https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Paul: Paul Cristina was born in Cleveland, OH in August of 1983. Cristina’s work focuses on combining disparate aesthetics through the experimentation of various styles and mediums, while using drawing as a primary foundation for his development. He currently lives and works in South Carolina.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- The importance of having wholesome and creative relationships
- Paul getting his footing as a creative without a support community
- Working hourly wage jobs that took away from art as a full time practice
- Cristina's original pursuit of music
- How being a paramedic taught Cristina to maintain a presence of confidence and composure in all aspects of life
- Cristina's evolution from drawing with pen in sketchbooks to mixed media on large scale canvases
- Robert Rauschenberg's early influence on Cristina
- Turning points in Cristina's life that pushed him towards art
- Drawing both from imagination and from a deliberate effort to get better at drawing
https://www.instagram.com/paul_cristina/
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
AD Non-Weekly Round Up #6 with Yoshino and guest John Wentz
Topics Discussed:
- “The Plant” an artist collective and residency based in The Netherlands co-founded by artist Daniel Martin
- Pondering life lessons
- Trying to be more positive
- Unconditional Love
- Utilizing gratitude in your daily practice
- Using organizational apps such as Google Keep, Evernote, Notion, and Trello in your daily practice
- Books: Mastery of Self and The Four Agreements
- Films, Documentaries, TV Shows: Brightburn, The Great Hack, Rashomon, Luce, Swamp Thing, Hereditary, Rosemary’s Baby
- Philosophers: Jean Baudrillard and Jean-François Lyotard
www.artistdecoded.com
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Marie: Marie Tomanova, born in former Czechoslovakia, Tomanova grew up in a small border town in South Moravia. She received BFA in Studio Art from Masaryk University in 2007 and MFA in Painting from Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Technology, Czech Republic in 2010. After finishing her studies she left to United States and currently lives and works in NYC.
Since then her work has changed dramatically in approach, mediums, and themes. She has been dealing with issues of displacement, identity, inclusivity, gender, and sexuality through photography and video in her current two main projects: photo-based Self-portraits, in which she address the issue of displacement and finding place in the American landscape and Young American, which was released as a solo show at Czech Center New York (2018) and addresses issues of displacement, belonging and fitting into the American landscape in a social aspect.
Paradigm Publishing will publish her first monograph Young American, with introduction by Ryan McGinley, in Spring 2019. A documentary following Marie’s journey is in making by Academy Award (student) winning director Marie Dvořáková and will be released in 2020. Young American will be exhibited at Academia Film Olomouc in April 2019 (Czech) and Pragovka Gallery in Prague in October 2019 (Czech).
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- How Marie met and started working with, photographer, Ryan McGinley
- Her experiences living and growing up in Czechoslovakia
- Her first experiences in an American grocery store and eating corn dogs for the first time
- How Marie started studying painting in university before she found her love for photography years later
- Her book, “Young American”
- Photographer: Francesca Woodman
https://www.instagram.com/marietomanova/
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Julius: Julius Onah was born on February 10, 1983 in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. He is a producer and director, known for The Girl Is In Trouble (2015) and Luce (2019).
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Onah’s feature film that just launched entitled, Luce.
- How he started working with writer and collaborative partner, J.C. Lee
- Creating in isolation
- Tapping into the sub-conscious state of mind through physical activities
- Clarity of vision and intentionality
- Creating and pitching the right amount of controlled chaos
- Movies and Documentaries discussed: The Matrix, The Great Hack, Social_Animals, Jawline
- Writers discussed: Marshall Mcluhan and Tennessee Williams
- Akira Kurosawa (Director)
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
AD Non-Weekly Round Up #5 with Yoshino and Saman Kesh
- Yoshino tearing his meniscus
- A music video that Saman Kesh and Justin Daashuur Hopkins directed with musicians, Meg & Dia
- Kesh’s struggles and realizations with ADD
- Serial killers
- Gore, violence, visceral films
- Video games: Resident Evil 2 Remake
- Music: Gogo Penguin, The Bad Plus
- Films and TV Shows talked about: Audition (1999), Blue Ruin (2013), Botched Up Bodies, Friends, Irreversible (2002), Luce (2019), Midsommar (2019), Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019), Toy Story 4 (2019)
www.artistdecoded.com
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Jesse: Jesse Draxler was born in rural Wisconsin, studied in Minneapolis, MN, and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. A formal mixed media & inter-disciplinary artist, Draxler has exhibited extensively both domestically and internationally and in 2018 released his first book, Misophonia, through Sacred Bones Records. His client list includes MCQ Alexander McQueen, The New York Times, Hugo Boss, Dita Eyewear, and The Atlantic. Draxler is also one of an upcoming three person exhibition opening at No Gallery in Los Angeles September 7th.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Draxler's experiences moving to LA and living off-grid in Wisconsin
- Definitions of success and personal growth
- The effects of religious upbringings
- Hardcore and metal bands offering rebellion against religion and aesthetic freedoms
- How boxing, basketball, and running have offered growth in Draxler's creative process
- The effects of expectations on the creative process
- Draxler's reflection on the anniversary of his book “Misophonia”
- Draxler's representation and upcoming show under Casey Gleghorn's No Gallery
- Navigating the gallery experience
- Exploring many mediums and Draxler's transition into taking his own collage material and using color in his art
- Books and authors mentioned: Pema Chodron, Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey, short story collection Jagannath by Karin Tidbeck, Under the Skin by Michel Faber, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, Freedom from Anger by Alubomulle Sumanasara, Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
- Graphic novels mentioned: Upgrade Soul by Ezra Clayton Daniels, Ice Cream Man by W. Maxwell Prince, and Black Hole by Charles Burns
https://www.instagram.com/jessedraxler/
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Justin: Justin Tyler Close is a Canadian born visual artist, now located in Los Angeles, CA
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
-
Manifestation
-
Death
-
Pema Chodron (Author)
-
DMT + Ayahuasca
-
Walking and journaling as a daily practice for positive mental health
-
“The Fifty Eleven Project” in collaboration with the Kasper Bjørke Quartet
-
Tapping into our inner artistic spirit
-
Utilizing different mediums as an artist
https://www.instagram.com/justintylerclose/
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
AD NON-WEEKLY ROUND UP #4 with Yoshino and Justin Daashuur Hopkins
Topics Discussed:
-
Films: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), The Meg (2018), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Joy Luck Club (1993), Searching (2018)
-
Race and identity issues
-
SNL
-
Asian American culture
-
Leos Carax (Film Director)
-
Hopkin’s decision to become an artist
-
“Rebel Without A Crew” (Book by Robert Rodriguez)
-
The tech industry
-
Happiness
-
The importance of legacy
-
Ego
Get 15% OFF on all Four Sigmatic products: foursigmatic.com/artist-decoded
Kim Kei (b.1981, Corpus Christi, TX) is a Los Angeles based artist who uses sculpture, printmaking, painting, and photography to evoke sensations of vulnerability, invasiveness and tenderness towards the body. Kei attended the University of Arizona and went on to receive her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2003. Her work has been exhibited internationally and she has had solo shows at the Irvine Fine Arts Center (Irvine, CA) Brandstater Gallery (Riverside, CA), and Alter Space (San Francisco, CA). Kei has attended residencies at Instinc, Singapore, Mass MoCa, and the Irvine Fine Arts Center.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Roswell Residency in Roswell, NM
- How she deals with rejection
- The importance of residencies to artists. Residencies mentioned: Instinc Residency and STPI (Singapore Tyler Print Institute) in Singapore, and MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA.
- Injury, illness, age and trauma's effects on dendritic forms
- Kei's intimate personal experiences that have defined her work, including studying cadavers, ballet, and childhood moments
- A look into Kei's mixed media process of creating her art
- How movement and sound are ways she communicates non-verbally
- Robert Sapolsky's behavioral specialist lectures
- Working on multiple projects at once to create a collective piece of art through different mediums
- German musician, Hauschka, and the prepared piano
- Influence of musician father on Kei's work and describing visual art through sound
- Kei's next solo show in March of 2020 at Local Language in Oakland, CA and the residency they offer to visiting artists
Get 15% OFF on all Four Sigmatic products: foursigmatic.com/artist-decoded
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Chi: Chi is the Co-Founder of Truffles Therapy
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Growing up as an Asian American
- Vipassana meditation
- Being of service to others
- Letting go of control
- Zen Koan
- Nature recognizes and supports humility
- Psilocybin mushrooms
https://artistdecoded.cargo.site/admin/11552799
Get 15% OFF on all Four Sigmatic products: foursigmatic.com/artist-decoded
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Sergio: Sergio Barrale has been featured in vol. 41 of Hi-Fructose Magazine, Juxtapoz, American Art Collector, SuperSonic and WhiteHot Magazine. Each one of Sergio's massive drawings clocks 250 hours & grind down close to 500 pencils. In the past two years he has had 17 exhibitions across America including the Mesa Contemporary Museum of Art & Honolulu Museum School of Art.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
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Kindred spirits
-
Psilocybin and the effects it has on the mind and body
-
The mentality of "perhaps"
-
Rerouting neural pathways of the brain through mantras and affirmations
-
Cognitive reframing / restructuring
-
Practicing forgiveness for yourself and for those who have wronged you
-
Philosophy of electricity in terms of soul
-
The book, “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz
-
Exercise as a means of emotional coping
-
Overpopulation and finding solutions for the future of humanity
-
Artificial Intelligence
-
Other resources mentioned: “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink, Joe Rogan podcast, “Leaving Neverland” documentary on Michael Jackson, author David Goggins, “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse, Theodore Gericault's painting “The Raft of the Medusa”
https://www.instagram.com/sergiobarrale/
Get 15% OFF on all Four Sigmatic products: foursigmatic.com/artist-decoded
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Andrew: With a background in animation, live action and visual effects, Andrew Thomas Huang’s work bridges the gap between video art and film, expanding beyond into alternative modes of storytelling. His film and video work has exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, NYC; MoMA PS1; The Barbican Centre, London; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Having developed a strong reputation for his collaborative practice, Huang has worked extensively with Icelandic artist Bjork, among others including FKA Twigs, Thom Yorke and British director Joe Wright. Huang served as creative director for Bjork’s VR exhibition Bjork Digital, creating multiple immersive experiences within the pioneering traveling installation. With his strength in world-building, Huang carries on his visual aesthetic as he continues his foray into narrative feature film. Huang is a Cinereach Fellow, a recent fellow in Film Independent’s Directors Lab, and a recipient of the K Period Media Fellowship grant.
https://www.instagram.com/andrewthomashuang/
Get 15% OFF on all Four Sigmatic products: foursigmatic.com/artist-decoded
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Mari: Mari L. McCarthy is the multi award-winning author of “Journaling Power: How To Create The Happy, Healthy Life You Want To Live.”
The Founder/Self-Transformation Guide of CreateWriteNow.com, she shows health-conscious people how to use journaling to heal the issues in their tissues and transform their lives. She provides 20+ Self-Paced Journaling Courses on various life-challenging topics such as Heal Your Life, Love Your Body and Detox Your Relationships.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
-
Julia Cameron’s Book, “The Artist Way”
-
Mari talks about her daily practice of journaling
-
How to heal yourself and declutter your thoughts through journaling
-
Taking responsibility for your actions and thoughts
-
Her journaling website www.createwritenow.com
-
Silencing the inner critic
-
Power of positive thinking
-
Allowing yourself to write through a stream of consciousness
Get 15% OFF on all Four Sigmatic products: foursigmatic.com/artist-decoded
Tunde Adebimpe is a musician, actor, director, and visual artist best know for being the frontman of the band TV On The Radio.
Kim Dorland is a painter and artist based in Vancouver, Canada.
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
AD Weekly Round Up #3 w/ Yoshino and Justin Daashuur Hopkins
www.artistdecoded.com
John Wentz is a contemporary painter whose work is an exploration of process and technique. Working within the classical idiom of the human figure, his goal is to reduce and simplify the image to it’s core fundamentals: composition, color, and mark making. Paint application and brush strokes are broad and simplified as a means to connect and convey these ideas to the viewer in a way that only painting can.
John was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. His interest in art began at the age of 6 when he first discovered Batman and Spiderman comic books. After years of copying comics panel by panel he worked in the commercial arts as a muralist, billboard creator and freelance illustrator. After learning to paint by doing airbrushed billboards, he decided to pursue Fine Art and work in oils. Since then, he has had 3 solo exhibitions in San Francisco and numerous group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His works have appeared in many publications and have won multiple awards.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
- Giving up
- Gerhard Richter
- Tech affecting art
- Barriers between museums and the public
- Would you make art if the world ended?
- Wentz moving to Paris
- Advice to artists and creatives
- Movies
- “Naive” painters
Get 15% OFF on all Four Sigmatic products: foursigmatic.com/artist-decoded
www.artistdecoded.com
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Alex: Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953) is an American visionary artist, author, teacher, and Vajrayana practitioner. His body of work spans a variety of forms including performance art, process art, installation art, sculpture, visionary art, and painting. Grey is a member of the Integral Institute. He is also on the board of advisors for the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, and is the Chair of Wisdom University's Sacred Art Department. He and his wife Allyson Grey are the co-founders of The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM), a non-profit church supporting Visionary Culture in Wappingers Falls, New York.
Get 15% OFF on all Four Sigmatic products: foursigmatic.com/artist-decoded
https://www.instagram.com/alexgreycosm/
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Joe: Joe Sill is a director based out of Los Angeles. He began studying film at the age of 12, and spent much of his youth learning on his own how to use a camera, edit, and craft visual effects. In 2009, he attended Chapman University to study direction full-time, and in 2013 he created a spec for Tesla that gained Elon Musk’s attention and support, as well as over half a million viewers. The spec jumpstarted a commercial career where he quickly built a resume of work with clients such as Apple, Nike, NASA, Disney and Warner Brothers. In 2016, he created another speculative short film set in the Star Wars universe and caught the attention of 1.5 million viewers — and that same year, he directed his debut feature film, “STRAY”, a sci-fi neo noir starring Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad), Christine Woods (The Walking Dead), and Japanese musician MIYAVI (Unbroken). His work has collectively accumulated over 200 million views thus far. He is currently in post production as well as development on a handful of commercials and feature projects.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
-
His first featured film, “Stray” (2019)
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The following feature films: Akira, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Batman Begins, Ghost In The Shell, Finding Nemo, John Wick, Pan's Labyrinth, Terminator, Terminator 2, The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix
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Surrogate parent relationships in films
-
“The Last of Us” – Video Game
-
His love for Miyazaki films
-
Changes within the commercial industry
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Commercials made by AI
-
Artificial Intelligence
-
Developing grit
https://www.instagram.com/joe.sill/
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
AD Weekly Round Up #2 w/ Yoshino, Justin Daashuur Hopkins, and Saman Kesh.
Topics Discussed:
-
Workaholism
-
Movie recommendation: “Border” (2018) directed by Ali Abbasi
-
Films: “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2009 and 2011), “Let The Right One In” (2008)
-
Saman’s love for Studio Ghibli films
www.artistdecoded.com
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Brian: Brian Higbee comes from an eleven year career in Graphic Design. Early on in his graphic design career he picked up a camera and started shooting photos for his commissioned projects, skateboarding, snowboarding and bands. It soon became obvious that photography held far more appeal than graphic design ever did. So he left home and his comfortable career in pursuit of his passion.
He started his career assisting some of the top photographers in the world. This experience along with his sense of light and space, and compositional capability has propelled him into a creative force.
His talent has been quickly recognized by Interview Magazine. American Vogue, L'Uomo Vogue, Glamour and many alike, were quick to follow.
Subjects Discussed In This Episode:
-
How he transitioned into working as a professional photographer from having an 11 year professional career as a graphic designer
-
Current industry shifts in hiring professional photographers
-
Contributing to Interview Magazine before and towards the end of the printed publication
-
The death of printed commercialized media
-
Mental preparations to start your day
-
Diversifying skill sets
https://www.instagram.com/brianhigbee/
www.patreon.com/nohwave
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
AD Weekly Round Up #1 w/ Yoshino, Justin Daashuur Hopkins, and Saman Kesh.
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About David: David Cheifetz is an internationally acclaimed and collected artist who continues to push the limits of contemporary realist oil painting. David and his family live in Olympia, WA.
"Reflecting the language of dreams, these dark, hyperrealistic tableaux suggest bizarre and intriguing narratives. Cheifetz paints alla prima, an oil painting technique in which wet paint is applied to previous layers of wet paint. He works without detailed underpainting or studies, creating atmosphere through prominent, expressive brushstrokes and strong chiaroscuro."
-Artsy.net
www.nohwaveacademy.com/david-cheifetz-still-life
Use the promo code below for $25 off Cheifetz online still life workshop
ADCHEFEITZ25
https://www.instagram.com/davidcheifetz/
https://www.instagram.com/davidcheifetz/
About Kilo: As if spun from ether, the synthy experimental reflections of Kilo Kish (nee Lakisha Kimberly Robinson) strikingly embody what is intangible - the overwhelmingly complex emotions we sometimes feel but cannot find the language to express. A singer-songwriter, multi-disciplinary artist and designer, Kish’s musical offerings have always been deeply intertwined with her work in other mediums. Her debut EP Homeschool (released April 2, 2012), earned praise for its disarming honesty, marking the genesis of a discography informed by Kish’s deeply self-reflective nature and innate curiosity about the boundaries of human interactions with the world. “I think people liked Homeschool because it felt really naive but also natural. That naturalness of it is almost like catching an artist in their garage band stage,” explained Kish. The EP also provides early insight into Kish’s collaborative process, featuring production and vocals from longtime friends the Internet and Pyramid Vitra - Kish had previously connected with Matt Martians ( the Internet) online, and subsequently formed relationships with the rest of the band.
Born in Orlando, Florida, Kish spent much of her early childhood in solitary settings, critiquing and exploring her surroundings autonomously, while at the same time fully immersing herself in creative projects and activities that challenged her world view. She entered her school’s gifted program at the age of five, and the advanced curriculum soon separated her from her peers. Still, the young Kish found that she preferred the company of adults, finding inspiration from the complexity of their realities. Despite having few friends of her age, her family were early advocates of both her independence and creative spirit.
Her mother in particular provided a steady stream of art supplies, books and activities to feed Kish’s voracious young mind. “I would get bored of things really easily. So once I learned how to do something I was always trying to find the next thing to learn,” Kish explained of her lifelong sense of restlessness. Yet even in becoming easily disillusioned with standard childhood activities, Kish still fell under the spell of the popular culture of the ‘90s. When she wasn’t watching a steady stream of music videos on MTV, she listened to the top 40 hits on her favorite local station. In her teenage years, Kish’s musical tastes imploded, expanding into the realm of alternative sounds and internet-based sub-genres. Spurred on by the popularity of pirating platforms like Limewire, she sought out the future-facing crooning of Bjork, and connected with the empowered folk-pop of Regina Spektor.
This plethora of influences coupled with a rejection of any state of stagnation still defines Kish’s music. A year after the release of Homeschool (while still studying at FIT in New York), she completely pivoted directions and released K+. The free mix tape was supported by a digital art zine and immersive listening session. Featuring A$AP Ferg, Childish Gambino, Earl Sweatshirt and more, K+ chronicled the process behind its own making in order to bring the listener closer to the mind of the artist. “At the time, I kind of just considered music as another form of making stuff. I was in college thinking I was going to become a textile designer, but then to see some of my peers blowing up - Matt was with Odd Future and some of my other friends were in A$AP Mob. So I saw it happening around me and it occurred to me that it was possible,” she explained of the time.
The following year, in 2014, she released her second EP Across with the support of French fashion house and record label Maison Kitsune. On its heels came Kish’s debut studio album,Reflections in Real Time (2016) which she released through her own imprint label Kisha Soundscape + Audio. The album, a searing and deeply personal journal entry into the motivations, fears and obsessions of an artist unafraid to document her own fallacies, garnered praise for its earnestness and impeccable musicality. In an interview with Elle that year, Kish even joked that the album’s level of honesty would probably embarrass her later. As her story continues to unfold, and her already-impressive buzz continues to grow, stay tuned for more on one of 2018’s most exciting artists…Kilo Kish.
https://www.instagram.com/kilokish/
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
Show Notes
-
Ep 57 - Ben Quilty discusses the importance of telling your own story.
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Why Yoshino started the podcast and what he’s learned over the years
-
Ep 1 - Casey Baugh on being fearless
-
Ep 30 - Daniel Sannwald talks about doubts and anxiety
-
Ep 2 - John Wentz tells us about art being a life long commitment and how Gerhard Richter’s retrospective at SFMOMA saved him from dropping out of art school
-
Ep 63 - Adam Lee on incubating ideas and meeting self-imposed deadlines
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Ep 20 - Julius Onah on ideation in isolation
-
Ep 64 - Elly Smallwood on why we create
-
Ep 100 - Justin Daashuur Hopkins and Yoshino on collaborating and creating good partnerships
-
Ep 105 - Tunde Adebimpe on figuring it out along the way
www.artistdecoded.com
https://www.patreon.com/artistdecoded
About Nick: Born in 1985, artist Nick Runge grew up in Colorado. Coming from a creative family of professional artists, he was always interested in drawing and imagining ideas visually. Starting in 2004, he began thinking about art as a career and got the chance to begin small jobs in and out of the comic book industry. After 2006, he worked as an illustrator for various comic companies such as IDW, Dark Horse, and many others. While primarily making a living as a cover artist, he began painting more seriously and started exploring the world of film art and traditionally painted projects, doing various official and private commissions. These days he has stepped away from commercial properties, focusing exclusively on fine art and personal work using oils and watercolor.
As a portrait/figurative painter, Nick works from life as well as photography, describing his art as something close to “abstracted realism”, with an objective of expressing as much of the realistic human element of life as possible through a limited and often simplified approach to his rendering or brushwork, giving an illusion of realism while, at the same time, breaking shapes and form down enough to have a close balance with abstraction.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
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The reasons why he began his career as an artist in illustration
-
Making the transition from being a professional illustrator to being a fine artist
-
Steven Pressfield’s book, “The War of Art”
-
Creating mental devices to help you clearly navigate though your career
-
His experiences working in the comic book industry
-
Commercial viability of analog and digital artworks
-
Pitfalls of the American educational system
-
The financial realities of being a working artist
-
Art and design existing everywhere
-
How the arts are supported and unsupported in America
-
Francis Ford Coppola’s film “Apocalypse Now”
-
The movie poster that Runge was commissioned to illustrate for the documentary, “The Death of Superman Lives”
-
Ideologies about tribes and community
-
AI creating artworks
-
NOH/WAVE
-
Art collectives
www.nohwaveacademy.com/nick-runge
https://www.instagram.com/nickvrunge/