Reservocation, Issue: 014 conversation Jordan Crane Based on email correspondence over the course of sept.-oct. ’02 Jordan Crane balances commercial art direction, photography, and art with equal enthusiasm. Aside from a long list of high-profile commercial work, he’s earned a MFA from Cornell University and has had his work shown in quite a few galleries. I asked Jordan if he would like to do an interview a few months ago and he replied, “Why don’t we try something more conversational via email?” This sounded like a great idea and also a way to try something new with Reservocation’s format. After two months of back and forth we have the following. Jarrett: What’s getting you excited (or not) about your personal work and why? Jordan: Two things off the top of my head: one, I think that in the last year I have really come to an understanding of what I want to accomplish with my work and this excites me. I have wanted to be more personal but at the same time more open in conceptual interpretation. That’s the part I wrestle with most — creating work that is “me” but work that is also open to the viewer and relates to their experiences somehow. I have found that if I feel uncomfortable about a piece of work it is usually a good thing. I have learned that it means I’m taking a risk. I think to move forward and grow I have to deal with the conflicting feeling that maybe I’m letting the viewer have too much information. In the end however, it usually forms a more interesting experience — addressing these feelings and take a risk. Two, I’m also somewhat excited that design and it’s formal, critical, and commercial aspects have made their way into my personal work. I don’t think until the last year I really thought of making work that addressed how important the concept of design can play in art. When I step back and look at some of my work over the years, I see I was always sort of talking about this but I never addressed it or ever made specific work that dealt with the idea of what it means to be a successful or an unsuccessful visual communicator. I have been exploring what it means to “design” and what it means to be a “designer,” thru my artwork. Jordan: What keeps you doing reservocation and where do you hope to see it going in the years to come? Jarrett: I really enjoy the discovery aspect of giving interviews for one thing. I’ve found that I approach my commercial and personal work differently since I first started Reservocation. It’s helped me to work more intuitively as a side effect. For another thing, I’ve met some great people that have definitely opened me up to new ideas and concepts. Where do I hope to see Reservocation going in the years to come? I hope to see it form into a more solid construct featuring other writers and editors. Moving to print is a logical next step, but I think Reservocation needs to mature a little more and really explore what we can accomplish online — part of that is going to happen when more writers are contributing. Right now, I want to really make it a streamlined vehicle for content distribution and ideas. Everything in it’s right place, so to speak. I guess, echoing what you said about creating work that is more “you” applies to what I’m striving for as well. Bring out who you are in your art, whatever form that takes, even in applied arts like design, architecture, etc… Jarrett: You mentioned that design and it’s formal, critical, and commercial aspects have made their way in your personal work. In what way? Jordan: I think, past the formal aspects is where the interest is. It’s an emotional osmosis, wearing both hats as a designer and artist. As an example, everyone that is a designer, has gone thru the process of creating something on demand, felt great and confident about the work and then gone thru the process and emotions that come with getting those ideas and creations shot down. Then having to re-work work, having to be “creative” at the drop of a hat, questioning yourself, having to relate to clients, being confident one day and then the next day thinking what you did yesterday is shit, and wanting your ideas to be valued and needed. Those feelings make their way into the context of my personal work, and those feelings are brought on by working in the, or as a lot of us that freelance know “not working” in the design industry. I think though they are universal emotions that deal a lot with self-worth and finding your place in the world, doesn’t matter if you’re a race car driver, nurse, plumber, or a business person. I’m over analyzing it, but I think that’s the point is to come some sort of understanding of why you do what you do, no matter how incomprehensible the answer really is. Jordan: I think a lot of us, would like to know a bit about you, how you got your start and what you’re up to these days? Jarrett: The second question is easy: I’m running really far behind in my attempts to get Reservocation out on a monthly basis. I’m also working full-time as a freelancer for a small, NYC-based agency that has the potential to do some really, nice work. Outside of that, I have a few things that I need to get started on; my portfolio is top priority right now and after that, I really want to start making some coffee tables. A few years ago I spent a summer refinishing antiques and building furniture. I really enjoyed seeing a finished piece and aside from the fumes, it was a lot of fun. This will be the first time I’ll attempt to create something from my own designs. To answer the first question, I started working in print, trying to get as many jobs as I could, just to build a portfolio. I even took a job at a print shop that didn’t have -- or want -- desktop computers. You haven’t lived until you’ve set every line of text on a phototypesetter. It was really tedious but eye-opening at the same time. I jumped around after that still focusing on print until a friend (Greg O’Keeffe) offered me a job at an interactive firm. After that I worked at Organic, and now, as I mentioned before, another small agency in Manhattan. Jarrett: I'd like to back track and ask about you. Can you tell us about yourself? How long have you been a photographer? Jordan: I’m a 29-year-old artist and designer, I live in Lambertville, New Jersey, a small town along the Delaware River. I started doing graffiti back in the late ’80s, (though I have stopped — those dogs can’t hunting anymore) went to art school in Chicago, became involved in all sorts of different mediums, freelanced, went to grad school, freelanced, worked for LucidCircus, freelanced, and that’s where I’m at now. Freelancing and still making art using whatever means and mediums I have at my disposal. I have been taking photos since I got my first camera and did a skate zine way, way, back in the day. I have been using photographic images as a vehicle in my art ever since, although I have never really been comfortable with the term photographer. I still have notions that a photographer is some one like Ansel Adams or Harry Callahan. It’s funny, cause I had this conversation with a, what I considered a “real” photographer, he asked, “well do you use a camera? I said “yeah” his reply was, “than you’re a fucking photographer, relax,” he had a point, just do whatever you want, have fun, and don’t get all caught up on the names, titles or terms. Jarrett: I think it’s a safe bet to call you a photographer. Jarrett: I was looking through your photographs with a friend and they wanted to know what kind of equipment you were using? The scans are very crisp. Jordan: Hehehe, I pride myself on my crispiness, I use a Leica Digilux and a Canon D60, both are digital and a lot or a little bit of good ol’ Photoshop magic depending on the project. Jordan: Outside of art and design, what do you find inspiration? Jarrett: Trying to do something I don’t have any experience in — ideas often come from that sense of exploration…what’s around the next curve. This can be on any level too…I’m not saying I have to skydive to get motivated though ;) It goes back to what you said earlier about risk. Maybe the best source of inspiration is being around someone who is excited about what they do…it can be infectious. I’d also have to add architecture and film to the list as well. Jarrett: Can you talk about your piece “Compliments and Disasters”? Jordan: It’s about a dialogue between client and designer, or father and son, stranger and stranger, brother and sister, boyfriend and girlfriend, or whatever, two people essentially. It eventually just becomes about the high and lows of having relationships, the push and pull, and the stories that come out of it having many different types of relationships. The work on the wall acts as a visual representation of the those relationships, like if you laid out a book or article about what you think your subconscious might be dealing with when you are in a relationship. The edits and revisions all laid out, ready to rework and re-examine. Jarrett: What’s the background story behind “I Love Temptation,” the piece you created for Arkitip magazine? Jordan: Hehehe, no heady answer here, every issue Arkitip asks a couple of artists to send in a piece of mail art. I was curious to see if I sent ten different envelops, all with a dollar inside if they would make it to Arkitip. I would tempt whomever by putting the dollar in an envelope with a clear address area so the dollar would be visible. Seven of the ten pieces made it to them. Either, three people gave into the TEMPTATION and took the money, or they just took the money cause they figured if you’re dumb enough to send cash money thru the mail, then you’re a dumb-ass and deserve to get it taken. Jarrett: That’s what I thought…just curious how many made it through ;) Jarrett: There seems to be a fair amount of editorial surrounding some of your recent work. Is writing something that interests you or is taking a bigger role in your art pieces (I’m looking through “Reviewing the Interviews; Opportunities for Sublimation”)? Jordan: Yes, I dunno if I would really call it writing, more bits and pieces of dialogue, heard and made up, if you could “Photoshop” writing that would be what I have been doing. A lot of it has to do with certain characters that come in and out of my life, i’ll remember conversations and then take large amounts of liberties when recounting them…all goes back to the infamous fish length stories “that fish was 2 feet if he was an inch” shit like that… Jarrett: Talk about your piece for the Big Brother magazine/Human Brand Event. You’ve combined photography with typography on a larger scale. Do you think you could take this idea further? Jordan: The benefit/event was held to help skaters in Philly raise money to build a new skate park. Most skaters will know there is a place in Philly called Love Park, there has been a battle between the city and the skaters for the last 15 years over skating in Love Park. It got to the point about a year ago that the city fenced in the whole park so no one could even get into it, whether you were skating or just walking through it. It’s just a funny situation, so Philly courts the X-Games and you hear the mayor talking about how good it will be for the young people in the city, and yet the people that live and skate in the city can’t even skate in the city without getting a ticket. The work was homage to a place were many of us over the years gathered and had some of the best times of our lives. Onto the second part of the question. Yes, this is definitely a direction I want to keep going in. I’m interested in the idea of repetition and how it affects the different meanings of work. For me, when I look at works that utilize elements of repetition especially when it’s one image over and over again I really start to morph my reading of the image. The image eventually becomes and changes into something completely different, as a direct result of that constant reinforcement of that one image. Then, in my case, to throw in typographic elements it adds a completely different dimension. You now are dealing with elements that have universal definitions. The word “dog” is spelled out D-O-G it means dog we all know what that means, it doesn’t mean car. But say if we take the word “dog” and put it up on the wall and make it out of pieces of paper with pictures of mountains over and over, the whole work now changes and becomes open to viewer interpretation. Jarrett: So where to from here? Jordan: Upcoming; a remix project of sorts where both Graphic Havoc and Mike Cina of WeWorkforThem take a number of prints I did back in ’93 – ’96 and add their own unique work to the prints, with the final work to be shown in a gallery space. Jarrett: Sounds great. Well that just about wraps up my line of questioning ;) Thanks so much for your time and patience on this Jordan+ Jordan: Thanks for the email fun Jarrett. http://www.jordancrane.com/ ©2000-2004 Reservocation Media/Design magazine. All rights reserved.