I Vote For Art

• Browse Support & shop for the art you like
• Sell Put your own art up for sale
• Blog Read about the latest goings-on
• About Read all about i vote for art

ivoteforart talks to Kareem Rizk

We’re super excited this week to have some new pieces up on the site by none other than Kareem Rizk.

We also managed to squeeze in an interview with Kareem, asking him about his career, how he got started, and how he promotes himself, among other things

Hi Kareem. How are you? What’s news?

Hi. I’m doing well. I’m currently working on some new canvas pieces. I was invited recently to be part of an annual group show at Retrospect Galleries in Byron Bay. This year the show is titled ‘Revolution of Art’. It drew a big crowd last year as it runs in conjunction with the Splendour on the Grass music festival. The gallery shows work by many established and emerging artists, both local and international. Luminaries such as Ben Frost, Anthony Lister, Jeremyville and Kill Pixie are represented there. I’m looking forward to seeing who’s involved this year. The show runs from July 24th - August 13th.

As well as making new work I also just released a catalogue of new prints over at inPRNT. Also an Australian t-shirt company called White With One have just released their new range of tees which features my piece ‘Tinsel Town Trash‘ in 3 different colours. The new range is currently hitting stores in Brisbane, Sydney, Byron Bay and Melbourne. A couple of the t-shirts will be on display at the ‘Revolution of Art’ group show.

I’ve also got some collaborations currently in progress with a couple of very cool collage artists from America - Robert Mars and Brandon McLean. I’m also working on some new stuff with Brazilian artist Eduardo Recife (Misprinted Type). Hopefully we’ll soon be able to finally release our first collaborative print. We’re currently discussing the possibility of working on another brand new collaboration as well.

Readers will be able to stay up to date with all my other goings via my blog: www.kareemr.blogspot.com

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into this whole ‘art’ thing? What got you started?

I first started making collages seriously in April 2006. I remember this month fairly vividly. I had just quit my job at The Herald Sun newspaper. I found that the work I was doing there wasn’t stimulating enough creatively. I also found that my interest in fine art was starting to take more of a focus over design. I knew at the time that it was a risky move to make. I was on a very good salary as a junior designer. I drove a Lexus and I had a stack of money in the bank. But I gave it all up. I just wasn’t happy spending 45 hours a week doing something that I didn’t enjoy.

This was the time when I made the decision that I wanted to be an artist. This is when I created some of the very first collages that I then used for promotion a couple of months later when I released my website. Before 2006 I had only ever made a handful of collages. I only ever dabbled in it either as a hobby or for university assignments.

I started promoting my work in June 2006. At that stage no one had ever heard of me. But I knew I wanted to be an artist. I also knew I would have to make major sacrifices and I continue still to make sacrifices. But I made the decision and I have stuck with it ever since. I figured I may as well be doing something that I enjoy - something that I have a passion for. Our soul is only in this body for one life time. I figured I may as well leave something behind that I might be remembered for. Either that or try my damnedest to make it happen.

It sounds like a cliché, but anything worth while doing in this world doesn’t come easy. I learnt this from a young age. Something I learnt from a tough upbringing is that if you want something in life, then you should go and get it. But just as importantly this struggle has taught me to have a tremendous amount of patience.

From what we’ve seen, most of your work is collage pieces? What is it that’s drawn you to collage?

The Graphic Design course that I did at Monash University supported a very tactile and hands-on approach to design and illustration. As my skills started to develop during the course I found that in my work there was often a fine line between design and fine art. But I didn’t find this peculiar in any way. Instead I felt an immediate connection to a more fine art based approach to design and illustration. To me it made sense that a creative person in any discipline should be flexible and would only benefit from having many techniques from many disciplines at their disposal.

During the course I also started developing an affinity with nostalgia and eclecticism. The medium that drew this nostalgic source out of me most often was collage. It seemed like the most obvious progression for me to move into collage as the medium itself is very tactile and eclectic. Adding the elements of vintage imagery, distressed typography and a grittiness or dirtiness to the work only heightened my appreciation and affinity with collage and the potential that I saw in this medium.

You started out in Graphic Design, and have worked heavily in that field. Do you call yourself a designer, or an artist? What do you think the difference is these days?

I call myself an artist. Especially as I haven’t practised professional graphic design for at least 2 years. My focus has been on establishing a career as an artist.

I think often there is quite a big difference between a designer and an artist. The main one being the techniques and processes that are employed under both titles. But it is interesting when fine art techniques and mediums are introduced to design and its application. Only then does the line between the two titles tend to become blurred. Particularly in my own process of image making. A lot of my work will be put together using strong design principles, but most of the mediums I use come from the fine art category, particularly in my handmade work.

What does a typical day in your life consist of? Where and when do you find yourself at your most creative.

I generally can’t start the day until I’ve had my cup of inspiration (a big mug of black tea, a dash of full cream milk, no sugar and warm buttered toast with Vegemite). This year I’ve been producing a lot of new gallery work - larger canvas pieces in particular. A good part of my days most recently has been spent preparing canvases, painting, searching for and collecting images, thinking up ideas for new pieces and of course collage. When I’m not making new work for an exhibition or gallery (or answering interview questions ) I could be doing any number of creative things on any given day. Recent projects have included some freelance illustration and commissioned artwork.

You’re definitely an artist who has a strong presence online? How important has the internet been for your career as an artist?

The internet has been quite an integral part of making my work visible, especially in the beginning stages and also on an international level. I probably wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have so far without an online presence. It’s no surprise that the US and Europe makes up a large part and possibly the majority of my audience. Without the internet acting as a platform for international exposure it would definitely take a much longer time for people to become aware of my work.

In your opinion, is it as important to break into the gallery / exhibition scene as it used to be?

Not necessarily. I think it depends on the individual artist and their audience. Some artists have done very well from only promoting and selling their work online. This technique of becoming a recognised artist I think is growing - simply because of the enormity of the internet and the demographic that accesses it. I think the internet affords great opportunities for artists who may not necessarily appeal initially to the gallery scene. But often, once an artist finds and develops their audience online it is usually not long before galleries start paying attention or noticing the artist’s name. For some artists it may not necessarily be very important to be in the gallery scene, but by having work available offline it certainly enables your audience to grow and I think it dramatically improves an artist’s visibility.

How do you promote yourself, both online and offline?

As of late the most regular online promotion of my work has been done through The Little Chimp Society, my personal blog and my personal website. I also have an art/design blog list and email contact list that is constantly growing. I generally use this for more major news and updates. Recently the guys at Design is Kinky posted a news feature on my updated website which has consistently doubled the amount of traffic to my site in a matter of days. These kinds of spotlights are always very handy.

I’ve also tried running a couple of advertising campaigns on a couple of high traffic blogs such as Design Sponge. But to have any kind of sustained presence on these sites is pretty expensive. So I tend to stick to the art & design portals and my own websites to stay on top of updates and keep my audience informed.

I do very little offline promotion simply because I have been very fortunate that my internet promotion has been consistently converted into opportunities for offline exposure and work. I am very fortunate also that I have been contacted on a fairly regular basis by local and international galleries, magazines, clients and retailers for exhibitions,  opportunities for work and exposure.

Who are some other artists that you admire? Alive or dead?

• Kurt Schwitters
• Richard Hamilton
• Rene Magritte
• Eduardo Recife
• Mario Wagner
• Robert Mars
• Charles Wilkin
• Tez Humphries

Impressive list! Ok, one more question. Let’s finish with something a little less serious. What was your favourite TV show as a kid? And why?

I used to watch a lot of TV as a kid. I probably couldn’t name just one, so I’ll name four! The Goodies. Monkey Magic. Knight Rider. Hey, hey it’s Saturday!

Each one of them was quite unique in their appeal. But I think they were favourites because they were all a bit over the top in terms of humour, storyline and concept.

Thanks very much to for Kareem taking the time to chat with us. Make sure you check out his tremendous 3 pieces available for sale here. And you can find out more about Kareem via his website.

Comments

Add a comment

• Home
• Browse
• Sell
• Blog
• About
• Terms & conditions
• Privacy
• Help
• Press
• Checkout
• Payment