Zeptonn
Groningen, Netherlands
Bio
Zeptonn is (dare we say) a little overqualified for his job as a freelance illustrator, considering he spent several years at university acquiring degrees in Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy. A little doodling in the lecture halls lead to doodling some t-shirt graphics, which spiraled into a Zeptonn clothing line and skateboarding team. Zeptonn has since turned his back on being a skate mogul and turned himself into a one-man design army, so that he can focus on doing the thing he loves most - illustrating colorful worlds populated with monsters and critters.
Interview
Describe your style:
A vivid, colourful and dynamic world filled with imaginary creatures, in which contrasts plays a big role.
What’s the name of your Infectious art piece?
Flying Floaters.
Tell us a little bit about the piece:
The creatures in the Flying Floaters piece came about when I was drawing a monster that had holes on the side of its body. Someone pointed out to me that it looked like a passenger plane, which gave me the inspiration to create new creatures that were based on aviation and flight.
Where does your obsession with monsters come from?
With my art I am interested in contrasts: the contrast between simplicity and complexity, cute and repulsive. I find it interesting if people are both attracted and repelled at the same time. For me, monsters and creatures are a way to bring about those contrasts.
Has your art ever got you in trouble?
Not yet! Sometimes people comment that they find a specific piece too gross but most of the time I see that more as a compliment than anything else.
Besides your given name of Jan Willem, you’re also known as Zeptonn and Stinger. How did you come up with these names?
Stinger is just a nickname that was given to me by my surfing and snowboarding friends. The name “Zeptonn” was a word I basically designed with sounds and letters after having studied linguistics as part of my Artificial Intelligence degree. I wanted to devise a name that did not yet have a meaning, but still sounded like a name, so that it would enable me to create its meaning over time with my own activities.
What degrees have you accrued? Was there a defining moment when you decided to do illustration full-time?
I’ve studied Artificial Intelligence (master’s degree) and then Philosophy (research master’s degree). Both studies were very interesting and I have no regrets pursuing them. When I finished though, I decided that I needed to try out the creative life.
You’ve been working on your drawing-a-day project for about seven months now. Could you share your favorite sketch?
I’ve been intrigued by Mayan and Aztec art for a long time and I decided to dedicate some time to it in this project.
Why did you decide to start the project?
I decided to start doing this after seeing all the 365 self-portrait photography on Flickr that my friends were doing. I also wanted to push myself to experiment more with drawing and styles.
Name three unique things in your studio.
My Crying Horse picture.
The kitsch kitchen wall in the shared studio of the collective that I’m a part of.
The huge wall drawing that I did for the opening of our new studio last year.
What’s playing on your Last.fm this week?
Always a lot of varied stuff, but I tend to like electro a lot. Some stuff I enjoyed recently: Otto von Schirach, The Knife, CocoRosie, Roisin Murphy, Modeselektor, Slagsmålsklubben, Justice, Simian Mobile Disco, Uffie, M.I.A., Miss Kittin, Bunny Rabbit, Dez Mona and Anthony and the Johnsons.
What’s your favorite gallery?
I think my best gallery visit in the last year has been the Jonathan Levine gallery in NYC when the Jeff Soto + Jim Houser exhibit was on. Really amazing stuff.
If you had to change careers, what would be next?
I love my current job so much that I don’t want to change it!
4/18/08
