Interview with Dan
Dan Dickson is Art Director for Nickelodean on air promotions. The following is an excerpt from our interview.
Q: Do you consider yourself an artist or a designer?
A: Designer.
Q: What defines each for you? (are they different/same?)
A: I never was really comfortable with “artist” as a label. Designer seems to be a little more democratic; it’s not so lofty. I get embarrassed easily so I didn’t like being called an artist because it felt weird to me. Art to me is traditional, like painting and sculpture. I don’t do any of those things so I don’t see myself in that light. Design to me is not really for me, it’s for other people. I do it, but other people view it and/or absorb it.
Q: What are your major considerations when working on a project?
A: Depends on the project but for the most part, that it lines up with the brief, that it looks good, but also looks good while communicating the objectives the project has to offer.
Q: When placing your personal work are you always looking for a commercial or retail type of environment or have you considered showing it in more of an “art” setting.
A: I would say I’m always looking for a commercial environment. Part of that is habitual for me. I mean, I have work on my computer that I like and no one has ever seen but when I chose to really make something and put it out there, (I’m not necessarily looking to make a buck but) I’m looking to produce more of them and if people want them, they have to buy them.
Q: I think I misspoke when I used the word “commercial” environment because a gallery can also be a commercial environment so what I mean to say is a non-retail environment. Would you ever see your work in that context?
A: I would definitely like to have a gallery show but for me it’s easier to put work into a “one off” type of context than a “body of work” context. I don’t quite know how to define my work in a body of work context but I can say I did this for this, I did that for that, and put it out that way. But when it comes to a gallery, I think it’s either a series or things that are related or relatable. To put together a cohesive gallery show I think you have to have that type of conceptual focus. My work might have conceptual threads but I don’t look at it as a body of work, and not everything works so I wouldn’t want to show everything I’ve made.
