The right amount of distressing, juxtaposition, and soft colours make me think Kareem is a collage genius. I love his work. His inspiration from Eduardo Recife shows through, but his style is still his own. What else can I say? His artwork speaks for itself. (And it doesn't say too much, because it doesn't need to!)
Name (Real or Screename): Kareem Rizk
URL (Blog, Website): www.kareemrizk.com
Location (Where are you from?): Melbourne, Australia
Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Rawness and grittiness juxtaposing orderliness. Technology juxtaposing nature.
Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Mostly magazines and books dating from about 1940-1990 as well as postcards and brochures. I also use old photographs, photocopies, tickets, receipts, inkjet prints and a lot of found paper. If these items are not scratched up or worn when I find them I make them scratched up and worn. Most of the stuff I use is discoloured, faded weathered or peeled off another surface. Or made to look as such.
Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: About 4 years. I was very much influenced by fine art techniques during my graphic design training. My interest in collage started out as a hobby as my focused was on starting a graphic design career. It was a short time after when my interest in fine art collage became more prominent than my interest in commercial design. I then decided to further pursue my interest in collage art on a professional level.
Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: Most of the time I am an artist. But I also promote myself as a freelance graphic designer. I have done several projects and jobs under both titles.
Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: No. My only formal training was in graphic design.
A: Scratching, scraping and peeling paper off the working surface to create texture and interesting layer effects. I also like using solvent transfers. By brushing mineral turpentine onto a carbon photocopy, the photocopied image will transfer onto the working surface by rubbing the back of it. The mirror/invert function found on most photocopiers makes this a versatile technique. But since carbon photocopiers are now almost redundant, other non toxic methods are now available which work just as well with laser photocopy toner.
Q: Describe your favourite piece ever created.
A: I don’t really have one individual favourite, but one I am quite fond of is Instructions (shown above). This was made in 2006 during a very productive period in my collage making practice. I think that much of the work I created in 2006 is some of my strongest and was very pivotal in my development of image making. I often refer to the work of that year for ideas and sometimes direction.
Within this particular piece is a strong link to nature while the instructional, mechanical illustrations of the hands loading the stapler gun creates a unique juxtaposition. I think this piece is a great representation of the juxtapositions found in much of my work. I feel it is a very balanced piece. The colours are very pleasant. It also includes one of my most favoured techniques of solvent transfers.
Q: What other artists do you admire?
A: I was influenced very much in the beginning by Kurt Schwitters, the Dada movement, Russian Constructivism, Richard Hamilton and others. But it was more so the discovery of Eduardo Recife’s very eclectic style which inspired me to create my own unique trademark or style. My obsession with nostalgia drew me towards his work. I ended up combining the strategic characteristics of graphic design with the rawness and spontaneity of fine art and mixed media.
Along the way I also discovered the work of many other collage artists including Thomas Schostok from Germany, Charles Wilkin from USA and several South American artists who were working solely in the medium of collage and were of great influence.
Thanks Kareem!
Comments (1)
One of my very favorite artists!
Posted by lizole | June 5, 2008 9:55 PM
Posted on June 5, 2008 21:55