The following is an interview with Eisner-nominated artist Aron Wiesenfeld on the Kickstarter campaign launch for the art collection, Playtime: The Post-It Note Drawings. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Wiesenfeld about his curation process for the 100 post-it note collection, the incredible backer rewards available through the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for Playtime: The Post-It Note Drawings. What can you share with us about your curation process for the 100 post-it note drawings, as well as the short prose, included in this collection?
Aron Wiesenfeld: The drawings have been done over the last few years, with time gaps in between. As I’ve been organizing them in the book, it’s surprising to see certain themes repeat. I’ve been thinking about ordering the images in ways that expand on, or add meaning to, the other images. The text is just a few poems that have been very inspirational to me.
BD: Your work has spanned comic books to fine art, with titles including Y: The Last Man, Deathblow/Wolverine, and more. What do you find to be most attractive about the sequential art medium and its visual narrative capabilities?
AW: Painting and comics are so different. I’ve thought about this a lot. A single image can act like a window into a world where a larger story is suggested, and it’s very interesting to play with that. A close study of a painting is rewarded. With comics I feel that it’s the opposite. You don’t want the audience looking too hard at the art, it should be invisible. The story should flow for the reader, and if they are getting very interested in little details that’s not a good thing. Another way I think about it is painting is slow, and comics are fast.
BD: How do you feel that your work on Playtime compares to or complements your previous work on Travelers and The Well, and what, if any, conversations do you hope that it may inspire with readers?
AW: It’s quite different from those books. It’s almost entirely drawings made on Post-it notes, which took away most of the pressure, since what’s the worst that could happen? I did them for my own enjoyment, and didn’t expect too much of them (hence the title, “Playtime”). But looking at them now as a group, I have a strong sense that they are about my memories of adolescence, in particular the seaside town I grew up in, how it felt riding my bike around town in the evenings, the music that was on, my 13-year-old self’s ideas of what was cool and interesting and mysterious. Mixed in with that are remembered feelings of exclusion, loneliness, and freedom.
BD: Why do you feel that crowdfunding – Kickstarter in particular – has been such a valuable resources to ensuring the success of today’s comic book creators?
AW: As others have said, it lets you skip the gatekeepers. And a lot of projects that might never have been made can find an audience. The same is true of the internet more broadly, many people can now have careers in the arts that would not have been possible before.
BD: In light of the Kickstarter campaign, are there any particular backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
AW: Beyond the regular book tier, there is a signed limited edition variant of the book that I’m particularly happy with. Also, there is a limited edition print that is exclusive to the Kickstarter campaign. The top tier has an original framed drawing on a Post-It Note.
