Redefine Magazine Interview

interview by Melissa Kowalczyk

Name?

Timothy Wayne Lantz, aka archeon.

How did you get the name archeon?

The name archeon is derived from the word "archon", which, according to dictionary.com, means:
1. A high official; a ruler.
2. One of the nine principal magistrates of ancient Athens.
3. An authoritative figure; a leader: archons of cultural modernism.
The "e" was added just to create a unique word that has no meaning in English, though I've recently become aware of an archaelogical theme park in the Netherlands with the same name.

Where are you from?

Altoona Pennsylvania is my hometown. All things considered, it’s pretty unremarkable… as most hometowns tend to be. Though at one time it was a great center for the railroad and was a fixture on the Vaudeville circuit. I have always loved the notion that Abbott & Costello probably performed there.

Do you do your art for a hobby, career, or otherwise?

During the day, I’m a graphic designer/web developer… which is pretty keen as far as jobs go, in that I actually do get to use my creativity and preferred tools to a certain degree. Like all jobs though, it has its limitations… and I suppose that’s where the hobbyist comes into play. I have many outside interests that do not lend themselves to the “work” environment. Its really my after hours work where I get to rummage around in the corners of my brain and focus on what I consider my true art. Recently, this has started to become something more than a hobby though with the Tarot Project and several other freelance gigs. Where this all leads is anyone’s guess at this point, but the possibilities are pretty exciting.

What first got you interested in art?

The earliest thing I can remember that really had an impact on me was The Mighty Thor from Marvel Comics. I had a subscription to the book when I was in third grade. This clearly had an influence on me visually, and it also started a lifelong love of mythology and reading.

I was also fortunate in that during my junior high and high school years, my best friend’s father was an art teacher. I think just being around him and that atmosphere of creativity helped keep me involved in art.

School itself was really boring and I never really found it challenging. Good grades seemed to come easily to me and so I carried a sketchbook around all day and just sat and drew while listening to the teachers. A poor habit, which didn’t serve me well at all in college since I never learned how to take proper notes.

How big of an impact do comic books have on your work?

Probably since I held that first issue in my hands, which I still have to this day (The Mighty Thor #260 "The Vivious and the Valiant" Credits: Len Wein (writer); Walt Simonson (penciller); Tony DeZuniga (inker) June 1977), I wanted to be a comic book artist. The reality is that I just never felt I was any good at it. That kind of visual storytelling requires a whole subset of skills that just seem to be beyond my abilities.

I have such great love for the characters and enormous respect for the artists and writers who bring them to life. While I don’t particularly believe my style is very comic book-like, I certainly can’t deny that 20+ years of reading comics has been a big influence on me.

Where I see that influence most, is in the way I try to convey a sense of story in my work.

What inspires you? Artists? Music? Etc.?

The single greatest painting I’ve ever been fortunate enough to see is J.L. Gerome’s “Duel After the Masquerade Ball.” I happened upon it at the Walter’s Art Gallery in Baltimore around 1990. I was just so amazingly awed by it that I must have stood in the gallery staring at it for hours. The colors, the theme and even just the brushwork had such an affect on me. To this day, I have a print of that painting hanging near my computer to inspire me.

As far as other artists go, I have a great affection for the artists of the Symbolism movement. These guys had such a fantastic way of looking at the world and were kind of the rebels of their day. When so many other artists were conforming to the Christian beliefs and producing nothing but the same old religious pieces over and over, the Symbolists dared to be different. They spent their time researching ancient cultures and mythology and exploring their imagination. Lucien Levy-Dhurmer, Arnold Böcklin, and Caspar David Friedrich are probably three of my favorites from that time.

I should also mention the comic book artists here as well, especially John Van Fleet and Mike Mignola. I read about a dozen titles each month, and I’m always so amazed when I see what these guys are doing.

Lastly, I have to talk about W.A.S.P. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of their CD “The Crimson Idol” that’s probably the unofficial soundtrack to Stygian Darkness. I love that CD so much and it just seems to compliment my work in so many ways. When I’m working on a new image, it simply isn’t done until I can look at what’s on the screen and hear that CD in my head. That’s how I know when I’ve finished something special.

How would you describe your art? What makes it stand out from the rest?

Someone once told me that my work was “very pretty, mythic iconography” and I think that definition fits quite well. If there’s anything about my work that stands out, it’s probably my tendency to focus on “characters.” I really want my images to be something that sparks the viewer’s imagination. I think of them as illustrations for stories that don’t exist yet.

How did you develop your style?

My style evolved out of a hatred for most photo manipulation. I swear every time I see another black and white “Goth” girl poorly slapped into some cathedral background image it makes me weep. There is such a limitless potential to what can be done with photo manipulation and so few people get beyond that first step. I have always said that what I try to do is take the Photoshop out of my images. The kind of photo manipulation that you see so commonly on the web has nearly become a cliché and because of that, I think when people see those images they are no longer able to see them as art, but just as a “Photoshopped” image. It’s a case where the process overshadows the message. When you look at a work art, your first reaction should be about the work and what it evokes in you, not about how it was constructed. Because of that, I spend a lot of time working on my images, consciously trying to bring a deeper, richer look to the image that really makes you question whether it is a photo manipulation or not.

Where'd you get the idea to make the Tarot Series?

The tarot project was kind of a happy accident. Somewhere on the web I stumbled on another artist’s attempt at creating a tarot deck and when I saw their version of “The Moon” I thought, “that’s not right,” and I set out to make my own version of that card. I really had no intention of going any farther than that, but once I finished my version of that card. I received such positive feedback from so many people that I thought I’d try a few more. Two of my online friends, Eden and Kat, were really instrumental in pushing me to keep going, and before I even had the major arcana finished I somehow ended up with a publishing deal. I think I’m still a little in shock over that.

How did you get the deal? Did you persue it and show it to a company, or did someone happen along your site?

The Tarot card deal was one of those things that you hear about but never really believe actually happens. As I already mentioned, my friend Eden was really instrumental in encouraging me to keep working on the deck. She actually went out and looked up the contact info for US Games and passed it my way. I really wasn't sure what I had at that point, so rather than go through any lengthy submission process, I decided to just e-mail the art director and invite her to take a look at what I had done so far. I figured this would be a safe route and if what I had wasn't any good, I'd more than likely get a response telling me so without having to suffer an "official" rejection.

When I heard back from the art director, I didn't get the "Thanks, but no thanks." letter I expected, instead I was given a note saying that I should go through the proper channels and was directed to a different contact within the company. Following up on that, I traded a few e-mails back and forth and next thing I knew I had a publishing deal.

What is your favorite piece that you have done?

I really like “4 and Twenty” and “the medicine maker,” so right now its probably between those two. But ask me tomorrow, and I’ll give you a different answer.