Artist Ryan Heshka has quickly become one of my my all-time favorite artists. His portfolio includes paintings based on early Pulp illustrations and comic books, illustrations for BLAB!, The New York Times, Playboy, Vanity Fair, and other periodicals, and he has published a number of children's books. He just released a limited-edition comic called Mean Girls Club and his current art installation in Portland, Oregon runs through July. Ryan Heshka visited our virtual lair yesterday to chat about his work, classic Pulps, comic art, and design. Related Spy Vibe image archives on Pinterest: The Batman, Diabolikal, Comic Thrills, Mystery/Adventure, Cliffhanger Serials, Vintage Future, The Shadow, The Phantom, Dick Tracy, vintage photos of People Reading Comics.
Welcome, Ryan! Your work seems to
channel a kind of surreal interpretation of classic cover illustrations from
the Pulps and early Sci-Fi paperbacks. What do you love about this kind of
imagery?
When I was a kid, it was strictly about the “cool” monsters,
spaceships and aliens. But the long-term
appeal for me is the visionary aspect of the work, and the sense of wonder
instilled in the imagery. In the early
days of pulps and science fiction, there was no guidebook to how this material
should look, and artists were able to run wild and create some truly memorable
visuals. I enjoy looking at art forms in
their infancy, when exploration and experimentation is pushed.
Do you have a
collection of old books, comics, or pulps that you use for inspiration or reference?
Do you keep a classic “morgue” of images?
Both. I don’t collect
and buy like I did a few years ago, and recently sold much of my
collection. But I still have a small,
core collection of comics, pulps, and antiques. I also have hundreds of digital images that serve as inspiration, or
sometimes just eye candy.
Many of my readers grew up collecting old books and memorabilia. Did you have a collection as a kid?
Yes, but nothing really substantial until my uncle gave my brother and I his comic collection from the 1960’s, pretty much all Marvel, and mainly the Fantastic Four, which happened to be the title I collected. It was like finding gold. All of a sudden we had a kick ass comic collection, loaded with Kirby. As a kid, I could never afford to buy the 1940’s comics I wanted, but I sought out reprints of the expensive material.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the new Mean Girls Club comic. Without giving too much away, what can viewers expect to see in the work?
It’s a fairly simple, linear comic story, which depicts the
Mean Girls acting out various acts of … meanness. Within the comic, I tried to incorporate as
much twisted humor as I could to balance the sheer nastiness of these
girls. Readers will witness fish slap
fights, creeping living merkins, and a microscopic view of genital crabs. This comic is not for the weak of heart.
Tell us more about
how Mean Girls got started. Did old comics or films inspire you?
Mean Girls definitely grew out of my life-long love of B- to
Z-grade exploitation films, and crime and horror comics of the 1950’s. The whole concept grew out of one small
sketch that I had painted in an old 1910 day timer. I doodle in this book when I have extra time
and left over paint. I painted this
angry looking girl with a unibrow, and a ghostly skeleton hovering behind
her. The caption reads “it’s my brow,
isn’t it?", like people’s look of horror could have nothing to do with this grim
apparition behind her, this living embodiment of her anger. Shortly after that, I painted an entire line
up of these mean girls. When the time
came to figure out how I was going to fill the space at Wieden + Kennedy, I
started mining that concept for more material, and built a world around them. I don’t think I am done with them yet.
I noticed the book was dedicated to Mike Vraney (founder of Something Weird Video). Was his work a big influence on you?
I met Mike several years back, and had the good fortune to hang out and see his collection. He and Something Weird were influences since the 1990’s, long before I met Mike. Amazing how paths can finally cross in life.
You’ve published some really interesting picture books in the past. Tell us about Welcome to MonsterTown, Welcome to Robot Town, and ABC Spookshow. If the Fleischer brothers made a Halloween cartoon, I think it would resemble the vibe of those “ghost writers” in Monster Town. It must have been fun to plan all those horror-inspired images.
Like the “Mean Girls” and many other projects, “Monster
Town” and the ABC book were about as close as I could ever get to working for
studios like the Fleischer Brothers, or early comics companies like Marvel in
the 1940’s. They are sort of a fantasy
working vacation. I grew up loving
comics and cartons from WAY before my time, and I always felt like I should
have worked in that era. I’m sure my
romantic vision of those industries is a bit skewed, and I’m probably much
better off working in the present.
I was introduced to
your work through Chip Kidd, who posted that fabulous Batman painting you did (below).
Although your work often has a Sci-Fi or Horror slant to it, there are also
elements of Mystery and Adventure. Are you inspired by the detective Pulps and by
things like early Batman?
Most definitely. I
have always liked the mysterious, the eerie. I was into Batman from a very young age, and then really got into the
early stories when I discovered the reprints of Batman’s pre-Robin days. His gun-toting days. Those early stories were simultaneously creepy
and comedic at the same time. I got into
crime pulp much later, and really appreciated the artistry of Norman Saunders
and H.J. Ward.
Have you ever been
into classic cliffhanger serials? Based on your work, I think you might enjoy
chapter-films like Fantomas and The Crimson Ghost.
I have yet to see either of those, but thanks for the
recommendation. From the stills and
posters I have seen, they are right up my alley. I was aware of serials as a kid (pre-VHS days),
but somehow I only ever saw a random chapter of a random serial. So when I was somewhere that had a tv that
was running a serial chapter, I was glued. My favorite to this day is The Phantom Creeps with Bela Lugosi, and
that big ugly robot with fangs and claws.
Ryan, if you were a
diabolical mastermind or detective, what would your secret lair look like?
I have a degree in interior design, so it would have to be
worthy of Architectural Digest. Very
ultra-modern, sleek, dark and glossy. Slim metal details, and everything hidden away behind sliding
panels. And a great view.
My family founded the
New York School of Interior Design (quite an unusual idea during WWI!). I’m interested in your early training as
a designer. Where did you study and how would you describe your style?
I studied at the University of Manitoba, and graduated in
1992. I only actually practiced
professionally for about four years, before moving on to animation and then art
and illustration, but it left a huge impact on me. I love mid-century modern and art deco. Contemporary design is also of interest to
me. Like my taste in music, it either
has to be from well before my time, or slightly beyond it.
How does that design
training play into your painting and illustration? It seems like you pay
special attention to color, composition, and the vibe of each piece.
That is very true, and I also set up many paintings to
feature furniture, or industrial design such as telephones or lights. Sometimes the people in the painting are
merely there as an excuse to paint a beautiful chair or weird table. The furniture often is a character as much as
a human figure. I love details, and
detail is a great device to suck people into your artwork. Detail pulls people in, and gives the image
depth and life. Much like a well-built
piece of furniture… it should be fascinating and yet comfortable. You should want to spend some time in it.
I really enjoy your
use of text in your pieces. Do you remember how you came upon that idea as a
common thread through your art?
I don’t really recall when I first used the clippings. I do know that decades ago, I salvaged stacks
of pages from my Grandpa’s dry cleaning shop ledgers, not being sure what I
wanted to use them for. These much later
became the surfaces for my personal paintings. When I applied varnish to the finished acrylic painting, the ball point
pen would seep through to the surface, and ghostly names from my family’s past
would appear. So this doesn’t really
answer your question, but is another type of found typography that appears in
my work.
Are there other
elements or conventions, perhaps from genre fiction or comics, which you enjoy
adding to your work?
If I have an interesting dream, I will often use elements
from the dream to create imagery. An
early example of this is the painting “GOLLY”.
I dreamt about this odd magazine, that featured on the cover a giant
,weird, googly-eyed bat carrying off a passenger plane. This painting was pretty much an exact
replica of the magazine in my dream. When I don’t have interesting dreams, I paint things I would want to
dream about.
What are the steps
you go through to plan your pieces?
Often a piece or a series
will start as random sketchbook entries, which I will then develop as rough
thumbnail layouts. From there, I may
bring them into a tighter sketch form. If I am very comfortable with the idea, I will often just go straight
into the painting, in order to maintain the spontaneity of the idea.
I read that you made
cardboard cities as a kid. I’d love to see photos! Do you still make them? Do
you like to design sets? Agnes Varda made a wonderful movie called Jacquot de
Nantes about her husband, Jaccques Demy, that included his homemade towns and super
8 films he made as a child. You might enjoy it.
I will be sure to check that out. I don’t have any photos of my childhood
cities handy. Not many exist. I built some very small scale, intricate
cities as a child, and regret not having any foresight to document them. I don’t have time to build cardboard
civilizations any more, but my wife and some friends and I did build a stop
motion table top set, which became the setting for the stop motion sequences in
the “Mean Girls Club” film. If I had
more free time, that would be a great hobby. I hear that the comic artist Seth is building an entire model city from
scratch in his basement.
When you were
starting out as a painter/illustrator, who were the artists who inspired you?
I always cite Frank R. Paul, the grandfather of science
fiction art, as one of my major influences. Jack Kirby is another one. Specifically when I began looking at illustration as a career, I was
very into Mark Ryden, Camille Rose Garcia, Gary Basemen, the Clayton Brothers…
I still love the work of these and many other artists based out of LA. Marcel Dzama, the Royal Art Lodge and Neo
Rauch also blew my mind. Of course,
there were also comic artists from the golden age, too numerous to mention.
Readers in the
Portland, Oregon area can see your current installation until July 31st. Tell us about the exhibit. Does it include your illustration work, or is
it more of a “fine art” experience?
It is designed as an installation. There are some prints, silk screens and
paintings in the back area, but all the new work is in the installation. The entire show was an excuse to try things I
had never done before (music, large murals, a human-scaled built object), or
work in mediums that I favored in my youth (like the comic and film). The build out of the clubhouse and much of
the installation was constructed by the studio crew at Wieden + Kennedy, and it
was the first time I had a “staff” bringing my vision to life. That in itself was surreal, considering I
have worked alone for the last 15 years. The show was an exhilarating experience. I was extremely lucky to have had such an opportunity.
What are some of your all-time favorite
cover illustrations from paperbacks and the Pulps?
The December
1926 issue of Amazing Stories is my all-time favorite cover. Also the classic Paul “War of the Worlds”
Amazing Stories cover from 1927. So many
great pulp covers, I can’t even begin to list them all. Almost anything by Margaret Brundage for
Weird Tales in the 1930’s is worth looking at!
What are some of your favorite classic
comics and comic images?
Bill Everett’s Amazing-Man run is brilliant. The cover to Marvel Comics #1 gives me goose
bumps. Keen Detective Funnies #20, with “the Eye Sees” cover is about as good
as it gets. The Eye is literally just a
large disembodied eyeball that blasts people with a death ray. Any of the Batman stories from Detective
Comics #27 to 37 are worth a read. The
dramatic space comic strips by Basil Wolverton are favorites of mine. Lately, due to the rising cost of vintage
comics, I have begun collecting original content vintage foreign comics, which
are a fraction of the price of American comics, and often have way more
interesting artwork.
Are there upcoming projects you can talk about?
After taking about two years off from painting shows, I am starting to plan and prep my next art show, which opens in Milan at the Antonio Colombo Gallery in April 2015. I have my first show in London at the Atomica Gallery in the Fall of 2015. I’m looking forward to painting again. I’m also hoping to do some more comics projects at some point; I guess I’ll see where the Mean Girls Club comic takes me.
Thanks for stopping by our secret lair, Ryan! Related Spy Vibe interviews: Richard Sala (Cat Burglar Black), Richard Sala (Super Enigmatix), Shane Glines (Batman Animated), Ralph Garman and Ty Templeton (Batman 66 Green Hornet), Trina Robbins (Wonder Woman, Miss Fury, Honey West), Rodney Marshall (The Avengers), London Playboy Club, Win Scott Eckert (Green Hornet, Honey West), Kevin Dart (Yuki 7), Matt Maranian (PAD), Jon Gilbert (Ian Fleming Bibliography).
Can you help support Spy Vibe? This site has been a labor of love since 2009, but the cost of managing domains, web forwarding, etc has been going up each year. If you can, please make a small donation in our Paypal tip jar at top-left of the page. Any contribution will be much appreciated. Spy Vibe is approaching one-million visitors, so stay tuned for some fun prize contests. Also stay tuned for updates on my new spy novel about Miki Zero. Thanks! -Agent Jason.
Thanks for stopping by our secret lair, Ryan! Related Spy Vibe interviews: Richard Sala (Cat Burglar Black), Richard Sala (Super Enigmatix), Shane Glines (Batman Animated), Ralph Garman and Ty Templeton (Batman 66 Green Hornet), Trina Robbins (Wonder Woman, Miss Fury, Honey West), Rodney Marshall (The Avengers), London Playboy Club, Win Scott Eckert (Green Hornet, Honey West), Kevin Dart (Yuki 7), Matt Maranian (PAD), Jon Gilbert (Ian Fleming Bibliography).
Can you help support Spy Vibe? This site has been a labor of love since 2009, but the cost of managing domains, web forwarding, etc has been going up each year. If you can, please make a small donation in our Paypal tip jar at top-left of the page. Any contribution will be much appreciated. Spy Vibe is approaching one-million visitors, so stay tuned for some fun prize contests. Also stay tuned for updates on my new spy novel about Miki Zero. Thanks! -Agent Jason.
