When the InconnuLab team first met Jan Sedmak, it was at Barbacan Produce, the open market for artists and designers here in Trieste. We instantly fell in love with his minimal designs, that combine simplicity with sophistication and symbolism with urban attitude. I personally wanted to purchase more than one of each of his printed T-shirts, totes and cards, but I ended up choosing a Seppuku Tote that I keep carrying everywhere. After a long time we managed to have the time and space to invite him to speak about his art on our Creative Minds Series and share his inspirations and current projects.
How did you start drawing? Can you share with us a bit of your background?
Since I was little I had thoughts and concepts I couldn’t express with words. I believe that happens to a lot of children, it wasn’t a big problem for me, but it was definitely frustrating. One day, when I was around eleven years old, I don’t know the exact reason why, but I started drawing constantly and every day for many hours. After many years, I learned to express myself through drawing and I understood that the words I was searching when I was young didn’t exist.
As an illustrator, I’m using a simple vocabulary for my images, a vocabulary closer to what you would call ‘folk art’ rather than the one of high- art forms. I represent forms, symbols and actions that could be recognised by anyone, blended, however, in new and surprising ways, creating suspended situations through which I try to stimulate the viewer.
Are you working alone or do you work together with a team of people?
I am working alone most of the time. There are projects, though, that ask for experience in other sectors. For the screen prints on my T-shirt line and tote bags, I ask the help of Oze Tajada of LA FAVORITA of Barcelona or Marco Coslovich of Pepretual Lab here in Trieste. They are much more experienced than I am in screen printing, but I obligate them to let me print my products together with them, even if I make lots of mistakes. I have the obsession of wanting to take an active part in all stages of the production, although I completely trust my collaborators. Even for the magazine Bora La, which I currently illustrate and manage the graphic and layout project, I am working closely with its director Nicolò Giraldi.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I am mostly inspired by speaking with the people I love. It’s even better if our opinions collide sometimes, because I am always stimulated by differences and contrasts. Looking back, I believe that I was marked by the collection of Linus magazine, that my grandparents gave me to read, when I was little. More than the world of Art with a capital A, I am attracted from daily images that have a direct function in the everyday life. A poster, the covers of books and CDs, the packaging of products and the sings, but also street art and what people wear. However, I am not necessarily inspired by those things ( often they are actually very ugly) but I think they help my work more than going to an exhibition or read books on my sector ( thing that I almost never do). I believe than one can measure the cultural level of a city simply by observing the posters on its walls.
Can you tell us a bit about your creative process?
My creative process tends to change every time. I could start from an artistic vision or from a strictly mathematical approach. I could use many techniques fused together (pen, ink, cut paper, scanning, photography) or use only my graphics tablet and Photoshop. For me its very important not to repeat myself, if I repeat, I get bored and if I get bored then the viewer will be bored. I often get depressed during the making process, but afterwards the solutions come out when I least expect them.
What is your ideal viewer/ buyer?
My aim is not to communicate my sensations, but create new ones in the viewer and everyone reacts differently on that. I am not aiming to a specific target- audience. I am more satisfied when a diverse audience appreciates my works. I hope that a project that I am developing now for children is going to be published soon, as this type of viewer needs to be treated with care and without any doubt. Until now I have worked with publishing, printing on clothes, designing covers for books and covers for musical albums, posters and everything that has to do with the music sector.
What are you working on currently ?
A few days ago I found out that one illustration I made for Corraini Edizioni will be published in the Annual Autori d’Immagini 2016 and will be presented at the Children’s Book Fair of Bologna. I am also working on an illustrated story for Dadum Edizioni, this will be my first ‘story’ project, as I was always putting everything I wanted to express in single images so far. This is a completely different process for me and I am learning a lot. I am also planning to develop my serigraphy line on T-shirts and bags with new designs.
And your plans for the future?
A big publishing company has asked me to think on a book illustrated by me and I’m hoping this project will move forward soon. I am also planning to prepare an editorial project on the addiction on gambling.
See more of Jan’s work on Facebook and on his Website
