Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Monika Aichele: Illustrator on the Go!


Monika on her lovely balcony in Berlin



Great library (and so nice to have some booze amongst the books!)


Quirky stamp collection


Angry White Monkey collaboration with Stefan Sagmeister


Wall painting in Ahoj Stuttgart


An illustration in her collage style
SZ-Wissen Magazin

On Monday I interviewed the illustrator Monika Aichele. We met in her wonderful apt/studio in Prenzlauerberg - a neighbourhood in the former East Germany which has undergone dizzying changes since Reunification. Her apartment was filled with a wonderful collection of books, art made by her friends, and tchtokes from her many travels. We chatted on her sweet, plant filled balcony from which we had a great view of the city.
There was a real sense of movement and multitasking about Monika. When I arrived she was dashing about finishing up an assignment while her shiny silver suitcase sat packed and ready to be taken to Munich in morning!
It was not surprising to me that she was so busy. In addition to doing illustration in a number of different styles Monika also teaches at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz, maintains a resource website for illustrators called How I got that idea, exhibits her work frequently through Europe and collaborates with other artists on projects! (One of the most well known of her collaborations is the Giant Monkey project she created with Stefan Seigmeister. See photos above. She also frequently travels to Munich, New York and Barcelona! It is no wonder she enjoys drawing on trains.

One of Monika's great strengths is her conceptual illustration so I asked her several questions concerning this. She credits her ability to think conceptually in large part to Heinz Adelmann, one of her instructors at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. She explained that he trained his students to think in a way similar to that of a coach training an athlete. He always pushed her to go beyond the cliche idea - to keep thinking and thinking until an original idea emerged. To look at Monika's wondeful body work it is obvious that this intense training paid off.

1 comment:

Pastor Anil Prabhu said...

Illuminate Life
(Christian love through charitable means)
Dear brother in Christ.
Greetings to you in the might name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
Let me introduce myself that my name is Rev. Anil Prabhu pastor,
illuminate life. With pleasure, we do hereby draw your attention
towards our concern, for which, here in India, we being the servants
of God and responsible social worker honored to be forward our
respective ministry services to your kind notice, with pleasure, for
your perusal, good self, peaceful reaction and for your continuous
immense prayers for the total augmentation for our ministry here in
India.
We were being rendered our gospel service for the last 7 years
with dignity and also with God’s fear. We are sincerely conducting our
Sunday worships in our 15 Churches, Conducting Fasting Prayers,
Special Pray Meetings for the Women, All-night prayers, Revival Gospel
meetings, Youth retreats, House to house visit to pray for the sick
and needy and Sunday School for the children. Our specific focus and
emphasis is among caste Hindu people localities. With our precious
preaching so many Hindu people have been agreed Jesus Christ as their
personal savior and redeemer. As there are only 3% Christians here in
India, as such, we must have to make hectic and strenuous efforts in
all aspects (Isaiah: 40:28) (Isaiah: 55: 8, 9, 10).
In order to gain more and more souls, they need dedicator and
committed full time pastors, who cold stay with them and spend more
time with them during night, since many of the church goers are
fisherman and agricultural laborers, who need to go to their works in
the early morning hewer and return back in the very late night, some
tine it is not an exaggeration to write they wont even comeback to
their homes for days and months, while leaving their families to their
fate. In there critical circumstances they need pastor them and
strengthen them in their crucial times.
In fact, our pastors are very dedicated and are very interested to
spend more of their time with them, however, there are certain pastors
whose financial position is at the worst and there are pastors who
have been suffering and stressing for a square meal. As there pastors
are unable to render none of their precious time to these victims.
So far as our community development services for the following poor
people in the society at our operational areas, orphan children, poor
widows, poor old age people and few poor handicapped people, we are
all meeting the expenses within the purview of our limited might and
offerings.
Therefore Brother as you too know pretty well as all these
services are Herculean tasks and as such, we are humbly and earnestly
requesting and imploring that please kindly pray for the total
augmentation of our respective ministry here in India.

With pleasure, your physical presence here with us is highly
solicited according to your tentative schedule and as per God’s Will.
We will pray for your visit to India and its grand success. We do hope
you may react peacefully and consider our specific request with kind
heart and also with prayerful outlook.
And also please see my ministry blog www.illuminatelifeindia.blogspot.com
We shall wait for your further optimistic and prayerful response with
good anticipation and decent hope.

Thank you for your kindly attention
in his ministry
Rev. Anil Prabhu
Illuminate Life
rev.anilprabhu@hotmail.com
rev.anilprabhu@gmail.com