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Featured Artist Interview - Kristian Olson
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Kristian Olson lives in the Southern California area. Growing up in Orange County, surfing is more of a virtue to him. Talk to him and you will notice how friendliness is one of his many great qualities.
His work is mostly autobiographical and deals with his own questioning of reality and religion. This is his way of loosening the mental grip on life that society, religion, philosophy, etc. have conditioned us all to have.
He has been a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for the last 11 years. And recently he stepped into the fine art world doing digital/mixed media work.
TAXI >> Hey Kristian. How are you? How has your year been so far?
Kristian Olson>>It's been good. I've been getting a ton of promo opportunities for my commercial work and I've been able to start showing some of my mixed media, fine art pieces, something I've been experimenting with for over a year now.
TAXI >> Much of your work is autobiographical and deals with your questioning of reality and religion. What does reality mean to you?
Kristian Olson>>I'm mostly concerned with the big picture these days. Like, what is this thing we are all a part of? What is existence? What am I? I don't really ask the Why questions anymore. Those questions are unanswerable. The two facts that confound and inspire me the most are the simple facts of existence and sentience. The fact that the universe exists is amazing in and of itself, but add on top of that the fact that the universe has created a sentient thing (life on Earth) by which it can now experience itself (physically and emotionally)... That's the big fascinating, reality to me, that dualism.
TAXI >> Church on Sundays. Agnostic. Atheist. Confused? Do you believe in heaven and hell? If you had to choose an image to depict heaven and hell, how would it be?
Kristian Olson>>Well, I definitely had moments of confusion while digging my way out of a very traditional, religious view of life. I don't really go through much of that anymore. I enjoy having freedom of thought. Every once in a while I'll have a brief existential crisis, but that's pretty rare.
I don't believe in a literal Heaven and Hell. They are very useful symbols to those who can view them as such, but as real punishment and reward, I don't think they exist. An image for Heaven and Hell... Let me think... two siblings about five or six years old sitting at a table. One is eating her most favorite, delicious dessert, while the other is eating his most hated, disgusting vegetable and they are both looking at each other. The one eating the dessert is grinning. The one eating the vegetable is grimacing.
TAXI >> How have the last 11 years changed your view on religion as an artist?
Kristian Olson>>Being an artist gives me a lot of time to think, especially when I'm getting into the details and embellishments of a piece. That part of my creative process usually turns out better when I don't examine and control it too much. So I let my mind go where it will when I'm doing that... which means I'm thinking about all my crazy philosophical, spiritual weirdness for a good chunk of each day. Just having that much time to think about things and being the type of person who is inquisitive and curious means that for the last 11 years I've been able to delve into my own thought-life pretty regularly. To be honest, sometimes I get sick of it. Sometimes I wish I could turn my mind off. But I'm also constantly fascinated and in awe of life, so I keep digging deeper.
TAXI >> When did you get your first break as a freelance Illustrator? Do you distinctively remember that first rush of excitement?
Kristian Olson>>Yes. I got a series of pieces into the 2003 Communication Arts Illustration Annual. I remember getting the acceptance email and I was ecstatic. I was laughing out loud. I called my wife, my parents, my brother, and some friends so I could brag.
TAXI >> You have worked with some big clients. Do they generally give you the freedom of expressing your style or do you have to adhere to their requirements?
Kristian Olson>>It just depends on the art director. Some of them are a little bit afraid that I will do something too crazy. Some of them want me to go as crazy as possible. But I'm pretty good about working with them.
TAXI >> You are addicted to MySpace like the rest of us. Has MySpace helped you network with other artists and has anything good come of it? And can I add you?
Kristian Olson>>MySpace has been great for showing off my fine art. I've had a profile up for about two months now and I've already been asked to be in four shows. So it's great for that. I haven't really tried using it to network in the commercial illustration scene.
YES! You can add me: www.myspace.com/kristianolson
TAXI >> You said ‘letting loose the child in me inspires me to create art that captures unconditioned fascination.’ What did art mean to you as a kid growing up in Orange County?
Kristian Olson>>Art was a safe haven. I often escaped into it. I think, in many ways, art let me express things that I didn't know how to as a kid. It was also just a form of play. It probably still serves that function for me. One of the things I specifically remember was when my mother would send me to my room for doing something wrong. That was never really a punishment for me, because I would just draw, which I was bound to be doing sooner or later that day anyway.
TAXI >> What did schooling at the prestigious University of California, Los Angeles teach you about commercial art?
Kristian Olson>>I actually studied design at UCLA, and a lot of that was product design. I don't think they specifically taught me anything about the commercial art world. UCLA is a very theory based school. So the strength of their program was their ability to get you to experiment, ask questions, and think in ways you hadn't thought before, which has helped me immensely in almost every area of my life.
TAXI >> You have also been experimenting with Digital/Mixed Media recently. So what got you interested in it?
Kristian Olson>>Two reasons:
First - Digital fine art is not as collectible as anything done by hand. So, in order to get into the gallery scene, it helps to add some hand touches and make one of a kind pieces.
Second - I grew up drawing and painting, so my new digital/paint work enables me to combine both media. I love the spontaneity of my digital techniques and I also love the imperfections and subtleties of paint.
TAXI >> What would you have been doing if you were not an illustrator?
Kristian Olson>>I would either be a musician or a physicist.
TAXI >> It has been great talking to you Kristian. Before we end, tell us a place where you want a taxi to bring you right now.
Kristian Olson>>Why is this the hardest question? Ummmmmm............... uh....... How about this: Instead of you taking me somewhere, maybe you could just run a few errands for me? I have two shirts that need to go to the cleaners and get pressed. OR, if that's no good, could you just take me to some beautiful valley in Alaska or maybe in the Sierras, where it's warm but not hot and there's a slight breeze, and a river with wild trout or salmon in it. Are you going to charge me for that?
© 2006 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
His work is mostly autobiographical and deals with his own questioning of reality and religion. This is his way of loosening the mental grip on life that society, religion, philosophy, etc. have conditioned us all to have.
He has been a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for the last 11 years. And recently he stepped into the fine art world doing digital/mixed media work.
TAXI >> Hey Kristian. How are you? How has your year been so far?
Kristian Olson>>It's been good. I've been getting a ton of promo opportunities for my commercial work and I've been able to start showing some of my mixed media, fine art pieces, something I've been experimenting with for over a year now.
TAXI >> Much of your work is autobiographical and deals with your questioning of reality and religion. What does reality mean to you?
Kristian Olson>>I'm mostly concerned with the big picture these days. Like, what is this thing we are all a part of? What is existence? What am I? I don't really ask the Why questions anymore. Those questions are unanswerable. The two facts that confound and inspire me the most are the simple facts of existence and sentience. The fact that the universe exists is amazing in and of itself, but add on top of that the fact that the universe has created a sentient thing (life on Earth) by which it can now experience itself (physically and emotionally)... That's the big fascinating, reality to me, that dualism.
TAXI >> Church on Sundays. Agnostic. Atheist. Confused? Do you believe in heaven and hell? If you had to choose an image to depict heaven and hell, how would it be?
Kristian Olson>>Well, I definitely had moments of confusion while digging my way out of a very traditional, religious view of life. I don't really go through much of that anymore. I enjoy having freedom of thought. Every once in a while I'll have a brief existential crisis, but that's pretty rare.
I don't believe in a literal Heaven and Hell. They are very useful symbols to those who can view them as such, but as real punishment and reward, I don't think they exist. An image for Heaven and Hell... Let me think... two siblings about five or six years old sitting at a table. One is eating her most favorite, delicious dessert, while the other is eating his most hated, disgusting vegetable and they are both looking at each other. The one eating the dessert is grinning. The one eating the vegetable is grimacing.
TAXI >> How have the last 11 years changed your view on religion as an artist?
Kristian Olson>>Being an artist gives me a lot of time to think, especially when I'm getting into the details and embellishments of a piece. That part of my creative process usually turns out better when I don't examine and control it too much. So I let my mind go where it will when I'm doing that... which means I'm thinking about all my crazy philosophical, spiritual weirdness for a good chunk of each day. Just having that much time to think about things and being the type of person who is inquisitive and curious means that for the last 11 years I've been able to delve into my own thought-life pretty regularly. To be honest, sometimes I get sick of it. Sometimes I wish I could turn my mind off. But I'm also constantly fascinated and in awe of life, so I keep digging deeper.
TAXI >> When did you get your first break as a freelance Illustrator? Do you distinctively remember that first rush of excitement?
Kristian Olson>>Yes. I got a series of pieces into the 2003 Communication Arts Illustration Annual. I remember getting the acceptance email and I was ecstatic. I was laughing out loud. I called my wife, my parents, my brother, and some friends so I could brag.
TAXI >> You have worked with some big clients. Do they generally give you the freedom of expressing your style or do you have to adhere to their requirements?
Kristian Olson>>It just depends on the art director. Some of them are a little bit afraid that I will do something too crazy. Some of them want me to go as crazy as possible. But I'm pretty good about working with them.
TAXI >> You are addicted to MySpace like the rest of us. Has MySpace helped you network with other artists and has anything good come of it? And can I add you?
Kristian Olson>>MySpace has been great for showing off my fine art. I've had a profile up for about two months now and I've already been asked to be in four shows. So it's great for that. I haven't really tried using it to network in the commercial illustration scene.
YES! You can add me: www.myspace.com/kristianolson
TAXI >> You said ‘letting loose the child in me inspires me to create art that captures unconditioned fascination.’ What did art mean to you as a kid growing up in Orange County?
Kristian Olson>>Art was a safe haven. I often escaped into it. I think, in many ways, art let me express things that I didn't know how to as a kid. It was also just a form of play. It probably still serves that function for me. One of the things I specifically remember was when my mother would send me to my room for doing something wrong. That was never really a punishment for me, because I would just draw, which I was bound to be doing sooner or later that day anyway.
TAXI >> What did schooling at the prestigious University of California, Los Angeles teach you about commercial art?
Kristian Olson>>I actually studied design at UCLA, and a lot of that was product design. I don't think they specifically taught me anything about the commercial art world. UCLA is a very theory based school. So the strength of their program was their ability to get you to experiment, ask questions, and think in ways you hadn't thought before, which has helped me immensely in almost every area of my life.
TAXI >> You have also been experimenting with Digital/Mixed Media recently. So what got you interested in it?
Kristian Olson>>Two reasons:
First - Digital fine art is not as collectible as anything done by hand. So, in order to get into the gallery scene, it helps to add some hand touches and make one of a kind pieces.
Second - I grew up drawing and painting, so my new digital/paint work enables me to combine both media. I love the spontaneity of my digital techniques and I also love the imperfections and subtleties of paint.
TAXI >> What would you have been doing if you were not an illustrator?
Kristian Olson>>I would either be a musician or a physicist.
TAXI >> It has been great talking to you Kristian. Before we end, tell us a place where you want a taxi to bring you right now.
Kristian Olson>>Why is this the hardest question? Ummmmmm............... uh....... How about this: Instead of you taking me somewhere, maybe you could just run a few errands for me? I have two shirts that need to go to the cleaners and get pressed. OR, if that's no good, could you just take me to some beautiful valley in Alaska or maybe in the Sierras, where it's warm but not hot and there's a slight breeze, and a river with wild trout or salmon in it. Are you going to charge me for that?
© 2006 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.