Episode 322 – Steven Guarnaccia

Virtual Memories Show 322:
Steven Guarnaccia

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“I’m an illustrator. It took me a while to realize I was born an illustrator.”

On the eve of its New York City debut, illustrator (and designer and author) Steven Guarnaccia joins the show to talk about his Fatherland exhibition! We get into how he made the leap from 2D to 3D, the moment he realized he was an illustrator and not an Artist, what it was like to come up in a golden age of magazine illustration, the balancing act of professional and personal projects, the strong influence of the Pop Art on his work, the anxiety of the first time he got a color illustration assignment (he’s been around a long time), getting his first NYT assignment from Steven Heller, and why Seymour Chwast & Milton Glaser may be the Lennon & McCartney of their field. We also get into his love of letterforms, his ingenious idea for my next podcast/documentary series, the process of learning illustration on the job, how he taps his unconscious drawing to break out of creative ruts, the benefits of a two-artist household (he’s married to Nora Krug), his lament for the American culture of specialization, becoming the accidental archivist for Rooster Ties, and our ongoing competition for best-dressed guy at Society of Illustrators events. Give it a listen! And go see the Fatherland exhibition at the YUI Gallery in NYC!

“My father is just as opaque to me now as he was in life, but making Fatherland has enabled me to talk to him in a different way.”

“Who would want to only be an editorial illustrator and have other people feed you somebody else’s text?”

“There are projects we make for ourselves, hoping that they get published, but we don’t stop making them.”

Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!

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About our Guest

Steven Guarnaccia is Associate Professor at Parsons School for Design. He is a former art director of the New York Times Op-Ed page, and his illustrations have appeared internationally in books and magazines, on greeting cards for the Museum of Modern Art, watches for Swatch, and as murals for Disney Cruise Lines. His books introducing children to modern architecture and design include Cinderella: A Fashionable Tale, The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears: A Tale Moderne, all published by Abrams. Steven has authored or co-authored numerous books on popular culture, including Black & White, A Stiff Drink & Close Shave: The Lost Arts of Manliness, and Hi-Fi’s and Hi-Balls: The Golden Age of the American Bachelor, all published by Chronicle, and he is the co-author with Steven Heller of School Days, and Designing for Children. He has had solo shows in New York, Milan, and Toronto, and his installation, Fatherland, has traveled to Bologna, Barcelona, London Berlin and Tabor, Czech Republic, and is now coming to the YUI Gallery in NYC. His drawings for the exhibition Achille Castiglioni: Design! at the Museum of Modern Art were published as a book by Corraini Editore. He has received numerous honors from AIGA, the New York Art Directors Club, the Society of Publication Designers, and other professional organizations, and was a Hallmark Fellow to the Aspen Design Conference.

Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at Steven’s home on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 Microphones feeding into a Zoom H5 digital recorder. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Cloudlifter CL-1 and a Mackie Onyx Blackjack 2×2 USB Recording Interface. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photos of Steven & our pants by me. It’s on my instagram.