Bendik Kaltenborn - Interview

                   

What got you into illustration/design?

I’ve always been drawing since I was a kid, mostly comics. Then at some point I realised it was hard making a living of comics and I started doing illustrations.

What did you do after leaving school, did you do a foundation? University? Or just straight into it?

After my BA in Oslo I tried to work freelance for a couple of years, had close to none jobs and got rejected from all publishers I visited, but a very few commissions kept me motivated. Then I took a MA in Stockholm, and after that it slowly began to grow, getting a few more jobs and recognition. But it took many years until i could make a living of it.

How did you find your ‘style’? And what advice could you give to aspiring illustrators trying to find theirs?

I guess its based on my comics, and then of course inspired by much old stuff from the 40s and 50s, but I never want to make something that just looks dated or retro or nostalgic. And I’m very aware of not getting too close in style to others, or to get stuck in my own look, guess that’s why I like to try out different things. It’s OK for a you illustrator/student to study and imitate others, but its smart to maybe not publish too much until you’ve found your own style. 

Are there any particular themes or subjects that you find your work communicating?

A lot of manic people without social antennas seems to appear in my comics, he he. Don’t know what that means. But in general, as an illustrator I try my best to reflect society and diversity in my drawings, no matter what’s the brief.

How did your collaboration with Todd Terje begin and how has this impacted your practice?

We met when working at a record store together many years ago, he was a comic fan and when he was gonna release his first EP he asked me to design it. Ive always wanted to work with record sleeves, since I’m very much into music, so it was a great opportunity. Then I just kept making stuff for him and after a while it became a graphic profile for him. Together with my illustrations for The New Yorker, Todd Terje is the stuff I’m most known for, its been super fun and important for my career. 

Is your work mostly commissioned or do you enjoy creating a lot of personal work?

It’s a mix. I do commissions to make a living, but luckily I can mostly do stuff in a way that gives me personal satisfaction. But I have lots of own comics and personal projects I want to pursue, so its been a conflict. But now I’m gonna make a live action short film, which is something Ive wanted to do for a long time. Which means less time for commissions.

What are the biggest hurdles you’ve faced in your career so far?

I guess my biggest hurdle is being a messy person, I hate(!) paperwork’s and stuff like that so it sometimes gets me into trouble. I just wanna draw and make thins.

Finally, what are your goals in relation to your practice? And have any been achieved so far?

Never had any goals, I think. Just kept drawing and taking opportunities. Or maybe making this film is a big goal, yeah I guess it is. 


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Bendik Kaltenborn is a big inspiration to me, it has been really interesting to learn how his collaborative career with, Todd Terje came about. This reinstates the power and importance of networking and maintaining a constant eye out for new opportunities. Developing professional relationships with people from a range of practices will be imperative to finding future work; due to illustration/design being so multi-faceted in terms of who we can work for. Hearing what Kaltenborn has to say about style and not publishing work until it is relatively consistent is an interesting point. I do agree with him and think that it is important to know exactly what your about in terms of you as a brand, prior to publishing work as a portfolio online. This helps the client to get a real taste of what they will receive.