The Drew Struzan Interview Paul Fuhr

In this day and age, universally recognized artists are a rarity,
if not impossible to locate. Drew Struzan, however, is that rare
breed of artist whose illustrations are not only immediately
identifiable but entirely perfect articulations of any given
filmmaker’s vision. His movie posters underscore an entire
generation of filmgoers’ experiences, serving as milestones
for a cinematic era as well as astounding pieces of art in their
own right.

Very early on, Struzan’s parents saw his talent and had his
artwork analyzed and inspected by Stanford University. Struzan
soon carved out of a professional life for himself, first doing album
cover art in Los Angeles for artists as diverse as Alice Cooper
and Tony Orlando. Perhaps even more impressive is Struzan’s legendary work pace, which is widely regarded as the fastest in the industry. His work on the Star Wars re-releases in 1997 was completed in under three weeks while his theatrical art for 1982’s The Thing was literally done overnight.

Struzan is a testament to the bygone era of hand-rendered movie posters. He has singlehandedly galvanized craftsmanship, precise detail, and character into a style unto itself. His work is inexorably linked to some of the most imaginative, exciting, and fantastic movies of the past three decades, including the Indiana Jones and Star Wars series, The Goonies, Hook, The Shawshank Redemption, Blade Runner, among countless others.

You are one of the most recognizable artists in all of cinema. Do you have any perspective on your impact or influence on people of my generation?

I never knew. The Internet really changed my perspective. Since I couldn't really carry my portfolio around the world, I made my work available on a website. My purpose was to get work. All of a sudden, I started getting e-mails from people around the world telling me what an influence I've had on their lives. I was looking for work and got appreciation unwittingly. People write and tell me that they became poets, writers, or that they became film directors or artists because of my work, or they simply have happier lives because of it. I simply had no idea that people cared that much or thought that much about it. All these fans of my work were suddenly contacting me and it was really hard to believe. Before the Internet, I had no idea. I am just a working man and my influence was limited to my family.

Do you think that there's been a decline in traditional art?

That's not a question, that's a fact -- at least for me. For about fifteen years, I did poster work and it wasn't a problem getting work. But then the computer came along and studios got the ability to manipulate my work. It's upsetting when you see your work altered. So, yes, the work started to fall away. I went from doing twenty movie posters a year to one or two. Now, poster work is almost completely done through the computer.

I have many friends who are, or were, illustrators and they don't illustrate anymore. Studios tend to do their own movie posters these days. Even some of the other work I do, like book covers, are done by the publishing houses now by means of the computer. Everything is computerized. What I would do over the course of weeks now takes a couple of hours on the computer. Art has been compromised for expediency. I liken it to when cobblers used to fashion individual hand-made shoes … personal shoes for people. Then the Industrial Revolution came along and everyone could afford shoes, but they were not the same quality.

Your work is often considered the defining image of the movie. How do you approach that?

That's the whole idea of a movie poster: to create the defining image. Every job is different, which is good for me since I like the variety. Nothing's ever the same from day to day, from job to job. Sometimes I have to work really quickly overnight, which is classically the case, or I spend six months working on 100 different drawings before they figure out where they want to go with it. Every day is a new experience.

I just try to capture the story and emotion of a movie. I don't want to think about it too long--I tend to feel life rather than intellectualize it. Simply, I get the story line, understand the point of the film, identify the genera, center on the main character and their personality, situation and connection with us. The composition, color, texture and style of the illustration are chosen to characterize the soul of the film. At some point, I stop gathering information and just "feel" the film. Emotions are stronger than intellect and art speaks to emotions. I try to reach a person's heart rather than trying to convince them about the movie.

I've read that you wanted to become a minister. Has your relationship with God or spirituality ever dictated the direction of your work?

For about 25 years, I was a minister. But I don't preach through my art--that's not its place. Spirituality is a way of life--it's about values and principles. I just try to be positive, good, and true. That's the spirit with which I approach my work. I do not feel an artist can hide what he thinks and feels when he paints. I have often said that if you want to know me, look at my work. Over the years, my tastes have narrowed and I've hopefully matured and changed but people can still consistently recognize the spirit of my work and sense my basic nature. You can see my personality in my art …my art is me. Whatever you do, do it whole-souled.

Are you ever daunted or influenced by expectations? Do you feel the pressure to meet the public's expectations of what a "Drew Struzan Poster" is supposed to be?

(Laughs) There's some sense of that, sure. It doesn't bother me though. I'm never nervous or anxious when I paint. I think artists improve with age; as one grows older, they should be getting better. I feel that the more you give, the more you can hope to get. I give my whole person in each painting I do. So I try hard to keep improving and growing and fulfilling expectations.

Expectations? A long time ago in a galaxy… Upon finishing an illustration, I took one of my rare vacations. While I was gone, another artist was brought in to change my painting.

Disappointed, yes! Would people think I had gone over the hill and lost it … no longer trying to fulfill their expectations? Upon the release of the poster, someone called all the way from Japan who recognized my art and said, "Something just looks wrong." He was able to point out what part of the work wasn't mine. It was nice to learn that people pay attention to my work that closely. In fact, sometimes I hear that people can recognize my work from across the street. Anyway, it's hard to have my name on something that's not really my work. My reputation and heart is in the work and it really hurts when it is messed with. I want to fulfill those expectations.

Does your style lend itself to a particular type of movie?

I don't think so. Some movies are romantic, some are sad, some are happy, others adventurous and some fancy or fiction and others are true. I've worked on them all. For example, I'm working on painting right now that's surrealistic and I've worked on quite the opposite, like the Muppet movies. I've got to have a heart for it all.

What other projects have you branched out into?

Aside from movies? I've done about four or five dozen collectors' stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. They're always calling. (Laughs) I do comic books and a hundred book covers or so. I have some 60 collector plates I've painted. Don't forget the numerous album covers either. The work is varied and always changing. There is necessity to keep the palette varied. Like I said, computers are mostly to blame for the shift in business, the decline in the use of illustration. Actually, I really shouldn't say "blame" so much as attitudes and moods and demands and budgets changing.

The variety is nice, though. I'm getting a lot of work out of Europe these days. Europeans really appreciate the value of art--they appreciate the human hand actually touching the art. For instance, I've done work for Spanish movies like Pan's Labyrinth. Guillermo [Del Toro] said "Just do it … I don't care if they use it for the American poster or not. The world needs a piece of art." So I did some art for it and they're using it in Europe for the one-sheets and the DVDs. He really felt it captured the emotion of the film whereas, over here, they opted for a computer manipulated image.

It is not a matter of what the project is so much as, for me, I am trying to make it art.

What is it like to work independently?

Well, as you can tell, my studio is really noisy. (Silence, sarcasm) I'm alone all the time. I work here quietly all day long and no one really bothers me. I like being meditative, I like living on the inside rather than on the outside. This part of my personality works to my advantage in a job that demands being in touch with one's feelings. It would be impossible to ever accomplish a painting if someone were over my shoulder, constantly judging my every move. My paintings are me because I am the judge and the decision maker; I need to work independently.

I recall reading that Charles White III gave you your first break on Star Wars. Do you have that sort of relationship with anyone else? Do you work with other people often?

That was a rarity. The story goes that Charlie was offered the Star Wars project back in 1977. He was a grand airbrush artist and designer but he didn't feel comfortable with everything. He said, "I can paint the spaceships and the robots but, will you do the portraits?" It turned out to be a good idea as the poster became very much appreciated. The sharing of the artwork worked because Charlie had a generous and honoring spirit. George loved it and that's how I became involved with Star Wars. As for working with other people: that was a one of a kind experience not to be repeated.

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us.

Thank you.