Man and reality, especially man in reality. It cannot disregard the real, the everyday, the actual, the art of Paolo Beghini, young illustrator of Imola, known for its distinctive, ever-changing style.
A signature that is characterised by distinctive characters, bright colours and grainy textures.
The result is a material, plastic work, which also manages to be enriched with almost ethereal nuances, conceptual and expressive contrasts that make his illustrations original.
Illustrate to reflect, illustrate to tell, above all illustrate to be. Paolo Beghini is not interested, and this can be seen in all his drawings, in the beautiful image. Rather visual art It must speak, it must reach the beholder, and then be digested, metabolised, even judged.
His training was mixed, with the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino as his first push towards what he has always loved to do: telling stories through images. Then the experience as webdesigner before embarking on the road from illustrator.
When did you realise that this would be your profession?
After the IFTS course I worked in two small digital agencies, in the first as a frontend developer and in the other as a graphic designer. I wasn't doing too bad either, but fortunately I had one of those classic thoughts that one has in one's twenties or so: do you really want to do this in your life? Is this the best you want for yourself?
Did you really go through all this tangle of studies to do this? Web designer and graphic designer are two very honourable jobs, but they were not the fields in which I could give my best. So I left the agency and started structuring a portfolio.
Conceptual, ironic, provocative illustrations... What do your works tell and how do you define your style?
I have always considered my illustrations as works in the service of someone or something else, therefore hardly independent. Distant from the article they accompany, the product they sell or the context in which they are placed, my illustrations limp, they lose meaning. And I believe this is right. The way I see it, an illustration is always at the service of something else, otherwise it is just a pretty picture. As for the style, I am not too fond of it. It is constantly changing, and perhaps not too personal. It could be defined as a personal mixture of the contaminations of other illustrators and artists. Certainly style is important. It is one's trademark but it is not a beautiful style that facilitates or enriches the message to be conveyed.
What interests me most is the idea, the concept, the visual metaphor that can accompany or support the reference text, giving significant added value to the communication.
Who are you inspired by? Which artists or illustrators have marked your educational path?
There are so many. Too many to write, and I would spend half the day checking if I wrote them correctly. Let me just write down 'only' the ones I am most fond of, both stylistically and conceptually, the ones that make me let out a: 'Fucking genius!' every time. They are Ferenc Pinter, Gianluigi Toccafondo, Emiliano Ponzi, Alessandro Gottardo, Noma Barr, Magoz, Carlo Giambarresi, Sébastien Thibault, Tyler Comrie, Dan Page... and many, many others.
The illustration you remember with particular emotion...?
Newton. It was perhaps the first conceptual illustration I ever made. The intent was to depict a physical law by illustrating the discoverer. Although not blatant, the physical law in question was the law of universal gravitation.
Of course the style and influences have changed a lot since then, but I still consider it a good illustration today.
Illustration and Design: how do you see this pairing?
Illustration is to all intents and purposes a form of design. As an applied art, it plays both an active role within communication and manages to add aesthetic value to it.
Illustration as a tool to tell, to denounce, to make culture and to communicate. What is the present and future of this art form in Italy?
Being a relatively young illustrator and not particularly good at reading the changes of my time, I struggle to make a hypothesis of the future for this form of design. The picture of the current state, however, is positive. More and more advertising agencies, production houses and publishers are turning to illustrators. Both to cut costs (a photo shoot is often more expensive than a series of illustrations) and for the communicative and less didactic potential of illustration.
A lot of progress is also being made in terms of sector identity. There is an increase in the number of schools and professorships where one is trained in the illustrator's trade, forums and groups where one can exchange ideas, associations to which one can turn for help in drawing up contracts and quotations. And this is certainly the most interesting cultural aspect.
Nowadays, the illustrator is no longer a hermit's profession (although silence and concentration are indispensable pencils). Thanks to the web and social networks, virtual and non-virtual venues have multiplied, where people who share a passion for their work and for this form of design can compare and relate. And since relationship is the highest goal of 'making culture', illustration is definitely making its contribution.
