“I want my work to feel human”: In conversation with designer Juan Miguel Marin

Poster design by La Moutique for “El otro Tom”, directed by Rodrigo Plá and Laura Santullo”

 

Juan Miguel Marin’s extended remit of graphic design, better known as La Moutique, includes film posters, film titles and opening sequences, album art, book covers and cultural organization branding. Simplicity is what usually lies at the heart of his work and is key to the power of image used for his film poster designs. But it is a simplicity, and sincerity, that denotes the work of someone with a refined understanding of what the film is about and what the filmmaker is trying to say. It is a simplicity that also has a certain ambiguity that challenges the viewer. It makes you think. It’s feelings, just as much as skill, that push Juan Miguel Marin’s perceptions of a film to a visible form always appropriate to both the visual and emotional loads the film carries, always true to the film’s content and to its intent: His poster design for 52”, directed by Javier Andrade, presents us the story of a natural disaster through the prism of childhood, connecting the outer world to the inner world of the story in the most emotional and expressive way. In my interview with the artist for Beneficial Shock! magazine, we talk about his formative years in Ecuador, about navigating the very thin line between art and design, and about how everything started with… music.

 

Cover art by La Moutique for The Criterion Collection edition of “The Learning Tree”, directed by Gordon Parks
Film poster for Javier Andrade’s documentary 52”

 

I would like to start by asking you: What is your first drawing memory, Juan Miguel?

Memory must be the most powerful faculty of us humans. It is certainly the one that I gravitate to the most when I need to express myself. But my first memory of drawing is a bit fuzzy. I do appreciate this question though, as I have spent too many days, trying to access that particular memory without much luck. Is it possible that someone told me that I wasn’t good at drawing at some point growing up, and that’s why I’ve blocked some of those early memories connected to art making? Very possible… So my final answer is: No actual memories of drawing (formally), but I do remember family vacations on the coast of Ecuador, and finding a strong connection with making marks in the sand, whether it was with an object like a stick, a coconut, or with my body.

 
 

”I find my best and most honest work happening
at the intersection of hand-made, materiality, and playful
experimentation. Embracing accidents, and discovering
unorthodox techniques is where I find a lot of joy.”

 
 

That certainly counts as a first drawing memory. What did you prefer as a child, visual or written stories?

I’ve always been more drawn to stories that included some kind of visual component. And to be totally transparent, I still have a hard time sustaining focus with reading, unless it is a subject I am emotionally invested in. I’ve missed my stop on the train many times for that reason.

You can read the full interview here.

 

Tribeca Film Festival Identity

 
 

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