Identicons Book
This book has been a long time in the making. Over 8 years in fact. Why? Because simply put it has grown from being a few pages as part of an arts education pack; to a 24-page booklet; to fully-fledged 210-page book of 2 halves. The first being taken from The Artful Dodger’s recent IDENTICONS solo exhibition – which, incidentally, saw the beginning of the whole Identicons concept – whilst the second half features interviews with various successful people in the creative industries from around the globe, on their inspirations, work practices and unique insights that have made them who they are today.
Why not just write the book in your own words?
That’s just it, although that would have been an easier approach it wouldn’t have been the best one. Why? Because whereas the previous incarnation of the Urban Arts part of the book was really just about organising and holding aerosol mural (urban art) workshops, and aimed at youth arts workers, I soon realised that if young people also read the the book, they may not necessarily be interested in urban art workshops, but perhaps may have other creative interests..
So why choose that method of writing it, doing straight forward question and answer-type interviews?
That can be summed up in one word; accessibility. I wanted it to be accessible to young people because I’ve seen interviews in various magazines where you have a 4 or 5-page interview but the journalist/academic just seems to be using the piece to exercise their ability to write poetic prose. So there are about 5 or 6 actual quotes from the interviewee and the rest is interviewer sounding off. I didn’t want that. I just wanted take a back seat and let them speak totally in their own words without any interjection from me.
Who is the book aimed at, and why?
Primarily, it’s aimed at young people from secondary school age (11-17) and older. Younger even, if you have an idea about pursuing a creative career from early on.
When I was growing up, I had little encouragement from a family that didn’t understand or fully appreciate my creativity. They aceepted it to a certain degree, but they saw it as more of a novelty than a career option. I had a great art teacher called Mr. Cox, and he was a big help, but I feel that if I had more options then I could have gone further. Also, I’m sure that there are many people out there who, like me, didn’t or don’t have supportive parents or guardians or people close to them that they can turn to, but now, with this book, they can. They can show them that there are plenty of people out their who are making a good living for themselves doing what they enjoy and what they are passionate about, and that having a job doesn’t have to mean doing some tedious mind-numbing 9-5.
Basically, I just have this drive to be creative and to help others that want to explore and develop that side of themselves also, and as Miles Davis once said;
“An Artist’s first responsibility is to himself”.
So how did you go about selecting who was going to appear in the book?
That was easy. Having being blessed with knowing personally and getting to meet a whole range of really talented and creative people from a whole host of disciplines I just asked and wrote to them personally, and that’s how they replied, even in the interviews. The good thing about that approach is that you don’t get fobbed off by agents, secretaries and PAs who, while they may mean well, don’t always end up doing what’s really best for those they represent.
What makes you say that?
I remember reading an interview with the American actor James Woods in a film magazine a while back, and in it he said that Quentin Tarrantino wanted him for a role in his movie Reservoir Dogs. His agent at the time didn’t think it was for him and so never even told him about the offer. Then, later, after the film was made and became a commercial and cult hit and James Woods found out what his agent did – or failed to do, he fired him…!
Besides, most of us have had customer service issues at some point in our lives where the floor staff give you a hard time and the manager is more cooperative; it’s like that – having to deal with the floor staff. Bouncers and door security at clubs can be the worst for this. I’ve seen headlining acts at shows turned away at the door due to a bouncer’s ignorance about who’s even performing that night.
But getting back to the point, I’m fortunate in that the people I know don’t just have bags of talent, but also big hearts and a willingness to help and make time for those that need it, regardless of social status, so when I told them about the book they were only too pleased to help. I sent them a list of questions and they wrote down and sent back their answers. With those that weren’t able to do that, I interviewed them personally, then transcribed the answers myself. A long process, but one that was well worth it.
So what’s contained in the book now?
Well, as I said, the first half features my latest canvas work, concepts and essays on the theme of IDENTICONS (Icons and Cultural Identity), whilst the second half features the interviews – about 20 in all – as well as useful information on holding Aerosol Mural workshops. Then, to cap it off, there’s a resources section, with glossaries, further reading, addresses and contacts to help a young person further their path to a creative career.
The whole book comes in at about 210 pages.
How could someone get hold of a copy?
Well, a few sample pages are available to download free on this site, but the full volume is currently in production and will be available in August 2009 from IDENTICONS Online BookShop.
© The Artful Dodger (A. Dee) 2009