Geometrically constructing brightly colored worlds, German-based artist and print maker Roman Klonek makes his first cut with precision.
The wood is steadily whittled into an animated topography one incise at a time. Characters are carved into the scene and carved back out again, erased in a way, only to be seen in the final printed piece.
Roman’s love for storytelling began at an early age when he was introduced to his Father’s Super 8 cartoon collection featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, (detailed below). Before long Roman rendered his own style into a stylized narrative captured by his many sketchbooks.
Roman Klonek shares, “The most important thing is my sketch book…my training is to scribble in it every day. Roman often sifts back through the pages of his sketchbooks looking for that lost, but found again, central character.
Roman Klonek’s work is graphically bold, visually rhythmic and intricately refined. Each art piece is laboriously created and finely reproduced.
Celebrating the “lost cut” style of woodblock printing, Roman uses a single piece of wood for his signature printing process. The essential idea behind “lost cut” is that the woodblock is cut and carved for each color required, three to five times, out of the same piece of wood.
By the end of the process the wood is color stained, stripped of its narrative and left only with the carving scars of the entire process.
Roman Klonek and I teamed up during the celebration of Cartoon Network’s 20th Birthday Celebration to celebrate Tom and Jerry. Thankfully we reconnected recently to bring you this great artist feature. (Above, prep for Tom and Jersky created for the Cartoon Network 20th Birthday book and fine art exhibition).
Mark Murphy : Roman Klonek is a masterful craftsman and woodcut artist. I noticed a lot of different cultural influences in your work. Please share a little about your Japanese inspired woodcuts?
ROMAN Klonek : Generally speaking, if you got a penchant for woodcut printing its nearly impossible not to stumble upon “Moku Hanga” – the Japanese woodcuts. I love especially the old ones.
More than 300 years ago they reached a very high quality, maybe their highest, with this medium. Back in 2009, I had the good fortune to visit an exhibition of Utagawa Kuniyoshi in London. He was one of the superstars of the “Ukiyo-e” genre, next to Hokusai, Kunisada and Hiroshige.
“Ukiyo-e” means “pictures of the floating world.” It’s mainly narrative and showcases a lively sense of vitality. You can see everyday situations but also dramatic scenes in the area of theater and war. They have this special kind of strangeness…and kind of exotic journey. (Above, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861), Triptych of Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre, c.1844).
The work is full of codes and mystery. During his time, this work was very popular and at the same time technically brilliant. Kuniyoshi carved super-fine lines in very hard wood and got editions up to 30,000. This museum exhibition was really inspiring and the techniques mind-blowing.
Mark Murphy : Do you give homage to a specific genre of work from Japan or a select group of artists?
ROMAN Klonek : Its not one certain artist or group. I realized that Japan is a wonderful projection screen fro me. I don’t understand this country, even when I try… but nevertheless I love it for some reasons. Russia is similar too.
When I was in Moscow and later in Tokyo, I was completely consumed and absolutely lost. When I walked through the streets of these cities I was completely absorbed in a completely foreign place—I was completely illiterate in the experience.
To compound the experience, everything you look at has strange type, characters that do not translate. And because of your disability to read or recognize the forms, the entire situation becomes more mysterious. The effect for me was sort of…I’ll call it “whimsical amplification.” But for me, a great effect. And I can say...well, somehow I'm susceptible to this…I really enjoyed it.
And this is probably a big reason for me to choose Russia and Japan for my favorite projection screens. Japan is some degrees louder and shriller. Another interesting point is: both countries have a special tradition in popular narrative woodcuts. In Russia its called “Lubok,” (detailed above).
In old-world Japan, it’s an illustrated broadsheet that gives you an opportunity to gain an impression of their floating spirits. Somehow I'm susceptible to this. (Above, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861), Yoko protecting his father from a tiger.)
Mark Murphy : I love the central character in your body of work and would love to know more about her within the context of the work...
ROMAN Klonek : Its quite subjective. The basis is my scribble book... more precisely its a mixture of a scribble book and a diary. I fill at least a double page every day. It’s a daily habit and in the broadest sense simply autobiographical in a my own encrypted form. Its also celebrates the pleasure of storytelling and... well, the first step for all of my woodcuts.
Beyond these essentials, many several backgrounds emerged while scribbling and composing all of these pictures. Ok, one is to tell a story…and every storyteller knows…it has to contain a “”special feature” within the story or at least one...better more I suppose.
Oh yes, and a fine composition needs a good mixture of colors in addition do the rest of what was said. Again and again I try to find compositions in a way of geometrical construction. I prefer the variety of compositions.
For this I love the biography of the Russian artist Kasimir Malevich, (detailed above). He started his carrier with narrative pictures and later got more into the abstract and theoretical styles. This reaches its peak with the famous “Black Square.” But after more than 10 years of teaching this ideology of abstractness he became bored and finally returned back to his narrative and figural style of painting.
I think this is very likable and shows in a concrete sort of way—every ideology is simply ridiculous. Kind thanks to Roman Klonek. (All images featured © 2015, Roman Klonek unless mentioned).
