The theme in the work of Russian illustrator Anton Gudim is random, yet he's mainly attracted to things that are deprived of attention and to what seem ordinary.
The work of Russian illustrator Anton Gudim is first of all a way for him to establish application for his own existence. Gudim is assured that most people are facing the problem of not knowing nor finding their destination in this world, among whom he includes himself. In his search, Gudim went through different options: he received a technical education (IT engineer), played in a band, he was also a designer and tried working in an office. However, when he discovered drawing, he decided to stop his search. As such, Gudim is convinced that his craving for creation is born from the lack of self-realization and self-application.
At the moment Gudim is working in digital formats. The tools are simple (a laptop and wi-fi), which makes digital convenient, in contrast to classical formats of illustration. Talking about details Gudim draws in vector graphics, since he favors contours from colors. To represent an idea, he chooses the simplest form: the minimum number of frames, labels, accompanying text and so on. He believes that the result should be as simple as possible, without being inaccurate.
|
Talking about structure and workflow, 99% of the work of Gudim is preplanned. When he starts a drawing, he already has a clear idea, divided into frames. He chooses the position of objects in the frame from the maximum simplicity. The remaining 1% of his work, is the work to which he’s stuck with despair. Usually these are not his most successful works.
The theme in the work of Anton Gudim is random and can be a comment upon anything, that he’s presented to during an average day. Yet, he’s mainly attracted to things that are deprived of attention and seem ordinary. Ordinary situations in general is a challenge to Gudim, as he wishes to perceive them in new ways, from different angles. When he succeeds he some how feels happier. Sometimes the topic may be personal experiences or inner states. When he finds the humor in situations that bother him, it makes it easier for Gudim to put up with them.
|
In the construction of a good composition, the key element depends on a subjective evaluation of taste, according to Godim. As stated, he’s guided by the principle of “the simpler the better”. To him, this implies the simplification of forms, angles, number of details and colors. The path of simplification gives Gudim more time to concentrate on elaborating a concept, as well as more time for trial and error – working more, in a general way of speaking.
Anton Gudim is inspired by many surrealists, in special Belgic René Magritte (1898-1967) and Canadian painter Rob Gonsalves (1959-2017). He’s fascinated by their work as it does not shout about its unusualness, as, for an instance, the work of Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989). They are calm, fabulous, sometimes a little strange, but very attractive.
This article about Anton Gudim takes part of the 6th anniversary magazine, ARTICULATE #25. Read, download or order your print version of the full publication below.
ARTICULATE 25 is the 6th anniversary publication of ARTICULATE, showcasing the work of 5 professional contemporary artists, featuring the Ukrainian Ruslan Onishchenko, the Turkish creative photographer Elif Yesil Aktamis, the Spanish graphic artist José Navarro, the Russian illustrator Anton Gudim and the American painter Dorielle Caimi, who’s priding the cover.
|