Andrea Campbell's interview with Pieronymus

[Pieronymus]

Andrea Campbell's Newsletter

July-August 2008

Q.: How long have you been a practicing artist?

A.: Formally, since 1980. That year I received my diploma on Graphic Art
from the University of Applied Arts in Budapest. But I am an artist as far
back as I can remember.

Two phases of my life can never be erased from my memories. When I was
just 3 years old, in 1951, my family and I were banned from Budapest as we
were considered to be the enemy of our own people. And the second event
was in 1956, when I was watching the Soviet military tanks rolling into
Budapest. Those early childhood traumas still have influence on my
pictures with political themes. I am totally against suppression on people
of any kind of different ideology.

Q.: What is your medium of choice (oils, colored pencils, inks, acrylics,
mixed media, etc.)

A.: I am a visual artist first of all, and I always choose the medium that
helps me best to express my inner self and what precisely I like to
express. It is always matched to the abandonment (frescos, erasures,
etchings, board pictures), the desires of the client (ex libris,
portraits, mural, digital graphics) and finally…on my mood (self-portrait,
caricature).

Q.: How do you find work? And what about a few interesting commissions you
have done?

A.: In the early days of my profession, I used to send my portfolios all
over the world. Nowadays the clients come personally to me or place orders
through the Internet. For example, when John Paul II visited Hungary, I
was commissioned for designing the graphic ornaments of his holy dress.
When Jimmy Carter, the former President of America visited my hometown,
Szigetszentmiklós, I made a handwritten document for him on request of the
city administration. I take part in different art projects, and
participate in art exchange programs. I had been to Jönköping (Sweden) for
that, participated in the Euarca program in Germany, and work on
consecutive group shows in the Frankfurt book fair, while in the summer I
often spend my spare time in art colonies.

Also I participate in the international art-project on artmesh.org. "A
Story to see" - - http://www.astorytosee.com/

Q.: Do you have an agent or do you get projects and promote yourself?

A.: In the beginning, I worked for advertising agencies regularly,
participated in international competitions and won prizes. I illustrated
more than one dozen of children's books for several Hungarian publishing
houses. At present my daughter Veronika Kosch (http://www.verocska.de) is
my manager. She looks after my web pages, organizes exhibitions, and helps
me to stay in contact with my clients, publishing houses and collectors.
Right now I am looking for an agent in the USA, who is in good contact
with the publishing houses and can arrange orders for me.

Q.: I'm sorry but when I wrote you that I had a brain blip and called you:
Hieronymous Bosch. What can you tell Soup's On readers about him and am I
the only one who's ever done this?

Pieronymus Kosch is my artist name. With this name I refer to my model and
master, Hieronymus Bosch. He was a pioneer surrealistic painter, still
before Dali. His art stands very near to me, probably because of my
ancestors who also were Saxons from Flanders, re-settled in Transylvania,
today Romania, around 1200 AD. Bosch was an extraordinary genius. And if
our names are confounded it will be an honor to me, which shows a
straightway intention of my picking up the nomenclature.

Q.: How do you decide on your subject matter?

A.: Do you ask for the topic that I am working on? The topic is important,
but it is not the first consideration. The style always comes first. "Le
style c'est l'homme." isn't it? About my topics I can tell you in my own
way. Simply the suffering-creeping-crawling-greedy skin-bags are
interesting for me: "humans." Even my religious icons are secular,
although I am religious. But in my opinion, Jesus had never been to any
hairdresser… thus if he is tousled, he is more authentic for me. In my art
I am much more interested in the beginning (archaic, primitive, folklore)
than in the end which we have today. These art happenings with dance and
music, these modern forms of throes of death… The modernity is always
something which disappears as fast as possible.

My own style is simply the "spiritual and grotesque one" bizarre or
"pieronymus art." That means, I always look at this grotesque world
through my spiritual eyeglasses, I perform a picture of it in my brain,
and then I create my own, a spiritual grotesque world.

Neither the photorealistic nor the purely abstract art is interesting for
me. I regard both as a visual dead end. I am neither a camera, nor one of
the "ground lubricated with tubes of colours."

I always strive to leave my "own fingerprint."

Q.: What is your working day like? Do you have a studio set-up?

A.: My days are varied. In the first weekdays I work with young persons, I
teach art and the history of art in a High School near Budapest, and I
prepare pupils for the entrance examinations for the University of Art in
Budapest. In the second half of the week I paint and draw like I want to
do in my own studio at home, or in the studios of the "Insula art group"
(http://insulaart.wordpress.com), a group of artists lead by me.

Q.: How do you package and transport your work? Is it expensive? And how
do you protect your originals?

A.: Since Hungary also belongs to the European Union, the transport of art
objects became safer and much more simplified. Nevertheless, I prefer,
even if it is a bit more expensive, the insured dispatch. So nothing
should actually go wrong. My pictures are packed very carefully, and are
sent from Hungary. Prints, posters etc. are sent from Germany. The
payments are made through PayPal.

Q.: Do you have the support of your family? or membership in professional
groups?

A.: All are artists in my family. I am a commercial artist, painter and
illustrator, my wife: Èva Jànosy (http://evajanosy.wordpress.com) is a
goldsmith and also teaches art to young people. My 3 daughters: Veronika
is an artist who lives in Cologne, Germany, Zsófia studies ceramics art in
the "University of the Applied Arts" in Budapest
(http://pieronymuskosch.ning.com/profile/SophieKosch), and my youngest
daughter Réka is an aspiring photographer
(http://www.damocska.deviantart.com).

My son is a computer scientist who is at present, is under training as a
firefighter. Our children support us and bear our art practice in a very
unusual way of life.

I am a member of different organizations. Alike: member of the Association
of Hungarian Fine and Applied Artists, the Society of Hungarian
Illustrators, the GRAFIPAX group of artists, director/conductor of the art
association Insula Art Group Szigetszentmiklós.


Q.: What are you working on now?

A.: With the technical help of my daughter Verocska I founded an
Internet-network for arts. With this network I would like to help young
artists to get in touch of other artists all over the world. The site
Pieronymus Art Network (http://pieronymuskosch.ning.com/) has already
nearly 400 members.

At present I prepare myself for a group exhibition in Italy. Together with
my good friend Mario Di Cicco I shall exhibit in autumn 2008 in Meldola. I
would like to paint in every free minute of my life, like a shark, who
must swim all the time to survive.

Q.: Do you have any advice for budding artists?

A.: Yes, I have! They should not become artists just for earning a lot of
money, rather be able to create great things. As we know, even Van Gogh
could sell only one picture in his life, and that only with the help of
others. Money and selling is not the only yardstick in the art. They
should paint so that their souls find the peace in themselves. Oh, and by
the way, they should spend 30 to 40 years of their life for art. A good
priest learns till his death too. And last but not the least, and not only
the young artists, if you want to get acquainted with me better, register
yourself on Pieronymus Art Network.

E-Mail: [e-mail]
Blog: http://www.talalat.de
Pieronymus Art Network: http://pieronymuskosch.ning.com
Online gallery: http://www.bananr.com/8783355@N04


Visit Andrea S Campbell at: http://www.andreacampbell.com

P.S. Thank You, Andrea and Rebanta...