Interview
Alain Godefroid
Alain was born in Liège, Belgium, on February 19, 1949, a pencil in one hand and a brush in the other. He is the illegitimate son of the Tintin characters, Castafiore and Captain Haddock.
After a short art and marketing studies in the Académie des Beaux-arts and the ISMP School in Brussels, he made his career as illustrator and art director and received some prestigious creative national and international awards.
Alain has held a number of interesting positions in the world of art: Chairman of the Creative Club of Belgium, Press Illustrator for some magazines and also founder of Image au Carré Art Gallery Brussels.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“As far back as I can remember, my first and preferred toys were a pencil and a sheet of paper. I had several good friends, of course, but I liked to isolate myself. Alone in my bubble, I used to fill dozens of sheets of paper with battle stories that I invented, mixing Middle-Aged knights, Spitfire planes of the second World War, Napoleon soldiers, and Sioux warriors. I was totally enthralled by uniforms, historical costumes, heraldry, and weapons.
Although I was fascinated by the beauty of the French Hussar or Grognard uniforms, my attraction quickly changed to the charms of the low-cut dresses of the First Empire women or the Bavarian waitresses. In the 60’s, I became pacific, protested against the Vietnam war, nuclear tests, and entered the Royal Art Academy of Brussels, hoping to draw and paint undressed nudes rather than soldiers. In 1968, keeping with the spirit of ‘make love, not war,’ I became a father faster than expected and had to quit my studies.
As I absolutely wanted to keep developing my modest talent of drawing, I started my career in the advertising business and became a freelance illustrator. I discovered Milton Glaser, the Swiss design, the Polish posters style, the Mad magazine, and Reiser and his insolent friends of the French Hara-Kiri magazine. I admired Sempé and was—and still am—greatly influenced by his style for years. Is it really art? I don’t know and I don’t care, but that was my way of starting my journey in the art world.”
What inspires you most?
“I’m greatly inspired by history and our environment. We don’t learn anything from our history, which both worries and inspires me. History has shown us how dangerous it is when crazy people take the lead, or how fast people become crazy when they take the lead, or both. It has been the case for centuries and is still working the same way even in our democracies.
The environment worries me a lot as well. Our planet is so wonderful, but so fragile. It is another source of inspiration for another series of mine called, ‘We’re going straight into the wall.’”
“Crazy kings and queens, bloodthirsty dictators, CEOs with no ethics, ambitious presidents or fearless commanders have proven that power is dangerous.
Such leaders are the main inspiration of the series I call Madness & Power. I have painted a lot of them but unfortunately, there are still a lot more to paint!”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I modestly try to awaken our conscience, our humanity, our sense of equality and our need of freedom. Concerning my caricatures of mad leaders, I think there’s no ambiguity. My message is very clear: I denounce injustice, racism, autocracy, and fascism.
My comic strips are more abstract. They need some imagination, like any piece of abstract work. For the viewers who take the time to read the titles, there is no underlying message. It’s very clear that my work is talking about the lack of serious changes that we need to make in order to save our planet.”
How would you describe your work?
“Born in the same country as many cartoonists like Hergé, Franklin, Jacobs, Morris, and many more, my work is directly inspired by those masters, and the technique that is specific to that discipline, the ligne claire. This is the black line mainly drawn with China ink that separates the colors. This technique has been used in painting by masters such as Van Gogh, Lautrec, and many other Japanese artists.
However, my black ligne claire is very free. Sometimes it takes a different color, and often doesn’t respect all the color limits.”
“Whatever it is, whether the theme is the accusation of abusive power or the fear of seeing our planet disappear, my work is inspired by cartoons, comic strips, and caricatures — by the world of illustrations rather than the world of painting.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Without any doubt, I’ve always been influenced by Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Alechinsky and Hergé. But there are so many other fantastic artists I am jealous of!”
What is your creative process like?
“My process is simple, to let my brushes improvise and to let them invent their own story. When I paint my abstract series, ‘We’re going straight into the wall’, I have absolutely no idea what the final artwork will be. Freedom is my leitmotiv. I even let the viewer create the scenario of my comic strip paintings for themselves.
The main process of my series ‘Madness & Power’ is similar. If I take inspiration from really ancient or official portraits — I take the freedom to completely re-appropriate them to me by caricaturing them and using a technique of free ligne claire movements.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I’m not sure that an artist has the obligation of having any role in our society, even if it is very important for them. Creating a piece of art is a way of having fun, exorcising pain, sharing a feeling, or whatever else you want. But most importantly, it is a very personal and selfish process. If it can create some reaction in the viewer’s mind—like I try to do with my work—that is good, but it is not a requirement.
If I take the very modest role of an ‘ideas shaker’, it’s because I need to do it, and therefore very selfish. Once again, there is no obligation. Let’s keep ourselves free.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“The solo exhibition I made in 2020 in W:Halll in Brussels is the most noteworthy for me. I presented all my work in the Madness & Power series for the first time. I made a video of this exhibition called ‘Vanitas vanitum’ which you can view here.
My more recent exhibitions are listed below:
2022 - Collective Gaspeldorenhof, St Pieters Leeuw.
2021 - Solo Work in Progress Gallery, Brussels.
- Solo in the Centre culturel d'Uccle, Brussels.
2020 - Solo in the W:Halll, Brussels.”
