Manuel W. Stepan: Classic Pop Art Redefined
Mr. Stepan, your portfolio as a film and creative director is quite extensive. You speak the language of advertising and have already worked successfully for brands such as Eskimo, Vöslauer, Nespresso or Media Markt. What made you redefine Classic Pop Art?
Basically to decide - in addition to my work as a creative director in the field of design, communication and advertising - to work artistically free was due to the urge to create a further creative outlet for myself. For the first time I wanted to work independently in design and art, and not just for clients.
My curiosity to immerse myself in new and exciting fields has always accompanied me. Regular trips to direct film or music videos, but also to accept and implement interior design projects, prove this. You could also say that I am a designer jack-of-all-trades - working in an interdisciplinary way broadens the horizon and I consider this an important basis for remaining innovative and creative.
Changes in the commercial market, the advertising industry, have also strengthened this decision. From my point of view, the artistically high-quality form of implementation, narration and design is no longer strong enough in this field - often to make way for absolute measurability. For art in communication you need a lot of trust, which is often lacking on the part of the client.
Why did you dedicate yourself to Pop Art?
As far as the content of my artistic work, reinterpreting Pop Art, is concerned, I have always been attracted by classical Pop Art, a form of art that is very close to graphic design - without being forced to be subject to socio-political debate. For this purpose I have defined the term "iPopArt" as the title of my work - Interior Pop Art. My works should first and foremost give pleasure, may be decorative, may create positive feelings when looking at my paintings - by the way, my buyers confirm this - I enjoy hearing that.
Another aspect is my interest in the history of Pop Art. The deliberate turning away from and reaction to intellectual, abstract art, which explicitly turned to the trivial and was closely linked to advertising, already characterized the trend of Pop Art in the 1950s. It is thus regarded as an art form that for the first time enables access to a broader mass of people. This idea of accessibility - at least as far as pricing in this area is concerned - has receded into the background. With my iPopArt I would like to revive this approach and make my works accessible to everyone under the motto "affordable luxury".
They are also founders of "The Artworkers Room" - a network for creative people. Innovation through cooperation, so to speak. What is the idea behind it?
The project theartworkersroom* has emerged from the new framework conditions of modern, creative collaboration. Within the creative industry, the structures around creative services have changed - a multitude of creative people present themselves on the market alone, as new self-employed or EPU's. The basic idea is to bring together, bundle and support these free forces.
This not only improves the self-presentation of each individual, but also improves the results. Networks, relationships and cooperation are important drivers for the success of creative work. Creative projects usually require a team with compatible mindsets, lived interdisciplinarity, agile and consistent creativity and result orientation. Through the creation and use of "Fluid Networks" the innovative power increases strongly.
In addition, the "secondary services" required for this, such as market strength, acquisition, bidding, customer and project management, payment processing up to the purchasing syndicate etc. can be better bundled in a digitally supported and automated manner and can thus be solved more efficiently together.
Diversity has always been the basis for creative work. How do you see your industry after Corona, where are the challenges?
We, as creative people, are roughly speaking "luxury". This is naturally a problem in turbulent times. In times like these, issues relating to design, art and culture are pushed back - existential issues have to be resolved - we don't bake bread, and the famous "food for the soul" needs appropriate conditions, at least more relaxed times.
In companies, questions arise about human resources, logistics, raw materials and the like. This also applies to private life and related issues. It is only far afterwards that you can start thinking again about "the finer things in life", art, culture and design. Keyword "purchasing power". In this respect it is difficult to make a forecast at the moment.
Moreover, it is not only the current situation. We have been facing rapid change for years - through digitalisation, artificial intelligence, changed consumer behaviour, etc. - This applies to all sectors and also to the creative industries, where Corona is just another factor that will contribute to further changes, and these could be quite far-reaching.
But I would like to take this opportunity to urgently point out that the economic results of this crisis can be very strongly influenced by our own reaction to it. Do we strengthen the local, regional market with our buying behaviour? Do we think more about the origin of a product? About sustainability. Who, where and how pays taxes and when? To be honest, my confidence in the consumer society is limited in this respect. With or without Corona. We'll see.
For me personally, however, the measures taken in the wake of the Corona crisis have certainly shown a positive side. A kind of "forced rest" arose, which allowed me to listen to myself more closely, so that in the end I could make decisions about my creativity.
The decision was made to face the challenge of working freelance on the market with a - in the end - "luxury product". This may not be in the economic sense, but it is a great personal and emotional gain for me.
Expressive
With his iPopArt, the artist found an outlet for his creative energy without submitting to the market. His works represent impressive figures from film, music and fashion - from Sophia Loren to Grace Kelly, Karl Lagerfeld and Robert Redford. Stepan's freedom in the working process is especially important to him.
With iPopArt he created a new aesthetic for spaces. It should be affordable art for everyone, without becoming a mass product. For this reason his works are limited to a few pieces, signed and especially one thing: beautiful to look at.
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