I grew up in Hengelo, a small average town next to the German border in the Netherlands. Although there wasn’t much to do, I’ve lived in Hengelo until I was 20. I guess it’s because in the Netherlands public transportation is free for students. I studied graphic design in Zwolle which is further inland and when I felt like it I’d travel further west.
After my college years I started working at an advertising agency in Antwerp, Belgium. I worked there for about two years but I couldn’t really get used to the commercial advertising world. I got more and more into art and illustration so in 2007 I moved back to the Netherlands to study Art & Crossmedia Design at the art academy in Enschede (which is close to my hometown).
Now I live in Amsterdam and am working on my graduation.
Its actually a bit complicated. My mom and my real dad never lived together. I spent most of my time with my mom and when I was about one years old she met Gerard. I still consider him as my father, Gerard is so awesome! Eventually they broke up at the time I lived in Antwerp. They moved separately to Enschede and I guess that was a second reason for me moving back to Holland.
Louis’ lovely mother sitting amongst the then 1-year-old’s toys, 1984
How early on did you discover your creative talents?
Like most creative people, I’ve been drawing since I was a little kid. But on top of that, I had this habit of collecting things, mostly in print. It started with the G.I. Joe toy packaging and later on — when hardcore techno became popular — flyers for parties, CD compilations and magazines. My dad was an electronic music maker and when I was 11-years-old I got his Atari computer to make my own music. When I recorded a tape I decorated the case with cut-out letters and images of demons from the flyers and magazines I had collected. And so began my interest for graphic design.
Wow, have you explored music making since the Atari?
Yes, but within a year I switched to a PC, though I stayed with Cubase. Years later I discovered it was a big mistake because I had lent out the Atari to a friend who eventually sold it. I made music until the age of 17, but because of a fatal computer crash I lost my interest in music making and unfortunately, I only have a few cassettes and MiniDiscs left.
And what sort of music have you been listening too?
Nowadays I’m a big fan of Turkish folk music from the 60′s and 70′s. Well, the Turkish folk is just one of many. I guess living in Antwerp really changed my preference in music. Before I moved to Antwerp, I was a real clicks & cuts boy, listening to minimal glitchy beats and soundscapes all day, you know, music made with computers. In Antwerp I started listening to more music with real instruments, ranging from modern classic to folk (mostly girls with long dark hair and a guitar) to drone and pop. To name a few artists from different genres: Alva Noto (actually the whole Raster-Noton label is brilliant), Max Richter, Rhythm & Sound, Selda Bağcan, Svarte Greiner, Cat Power and Beach House.
Print 3 of 4, Untitled
Louis’s workspace in Enschede, 2009.
How has Amsterdam influenced your art making? Do you feed off of the city or could you be working anywhere? Any crazy stories since you’ve moved there?
Well, it’s harder to keep my work personal. There are a lot of people in Amsterdam having all these ideas about me and my artwork, but I like to keep it for myself rather than connect it to brands or something like that. I recently participated in an art challenge hosted by Nike and although I managed to win, it didn’t feel right. As a designer I’m very flexible, but as an artist I like to keep my work close to me. I prefer working at home. I Lock myself in my little home studio, work until late and make a real mess. If my table and floor are filled with paper, pencils and markers, than that is a good sign.
And crazy stories…well, my first exhibition with the book pages was here in Amsterdam. The show turned out to be a big party and I couldn’t get in during the opening because it was way too crowded. After hours of waiting I got in and found my work hanging askew on the wall and one piece broken on the floor.
Haha, sounds like the Amsterdam I have only known in stories, I myself haven’t made that quintessential backpacking trip yet. Do you have any more upcoming exhibitions in the area or elsewhere?
Actually I don’t have any shows coming up, mostly because I’m still working on my graduation. But there are some upcoming projects: I did the artwork for a record called Ruis by Sonmi451. It will be released by Slaapwel Records, a small record label specializing in music to fall asleep to. Another project I’m really excited about is a book I’m working on for the exhibition series Art Trek in Antwerp featuring artists like Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch, Gemma Correll, Julien Kedryna, Ephameron, Cody Hudson, Matthew Feyld and many more.
Louis and a friend coming down the stairs from his apartment, Antwerp, Belgium, 2006
As a designer and artist, how do you balance the two creative states of mind? Is your process and approach different for your art making verse your design making?
Although my artwork can be described as “graphic design” I’m not trying to communicate directly with the viewer. Most of my illustrations are typographically-based but it’s not meant to be read. The artworks for LPP arise from that idea but before you try to read them, these aren’t words, only images. On occasion I use my work for commercial projects but only if it fits me and the assignment. The artwork I did for Slaapwel Records is a good example of that. In my work as a designer, communication has a big priority and although I’m carrying the title “crossmedia designer” I focus myself on print, especially book making.
Yes, clear visual communication is definitely the most important aspect of design. What part of bookmaking intrigues you the most?
My major interest in design has always been printed matter. In book making, a solid grid and layout is very important. It’s a real designer thing but I love to work on those basics that other people wouldn’t even notice.
Print 2 of 4, Peaks
You seem to be so immersed in traveling, does this explain your use of maps in your work?
Not really. Traveling is a sort of meditation for me. While most people in the Netherlands would rather take their car, I prefer to travel by train. I never read, nor do I draw during my travels. It’s just a moment of thinking and listening to music. Actually the reason why I don’t travel by car is because I’m a really bad driver.
In maps, especially old maps, I love the use of color and the detailed graphic elements. A teacher in art school once gave a lecture about the graphic beauty in metro maps. It’s so amazing how they fit all the information and various layers on a single piece of paper.
What do you think about when you are working on your art?
Probably about the next step I’ll make. The rest is pure concentration I guess.
Beyond art, what are some of your other influences and inspirations?
I’m Dutch so it probably won’t surprise you that I love to ride my bicycle!
Inlay / poster for the Slaapwel Records release Ruis by Sonmi451
Who are your top five favorite artists, past and/or present?
I’m pretty active on the internet and everyday I bookmark dozens of artist whose work I really like. If you asked me the same question tomorrow, I probably would come up with 5 different names.
The internet plays a major role in bringing the international creative community together. Being that you and I came to know each others’ work through Flickr, would you agree that this is a main source for you to connect to other artists? Do you have any other sources for reaching out?
Absolutely! For me it all started back in 2004 with an online collective called Wefresh, a group of Dutch designers, illustrators, animators and graffiti artists. Later on I started using Fotolog to expand my network and now Flickr is, in my opinion, a very nice platform to share your works. Besides that I have a Facebook and a blog but I’m not really good at it. For now I’m happy with my website and my Flickr. On wednesday I have a meeting with my friends from Wefresh, we are considering getting the website back online.
Thanks so much for being a part of the Little Paper Planes Exclusive Artist series and it was a pleasure getting to know you a little better!
Thank you Cortney.
Print 4 of 4, Impact
Become Louis’s Flickr contact
Visit his website, louisreith.com
Purchase his exclusive Little Paper Planes set, or single prints here!
5 comments
This interview was as good as a “quintessential backpacking trip.”
[...] of 50, signed, hand numbered, on beautiful paper. You know, the works. Check out an interview here + snag a print (or the set) here. Share and [...]
Louis dacht dat ik een neger was.
Louis,
This is from your namesake (but my middle name is “John”). We are from a family in Selsingen, Niedersachsen, Germany – my great-grandfather Johann Reith left in 1868 because of Otto von Bismarck’s universal military conscription for Hannover/Niedersachsen after the Battle of Koeniggraetz (Sadowa) in Bohemia. The story is that he was hiding in a ship in the Hamburg harbor and thus reached London, then New York, eventually Concordia, Missouri, near Kansas City. I visited the relatives in Selsingen several times (after a five-year stay in Tuebingen and Stuttgart for a Stanford University doctoral dissertation in Reformation History), most recently in 1989.
I’ll check out your art work. I have a Facebook site but have not had time to develop it as of yet. Good luck from a namesake in Washington, DC (3201 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Apt. 505, Wash., DC 20016, USA)
[...] mehr über den Künstler erfahren will, sollte das nette Interview mit ihm auf Little Paper Planes lesen. Das Blog und der flickr-Stream von Louis Reith bietet [...]
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