THE ART OF NOT BEING AN ARTIST
Helge Jepsen on black lines, difficult rims, beautiful cars, stoner rock, and the art of not wanting to be an artist.
“I am a service provider who can handle a pencil reasonably well.”
Helge Jepsen is an illustrator, communication designer, collector of cars on paper, and a declared non-artist. Born in Flensburg, he has lived and worked in Essen since the mid-eighties. For years, he drew automobiles for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, illustrated books and magazines, portrayed the collections of passionate car lovers, and is one of the minds behind Dukes of Downtown, an Essen-based event for vehicles with character rather than mere status polish. And yet he says: “I am a service provider who can handle a pencil reasonably well.”
That may sound like understatement, but above all it is an attitude. Jepsen distrusts the label of artist whenever it becomes more important than the work itself. What interests him is craft, form, commission, and the daily joy of making something come into being. Sometimes it is a BMW 507, sometimes the twentieth Mazda. The standard remains the same. Only when the light and the cast shadow are right is the image finished. Then it may go on the wall. Or, as his exhibition is called: This Can Go.
THIS CAN GO
In German, the phrase usually asks whether something is art or ready for the bin. Helge Jepsen turns it into a verdict of completion: the work is finished, released, and ready to leave the studio. The line is drawn. The shadow sits. Now it can find its place.
Helge Jepsen on black lines, difficult rims, beautiful cars, stoner rock, and the art of not wanting to be an artist.
“I am a service provider who can handle a pencil reasonably well.”
Helge Jepsen is an illustrator, communication designer, collector of cars on paper, and a declared non-artist. Born in Flensburg, he has lived and worked in Essen since the mid-eighties. For years, he drew automobiles for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, illustrated books and magazines, portrayed the collections of passionate car lovers, and is one of the minds behind Dukes of Downtown, an Essen-based event for vehicles with character rather than mere status polish. And yet he says: “I am a service provider who can handle a pencil reasonably well.”
That may sound like understatement, but above all it is an attitude. Jepsen distrusts the label of artist whenever it becomes more important than the work itself. What interests him is craft, form, commission, and the daily joy of making something come into being. Sometimes it is a BMW 507, sometimes the twentieth Mazda. The standard remains the same. Only when the light and the cast shadow are right is the image finished. Then it may go on the wall. Or, as his exhibition is called: This Can Go.
THIS CAN GO
In German, the phrase usually asks whether something is art or ready for the bin. Helge Jepsen turns it into a verdict of completion: the work is finished, released, and ready to leave the studio. The line is drawn. The shadow sits. Now it can find its place.