BLIND CONFIDENCE
“I liked the idea of reversing the negative
stigma of the phrase ‘blind confidence’ into
something more of courage. Even though
you don’t know what lies ahead, you’re
ready for whatever’s thrown your way with a
few bruises and scratches to be expected.”Interview
T
Timothy Von Rueden
LOCATION: US
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: Jeremy Bastian, Yuuki
Morita, Alphonse Mucha, Akishi Ueda and
Allen Williams
MEDIA USED: Pencil
WEB: http://www.vonnart.netArtist
PROFILE
here’s a question that we
like to ask artists. It’s a
slightly awkward and
admittedly, slightly
pretentious question.
Sometimes the answer will be short,
evasive, diplomatic. Other times the
answer will be long, theoretical,
philosophical. Either way, directly
or indirectly, the answer always tells
you something interesting about the
artist and their work. The question is
this: what’s the difference between
good art and great art?
Timothy Von Rueden understands –
and partly agrees – with the usual
objections to this question: that artshouldn’t be judged, that art is
subjective. “However,” the American
artist says, “over the years, I’ve found
everyone actually does have an
opinion, but it’s taboo to share that
opinion with others. I do believe there
is a difference, and this belief often
gets me in trouble.”
Timothy doesn’t have an “official
job.” He doesn’t answer to clients or art
directors. He doesn’t have to adapt
his style to fit game developers or
animation studios. So it may seemEveryone has an
opinion, but it’s
taboo to share it
with others
TIMOTHY
VON RUEDEN
The American illustrator describes to Gary Evans
the eternal conflict between creating art that
means something and art that makes money
ARTIST PORTFOLIO