In his latest artwork, African-American digital artist, Phantom Kay goes in a different direction with inspiration from the classic James Dean’s torn-sweater photo shoot. When you think of James Dean, the first word that comes to mind is: rebel. The ’50s American actor became a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment when he starred as Jim Stark in his most celebrated film, “Rebel Without a Cause.”
I was so used to seeing his work paying tribute to Black music makers and athletes – I had to ask the artist, why James Dean?
Dita Quiñones: Were you a fan of James Dean growing up or did you recently watch one of his movies?
Phantom Kay: I’ve been a fan of James Dean since I was a kid. I watched his movies with my grandfather. I use to spend hours looking at old pics of him and think “Man, if I could ever be that cool.” I’ve wanted to do something dedicated to him for a long time but, I wanted to wait until I felt like my skills had reached a certain level so that I could be able to do him justice. To me, he’s the ultimate cool kid because he just didn’t care. He lived life like love me or leave me alone. And I think that is why he is such timeless icon. He represents that rebel in all of us who throws up the middle finger and says get busy living or get busy dying.
DQ: Did you use the actual photographs and do digital penciling over it? I’m just trying to pinpoint your medium? PK: No, my process is actually a combination of shapes and lines. I use images as inspiration. But, when it’s time to make the art it’s just me and a blank screen. It’s a very tedious process that I still spend hours on everyday fine tuning. Still, the element that I spend the most time tweaking is shading. Shading will take a flat illustration and gives it depth and a realistic tone.
DQ: How do you balance realism and your style? PK: It’s funny because my goal is to get as close to the real image without looking just like it. It’s a delicate dance because too realistic and the design can look fake – too undeveloped – and the design doesn’t look like the person it’s inspired by. It’s definitely a balancing act which is why I like to keep my piece full of imperfections, because that’s what let’s people know that this is an interpretation and not a copy with sprinkles. (laughs)
Purchase and view the rest of “The Rebel” collection. Follow @PhantomKay
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