#TMC2018

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Margot Ferrick Interview

Margot Ferrick is an artist based in Chicago and published several books with 2dcloud, Perfectly Acceptable Press and Believed Behavior. I saw her work in her wonderful studio in Chicago. Beautiful dark drawings of unknown animals and people in different formats were hanging next and on top of each other. I’m so impressed by the unusual look and colors, unlike anything I have ever seen before. Looking at Margots drawings feels like you’re getting lost in someones sacred chamber. Margot gave us a little insight to her art and we are so happy to show her work at The Millionaires Club!

I admire your use of Typography. It is very unique in the comics world. How did you come with that look? Thanks! I don't know anything about typography or calligraphy...I feel like I'm a child just making shapes that are intuitive. I was trying to learn more about medieval manuscripts at the time and took at lot from that. There's a weird quality to those written letters that I don't really know how to articulate. I read that at the time the act of reading was really different from what it is now - you wouldn't necessarily sit down and read a book silently to yourself, you would read to speak the words out loud. I think you can sense that when you look at that stuff. The letters seem more physical, they come from the mouth and body instead of the mind... they're more connected to voice and action.  

Poetry is the leading narrative in most of your books. Who are the writers that inspire you the most? What are you reading lately? I actually don't read much poetry and I'm pretty unfamiliar that world! I also have never thought of my work or writing as poetry. I think I took more inspiration from song lyrics, which I guess are similar to poetry anyway? I was thinking about D'angelo a lot while making my book Yours. Maybe it's not so much the words themselves but the delivery that I think about. I do think about Emily Dickinson a lot though because of how compact and powerful her language is. Her original manuscripts were a huge inspiration to me too- her handwriting has this weird, amazing sensitivity, very visceral and expressive but never flashy. Even her placement of words on a piece of paper is expressive and meaningful. She would write on envelopes and irregularly shaped scraps of paper and always seemed aware of the space and borders of the writing surface. Maybe that's kind of off topic though!

Your work seems very personal but yet abstract. How important is it for you that the reader is able to grasp your visual code?   It's very important to me! I really really want people to understand what I'm making and one of my major goals moving forward is to make my work more accessible. I hadn't really thought about it that much when I made my book Yours...I'm always worried that book comes off as too inward gazing or too self-indulgent. I just really needed to make something cathartic at the time and maybe it didn't matter whether or not anyone one else could enter the work. That work is still important to me but I really want to go back to making narratives where there's more room for a reader to move around and interpret things.

You changed your artist name from Sarah Ferrick to Margot Ferrick last year. What was the reason for this transformation? I think I really just needed the sense of control. There's a lot of other reasons that might not make as much sense if I try to explain it... Margot is what I would've named a child if I had one, my grandmother's name was Margaret, the ballerina Margot Fonteyn is important to me... I guess I also felt like the part of me that was Sarah died in some way. Also, Sarah I think means "princess" or "lady" and I sort of stopped resonating with that meaning. Margot seems like an older creature to me and I associate more with queens (there was a French queen named  Margot.)

What are you working on at the moment? I have a lot of stories with characters I want to work on! Maybe longer narratives. I have a story about swan people, it's maybe the closest I'll ever get to sci-fi and it requires a lot of research and world-building. It's maybe like a better version of something I would have made as a teenager.

Thank you so much, Margot. See you soon in Leipzig!

More from Margot: http://butterstory.tumblr.com http://instagram.com/eggyswans

[jolandaobleser]

mediocre gif but gif nonetheless 

[exaltior-a]

Heh

[tetto19660407h]

2018.8.18 念願のTMCに三年越しでやっと参加できました。 夢のようなあっというまの一夜で…まだ夢の中にいるようなフワフワ感。 #TMC2018 #tokyomusiccruise2018 (ザ・プリンス パークタワー東京/東京プリンスホテル The Prince Park Tower Tokyo/Tokyo Prince Hotel) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmpp60Kgd3E/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=sl8xy8eagehi

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Artist Talk with Margot Ferrick, Raighne Hogan, Stefanie Leinhos and Jul Gordon photos by szim

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photos by szim

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Setting up The Millionaires Club. Thank you, Carpenter Sarah Meinert, Katjastrophe and the whole Conne Island Team!!

photos by szim

[themillionairesclub]

Jul Gordon Interview

Wenn in einem Comic „Meine Hand riecht nach Kacke“ steht, dann ist das völlig irre. In ihrem Buch „Neigen Sie zum Weinen?“ zeichnet und schreibt Jul Gordon über den Horror der Selbstwahrnehmung . Ein absoluter Klassiker ist auch „Kontaktcenter“, eine der abgründigsten Geschichten im deutschen Comic, die Einblicke in den Vollkontakt-Messerkampfsport gewährt. Jul ist Meisterin des feinen, boshaften Humors. Eine einzigartige Künstlerin! Wir freuen uns wahnsinnig, dass Jul im Millionaires Club ausstellt! Du lebst schon länger in Hamburg. Welchen Einfluss hat diese Stadt auf deine Arbeit?

In dem kurzen Comic „Kontaktcenter“, der bei Tiny Masters erschienen ist, habe ich einen Traum adaptiert, in dem ich mit einem Freund in eine Art Fitnesscenter gehe, in dem man Vollkontakt - Messerkampfsport treiben kann. Wir massakrieren erst einen Kampfpartner und anschliessend gehe ich in einer Art Blutrausch auf meinen Freund los. Er stirbt nur fast und ich biete ihm an, seine eventuellen Gehaltsausfälle durch die Verletzungen über meine Haftpflichtversicherung auszugleichen. Ich weiss nicht, wie genau Hamburg meine Arbeit beeinflusst, aber z.B. sind Leute, die in professioneller Ausrüstung Sport treiben, hier ziemlich präsent und die Stadt ist sehr sauber, was, finde ich, zu meinem Traum passt.

Deine Werke erscheinen bei Verlagen, online oder als Eigenpublikation. Welche Art der Veröffentlichung funktioniert für dich am besten und warum?

Als Eigenpublikationen produziere ich Hefte, die bisher immer höchstens 24 Seiten hatten. Die Auflagen sind klein, zwischen 50 und 200 Stück. Das Format ist unkompliziert, es ist, egal ob farbiger Risodruck, Digitaldruck oder schwarzweiss-kopien, keine große Investition. Die Produkte selbst sind auch leicht, man kann sie gut einpacken und irgendwo mit hinnehmen. Deshalb mag ich sie.

Was Verlage angeht, kenne ich nur die Zusammenarbeit mit Verlegern die selbst Zeichner sind und die Verlage nebenbei betreiben, nämlich Mami Verlag (Quilow) und Editions Na (Marseille).

Mit Online Comics habe ich eigentlich keine Erfahrung. Ich zeige zwar meine Comics auf meiner Webseite, aber das verstehe ich nicht als Publikation.

Dein Buch „Le Parc“ (2016, Editions Na) ist an die Oper „Der Rosenkavalier“ angelehnt. Wie hat sich dieser Einfluss einer dramaturgischen Vorlage während deiner Arbeit am Buch entwickelt? Als ich angefangen habe, an dem Buch zu arbeiten, standen alle Enscheidungen und Ideen mit der Vorlage in Zusammenhang. Irgendwann musste ich entscheiden, ob ich versuchen will, eine gute Umsetzung der Vorlage hinzubekommen oder etwas zu bauen, was unabhängig davon funktioniert und habe zweiteres gewählt. Aber Le Parc würde es ohne die Vorlage so nicht geben.

Welche Rolle spielt die darstellende Kunst für dich? Manchmal sehe ich ein Stück und denke dann „sowas will ich auch machen“, z.B. bei „Murmel“ von Herbert Fritsch ging es mir so. Man würde als Leser zwar nicht drauf kommen, aber es motiviert mich manchmal, überhaupt etwas machen zu wollen. Ich glaube, auch die Auseinandersetzung mit einem selbst gebauten Raum, der physikalischen Gesetzen (weil es ja in der Darstellenden Kunst wirklich alles baubar und begehbar sein muss) unterliegt, spielt für mich eine Rolle. Bei „Le Parc“ war das sehr wichtig, ich habe alle Orte, die ich gezeichntet habe, vorher als Modell aus Pappe gebaut.

Wie beeinflusst das Leiten von Workshops dein künstlerisches Schaffen? Ich leite seit circa drei Jahren Comicworkshops in einem sozialen Zentrum in St. Pauli. Die Zeichnungen und Ideen der Kinder sind teilweise unschlagbar gut. Dann versuche ich auch so gute Sachen zu machen.

Auf dem Millionaires Club zeigst du großformatige Bilder aus collagierten Textilien. Wie kamst du zu dieser Technik und warum hast du sie gewählt? Ich war begeistert von dem Buch von Yang Cong, in dem er ausschliesslich Stoffcollagen zeigt. Ich glaube, ohne das Buch wäre ich nicht darauf gekommmen, sowas zu machen. Anfang 2016 habe ich bei einer Gruppenausstellung in einem großen Raum, dem ehemaligen Schlecker in Kiel, mitgemacht und ich wollte etwas zeigen, was dort nicht so untergeht, also musste es gross sein. Deshalb kam ich darauf, Panels aus meinem Comic in riesig herzustellen, und mir ist nichts eingefallen, was nicht Kacke aussehen würde oder viel zu teuer wäre, ausser diese Technik mit dem Stoff.

Danke Jul!! Bis bald zum TMC!

http://www.julgordon.de https://www.instagram.com/jul_gordon/

[themillionairesclub]

A wonderful exhibition with art from Margot Ferrick, Jul Gordon and Stefanie Leinhos! Also a smash collection of QSL cards!!

photos by szim

[themillionairesclub]

Don’t miss out on another legendary TMC Party!!  Saturday, March 17, midnight till dawn (doors: 24:00 or 12pm). Benefiizdisko / TMC Aftershow  with the DJ teams Robbenbaby, The Goldenschmucks and Verboten Conne Island, Koburger Str. 3, Leipzig (drawing by James Turek)

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Gang Pang Busy Hands

We are happy to host this Heavy Metal Jacket Show at The Millionaires Club!

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photos by szim

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[themillionairesclub]

Stefanie Leinhos Interview

Stefanie Leinhos is an artist from Leipzig known for her formal approach towards drawing. Her work can be found in groundbreaking anthologies such as “Gouffre” and “Volcan”.  I am so lucky to share a studio space, the excitement for the Instagram account onlylongdoggos and the love for the Peanuts and Donald Duck with her! Stefanies work is eclectic but yet uncopromised. She truly is a visionary. Stefanie is releasing her new book “Read It Out Loud” ( printed by Berlin-based Riso studio “We Make It”) at The Millionaires Club. And we are so happy to show Stefanies work in an exhibition!

Repetition and reproduction seem to be the big themes throughout your artwork. Can you tell us a bit about the thoughts behind your art?

I’m interested in the imagery of comics – in the serial, repetitive structure they are based on as well as in the schematic construction of their characters. By using methods such as repetition, variation and several ways of reproduction, I’m exploring the limits of story telling and am constantly shifting the relations of copy and original. I love to jump between various media as for instance drawing, publication, papercut and installation.

You are using a lot of comic elements but you’re not exactly a cartoonist. What is your relationship with the medium comic?

Comic is also referred to as sequential art and I think that’s what I am doing. I like to have a certain structure in which I can operate and I’m really interested in repetition, variation and combinatorics. That’s practically what every cartoon is based on.

I am seeing a lot of dismembered Disney characters in your work. How do you feel about Donald and Mickey? To be honest, my interest in Donald and Mickey is very much objectified. I read »Lustiges Taschenbuch« as a kid but I only remember that Donald was annoying and Mickey was kind of a boring good guy. The only thing I really care about is the folds of Donald’s collar or the delicate outlines of Mickey’s gloves when he is pointing at something.   

Making artwork for an exhibition is always a tough task but you seem to deal very well with the transformation from drawings on paper to drawings in a room. Can you tell us a bit about your process when you are doing an art show? I really like the idea of intervening with a place and not only filling it with my work. So, when I am asked to exhibit at a space, I’m looking for it’s characteristics: tiles, a low ceiling or strange bars for example. That’s where I start from. I try to find a way to react to that and give it a new context. Usually I try to produce something new because I want to use the possibility to work on a larger scale. That’s why I did a lot of wall drawings recently. For the show at TMC I am currently working on an object in collaboration with the carpenter Sarah Meinert.

What annoys you the most about being a female artist in 2018? Well, for the record, I refer to myself as an artist, not a female artist. But as a woman working in the field of art in 2018, I really can’t stand lame excuses like »next time we try to have more women around« anymore. Just do it! There is no such thing as a lack of women in any field – may it be art, design, music, politics, science or whatever. And if you really think to not know where and how to find them, just ask people.

If you had an animal to pick as a pet, what would it be? A dog.

Douglas Coupland once asked: ‚When Donald traded his wings for arms, was he trading up or trading down?‘ Oh, a tough one! Hard to say but I think Donald is trapped anyway. He has arms and he has a sailor suit – ok. But he doesn’t have pants. That’s humiliating. As if to always remind him where he’s coming from. Plus, he’s having duck for dinner with his nephews on a Thanksgiving. That’s cynical. And as he’s able to speak and think: he’s probably well aware of all this. Uprising is the only way to turn this into something good, I think. Thank you, Stefanie!! We can’t wait to have you at The Millionaires Club! More from Stefanie: http://stefanie-leinhos.de https://www.instagram.com/stefanie.leinhos/?hl=de

[themillionairesclub]

The Millionaires Club is back!!

Finally! We can announce the 6th Millionaires Club, Leipzigs annual Comics and Graphics festival! It’s taking place as always during the Leipzig international Book Fair. March 16th and 17th, 2018! Save the date! Artists from all over the world confirmed their attendance. We are more than happy to show work in an exhibition by Margot Ferrick, Jul Gordon, Stefanie Leinhos, Paul Paetzel and Marc Hennes. Also on view: a wild selection of QSL cards. “What’s that?”, you may ask. Well, we will explain that very soon. And of course there will be a smash market with comics and posters! Lots of readings, workshops and artist talks will be announced soon. Stay tuned! We can’t wait!