From DamonCarltonandAPolarBear.com :
In celebration of LOST's final season and as a project of fan appreciation, 16 top designers and artists, who are also fans of the show, were commissioned to create artwork celebrating one of the series' most memorable, and unforgettable, "water cooler" moments. This ultimate "fan art" was then turned into labor intensive, hand-pulled screen prints, limited to an edition of just 300, with less than 200 available to the public through our websites. Each beautiful poster tells its own different story, allowing the fan to relive memorable and influential moments in an artistic manner, as the show's storied run comes to a close. Once this limited edition print has sold out, they will never be printed again. Celebrate the fandom, community and family created by one of televisions' greatest shows by hanging a little part of it's history, inspiration and influence on your wall.
Now that all 16 of the prints have been released, Lost Blog has set out to interview each of the respective artists. All these talented artists have different influences, different backgrounds, and accordingly...different takes on our favorite show. Over the next few weeks we will post our interviews with these incredible talents. Enjoy.
Our 4th interview is with Todd Slater. His piece is entitled "Ben Linus."
- Todd Slater's "Ben Linus"
LOSTblog: How did you become a fan of LOST?
Todd Slater: The same way I do every great show, enough people tell me I have to see it...heh. I caught the first season on DVD and the rest weekly. I still have yet to watch Madmen, Sopranos, Modern Family and The Nanny (kidding, kidding).
LOSTblog: Describe the details about how you were contacted to do the poster?
Todd Slater: Jensen Karp from gallery 1988 phoned me about six months before the series got going. He was a fan of poster art and wanted the whole series to be made up of poster artists.
LOSTblog: What instructions or parameters were you given for the poster?
Todd Slater: Very little actually...I was told to pick a favorite moment in the show and run with it. I talked to Jensen first to make sure no one else was doing a Ben print, and surprisingly I think I was the only one who had asked to do one.
LOSTblog: What was your process for developing the poster?
Todd Slater: I had done a few posters in a loose, sketchy style (Kings of Leon, NIN) and I wanted to continue to develop that. I think drawing in that style helped capture some of the emotion and the passion behind the character. I started by drawing the face and the image radiated out from there. I did a lot of color swapping at the end of the project but ultimately settled on the blues, blacks and silvers you see the image. That color palette just looked most like nighttime on the island to me. One interesting thing about the project is that there was no limit on the amount of colors we could use, which is unusual, because each color adds to the cost of a silkscreen print. My first reaction is to try and fit in like 12+ colors with all kinds of subtle blends and varnishes, but like most silkscreens, this one was better left simple, as a three color.
LOSTblog: How did this project compare to your other creations?
Todd Slater: It's harder because of the importance of the show. If I'm doing a print for a smaller indie band and no one connects with the art it's mostly just ignored. In this series each piece received some pretty thorough critiques online through various sites. The anticipation added to the expectations.
LOSTblog: Besides your own, what is your favorite print from the series?
Todd Slater: Ken Taylor's Smoke Monster. It captures the mystery and drama of the show. Beautiful illustration as well.
LOSTblog: Who is your favorite LOST character and why?
Todd Slater: Mr. Eko. His backstory was the most interesting to me and I sort of like that he didn't wear out his welcome and become a regular on the show. He has a confidence that I responded to and he came to grips with living on the island very early on, whereas most of the other characters spent their time searching for a way off. His cinematic death scene was epic as well.
LOSTblog: Kate or Juliet?
Todd Slater: Kate. Tough. Brunette. Strongwilled. Independent... sounds like someone else I know....my wife!
