Designer Interview:  Andrej Dolinka

 

Andrej Dolinka is the man who has been responsible for putting together most of the booklets for the EardrumsPop-singles. Andrej is leaving the ePop-team now, to focus on some of his other projects
. We are truly thankful for the wonderful work he has done for us!

This is our Designer Interview with Andrej Dolinka:

Could you tell us how you started working with art and design?

 

— I studied to become an architect, but somewhere along the way I took a left turn and decided to go with graphic design instead
. Oh, and the things I produce aren’t art, although I work in the field of contemporary art a lot
. It becomes rather obvious that I tend to escape large words, narratives and mythical implications of creation
.

I felt a bit small and lost in the field (or rather — space) of architecture. So I followed a good friend of mine, also an architect, on his escape route towards a visual discipline that usually handles smaller scales and two-dimensional space. We started working together and learned the trade as we went. It was scary at first, but we’ve managed. Now I work as the head designer at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade (Serbia) and he is a designer/artist living and working in New York.

What are you working on right now?

— At the moment I’m juggling several books and exhibition catalogues, a CD cover for my brother’s band, and a few pro bono projects, one of them being EardrumsPop singles.

What are your favourite tools?

— When I work I need a piece of paper and a pencil
. That’s where it all begins. I usually write more than sketch — that’s how I conceptualize. After that I go to the Swiss Army knife — either one of the three computers I use on a daily basis.

Who /What are your greatest visual inspirations?

— This question is a bit like asking me about my top ten favourite bands ever. I don’t know. It shifts a lot, and constantly so. This week I’m back to Peter Saville, for instance. And I’ve re-read Tom Wolfe’s Bauhaus or Our House a few days ago, so I’m struck with different architectural influences, from Gropius, Mies, Corbu and Niemeyer to Koolhaas. Ask me next week and it might be Jan Tschichold on a meeting with Emigré and Gus Van Sant in an architectural fantasy created by Ivan Leonidov.

Is music or other forms of art an inspiration? If so, what do you listen to?

— I am believed to be an avid music listener, although I have to admit my habit is growing thinner. And I’ve always found more inspiration for my work in other forms of art than I did in music. My background as a listener is filled with indie, shoegaze and lo-fi bedroom pop, but I’ve been shifting towards more abstract sounds for some time now. I’ve been revisiting the Stars of the Lid discography lately and I’m close to pronouncing them *the* band of my life.

Describe an average working day!

— I start late, usually after 10 AM. First I’m onto the work I do for the Museum of Contemporary Art. After awhile I skip to the other things I do. I need to stir things a bit and I like to do several smaller projects at a time, because I’m more interested in concepts than realization. There’s always a tab open in my Firefox window with teuxdeux.com, populated with a list of things to do. It’s always long and frightening.

How did you develop your style? Is it different now than when you started?

— I don’t work in a style. I use a graphic language that suits the particular project and the concept I developed for it the best

• Moderate/severe valvecontraindications to specific oral drugs or who How does cialis work?.

. Is there a prize for the most boring answer ever? OK, I guess that someone who sees my work could point a finger and shout: minimalist!, or (super-)modernist!, or sentimental and melancholic!

 

What’s your favourite colour?

— I like the one on my Pantone coffee mug and it says: Pantone 221C.

 

What are your future plans?

— I’d like to work on a project that would be at least borderline architectural. I’m starting to miss that, especially in a form of team work. And another thing that has nothing to do with visual culture: I’m trying to find a way and write more. A short story collection? Let’s call it a plan.

 Rumor has it that you’re leaving the Eardrums team. Any parting notes?

— I’m really glad I worked with the people at Eardrums. They’ve been doing great things for some time now. I’m leaving to be succeeded by Lisle from Tiny Fireflies/Fireflies/Very Truly Yours, one of my favourite authors. That’s just one of the things that shows what kind of a community we’re talking about.

 You can visit Andrej’s blog here: http://suprastudio.blogspot.com/