the beauty and the details of each location. Finally, I think about things like how the public connects to each movie or television show. It’s hard to choose a single favorite, but the ones you mentioned are some of my favorites. 

INT: Will you continue this series with additional Films and Television Shows? If so, which ones are you most interested in creating next?

FB: I do intend to continue, but I still don’t know when or what I will do. I only know that it will have the house from Crimson’s Peak.

Fred Birchal is a Designer and Illustrator. For more of his work, please visit his Website and Online Store. 

INTerview: Laurent Durieux

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The first time that I was introduced to Laurent Durieux's work was for the announcement of his Solo Exhibition at the Mondo Gallery. Soon, I discovered more of his work and became more and more impressed by his incredible talent. You can visit his website to see more of his work. 

In an exclusive interview with Interiors, we talked to Laurent Durieux about his art and his inspirations. 

INT: When did you first realize you wanted to do Art?

LD: I must have been 5 or 6 years old. My twin brother, Jack, had received praises from our teacher and so I decided I wanted to be treated the same way. I thought, "Hmm I can also draw, I can be just as good as him." That's how it all started I guess...

INT: Favorite Art Piece/Project that you've done?

LD: Hmm, it's difficult to chose one as I loved doing every one of them. Metropolis, Jaws, The Birds, Rear Window and King Kong are probably in my top 5. Wait, there's Iron Giant and Peter and Wendy too and.... See where I am going with this?

INT: Favorite Movie and why?

LD: Blade Runner because it's one of the very few science fiction movies to stand the test of time. This movie transcends the Science Fiction genre. It has the class and timelessness of the great Film Noir genre of the 1940's. The soundtrack is also just marvellous. The Photography is insane too! Man, I could praise this movie for hours!

INT: Your film posters are incredibly unique and your ability to choose interesting scenes or moments as the subject of these posters constantly amazes me. What is your process like when choosing the subject and composition of a particular poster?

LD: Thank you! You know the creative process is a strange thing. But I would say that my ideas come mostly from sketching ideas, trying out stuff, and opening doors before closing them. I always try to come up with a fresh interpretation of some scene that somehow speaks to me. I try, when possible, to think out of the box and also try not to do what has already been done by others (Which narrows down the amount of possible ideas, too).

INT: You've created iconic posters for classic films. Is it challenging to create a film poster for a movie that has such a large fan-base, such as Vertigo, The Godfather, or Die Hard?

LD: Again, thank you! You know, I challenge myself first and believe me, I am my harshest fan! And yes, for sure, you don't want to disappoint the fans of the movie (Although, pleasing everyone is pleasing no one). At the end of the day, I'm the only one that calls the shots and I have to be proud of what I do. I have to be happy with it and usually when I am, the fans are too.

Laurent Durieux is an Illustrator and Graphic Artist. For more of his work, please visit his Website. 

INTerview: Joel Daniel Phillips

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There are times when you come across designers that add their own artistic viewpoint to an existing subject or medium. Then, there are times when you come across an artist that has not only created their own distinct style but also has the creative ingenuity that very few artists have. This perfectly describes the artist, Joel Daniel Phillips. Known for his monumental portraiture, Joel's work tries to focus on the significance of narrative in human existence. You can visit his website and Facebook Page for more of his work. 

In an exclusive interview with Interiors, we talked to Joel Daniel Phillips about his art and his inspirations. 

INT: When did you first realize you wanted to do Art?

JDP: I first realized that I wanted to make art my freshman year of college when I took a printmaking class out of the blue. At the time it seemed next to impossible to make a living as an artist and I opted for the ‘more practical’ route - deciding to study graphic design as an alternative. I realized as I was graduating however, that while I enjoyed design, the creative process was limited by the fact that at the end of the day someone else always had the final say. The financial security of a steady paycheck was alluring, but I was constantly frustrated by the feeling that whatever I was creating was not quite what I personally wanted it to be. I realized very suddenly that while it scared me shitless, I was being pulled inexorably toward a career as a fine artist instead.

After graduating I spent a few years working as a designer by day and making fine art at night and on the weekends, always aiming toward the moment when I could quit my design job and do my own work for a living. That day came almost exactly two years ago, and I haven’t looked back since.

INT: Favorite Art Piece/Project that you've done and why?

JDP: That’s a bit like asking a parent who their favorite child is. My ‘favorite’ piece changes constantly, depending on what is currently on the drawing board. I tend to fall in love with most new pieces as they are being made.

Overall though, I think my current favorite piece is Eugene #4. I don’t normally draw seated figures, and Eugene’s position was fascinating. I particularly enjoyed the way the light came almost straight across from his right, painting the edge of his face and body. There was something deeply compelling about his expression in the image as well, a striking balance between questioning and accepting.

INT: Favorite Movie and why?

JDP: At the moment I’d have to say Birdman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more nuanced or complete understanding of the narcissism and tension behind the creative psyche. Michael Keaton’s character is inexorably driven by his need to be recognized by others as being as important of a figure as he sees himself to be. I think that most artists or creatives of any medium have this innate hubris and ambition as part of their drive to succeed, and Keaton’s portrayal of the tensions, impossibilities and nuances involved was deeply powerful.

INT: You describe life in a circular manner, where experiences are formed and defined by others. Similarly, your work always seems to tell a story and I'm curious if you've thought about experimenting with film at all? Does cinema have any type of influence in your work?

JDP: Honestly I haven’t really thought about that much. I know just enough about film and the processes behind it to realize how much of a technical skill set is involved, and that the moment I’m content continuing to learn how to draw.

INT: Where do you see your art going? Do you have any goals in terms of work you'd like to do and projects you'd like to try?

JDP: Hmm, I always have a million and one projects I want to work on, but I generally try and keep things under wraps until I start making the actual work. A new body of drawings that I’m quite excited about however, is in conjunction with my residency this summer at the Palo Alto Art Center.

Over the past two years there has been an ongoing legal battle in Palo Alto about whether the owner of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park (located in smack in the middle of the city) is allowed to evict the longstanding residents of the park and sell the property. The park is home to around 400 residents, many of whom have lived there for many years, and is some of the last truly affordable housing in Palo Alto. If evicted, most of the residents will have no choice but to leave the city. For the residency I have begun visiting the park and shooting photo references of the residents and their wonderfully varied abodes, and will be creating a body of work that I hope will explore the connection between the residents and their homes, as well as the myriad of social and economic questions that have arisen around the issue of their eviction.

INTerview: Blank Space

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Blank Space, an online platform for architecture founded by Matthew Hoffman and Francesca Giuliani, is an office for thought provocation. It seeks to challenge the field of Architecture and its role in society. They've proven this by organizing successful Architectural competitions, publications and various projects.

Their philosophy may sound straightforward, but what they are doing is revolutionary.  In a sense, they are progressing the field of Architecture in an intelligent, immediate way that a physical space could never accomplish. Additionally, they are completely changing the concept of Architectural competitions and making it possible for participants from various backgrounds to create new conversations about innovative topics.

In an exclusive interview with Interiors, we talked to Blank Space about their platform, their philosophies and their competitions.  

INT: Where did the inspiration for Blank Space come from? Was the original concept different from what you are doing now or has the goal stayed the same?

MH: Blank Space was born from a lot of conversations and brainstorming between Francesca and I. We came to understand that architecture as a form of media is the slowest in the world - but the world we all live in communicates at the speed of light. We set out to craft experiments that made architecture immediate. You can't construct a building in a day (at least not yet!), but you can spark a conversation that creates new opportunities for design to engage the world.

FG: With the Fairy Tales competition we've had about 2,000 participants from 65+ countries around the world. We're aiming to build upon this success with a few exciting projects that we'll launch later this year. We're going to be enhancing the competition model to become a more educational one for all involved. Our goal is to create competitions that operate more like a studio class, and less like a lottery. In this way, they will be positive learning experiences for everyone who participates - not just the winners.

INT: You've discussed how Architecture should rethink its role in society and speak about things everybody can relate to. In what ways do you think Architecture should be doing more?

MH: Perhaps my biggest beef with architecture is that it remains a service profession. Architects are always waiting around for a client, and architects are always working to realize someone else's architectural vision. Architecture competitions have existed for hundreds and hundreds of years - and they are based on the exact same premise that holds back architecture - except the "client" is replaced by the "brief". With our competitions we set out to invert the whole process and place architects and designers in the driving seat. An added benefit of lowering the entry barrier to architecture is that we have lots of non-designers participate in our competitions. Everyone wants to be an "architect" in some capacity - we aim to create opportunities that allow for that.

INT: Are there certain Architects, Firms, or Groups that you feel are progressing the field of Architecture in the right direction? Where do you see Architecture going in the next 5-10 years?

MH: We've been honored to have a wide range of superstars on our competition juries. In many ways they represent our "heroes" from the design, architecture, and business fields. Folks like Mitchell Joachim at Terreform ONE, where they are creating a fantastic architectural laboratory in the Brooklyn Navy Yards; to the team at Bruce Mau Design who are constantly pushing the design and communications envelope; to the radical personality that Matthias Hollwich and Marc Kushner at HWKN Architects have been able to inject into their architecture projects. There are many more people and companies pushing at the edge of architecture, and we couldn't be happier to work with them.

FG: One of the biggest take-aways from the entries we've received is that younger generations are keen to produce really innovative ideas that reach far beyond traditional architecture. There is a great interest in affecting the world beyond the typical Schematic Design to Construction Administration phases. This ability to act as a catalyst for change is paramount - it means that the newest generation of architects are breaking tradition from architecture as a service profession, to developing their own ideas and then figuring out how to realize them of their own accord. This is a fundamental shift, and a much needed one, and we couldn't be more excited to contribute.

Fairy Tales: Volume 1

Fairy Tales: Volume 1

Fairy Tales: Volume 2

Fairy Tales: Volume 2

INT: You've put together some amazing Architectural competitions, including Fairy Tales: Volume 1 and 2 and your latest competition, Dear Architecture. Can you talk about where the ideas for these competitions came from?

MH: Starting Blank Space was not a fast process. Deciding on the topic of our first competition, Fairy Tales, was actually the toughest part of getting off the ground. I think it took Francesca and I about 6 months to settle on Fairy Tales. Of course we wanted to do something different than typical competitions, which wasn't very hard because they all ask you to design 1. A Skyscraper, 2. A Museum or 3. A House. So those three options were out - and we started searching for something else - something powerful that elicits an immediate reaction. We ran with Fairy Tales because it is exactly that - it embodies a very strong subject, yet it is completely open to interpretation. Each person has their own personal fairy tale.

FG: Dear Architecture is our third competition - we just launched it a month ago as a new experiment and things are going well so far. With Dear Architecture we wanted to tackle one of the most pervasive and influential formats of all time - the simple letter. Well-crafted letters have changed the world and circulated innovative, game-changing ideas. We expect the entries to Dear Architecture to do nothing short of that.

INT: You've created such a unique and interesting platform with Blank Space. Where do you see the office going? Are there certain areas you would still like to explore? 

FG: The Fairy Tales and Dear Architecture competitions have worked well so far, but they are hardly the only topics we want to cover. We're developing a new competition for this fall that will take a more science-based approach. We're excited to explore new territories - it's really an adventure for us. The reality is that every time we launch a new project we have only a faint inkling of what the final results might be. Each participants uses the brief as a catapult to explore previously uncharted territory for architecture. The unknowability of the final results is where the real magic comes from.

Blank Space is an online platform for architecture, founded in 2013 by Matthew Hoffman and Francesca Giuliani. 

INTerview: Hey Studio

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Hey, a graphic design studio based in Barcelona, Spain, focuses on transforming ideas into communicative graphics. We stumbled upin their "Every Hey Illustration" series on Instagram, after first discovering their brand identity projects. Hey has been creating pop culture icons for more than a year in their own unique graphic style, posting one per day on an Instagram account. These icons are minimal, dynamic and incredibly unique.

In an exclusive interview with Interiors, we talked to Hey about the "Every Hey Illustration" series, as well as their other amazing work. 

INT: How did the idea for the "Every Hey Illustration" come about? Was it always the plan to post a new illustration every day on Instagram?

HEY: These character designs came from an illustrated world map commission. I needed to add characters doing different sorts of things but the scale at which I was drawing them wasn't helpful so I decided to design these geometrical characters with the least amount of detail as possible.

Normally, I'll have all of the characters or objects drawn in a single file so that I can draw faster. The result is, more or less, the same look of the Instagram profile. Additionally, I thought it would be nice for me to grow the style and post one daily as a kind of drawing exercise.

INT: We noticed that the characters you have created range from movies, television, pop-culture and sports. Is there a method to choosing new characters or a list that you follow?

HEY: There no list behind it. Sometimes it is just what I want to draw or suggestions from followers or from trending issues. At the beginning, it was easier to do characters with recognizable features, such as superheroes or music artists. Even without something recognizable in the characters, people could still solve most of them.

INT: You've successfully been able to post a new character every day for over a year. How long do you think it can go? Do you think there will ever be a shortage of characters?

HEY: I’m very happy and impressed by how much the project has grown. I never imagined the amount of support that I would receive from people telling me to keep doing the characters every day. I've been doing this for them and for me, but to be honest, I think I'm satisfied. My interest is to find new things to do. I'm going to close some of the characters and think of a good way to close the project. However, the Instagram account could remain open and characters could be added occasionally.

INT: You've managed to create an extremely unique style with the characters you have made. Have you thought about creating more original characters and telling your own narrative (much like the Oh My God Exhibitions)?

HEY: In fact, the character style known as “every_hey” are part of a bigger representational style. This character style is still present in the professional commissions that we do. The only difference is that we try to adjust them by creating different narratives. I guess it could grow in several directions. 

INT: Some of your Editorial Design work is absolutely amazing. We're curious if you've thought about doing the graphics or typography for a movie poster or a film's title sequence?

HEY: We actually started as a graphic design studio and later added a part for illustration. Also, we have been working on the type credits for a documentary of the glass blower artist, Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert, in collaboration with Jérôme de Gerlache.

INT: Is there a plan to put some of the more popular characters on merchandise and sell it on your store? Or a larger print featuring a group of characters? 

HEY: This is a good question. We have actually been thinking about that for the past two months because we have received such a big demand. I’m afraid that most of the fictional characters have specific property rights. We don’t want to infringe on those rights so we are planning to properly format the work done on Instagram and give our followers the chance to have a physical piece. They deserve it.

Hey is a graphic design studio based in Barcelona, Spain. They specialize in brand identity, editorial design and illustration. They love geometry, color and direct typography. That's the essence of who they are.