Stephen Kelleher / Frankenstyles
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Q&A
PSST! uses a collaborative process that is based on the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. How has participating in this project made you look at your own work differently?
Well I worked on two spots for this year's Psst - one with Buck and the other co-directing with Brian Gossett. With the Buck piece, it was very much up to me to conceive and execute my 10 second slot (the brain, skull, muscle section) which i did alongside Joe Mullen. That was an opportunity to merge footage with animated graphics in a way I had wanted to try for a while. The piece with Brian was the perfect opportunity to do a collaborative project which we had wanted to do anyway and talked about before the Psst invite. So both pieces allowed me to realize work that I had wanted to create and that depended on their collaborative effort - big shout out to David Lewandowski and Juicy Wang! It has encouraged me to try more personal collaborative projects, the outcome is always richer visually, no doubt.
PSST! is a project in which the outcome is also left up to a certain amount of chance – because the whole process is detemined by the successive artist's reactions to the previous work. How do you feel about losing some of the "control" over your final work?
It was fun! An interesting challenge in of itself, the collaborative nature and narrative interpretation of Psst is, for me as a contributor, the major draw. A controlling mindset would not have benefitted this project.
Who would you "Pass it on..." to if you had a chance?
James Price (Transistor Studios) begged me to mention him. When I was fresh out of college he taught me alot, mainly about psychological warfare. I developed in many ways working alongside James - mostly I developed a level of tolerance which I never knew possible and am the better man for it. Thank you JP. If he was 'busy', I guess Chris Morris would be good.
PSST! is also intended to showcase the personal work of designers and artists that generally work in relative anonymity or within a studio system in which credit is applied to a company rather than individual artists. How do you view this in relation to your client-driven work?
I think a great thing about Psst is to give people who'd normally take direction from a client, some narrative freedom. Normally you're told what story to tell albeit with your accompanying illustrations. Psst allows the designer to spin the yarn and vent all those twisted dark imaginings - which can only be a good thing for society as a whole. I also think that most creative people yearn for recognition rather than a pay check. Every company is the sum of it's parts and sometimes your hidden parts need some lovin', you know? So it's great to see talented people shine, for sure.
What keeps you motivated from project to project?
The chance to try something new or do it better. A respect for design and those who call themselves designers. The feeling that I'm getting old and might have a cerebral hemorrhage before I perfect my craft. Hopefully my last words will be "must . . . fix . . . kerning."
What's next for you? Any cool projects coming up?
Ah jeez . . . I have to relaunch my site (www.frankenstyles.com) - check back early-mid April! Gotta cut a new reel, a T-shirt and hoodie hook-up with Bean Dip, a childrens book with Prince Paul (!!!), afew miscellaneous exhibitions in Europe over the next few months and then hopefully New York in the summer time! Woohoo!
frankenstyles.com
Stephen worked on UNRECIPROCATED SURGERY ZOMBIE!!!