GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Artist Adam Kurtz: 'Be yourself. No one needs you to make something that already exists'
Adam Kurtz is a lot of things — author, illustrator, graphic designer and all-around creative — but ask him what he prefers to be called and he’ll just say simply “artist and author.”
“It’s the simplest way for people to sort of understand the full scope of what I do,” he says during a chat at Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar. “Originally, I studied graphic design, that is my background. Right now I’m doing a lot of writing — and I’m literally writing because it’s my handwriting. But artist is just a nice way word that captures everything.”
Kurtz is the author of a trio of books geared towards creative professionals but can also resonate with people from all walks of life: "1 Page At A Time: A Daily Creative Companion", "Pick Me Up: A Pep Talk For Now And Later", and his latest "Things Are What You Make Of Them".
His books have been translated into multiple languages and have become lovely little companions for creative types and anyone in need of inspiration or a dose of optimism and positivity.
Right before he dove into his packed schedule in Manila (speaking at this year’s Graphika Manila creative conference and a book signings and appearances), I sat down with Kurtz and chatted about his work, his love for Alanis Morrisette and balancing his art with the demands of real life.
A post shared by National Book Store (@nbsalert) on
When people ask you to describe your work, you call it “personal.” Is there such a thing as being “too personal?”
I think that there is. I have, in the past, said too much. Like, you know you’re in a conversation, and later you’re like, why did I say that? It made me seem crazy or it was rude or something like that.
But for me and my work, that’s my personal space, and when you write a journal, it’s your space, to be as much of you as you want to be. And you have no one to worry about except yourself. And so, for me, now, the work that has become my career started as my version of journaling, or my hobby.
When it started, I never thought this was going to be sold in bookstores worldwide, so I never really worried about it. But if you sit down and you’re like, ‘Okay today I’m going to write a book, it’s going to be sold worldwide,’ I’m thinking about the whole world, that’s too much pressure.
So if someone out there is worried about being personal, or being vulnerable, maybe just start that conversation with yourself.
Would you consider yourself an artist for the social media generation? If social media didn’t exist, what kind of artist do you think you’d be?
I think about this a lot. I’m not a social media artist, necessarily. Because what is that? Social media is just how we share things. But because of social media, my fans are able to get a sense of who I am as a person. And without that, if you just saw my books and stuff, without knowing that it comes from a real person who’s actually like that, you might just be like, oh, this is cute. Okay. Some guy in an office somewhere came up with this idea for kids. Oh, young people are going to love this.
And so social media has allowed people to believe me and believe the work. Because at face value, it’s just a bunch of words on paper. Bad handwriting with a pencil. Who cares? Once you get a chance to understand that this is my life, and I believe it and I mean it, and I’m not just trying to sell sh*t, then it works.
So in that way, I think social media is really important. And that’s true of musicians, that’s true of all kinds of celebrities, artists and creators. We get a sense of who people are so we get to choose who we support. And that’s very powerful. Cause when someone turns out to be a racist piece of sh*t, we don’t have to support them anymore.
How do you deal with criticism?
I want to be one of those people who says I don’t even notice, but of course I notice. But sometimes it’s just really funny. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Okay you don’t get it, or you don’t like me,’ and that’s okay. I can’t be too mad about it. But sometimes, insults are just really funny, and this is like, you can’t be mad when it’s so pathetic. And I think anyone on the internet faces that, whether you’re a professional or something or you’re just in the comments section on YouTube. People in the world are mean. But most people aren’t, so you just focus on the good stuff.
I guess anyone who puts their work out there…
Anyone who stands on the street! (Laughs) We are constantly facing criticism and compliments from anyone, even from our family. You go home and your mom’s like, ‘You’re getting fat!’ It’s all about how you choose to take things and what you choose to internalize.
You know how everything’s in the digital space now — music's on Spotify, movies are on Netflix. Why was it important for you to come up with an actual book?
Even before I wrote these books, a lot of the stuff I was making was all about tangible, tactile things that you can hold.
I actually started making postcards, balloons, pins, keychains, and souvenirs. And then I was making planners. I started making planners eight years ago. And that’s how Penguin found me for a book deal. And then journals. We can read an e-book and that sort of thing, but journaling, and drawing and writing, those actions, that are therapy and a cathartic experience, you can never replicate that digitally.
So it’s not just about wanting people to read my words and the content, it’s also about having this real-life exchange of pen on paper because I think that’s what’s most powerful. There’s something special that can never be replaced.
"Thing Are What you Make of Them" is written in pencil and I really wrote it on pencil, and a little paper, and that’s why the book is so small, because that’s the size I wrote it. I wanted to make it feel that this is my real notebook and these are my notes. You know when you’re taking a course, and you borrow the notes from someone who took it last semester? To me, this book is like, I’m just a few months ahead of you on my creative career. Here are my notes. I tore it out, here you go. It’s all about creating an object that tells that story in the object itself.
A post shared by Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) on
Lightning round. Favorite city?
Wow. I don’t even know. I can’t pick one. All right maybe, right now it’s Brooklyn (New York City).
Favorite snack?
Bread.
we need to talk pic.twitter.com/1Nsn6cNYfb
— Adam J. Kurtz (@adamjk) February 2, 2018
Favorite zoo animal?
Zebra
Favorite artist or band?
Alanis Morrisette.
Have you met her?
No, I have not met her. But she wrote a blurb for "Things Are What You Make Of Them". So when I was making this book, I printed it at home on my printer and I put a rubber band to hold it, and I mailed it to her assistant. Alanis was one of the first people to read this book. And that’s really cool. Because she has inspired me for a long time. Some of her songs are really simple, but some are really dense, like poetry. The way she writes and the way she communicates often difficult feelings is inspiring to me.
Do you have a favorite songs of hers?
“Thank you.”
Favorite Instagram filter?
No filter. Hashtag no filter.
Favorite TV show?
Terrace House. I’m like obsessed with Terrace House. A lot of my friends in the US are getting into it. You know you have like pockets of friends that you can text about certain things? I’m the Terrace House friend.
You’re having dinner with three living people. Who would be there?
You, Jessie (friend who was present during the interview) and my husband. I’m hungry! (Laughs)
If you weren’t doing this, what you would be doing right now?
Yeah. I don’t know what I would do. I think I would probably be like a more traditional graphic designer. Because that’s what I thought I was going to do. Like maybe work for some other company. Everyone needs a designer. Whether you’re designing posters, presentation materials, that kind of stuff. And I’ve done that. So this is a surprise, that anyone cares about what I have to say. For now.
Something a lot of people in the creative field have to think about is how to balance art and commerce. I imagine you also haveto deal with it yourself?
Yeah. It’s very hard and scary to realize that you need your art to work for money. It’s been less than three years that I’ve been doing this full time. Before, I had a full time job. And I was doing other things. But this new book, Things Are What You Make Of Them, is a good example of me having to think critically of sales and marketing.
A lot of my work is black and white, and I was like, wait, Adam, people like color. Get over your own internal thing. Learn how to make something that feels more inviting, so that people will pick it up in a bookstore.
Think about the package. Is this appealing to more than just me? And I think the book came out really great. But people who have been a fan of me for some time will see it and see that shift. That was me thinking, ‘Okay some people already like you. How can you appeal to more?’ But it’s still very me.
So my advice would be, yes you should think about what other people want, what do people like, what makes people happy. But you still have to be yourself. Because there are a lot of people making stuff. No one needs you to make something that already exists. So keep it personal but also find a way to make it accessible, and broad at the same time.
You’ve dispensed a lot of advice to a lot people, especially through your books. Would you say that you take your own advice?
All the time. I would say that I’m not an expert that writes advice books. It’s more like I’m writing notes to myself and sharing that. And so, even at the end of the book, I say that I’m not an expert and this is what is helping me. It took me a long time to realize that, in life, not everyone is going to understand you. Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone is going to have the same brand as you. But you will find that, some percentage of the world does. So my thinking is, if 10% of people sort of like what I do, then those 10% will benefit from this advice. And some people see this book and they’re like, okay, great, I already know all of this. This is common sense. What I would say to that is, it is common sense! Don’t forget! — LA, GMA News
Adam Kurtz’s books are available in National Book Store.
Paul John Caña is a writer and live music geek. Check out his blog manontheotherside.blogspot.com. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana
