Jean Jullien is arguably the most famous artist in the world right now. His ‘Peace for Paris’ has become a worldwide symbol of support.
Mostly, Jullien’s work tends to have a light and breezy, sometimes on-the-nose humor. He has made a habit of reacting to the news in drawings before, from the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson to the legalization of gay marriage in Ireland and even the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris last january, but a simple, slightly off-kilter rendering of the Eiffel Tower framed by a circle so as to look like a peace sign has taken the world by pacifistic storm.He has gone on to say that it is not his image, that it belongs to the world, everyone. It is not a piece that he is even proud of; he didn’t create it for benefit. He just wanted to express himself. His raw and real reaction became a image for solidarity, thus illustrating (pun intended) the power of art and design.
Jean works as illustrator, but has expanded his practice to photography, video, costumes and installations in an eclectic body of work. His illustrations are classic both in style and in the way they reduce complex matters to visual puns. He has had showings in London, Los Angeles, New York, as well as France and Italy, just to name a few.
His humor and overall sense of artistic minimalism definitely stand out in the interview. We are thrilled to distract from the cruelties of the world for just a brief moment and simply smile at dumb questions with Mr. Jean Jullien.
Q. If you had to get trapped for a month in one city’s subway system which would you prefer, NYC or London?
NYC for sure.
Q. GOB or Buster Bluth?
GOB!
Q. If you had to pick a living artist to paint your portrait, who would it be?
Yann Le Bec, Yu Nagaba or David Hockney.
Q. What will you be drinking this holiday season?
Mulled wine.
Q. Laying on the beach drawing or landing a sick 360 flip off some stairs?
I wish I could land a 360 flip, but knowing that I can’t, I’ll go with the beach.
Now caption this bad stock photo.