Love Letters – from commissioners to illustrators
Our relationships with images are complicated, our relationship with images we fall in love with are truly, madly, deeply complicated. For Varoom’s Love issue we asked six industry professionals to write a love letter to an image-maker and image they fell in love with. In an extract Benjamin Castro, from Adidas Originals and Renee Lam, Art Director, 72 and Sunny reveal whose work they have fallen for. Who wouldn’t want receive such a letter?
Benjamin Castro, Senior Art Director, Adidas Originals, Brand Design on Geoff McFetridge’s Hands
Geoff McFetridge Hands
‘Even before I was fully aware of who he was, Geoff McFetridge’s work had already impacted me in a very direct and emotional way. His title designs for the The Virgin Suicides and Where the Wild Things Are and his illustrations for The Whitest Boy Alive instantly resonated with me. There was something about their simplicity, humanity and playfulness that clicked in my mind and urged me to find out more about the artist. The more exposure I got to his work, the more engaged I was with his natural and apparently effortless approach to design and illustration – a personal language that appeared to me full of West Coastal vibes, warmth and sense of humour.
His series of hands represent for me the ultimate example of visual communication. Under their soft curves, delicate color palettes and familiar shapes I keep finding a whole range of emotions that come across to me with a clear and rich message: LOVE.’
Renee Lam, Art Director, 72 and Sunny on Henn Kim
Henn Kim Love Hurts
‘For someone who’s never fallen in LOVE – had crushes yes, even infatuations – I can’t say much on the topic. I’ve definitely had my heart bruised more than once though. Surprise, surprise, my rational side couldn’t protect me from the perils of my emotions. LOVE, or something close to it, can be irrational. Even to the point of involving self-inflicted pain. Henn Kim’s piece Love Hurts, for me, so deftly communicates this idea. In the end one can either cry, or laugh about all the complications surrounding LOVE. I, and it seems Kim also, choose to do the latter.’
To read the full feature with more letters purchase Varoom 37 here