The Insta-viral artist shares his thoughts about creativity and his main character Spesh
In our digital age, new and emerging artists have more opportunities than ever to get their work in front of eyeballs and connect with creatives from around the world. American artist Coolman, whose real name is Danny Casale, blew up on social media with his comical illustrations and cartoons. His doodly lines are blocky and sometimes almost rough, but the simplicity is deceiving – though the humour seems random at first glance, it reveals a detailed eye for life’s intricacies. With no prior artistic training, Coolman has created a range of characters, including the vaguely rabbit-shaped Spesh, which have gained him almost three million followers on Instagram.
Following his collaboration with Hong Kong Tramways last year, the artist is now collaborating with Casetify for a special line, and has returned to the city with a pop-up shop and a mural, just in time for Arts Month. We catch up with Coolman to find out about life’s varying emotions and working as a digital artist.
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I feel like I started my artistic career when I first started to doodle in class – so, as long as I can remember. I never studied art professionally but it never seemed to matter, because my friends always seemed to be somewhat entertained [by] whatever I was creating. That was all the validation I needed to pursue [art] further.
Anything that makes someone feel, well, anything! I know it’s quite broad, but I really do think it’s that simple. Take a silent film from the 1920s, or a crayon drawing you made when you were three, or a photo your grandma took of a squirrel. It’s all an emotion, or an idea, or a memory, or a means of expressing oneself. To me, it’s all art.
The world around me brings endless inspiration. Coming from New York, it was tough to go 10 minutes without noticing something totally odd and memorable. One time, my roommate in Brooklyn burned his tamales in the oven. I created a whole song and doodled an animation about how someone was grieving their burnt tamales, but someone else comes along and reassuringly sings that ‘It’s okay, I like my tamales well-done’.
I often start with a concept or message that has been on my mind, sketch it down on physical paper, and start building the characters, script, and storyboard. I also record all the voices and music myself. From there, I will work alongside my amazing team to bring everything to life. I think it’s important for any artist to develop a team they trust, both professionally and creatively, so that they can build bigger and more ambitious projects. You can’t always do it all yourself!
Spesh is a little bit of myself and a little bit of all of us. He is that little voice inside our heads that keeps us going through hard times and cheers you on through good times. Most importantly, Spesh is here to remind everyone that they are special, and unique, and a little weird… And that’s okay.
Life isn’t always happiness and sunshine. If we were to pretend that everything is happy, [then] art would become generic and cliché. In Disney movies, there’s always a tinge of sadness and heartbreak to balance out the happiness – that’s what makes it so powerfully human. Without darkness, there is no light. Doesn’t a laugh feel so much sweeter after a cry? That’s the beautiful complexity of the human experience, and I think we should embrace it.
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I don’t think there is a difference, just different mediums to express your emotions. Artists are also shaped by their generation and the tools that are available to them. I think all artists should use social media or have a digital presence to strengthen their craft and have their art reach more people around the globe.
I am teaming up with Casetify to create a collection of my artwork that people can take with them in their pocket. It’s very exciting [to be] featured in K11 Musea, where my international fans can come and see my work in person. A key highlight of the show will be my larger-than-life mural that will be painted on site by me when I arrive in Hong Kong.
For the first time, my art will be available to wear on your personal everyday devices. It’s something that people can have with them at all times, to brighten their day and remind them of how special they are. Plus, it’s kind of cool to think how I got my start based on people watching my creations on their phones. It’s the main reason my animations have been able to reach so many people around the world, so it feels full circle that now people can wear my art on those phones!
I’m really excited to see M+, the contemporary art museum. I’m actually doing a pop-up there with Curator Coffee, where people can order drinks with incredible latte art of my animations – I didn’t even know the technology for this was possible! There are unique Spesh lattes, Blue Dude lattes, and so on. I can’t wait to try it myself.
I love the vibrant creative energy in this city alone, but the works of Mak2 really stand out to me. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Also, Stephen Wong Chun-hei’s landscape works are just breathtaking. Love to them both.
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