Interview With Marco Cibola
By Adam Szrotek
What are your roots?
Both of my parents are from northern Italy. So my blood is Italian, but I was born in Canada and grew up in Montreal.
When did you first become involved in art?
When I was 15, I used to steal my sisters paint and I started painting for fun. I didn't really think about making a career out of it until I was about 20 or 21.
Do you think that having a formal education in art has positively or negatively affected your career?
Positively for sure. You would laugh if you saw my porftolio before I went to school. I learned 80% of what I know about art from my teachers, my peers and my school library. I was pushed to work hard to get what I needed out of school. It definitely put me in the right mind set. I also met a lot of friends that are trying to do the same thing that I am right now, so having a bunch of friends that I can bounce ideas and problems off of has been a great help.
Where did you pick up your work techniques?
We were always encouraged to try new things in school, so I spent a lot of my time experimenting with new materials and trying to think about things a little bit differently. So I guess I just stumbled upon my current techniques. Trial and error.
Can you tell us about your wood technique? How did you come up with it?
One of the first art classes I ever took was a printmaking class and I immediately was drawn to woodcut printmaking. I was always interested in the way the plate looked when it was inked up, almost more than the print. So I decided to try to use the plate as the piece and paint back into it after it had been inked. It started more as an experiment than anything, but I was very happy with the results. My year end show, when I graduated, was all wood pieces. Unfortunately, I need to work on a larger scale with these pieces and therefore they are difficult to reproduce properly, so they don't work very well for illustration purposes. I still do a few pieces on wood every now and then, but it seems like I have less and less time these days for personal projects.
It looks like you prefer toned colors. Is there any reason for this?
I'm not sure why I like the colors that I do. I've always liked things that are subtle. I find it much more satisfying to get people's attention with interesting compositions and content instead of loud colors. I also find there is usually a quietness to the subjects in my work, that wouldn't mesh well with bright, strong colors.
If you could put words into your characters mouth what would they be saying?
I really don't know. I don't even want to guess.
Do you have a certain viewer in your mind when you create?
Depends what the work is for. If it's for commercial purposes, then yes. I try to figure out who the target market is and I try to let that dictate a direction for the work. If it's a personal piece, then I try to please myself. It's a great relief to work on something and not think about whether or not people will react positively to it. I find most of my favorite work is not commissioned.
What is the idea behind Nove Studio?
Nove was born about 3 years ago and it's basically a name to house all my design projects that don't really fit in with my illustration work. Although sometimes there is a lot of overlap stylistically, I like to try and keep the two things separate.
How important is the role of internet in self-promotion?
For me it's been extremely important. I've gotten most, if not all, of my work because my clients were able to see my portfolio online. I can't imagine having to mail around a physical portfolio to prospective clients. I mean, I'd do it if I had to, and I've met with clients to look over my work, but most of my clients are not local, so the internet has played a crucial role.
How did you get involved with skateboarding projects? are you into this sport?
I've been involved and into skateboarding and snowboarding for the past 15 years. I've met most of my friends through skateboarding. A good friend of mine opened a skate shop in Montreal a few years back called Alena. When he first opened he needed help with graphics for the store so I started doing his graphics. I've been designing stickers, t-shirts, fabric patterns, deck graphics, flyers and the website for Alena. I've also gotten a couple of jobs in the skateboarding industry through this. It's been much more than a job though. I've been growing with Alena since the beginning, and everybody there is like a family to me.
I know that you like death metal. Do you draw inspiration from it?
I actually don't like death metal at all. I guess I should clear that up right off the bat. I wrote it as a joke and realized later that it wasn't that funny, and that nobody would understand it unless they knew me. I'm into a lot of different music, but death metal is not one of the "genres" that I like. Sorry for misleading you. I do like music a lot though and I listen to music all the time when I'm working.
Please tell us about "vs. sting like butterfly". What do you think about events like this?
That show was a collaboration between 4 friends. It was Peter Mitchell's idea and I think it came off quite well. We all had our individual space in a gallery to show work, but in addition to this we had made a series of "picture battles". The intention was for each of us to do a piece that would be butted up next to somebody else's piece. All that we knew beforehand was the dimension of the piece and the height of the ground plane and the direction that we would be fighting. We then had to make a piece that would be battling the picture that ours would be butted up against. But the final "picture battles" were a surprise for us all.
You can go to the Moon with one person. Who would that be?
Anne Merrill.
What is next for Marco?
I'm going to continue on the path that I'm on. I'll be doing illustration and design work and hopefully keep taking part in exhibitions every now and then, I'm also toying with the idea of going back to school to do a Masters in Studio Arts, but that won't be for some time.
Marco Cibola
Interviewed by Adam Szrotek
