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Christopher FriedmanLocation: When was the last time you ate a pancake? Favorite day of the week? Favorite website besides your own? |
Q&A
Give us a brief description of you and your work.
I’m a Freelance Graphic Artist/Hermit born and raised in Southern CA. I’m a newbie to the illustration and design scene; I’m enjoying every new step as I learn the ropes. Since my night gig has always been as a musician, a lot of my work is for local bands and venues doing things like album art and poster design. Although I’ve done a lot of collage pieces so far, lately I’ve been trying to get my drawing chops up to speed to inject that into my work.
What’s your goal as an artist?
As an artist I simply try to create things that I like and would like seeing more of. Personal projects come easy for me, and I feel like a kid again when working on them. On the other hand, when doing work for a client who has a specific idea or concept of what they want I try my best to execute that idea while staying true to my style. My goal as graphic designer is to hone in on that sweet spot between my personal style and my clients’ satisfaction.
Why did you choose collage?
I started in collage completely by accident. I was handed the job of designing album art for a band I was in and, at the time, I could not Photoshop my way out of a paper bag. It was a learn-as-you-go-situation and collage was the fastest, easiest way to get that project done before I was old and grey. I ended up really loving the process: taking old random images, transforming them, and placing them in some new context. Each piece becomes kind of a Frankenstein’s Monster taking on a new life. The finished product never ends up looking the way I originally envision it. It’s a lot of fun.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Most of my inspiration comes from my childhood. I’ve always been into the weirder things in life from an early age (monster movies, aliens, and unexplained phenomena). A lot of the things that are now considered kitsch were just cool to me back then. I still have a lot of the same interests even now that I’m all growsed up. I’m still way into Bigfoot. ‘The Woodwose’ is a Bigfoot portrait I did for my office at home. Anyone at Plywerk ever seen a real one?! I’m looking at you OREGON.
What was the last full album you listened to?
Tom Waits–Bad As Me
Favorite living artist?
Wow, I can’t just pick one! I’ll just say 3 current favorites are Julien Pacaud, Mark Weaver, Gary Taxali.
Favorite deceased artist?
Caravaggio. He’s dead right?
Do you prefer Van Gogh with two ears or one?
One. That was a brilliant career move. It was all success and happiness for him from then on out.
Better mustache Rollie Fingers or Salvador Dalí?
Dali! That Mustache was a physical extension of one of his paintings. I believe it could’ve choked out Rollie Fingers’ stache without breaking a sweat.
Why do you chose to show your artwork on Plywerk?
I have been looking for a unique way to display prints of my work for a while now. I wanted something other than the standard print in frame format. I stumbled upon Plywerk and instantly knew I wanted to try them. *So glad I did!
*No, they didn’t make me say that.
Does thinking of Plywerk give you love butterflies in your stomach?
Now that I’ve just unwrapped my first mounted Plywerk prints and seen how great they look, YES!
Favorite hair style?
Comb-Over Pony Tail
Anything else you want to tell us?
I do not have a Comb-Over Pony Tail and no, I am not Zach Galifianakis.
More about Christopher
Christopher Friedman is a self taught designer and illustrator who is influenced by mid century modern, retro futurism, crypto-science, nature, assemblage, collage. He clearly has a sense of humor and may in fact be somehow connected to Zach Galifinakis. Had we known about this connection prior to the interview, most of the questions would have been about the Hangover, and discussing the need for a sequel.
