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| 02.11.05 Creator of Worlds |
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02.11.05
Creator of Worlds |
LAURA CAORSI
His name is Juan Jesus, he is 37. Born in Asturias, lives in London and he is dedicated to Art. “On the process, you are creating a diary of sensations”. When he was 19, he packed the suitcase and left for Paris «attracted by the big city» and looking for a market that didn’t exist in Spain. There he lived for a while before settling in England, where he lives since 1988.
The introduction is vague, but is probable that, even meeting him face to face, most of his followers would not recognize him. The reason? His signature and his work take precedence.
Second round. His illustrations have been published in almost every comic magazine in the UK, always signing as “Xuasus”. One of the stars on the last “Salon del Principado”. And besides his loves for comics, his career changed perspective when he started to work at a video games company. There, he started to design 3D worlds and since then the computer has become for him a tool, as basic as a pen and paper.
Not stopping there. Next step was the cinema; it gave him the chance of creating sets for films such as “Harry Potter”, “Troy” and “Kingdom of Heaven”. «Cinema is an imaginary world, it makes us dream while we are awake and believe that what we are contemplating is real», assures the artist responsible for this magic, who in the latest Ridley Scott film undertook the adventure of building the city of Jerusalem.
- Is there room in your computer for “artistic” work?
-My work is completely artistic; the computer is just a tool that allows me to re-create this vision in the correct format for this media. Just as the Typewriter or the Printer are not responsible for writing a book, the computer only reflects my decisions to reproduce it.
- What process do you follow?
-I usually start imagining the space and the action from every point of view to get involved on it. The geometry or “Matte Painting” grows for me in a similar way as a drawing. Is a painting created in space, a three-dimensional canvas. The result of which can be observed by the camera from every angle.
-How did the opportunity to work on “Troy” presented itself?
-I thought it was an interesting project and I got in contact with the company that was involved. Some of the people there, where familiar with my work for “Dinotopia”, for whom I designed and built Waterfall City and its textures.
-What do you feel when you see this shots on the Cinema?
-I am happy with the result. In one of my paintings, the camera follows a Pan from the Palace Gardens to the Balcony where Peter O'Toole and Eric Bana are meeting. The Garden and Palace Buildings on the foreground on that shot are virtual sets and the transition is seamless to the spectator.
The barriers
- You painted a forest in ‘Harry Potter'. Would you have liked to create any other set?
-More than a particular set, I am more interested in what my work can bring to the film. The emptier the screen, the greater it is the creative interest it has for me.
-Do you think that in films such as ‘Kingdom of Heaven' or ‘Troy' is necessary to give more importance to the expression in the sets or their historical fidelity?
-Cinema is an imaginary world, it makes as dream while we are awake and believe that what we are contemplating is real. All the elements on the film must contribute to build this illusion. In this sense, sets are very important because they recreate the entire atmosphere that surrounds the action. They define the world on the screen, and historical fidelity doesn't necessarily help to create the reality that the narrative requires.
-Was it difficult to build Jerusalem?
-No. From the creative point of view, it was one of the easiest projects for me, because of all the creative freedom that I could enjoy.
-Where was the challenge?
-There was very little time to complete the work. I built most of the city in about three months.The concepts for most of the shots in a few hours each and with some of the paintings I only had a few days to complete them. However, the main challenge was to maintain the consistency of the style within the small group of artists that I directed during the process. For them, some of my objectives where difficult to understand.
-But you went ahead. Although some people didn't, initially, understand the “Exaggeration” behind your designs.
-I don't care. My biggest satisfaction arrives when the work is beyond my own understanding. The rationalisation and analysis happen, to a great degree, after the creative process. Is present during the execution, but at a subconscious level.
-Did you have to explain many things?
-Yes. I had to theorise in many occasions about all the aesthetical aspects. And when you analyse too much every stroke or element, you tend to loose the spontaneity and natural flow. The artwork must be understood in a global manner. Normally, I prefer to feel the magic of the creative process, and then contemplate the result.
-Based on your experience, when do the barriers appear?
-When you try to create something new. However, we have to approach them as challenges and learn as much as possible during the process. Barriers are in the way to cross them, sometimes within ourselves sometimes imposed by all the different interests around us. The work that I have done until now is just the water that filters through its cracks.
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