A Little Anarchy Can Be a Good Thing: Interview with Illustrator Joanna Mulder

The infamous bassist of the punk rock group, Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious was once quoted as saying towards the end of his career, “I was the only guy with any bit of anarchy left.” It’s that snide spirit of rebellion that, for a time, encouraged an entire generation to explore entirely new forms of expression including “fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film.” That said, a little anarchy in the art world can be a good thing; a catalyst for radical change that strays from the norm and seeks to defy expectations… it’s sort of the entire premise of art school.

This week’s guest, Joanna Mulder, has taken this to heart, creating her own art movement called JOANNARCHY; a colorful pastiche of zombies, monsters, sexy girls. That’s only half of Mulder’s talent, though. She’s also worked with major brands like Aeropostale, Burton Snowboards, Disney, and Sears/Kmart. To learn more about the artist I recently went behind the scenes of Joannarchy and managed to discover quite a bit about Mulder… or should I say “Bonnie Voy’age.”

Thanks for being our first guest of the new year, Joanna! Tell us a bit about you became interested in illustration.

Thank you for having me! Well, like most, I’ve always loved drawing and painting, or making things since I was a little kid. I was pretty content to sit quietly and draw most of the time, and I think right around high school I decided I would like to do that for a living. (It was actually a toss up between becoming an artist or an actor, but based on being both a member of the cast and a member of the set crew, I decided I liked painting big sets and using table saws much better.)

I went to college at the University of Arizona and majored in Visual Communications with an emphasis in Illustration. However, I took as many other disciplines in the Fine Arts department as I could get my hands on. It was in college that I really started geeking out about the field of Illustration, as I was surrounded by incredibly talented peers that were as serious about drawing as I was. With returning alumni also coming to speak to us about their successes in the “real world”, I knew that’s exactly what I wanted to do, too.

Your background is primarily in fashion. How did your experience in screenprinting prepare you for working with companies like Aéropostale, Old Navy and Burton?

Oh, that’s a great question! My first job out of school I looked in the employment section of the newspaper and, through the slim pickin’s of anything even remotely related to art, I saw an open position for a graphic designer/illustrator for a small screenprinting shop. I remember it was in a really shady part of town and there were bullet holes in the front window. Awesome. I also remember that the owner actually made me take a spelling test before I was hired. Ha! More places should do that. Anyway, there I learned an immense amount about the screenprinting process. I also learned quite a bit about embroidery machines, too. I worked at a few screenprinting houses in Phoenix until the fateful day when a good college friend called me and said that Old Navy was looking to hire a new artist in New York, and that I would be perfect for it. My heart skipped a beat when I envisioned myself getting out of the desert and moving to the big city!

I flew out, and met with the art director, who said that he thought I was talented, but I also had the unique experience of actually working in screenprinting and knowing all the processes behind it. That was what ultimately got me hired, and from there I’ve gotten around a bit within the industry. And on a side note, I don’t think that it is considered too often amongst budding artists, but working in the fashion industry is incredibly lucrative for illustrators, especially when t-shirt design is such a hot item nowadays. You get paid to draw every day… with benefits! Not only that, but you pump up your typography skills as well, which I think is crucially important.

Your work often employs a lot of bright, neon colors that lend a “pop” aesthetic. How would you best describe your style of illustration?

Well, my personal work does (and my wardrobe, more often than not, but that’s not important right now). I love color. Not only that, but I love the science of color. I like the idea of placing colors side by side so that they not only vibrate, they almost hurt to look at. I do a lot of cartoony stuff, both for my professional career and my own endeavors, and bright, vibrant colors are an obsession. I don’t know how many times I’ve said to people, “Don’t be afraid of color!” I would say my style in general, is on the cartoony side. My personal work has been described by others as being a bit twisted, if not downright “just wrong” [and] I’m cool with that.

Do you have a specific method or technique when completing a piece of work?

I do. I feel the thing that works for me the best is simply to sketch… a ton. I work it out so much on paper that by the time I come to the actual piece it’s tightly mapped out and I can just sit back, relax and have fun. Once the ground work is laid, then it’s time to embellish, and add details. Believe it or not, I get my best thinking and plotting done on the subway. It’s a good chunk of time to mentally plan your next project, despite being smashed up against your fellow daily commuters, sardine-style.

What is Joannarchy and how did it get started?

Joannarchy is actually a nickname I had in college. I guess I was going through my “disgruntled youth” phase. The name stuck, and I thought it would be a great identity for my personal work, where anything goes, and a departure from my more commercial stuff. I can do whatever I want there, whether it be selling prints and t-shirts, or announcing upcoming gallery shows, etc. It started to really evolve as a “company” when I started exhibiting at San Diego International Comic Con, and sold t-shirts emblazoned with sexually-satirical graphics portraying certain popular sci-fi characters…ahem. I’ve been doing it for quite a few years now and have had so much success with it I had no choice but to set up shop online. Hence, Joannarchy was born.

Any plans to expand the Joannarchy line in 2012?

I think I’m always trying to expand. I’m the kind of person that’s a jack-of-all-art-trades, master of… some? Maybe? I literally always have about ten projects going at once and they run the gambit from animation shorts to sewing, sculpture to prints and [even] painting. I’ve been plowing through developing a whole new series of prints and will hopefully have them up and for sale on the site soon. I’ve also been involved in showing work at a few galleries and that is something that I will be striving for more of this year. Currently, I’ve been wearing my sculptor hat and I am working on some multimedia pieces that I think when completed will be… um… interesting.

I believe that you’re a fan of cartoonist Jon K., is that right? What is it about his work that appeals to you?

Oh, Jon K. is the best! How could you NOT love Jon K.? The man is brilliant… his style is so fun and sick and hysterical. It’s the entire aesthetic really and just some of the best thinking outside the box ever. I love the fact that you can take two widely recognizable cartoon characters, namely Ren & Stimpy, and draw them literally hundreds of ways, distort them beyond belief, and never lose character integrity. Good examples being Ren’s Brain, where he is basically reduced to just a brain walking around with a fedora, sunglasses, and a tie, and one of my favorites I Was a Teenage Stimpy, where Stimpy hits puberty and goes through all sorts of awkward physical mutations… hilarious!

I also think his blog is fantastic, as he shares his techniques and just fun ways of drawing; definitely a great resource for any illustrator, no matter what your style is like.

Are there any other artists that have had a notable impact on you or your work?

Ha! Rather than listing all the amazing artists that inspire me, I will just say that I consume visual media with a voracious appetite. I pour over art books, websites, blogs, gallery shows, social networks, etc., mainly because I simply just love looking at art. I think that an artist’s creativity and passion is what really impacts me on a personal level, rather than the work alone. I always strive to define my own style and looking to my contemporaries is more of a motivating kick in the butt than anything else.

One suggestion that I would like to make is do yourself a favor and join Twitter. I know, I know… I was reluctant, too. But setting up an account to follow your favorite artists is great! They are constantly posting new work, sketches and works in progress, and art shows they are involved in. And if they follow you, it’s also a key way to get your work out there, and forge relationships.

Burlesque is another particular interest of yours. What drew you into that scene?

Oooh, here’s where the interview gets juicy… I can’t really answer this question without revealing my secret identity!

Secret identity…?

Until you asked, I have never before publicly confessed that in addition to being an art junkie, I am also a “mostly-retired” NYC burlesque performer under the stage name of “Bonnie Voy’age.” I was heavily involved in the scene for about five years, performing a few times a week if not more. I also had some regular gigs with various troupes and gained a fantastic burlesque family in the process. I’ve gone on tours, met legends, and caroused with magicians, clowns, sword swallowers, belly dancers, and more freaks of nature than you can shake your tailfeathers at. I’ve even been featured in the UK’s Bizarre magazine, clad in a barely-there Klingon costume!

You’ve also done some illustrative work in that field as well, right?

And as a wonderful side effect, I carved out a nice little niche doing gig posters and logos for my fellow performers. Some of my posters can be seen in the book Burlesque Poster Design, the Art of Tease, published by Korero Books. It’s a lot of work when you’re not only doing all the promotional materials, but performing in the show, too! But like I said, I had the whole stage performance facination from the beginning, so I guess it finally got to me, ha ha. Ultimately, due to massive time constraints, I was forced to focus on one thing, making art or performing on stage, I couldn’t do both. Art won, again.

What’s the most popular public misconception about burlesque and how do you address it in your art?

Well, with it’s gained popularity over the years, I’m hoping that people realize that burlesque performers are truly artists, and not… well… just strippers. It’s something that is talked about a million times over and usually stems from people that have never actually attended a burlesque show. Just trying to get my friends to come to shows was like pulling teeth, because they thought it was going to be like Sodom and Gomorrah live onstage. In reality, it is a gigantic celebration of glamor, comedy, theatrics, magic, music, costuming and absolute brilliance.

My personal performance style was always humorous. There’s nothing better than making a crowd laugh with goofy antics, and seriously, if you can get up on a stage in front of a hundred or more people and take your clothes off, then you can do pretty much anything. So I take that basic feeling, the feeling of creating yourself, creating entire worlds, where anything goes and everything is possible, the ability to make fun of life and be fearless, and apply it to making art. The sky’s the limit, you guys!

In one word, what “fuels” your illustration?

Oh boy. Well, I fervently feel that while I’ve got my turn on Earth, I want to do it all. Or, at least try it. So, in one word?
Time. And it’s always runnin’ out…

www.joannamulder.com
www.joannarchy.com