Exclusive interview with the English artist Jon Burgerman.

Jon Burgerman and I share the same French agent called Lezilus (hi Lezilus!).
Jon grew up in England on a diet of Walkers crisps and lemon Tango, doodling through his lessons at school, barely paying enough attention to hear when the teacher was telling him off for not paying attention.He then went to study Fine Art at University in Nottingham (where he still lives now) and paid just a tiny bit more attention… but not that much more.
Since then he has been scrawling images for fun, for companies and for exhibitions. Jon may be a weakling but his fingers are super buff!
Published in Acclaim magazine.
More about Jon Burgerman

Burgerman characters

WITH NEW WORKS USUALLY COMING OUT MORE OFTEN THAN A LIL WAYNE FEATURING, HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN TO STAY PROLIFIC AND TO KEEP COMING UP WITH FRESH IDEAS AT THE SAME TIME?
I have a very low attention span, I also get excited and inspired by lots of things around me, so I’m always keen to try new stuff out. I have lots of ideas about what I want to do with my work and try and slip them into new projects I’m working on. The only way I can stay sane with my work is to try new things. On the surface drawing might seem simplistic and limiting but actually it’s infinite and sometimes overwhelming. I try and feed my brain good music, literature, thoughts, food etc and I think this in someway comes through in my ideas and work. The answers can often be found in books.

My Jon Burgerman interview published in Acclaim magazine

PRINTS, PAINTINGS, TOYS, ANIMATIONS, CLOTHING, SKETCHES, ETC. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE MEDIUM YOU’LL USE FOR A NEW WORK?
IThe medium is sometimes suggested by the project at hand, for instance it might not be practical to work with slices of bread and squeezy ketchup for a clothing project (though it could be interesting). I approach most projects in the same way regardless of medium. The concept or story needs to work on paper and in my head first for the rest of the project to flow. So even if it’s a one-off graphic for a tee-shirt there will be an idea behind it that makes sense to me and allows me to get on with making the work. I need to convince my brain all is well, and then it’ll allow me to get on with the doodling.

DO YOU SOMETIMES GET TIRED OF PEOPLE ASKING YOU ABOUT THE “CHILDHOOD” FACTOR IN YOUR WORK?
Not really, not many people really ever ask me about that. Some of my work might look simplistic or even childish but that’s a very surface judgment to make. Although having said that, I’ve run some workshops with children and some of their artworks and ideas are amazing, their brains are open to wild possibilities and strange thoughts. So being compared to them is a complete compliment. Drawing is ageless.

Jon Burgerman graffiti

YOU’VE DONE A BUNCH OF COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS AND COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS IN YOUR CAREER. ARE THERE SOME MORE PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH?
I’ve really enjoyed working with a lot of different artists, from doodlers, to designers, animators and musicians. It’s great to be in the company of people that know what they’re doing, it’s such a relief for me. I’d like to work with more people outside of what I generally do – so I’d love to hook up with more musicians, fashion labels, filmmakings and chef. Yeah, I’d like to work with some chefs… maybe a baker, that would be nice.

Jon Burgerman Banquet artwork

HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR STYLE EVOLVING IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS?
I just hope it becomes more. More everything and less nothing, shiny and colourful, rich and satisfying.

WHAT ARE YOUR PROJECTS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE NEXT 3 HOURS?
During the next three hours I hope to be made a cup of tea by someone, I will eat an apple, I will walk home and hopefully it will not be raining, I’ll have some lovely post waiting for me at my flat, the smells of dinner will soon be emanating from my kitchen and then I’ll get on with some drawings and check my emails. This is the best I can hope for but also it’s all I’d like to achieve in the next three hours. There is comfort in conformity, pleasure in predictability and the majestic in the mundane. If anything, it’s good to escape the manic doodle-world for a little while.