Make a fake flyer. | Nathaniel Russell | The Art Assignment | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Artist Nathaniel Russell discusses his love for commercial work and his desire to create a variety of art forms, from paintings to flyers.

Key Insights

• 🧡 Nathaniel Russell draws inspiration from a wide range of commercial art forms and appreciates their impact on his life.
• 🥰 His art blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination, allowing viewers to engage with his work in various contexts.
• 👻 Russell's flyer-making practice allows him to communicate his thoughts about the world in a casual and accessible manner.
• 👾 By encouraging viewers to place their flyers in public spaces, Russell seeks to engage people physically and challenge the dominance of the digital world.
• 🌍 His art assignment serves as an invitation for individuals to share their experiences and ideas with the world in a tangible and intentional way.
• 🧑‍🎨 Russell's work is influenced by woodcut artists like Antonio Frasconi and Ben Shahn, as well as the Mission School artists from the Bay Area.
• 🧑‍🎨 He values the personal and handmade nature of art, celebrating the power of the line and the connection between the artist and the audience.

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] Today we're meeting up with artist and musician Nathaniel Russell. He's originally from Indianapolis, spent a long time in the San Francisco Bay Area, and only recently moved back here. Drawing is really at the core of everything Nathaniel does. Making prints, posters, zines, paintings, murals, and books, among other things. And his... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Nathaniel Russell describe his love for commercial work?

Russell expresses his fondness for commercial work, citing the impact of record covers, book covers, and even boxes of popcorn on his life. He sees value in creating a wide range of commercial art forms.

Q: What inspired Nathaniel Russell's flyer-making practice?

Initially, Russell began making flyers as a joke, featuring funny and whimsical designs. However, the practice evolved to portray his thoughts about the Earth and his connection with other people in a more casual and relatable manner.

Q: What does Nathaniel Russell hope to achieve with his art assignment?

Russell's art assignment encourages viewers to create a flyer that reflects their individual experiences or promotes an imaginary event. By placing these flyers in the real world, he hopes to engage people physically and inspire them to think in new ways.

Q: How does Nathaniel Russell view the role of social media in art?

Russell believes that social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram often serve as a way for individuals to superficially present their lives. Through his analog Twitter flyers, he encourages people to share their perspectives in a tangible and intentional manner.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Nathaniel Russell is an artist who creates prints, posters, zines, paintings, murals, and books, often using deceptively simple line drawings and text.

• He enjoys creating both real and imagined art, often blurring the lines between the two, and his work can be found in galleries as well as in public spaces.

• Russell's art assignment for viewers is to create a flyer that gives advice, shares something about their everyday life, or promotes an imagined event, and to place it in the real world.