Meet Lauren Kitching, our new poster artist!
This year is really big for us in a lot of ways: we’ve re-branded our festival to the more overarching, less geographically specific “Other Worlds” title. The other big change is with our poster: our artist since year one, David Poe, remains a dear friend of the festival, but has bowed out after 5 years and a truly epic progression of posters (See his past work here and here and here and here!)
With that said, we are so excited to introduce you to our new artist, Texas-bred and LA-based Lauren Kitching! Outreach Director Tessa Morrison tracked her down and asked her a few questions about her art, SciFi, body positivity, and life in general.
TM: Could you give us some background on your artistic education and your area of expertise? Did you go to school for it? Were you self taught?
LK: Hi there! I have a BFA in Illustration from Cal State Long Beach. I think every artist is self-taught in many ways -- I've been drawing since forever and plan to keep it that way.
TM: How did you come up with your moniker, “Kaleido Kitch?”
LK: My last name is Kitching and I typically work with a lot of vibrant colors so I just meshed together Kaleidoscope + Kitch. I wanted a name that was somewhat..."kitschy" ;)
TM: Who are some of your favorite artists that you feel inform your art style? I'm sensing you might be inspired by comic books as well! If so, what are some of your favorite comics/graphic novels?
LK: I have been inspired by a lot of comics -- largely a fantasy comic that began in the 70’s called Elfquest — lots of sexy elves riding wolves and howling at the moon. Wendy Pini, Syd Mead, James Jean, and Alphonse Mucha are some big influences on me — saturated colors and futuristic worlds are all the rage. Also, Peter Gabriel’s music videos have always been a big visual influence on me — their utter weirdness and strange romanticism is something I’ve always been obsessed with.
TM: I see that you work for an aerial fitness studio doing graphic design work! I love aerials. What's it like in an evening to go from working on commercial aerials assignments to one for a SciFi film fest?
LK: During the day, I get to design and develop body positivity campaigns as well as branding for my company — and I love it! It's very gratifying to work in a female-dominated field while creating cool projects that go all over the country.
However, getting to do a poster for a SciFi film fest is right up my alley! I’ve always been interested in creating album and poster art and I’m glad to have been a part of this film fest as my first official step into that world.
TM: What was your process and/or inspiration for our poster?
LK: The organizer Bears Rebecca Fonte had great direction for me — it's always nice to work with a client that knows what they want. Fonte originally found my series of book illustrations for "The Martian Chronicles" hanging at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, CA and wanted something similar, with a group of aliens looking to a new future — something I can definitely get behind. It was nice to go back to a favorite project of mine, especially one that I had such a great time developing and visualizing.
TM: What would be your dream gig or client? If you could land any art gig, what do you want to do most?
LK: Dream gig is anything for any band or film! I love gig and event posters -- they're always fun and abstract and can deviate wildly from what a brand typically goes for. I'd love to be commissioned by Mondo one day -- they produce the coolest screenprinted posters.
Part I of Kitching’s 8-part series based on Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles
TM: Do you have any upcoming art projects that you are excited about that you can tell us about?
LK: Right now, I have lots of little projects in the works for the holidays — gifts that is. Creating art for family and friends is a great way to connect while stepping away from the consumerist atmosphere I feel often overtakes the holidays.
TM: When you aren't cranking out amazing graphic design and illustration pieces, what do you do with your spare time?
LK: I love practicing yoga after work, watching Buzzfeed Unsolved with my sisters, and having movie nights with friends. We currently have the final installment of JOHN WICK to finish.
TM: What are your top three favorite SciFi films? And why?
LK: Top 3 SciFi films are MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, and STAR TREK: THE VOYAGE HOME (JUPITER ASCENDING gets an honorable mention just because it's so buckwild and I love me some Wachowski sisters). I love the way MIDNIGHT SPECIAL feels weirdly timeless and touches on the idea of disclosure in a very muted way -- it feels very realistic in how I expect aliens to interact with Earthly affairs. THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH is all about the imagery and of course, the everlasting love, David Bowie. My love of THE VOYAGE HOME is all for Spock, whales, and time travel — what's not to love? I’m into anything Star Trek.
TM: Would you put your brain in a robot body?
LK: Never! When does that ever work out well for anybody? Life is best when it’s fleeting.
Thank you, Lauren! We’re so glad to have you on the team this year. The 2019 Other Worlds Film Festival poster will be for sale at the festival, December 5-8, 2019. Austin-based Ramona Press has returned as our screen-printer, and all 50 prints have been hand-signed by Lauren!
