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ERICA GLASIER
Tell us a little about your background... where you are from ? A rural road on the prairies of Manitoba, Canada.
What/who inspires you ? I'm currently addicted to audiobooks about evolutionary biology and philosophy. Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harrisand Zen philosopher Alan Watts creep out of my ipod at night and fill my head with sense & nonsense. I grew up agnostic, so I'm at the point where I'm starting to investigate naturalism and philosophy as a substitute for spirituality. I’m not really getting that much out of Zen yet, but then again, I’m not enlightened ;)
Zen poets put surprising juxtapositions in their work to try to crystalize an awakening about the true nature of reality in the audience. I'm trying to illustrate such unexpected moments as well.
For my recent digital painting series I've been referencing Japanese shunga (erotica) & ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floatingworld"). Being raised on the prairie, I'm attracted to the Japanese vision of connecting spiritually through art to the underlying order of nature. Looking at ukiyo-e was how I got interested in Zen - traditionally the inherent function of Japanese art is to transport one to a harmonious contemplation of nature, with its intrinsic order and rule, ethical and moral dimensions. Humans are situated within the laws of nature - we belong there, have a place there, and can return there unselfconsciously any time we want.
Visually I'm into Ray Caesar right now, so much so that I might start migrating some of my digital painting from Photoshop to Maya. The ability to repose & recompose your figures once all the detail work has been done is just too attractive. I've done some 3D work in the past and really enjoyed the atmospheric possibilities.
How would you describe your style ? Colour, collage, blending, surrealist, symbolist. Beautiful ladies in fantastic, organic landscapes.
Have you got any standard or paragon in the world of art ? If so, which are they ? Visual artists that amaze me are Gez Fry, Tomer Hanuka, Yumiko Kayukawa, Dalek, Kozyndan, Audrey Kawasaki, Yuko Shimizu, Aya Kato, Sam Flores, & Stéphane Tartelin. Designers (my day job) include Drew Flaherty, Adhemas, Hellohikimori, Tokyo Plastic, Chuck Anderson, Scott Hansen, Nigel Evan Dennis, Disaster Pieces, Ilk, & Théo Gènnitsakis. We're all sooo lucky that we live in a communication age where we can easily check out the bodies of work of all these amazing people. When I was a teenager it was all about cut and paste photocopied zines! Now you can email your heroes and say “hi”.
How do the public and the critics perceive your work ? My favourite review so far appeared on a message board of Trekkie literalists discussing the Spock Cock piece I created for Sweet Action magazine. They were baffled that someone from a desert planet could be fantasizing about the erotic, emotional qualities of marine life. I don't think Sweet Action is going to run the piece, but I'd like to mention them for really pulling off integrating porn with style - they employ really good DIY design & illustration. FMCS posted my site, and had some interesting comments [ www.feedmecoolshit.com/2006/12/erica-glasier ] about the new wave of digital illustration, and how it hadn't yet penetrated (tee hee) the adult market. Playgirl's redesign in November 2005 was intended to bring that edge to the market, and in so doing they've also supported a lot of illustrators.
Beyond that, fans are largely impressed with my ability to paint realistic female organs.
What is your view on the current art & design market and how do you see illustration within this ? Art, illustration & design have blown up in the past 3-5 years just due to the sheer volume of amazing stuff being put out there in online portfolios. Art directors can check you out and make contact so easily, finding just the right talent for each communication. And we all have instant access to each other’s bodies of work, which leads to so much fantastic inspiration.
Do you have any new projects coming up that you can tell us about ? I'll be appearing in the 2007 "Big Book of Fashion Illustrators" put together by Martin Dawber. I’m working towards a solo show in 2008, hopefully of both digital paintings and sculpture, and participating in group shows wherever possible. I've also been invited to be a contributing editor at Paris-based art & design portal French'n'Fresh, where I'll be posting inspiring artwork and websites.
What makes you happy ? Making beautiful things!
Any final comments ? Thanks for looking at my work and to Body Collector for giving me this space to talk to you. I'd love to collaborate with anyone who has a cool project suited to my skills, so drop me an email if you have something you'd like me to take a look at!
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