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Jasper Goodall is one of the most influential graphic artists of his generation, his work having helped pave the way for the reassessment and reinvention of illustration over the last few years. Jasper's work presents a wry and heavily symbolic look at eroticism and contemporary culture, generating bold, humorous and often provocative imagery. He embraces recent developments in technology, and his use of photography and highly developed drawing skills have led him to contribute to some of the most style-defining editorial and commercial commissions of recent years, including work for Gucci, Nike, Adidas, and Dazed & Confused.

http://www.jaspergoodall.com

You teach illustration at the university of Brighton (am I right)? From seeing your students work can you foresee any new trends developing?

Yeah all the time. A few years back collage was massive, this year maybe less so. The thing that I'm starting to see now, is that as more and more newspapers and magazines go online the potential for interactive moving illustration is growing. Screen based illustration doesn't have to be static, there is a lot of potential for either ambient movement, or the introduction of very simple narrative through clicking to change states using reveals, changing meanings, visual puns, twists etc.

You've made a giant impact on the world of illustration. It's inevitable that your style will be copied or mimicked, but how do you feel if you stumble across something that is blatantly a "Jasper Goodall"?

Well I used to get upset. My older work was very easily mimicked as it was very graphic and simple and in days gone by there was less work out there that was similar so things that were close to my work kind of stuck out.

But fashions have changed, new work is out there, my work that was being heavily copied looks dated to people (and me) now - as happens to anything that is popular, and I guess now other artists are getting mimicked! On top of that my work has moved on into a technically much more challenging area, I'm using photography, retouching, airbrushing (in Photoshop) and manipulating smoke. I still get emails asking me how I make the images out of smoke... which I ignore!

I've read in interviews that you prefer to keep commissioned and personal work very separate. How much of your work would you say is commissioned and do you find it as rewarding?

The only way I can do personal work is by earning money from commercial work. I guess they are rewarding in different ways: first of all you get money from them, which is kind of the simplest definition of a reward, but also I do get satisfaction from a job well done and a happy client.

Personal work is tough, nobody is there to validate it by asking you to make it, nobody is there to say thanks and to pay you for it, nobody is there to tell you when you should get it done by. Sometimes it's hard to justify why you are doing it, hard to know if it is good or not.

But the rewards come much later, maybe you build up to a show and people love it, maybe you get emails from people saying how great it is, or get invited to conferences on the strength of it.

Photographic elements are appearing in your work more of late, is that a conscious decision?

Yes. I got bored of flatness and like the feeling of an element of 'reality'.

Do you ever experience "illustrator's block" when beginning a new project?

Almost always. I think there is a perception held by nearly everybody, myself included, that everyone else can do it better than you with no doubts or worries. But I think everyone has worries and problems and fears.

How long have you been illustrating for, and can you remember your first commission/job?

At a guess I'd say 15 years. My first commissions were to draw pubs and bars for reviews in the London Evening Standard's Friday magazine ES. The funniest one was a dingy strip bar in Hackney. Most of the images were of the outside of the pubs (if they were pretty) but it made sense to draw the goings on inside this one! I had to go and take photographic reference inside while the strippers were there dancing and ES magazine gave me a special budget to pay the strippers, to ease the way as it were. I drew a girl who was dancing there in a leopard print mini dress, disturbing two men who were playing pool by lounging on the table... funny job.


I understand you have you own swimwear label? Are you the sole designer or is it a collaborative effort?

It is no more. Less said about that the better.

Speaking of collaboration, do you work mainly by yourself or on group projects? (and if the answer is solo: is this a deliberate decision or just circumstance?)

Pretty much always alone, apart from being art directed on commercial jobs. It's just the way illustration is, most illustrators have such a personal vision that only they can do what they do. I'd like to collaborate more now I'm using a bit more photography. I'd like to work with stylists and costume designers to bring some images to life.

Your work with Muse is fantastic, are you a fan of the band and was the work a visual interpretation of Matthew Bellamy's music and lyrical themes?

Nope, don't really like them. I think when you work on a music job you end up having a bit of a weird relationship with the music. Too many associations. In my experience most of the music jobs I have done have been quite a struggle... quite challenging. Bands are creative people but not really very visual on the whole, but they do want input which is not always very helpful! I'm very proud of the work I did for Muse, very happy with it and very grateful that I had the chance to do it, but it wasn't the great experience most people assume it would be!
Naturally, the work is loosely based on stuff the band write about, but I didn't pay too much attention to lyrics, more to the overall noise and feel. It felt to me that the lyrics were pretty much secondary to the musicality.

On the subject of music, is it an inspiration for your work and any in particular you'd care to share?

Not really directly. I have never made an image inspired by a piece of music. Sometimes I get depressed because to me, music is so much more direct than art. It hits you so much more emotionally, much more than art could ever hope to in my opinion. So I never want to try!

You're seen as a leader in the world of illustration, do you feel pressured to be forever moving forward?

Like you wouldn't believe, it's a constant source of doubt. There are so many amazing illustrators out there now - many, many more people more talented than me. I don't want to look.

Probably my personal favourite speaker for the day was this man. Every speaker provided us with insightful, helpful tips and inspiration, but Jasper Goodall’s naked truth about some if his experiences in the industry was really refreshing and I’m sure many people were thinking “wow, so that happens to HIM as well”.

He introduced himself firstly by assuring us all that it was OK to feel depressed when looking at the skills and achievements of the past speakers as he was feeling the exact same thing. He went on to give us a brief history on his training and start in illustration, including showing as hilarious pic of his university induction photo. During university the drugs and trying to decide what type of artist he was caused him some stress “I lost my brain, ended up being quite miserable during university. I hanged out in carparks, sat in the dark drawing detailed sketches and listening to Portishead” he openly tells us.

Jasper’s early inspirations include German/Australian photographer Helmut Newton. Having noted a photographer as an inspiration Jasper says that he realised recently that he had always been a photographer inside, but couldn’t do photography so drew like he was plotting a photo shoot instead.

He shows us his first music commission,  a cd cover for artist Bernard Butler. The distinct style that was Jasper’s first incarnation is seen here. He tells us about his approach to creating this type of work. Firstly starting with a collage of photographic images in Photoshop, and then redrawing them all.

“I kind of got bored with the formula” Goodall says, and tells of a bizarre dream he had where he launched his new style by pulling back a velvet curtain to a gallery of onlookers and saying “look everybody I’ve gone pop”. The work he revealed in that dream he actually created and it was the start of a more surreal and colourful style that received widespread notoriety from his editorial illustration work for The Face magazine. His description of the style is “surreal pop like designs with more random elements and bright stuff happening.”
When designing for The Face Jasper was given one or two word briefs. He showed one where he’d been given the brief “commune”. His vision of a commune was naked women watering plants.

He also talked about the hidden symbolism in his work, showing one job that featured a small black rainbow in the background with the words “mourn”. This was his eulogy to the bright rainbows that featured in his work. He felt he had to stop using them because they had started being copied.

A few hilarious and fascinating anecdotes proceeded. “The most terrible horrible job I ever did” was Jasper’s summation on a campaign he did with Nike. Not naming the art director in case we knew him, but saying the man must have been on a lot of coke. Stubborn attitudes and an irrational insistence that the illustrations had to look exactly like the suspect photos used as examples of the sportsmen, the situation grew worse to the point that after the jobs completion Jasper actually spat at his own computer screen when he received an email from the unnamed coke-head art director.

Next he spoke about Muse. He is not a fan. Commissioned to do the cover of Black Holes and Revelations, only to be dropped after Muse received his proofs. He showed the initial proofs he submitted and they looked quite cool. Storm Thorgerson did the cover instead – a photograph of some bald dudes around a table. Muse used Storm’s art but weren’t totally pleased with it. Hence they asked Jasper back to do the single art. Having been burnt by them once already and busy with other projects, he declined. They asked if he had any spare work they could use. Being fed up with them, Goodall recoloured some un-copyrighted art from his archives and it was used. Design buffs consequently were confused and asked Jasper why he was using his older style again.

This part of the story illustrates the theme that kept popping up throughout today, that unenjoyable jobs and working hard can have a pay off. He was asked to do artwork for the subsequent singles. Being displeased with the whole situation at this point Jasper decided to use the opportunity as a platform to try new things. The gamble paid off, and Jasper reinvented his style again. Photography and manipulation of smoke mixed with Goodall’s strong silhouette work was the style spread across the remaining singles. When asked to create an image of the band members’ faces “in smoke” Jasper initially felt it impossible. But after pushing the boundaries of his skills he achieved another accomplishment that allowed him to move further forward. The Muse relationship ended badly after he spent extensive time proofing multiple concepts for a dvd cover (“we want a picture of Wembley stadium made out of smoke and floating in the sky”), which they ended scrapping for a photo. Goodall didn’t receive any payment for the dvd work. This is the bit where I and I imagine a few others in the audience thought “wow, so that happens to HIM as well”.

In regards to the sexual and erotic imagery that features throughout a lot of his work Jasper can’t explain it entirely but feels that his mother being a feminist has probably pushed his art to be a rebellion of those sensibilities. His Poster Girl series is probably the epitome of this. The female body and latex in erotic and fetish like poses. Goodall says he’s not into erotic or fetish stuff personally but fascinated by people that are.

Jasper came across as a really affable and down to earth kind of guy. His open discussion on his work and his uncertainties at some points in his career was refreshing to hear. It gave the audience an understanding that anything is obtainable if you’re prepared to put in the time and passion to making it happen.