HE-MAN…WAS A HIPSTER?

 An interview with Adrian Riemann

 Irony, it seems, is an international language. Just ask German graphic designer and illustrator Adrian Riemann, while still a student at the State Academy of Arts in Stuttgart, Adrian’s artwork made him an internet-star after drawings from his Masters of the Universe Series, featuring He-Man, Skeletor, and a handful of other prominent Eternians, all decked out in the latest fashion, began appearing on blogs and image aggregators.

 Adrian’s illustrations resonate so deeply because they simultaneously speak to our childhoods and our adult lives. His drawings work in the same way superhero movies, or even a good joke on South Park does, by viewing nostalgia through a thoroughly contemporary lens. This, in fact, could be the narrative for our entire generation, and one Adrian Riemann has helped illustrate.

 Tell me about your collective, Sommes Des Soleils.

 There are three guys in the collective: Marian, Fabian and me, Adrian. We study graphic design together. That's how we met. Since we share the same interests, and we really like each other's work, we decided to get together and do some stuff! The name Nous Sommes Des Soleils is a play on the French expression “Nous sommes désolés," which basically means, “We are sorry.” Nous Sommes Des Soleils is pronounced the same, but means, “We are the suns,” which is kind of the opposite. We aren’t sorry. We shine brighter than ever.

 Why did you use the Masters of The Universe characters? Were, or are, you a fan of the show?

 Yeah, I kind of grew up with He-Man and the guys. I had most of the action figures and lots of comics. It was quite fun playing with them back then, but if you think about it, the story and the characters basically sucked [laughs]! So maybe it's some kind of trauma-overcoming.

 How did you create these drawings?

 They are hand-drawn. First I took some photos of my brother for the poses, and then I collected pictures of the characters and clothes, then penciled and inked them, scanned them in and did the background and some retouching using Photoshop and a Wacom. Since I drew them quite big it was really time-consuming, I think I only did two a week, or so.

 Are they meant to be ironic, or, perhaps, subversive?

 I don't really know. I did not do them to be offensive. I just had the idea one day and did it without much thinking. If I had thought too much about it I probably wouldn't have done them.

 What other cartoons do you like?

 There weren't many cartoons when I was growing up, at least none I can remember. I was more the comic-book guy anyway. Since I'm from Germany most of the comics I had were European ones, French and Belgium. Nowadays, though, I really like Family Guy and American Dad.

 I’m curious about the clothing you chose for the characters. Do you wear these clothes? Or, were you more interested in the juxtaposition of these two worlds?

 I'm interested in fashion, no question. I own some of the pieces they wear, some I would like to own but I don't want to spend the money, and others I would never wear but they are part of the scene.

 There are certain brands or ways to dress that are in the indie-fashion scene. The people who wear them sometimes think they are the greatest, even though the all look the same for an outsider. Maybe that's why I merged those two worlds.

 What scene is that, exactly? What's it like?

 Well I'm not in that scene. Here in Germany there isn't really an indie-hipster scene or whatever you might call it. But, I always see those photos, like the ones on lastnightsparty.com and all those fashion blogs with wasted hipster guys and girls, and even though I sometimes really like the look it seems so put on. But, as I said, I'm not part of that scene and don't want to judge it. I'm pretty sure there are lots of nice guys, I just took certain elements I liked and let them flow into my work.

 There seems to be a big contemporary street art influence in your work....

 Yes, I was really into street art a few years back. I did graffiti ages ago, but after getting into some trouble I focused more on the art-part. I did lots of stencils and stuff like that. But, to be honest, it got kind of boring. There seemed to be no innovation in the scene, and that's why I went away from it. But the influence is there, clearly.

 What are some of your non-artistic influences?

 Everything is art, isn't it? Nowadays I'm mostly influenced by photography, music, movies, old graphic design, fashion, and of course, the people I hang around. But, everything can influence and inspire you. Being tired, sitting in the subway and seeing some old man with two different colored socks can inspired you too.

 I've seen your Masters of the Universe drawings on countless blogs and image aggregators. How has your life been affected by their popularity?

 It was kind of funny because I didn't really realize when it started; those blogs never inform you when they post something. I just wondered why I had thousands of visitors on my page from one day to the other. So I Googled myself and found all those blogs that showed my work. One big blog had started it and all the others followed. It was really crazy, I got countless e-mails from people who liked my work and wanted to publish them or use them for ads. At first I felt honored, but I also learned how fast everything goes over the Internet. Most guys who seemed so enthusiastic lost interest very quickly, and only a few stayed in contact.

 Another problem was that I never intended them to get so popular. And I never planed to be an illustrator; I want to be a graphic designer. Many people wanted more from me in this style, but I just don't want to spend the next years doing the same stuff over and over like so many other illustrators.

 Still, it’s a great thing. I got to know many nice people and since I sold prints of the drawings I even made some money.

 Do you think being in a “scene” is important?

 For many people, I believe it is. Many people only feel recognized when they are around people who are the same as they are. And it's also much easier to adopt, than to create, your own personality. I never gave a shit about that, I always did what I wanted to no matter if others thought I was strange.

 Why do you think your drawings have been so popular?

 One important fact is that it is a series. One drawing alone wouldn't have worked. But with sixteen, people see can see how much work was put into them. And, of course it's something no one expected. He-Man in designer-sneakers? This is a once in a lifetime idea [laughs]. That's why people were so blown away by it; they just didn't see it coming.

 What's next for you?

We're (Nous Sommes Des Soleils) working on different projects right now. We're doing the designs for an electronic music label that's is really cool, and then we're working on a personal book project with random stuff we did over the last year. We're also trying hard to get our t-shirt line rolling.

 I'm doing a new series of illustrations at the moment, but more cartoon-y and funny. Lots of stuff coming up. Be on the lookout!

- Benjamin Gold