This week many of the world’s masters of
fantasy and science fiction art will be gathering for one of the most important
annual juried shows held in their field. It’s a substantial show, during which
these worthies display their wares, including past masterworks as well as new
pieces, many created specifically for this event. And yet, the majority of these
artists’ fans are likely unaware of this event, much less that it’s happening
this week.
That show is IlluXCon. It opens this
Wednesday, September 11, at the Allentown Art Museum and runs through
this Sunday the 15th. And, as co-founder Pat
Wilshire reveals, there’s a lot of activities and opportunities to meet, greet,
and interact with IlluXCon’s guests packed into those few days. 
Just
so we’re all up to speed, what is IlluXCon, when and why was it founded, and
who was instrumental in making it a reality?
IlluXCon is the world’s only annual
symposium dedicated to the art of traditionally created imaginative realist
art. Imaginative realism, otherwise known as fantastic art or the art of
fantasy and science fiction, is both the continuation of a 200-year old
tradition as well as the cutting edge of contemporary realist painting. The
show was founded in 2008 by Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire under the umbrella of
the Association of Fantastic Art.
Who
are some of the artists who’ve appeared over the years?
Over its first five years IlluXCon has been proud to present a substantial
percentage of the most important artists in the field, including Boris Vallejo,
Julie Bell, Michael Whelan, Brom, Donato Giancola, Greg Hildebrandt, Bob
Eggleton, Jim Burns, Petar Meseldzija, Tom Kuebler, Jordu Schell, and a host of
others, most of whom have attended the show multiple times.
IlluXCon
is unique in several ways, one of the most noteworthy being that it’s a fully
juried show. Could you explain just what that means in practice, why that
system was chosen, and what you hope to accomplish with that particular approach?
The jury for the IlluXCon show serves several purposes. First, and most
importantly, it makes IlluXCon an exhibit where the field of imaginative
realism can put its best foot forward to the public by showing nothing but
exemplary works by the best practitioners in the field. Second, the jury
process came about out of necessity—the demand from artists to exhibit in the
show greatly exceeded the available space, and so a jury was deemed the most
fair way of determining who would get the exhibition spots in any given year.
The process is fairly simple—artists submit three examples of their work, which
are presented to a five-member jury. The jury rotates every year so that
artists aren’t being judged by the same people. The jury is a mix of those in
the field of fantastic art, like publishers and art directors, and those who
have significant expertise in the broader field of realist painting, like
museum curators or atelier directors. We do not use artists in the field as
judges, due to both the risk of an appearance of conflict of interest as well
as the difficulty in finding top-tier artists who aren’t applying for the show
themselves.
We actually prefer judges, for the most part, who are not familiar with the
genre. This helps to ensure that they are evaluating the work submitted rather
than the reputations of the artists in question, and also shifts the judging
from a consideration of the characters or uses of the work to a pure critique
of the artistic quality of the painting in question.
Given
the histories and high profiles of many of the creators applying, I was
wondering if any of them had every had any problem with submitting their work
for adjudication—and have you ever had to say “no” to someone who might seem a
certainty for inclusion in the show? I’m honestly not fishing for dirt here,
I’m just curious how that kind of thing might be handled.
We have had to explain the jurying process more than once, and we have gotten
our share of “Jury?” responses. Once we explain that everyone goes through the jury except for the three to four commissioned
artists for the year, though, no one seems to have any issue. We have had the
occasional hurt feelings when an artist who had been in the show previously
didn’t get selected for the next year, but everyone seems to understand the
process and not take it too personally.
Another
rather singular aspect of the early editions of the show was that it was a
ticketed affair, with a strict limit on the number of the public allowed in the
doors. Why did you go that way in the beginning, and what made you decide to
open things up to the general public? And is that shift an indication that the
central purpose of the show might have shifted or evolved over time, or is this
all perhaps part of your original plan to grow the show?
Actually, we haven’t changed that part of the process. The limited ticket
numbers are designed to produce an intimate environment where everyone has
plenty of time to talk and interact with everyone else. In previous years, we
did sell tickets at the door for Sunday only, allowing for larger crowds that
day. This year, we’ve opened it up for single-day tickets on both Saturday and
Sunday—but we’ve also extended the show by a day, so the people who attend the
whole show still get the same amount of intimate, exclusive access as they have
in the past. That’s something that won’t change—it’s part of the structure of
IlluXCon.
Well,
who are some of the notable artists who are appearing this year?
We’re tremendously excited about this year’s guest list. In addition to our
repeat exhibitors we’re welcoming a number of new faces to this year’s show,
including Roger Dean, Chris Achilleos, Ciruelo Cabral, J. Anthony Kosar, Dorian
Vallejo and Kinuko Craft, among others.
I
also know that you always include some new, relatively unknown creators every
year. Could you tell us a little bit about a few of the lesser-known creators
who will be at the show, and what about their work marked them as ideal
candidates for this year’s IlluXCon?
In the past, we set aside a space or two each year for an up-and-coming artist
who might not otherwise make it into the show. The past couple of years,
though, we haven’t actually had to do that. The young artists in the field are
producing work that is so outstanding that they are able to get into the show
without any specific quota on our parts. Last year, for example, two young
artists from Croatia came to the show to exhibit in our Showcase, the
non-juried event that we hold at the show hotel each year. When we saw the work
they’d brought with them, we offered them an unused space in the corner of the
main show, where they promptly became the hit of the event. Both of them—Filip Burburan
and Milivoj Ceran—will be back this year with proper main show spaces.
There’s nothing specific that marks a young artist beyond quality. Every year
there are artists who surprise us, and I’m sure this year will be no different.
You
also do something really different and very, very cool by commissioning a
number of original paintings for the show each year. How’d that become part of
the event, and what are you trying to accomplish with those new works?
The IlluXCon commissions are really a key part of the show’s mission. We wanted
to encourage artists to create masterpieces, without regard for art direction
or deadlines, and so created the commissions as a means of giving them the
opportunity to do so. We do not art direct the commissions, and in some cases
we don’t even have any idea what the artist is doing until we see the finished
work—but we’ve never been disappointed with the results. Our hope is that these
commissions help to encourage artists to take the time to do major personal
works in order to really show off what they are capable of doing when not
constrained by other requirements. So far, it seems to be working—the percentage
of personal works at the show has increased dramatically every year since the
beginning.
Well,
that brings up a couple of questions that are likely on the mind of many an
artist reading this, namely, “Can anyone apply for a spot in the show? And if the
answer’s yes, how do I apply and when’s the next deadline?”
Yes, anyone can apply for the show! There is no fee for application, and all
are welcome. Anyone who is interested in applying for the 2014 show should go
to [the website] Illuxcon and sign up for
our mailing list. We’ll send out information about the jury submission process
in late September or early October. We normally try to have the show’s lineup
set within two months of the end of the previous show so that everyone has as
much time as possible to create work for the next year’s event. IlluXCon 2014
will take place September 17-21 at the Allentown Art Museum.
Would
you mind talking about who's on the IlluXCon jury, and give us some idea of the
primary criteria they use when judging work submitted for possible inclusion in
the show?
The IlluXCon jury changes every year, as we don’t want any individual tastes to
impact the content of the show over the long term. Their primary criterion is
simple—“Is this person a terrific artist in whatever medium they choose to
use?” Contemporary imaginative realists are among the best realist painters on
the planet, and the jury selects artists who show that to be the case. Past
jurors have included the curators of the Delaware and Brandywine museums, the
director of the Allentown museum, the founder of the Art Renewal Center, and
the founder of the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, in addition to art
directors and publishers more closely related to the field.
What
do you hope that those artists exhibiting at IlluXCon get from their
participation? I ask because, while I know that sales of original art are
important, it strikes me that there’s something else that might be gained from
appearing at the show. True, or am I way off-base here?
You’re not off base at all. Sales are important, and IlluXCon’s per artist
average in sales is substantial, increasing every year. Although IlluXCon
regularly sees individual painting sales in the five-figure range, one thing that I think artists take away from IlluXCon
that is even more valuable is inspiration. That’s one area where the “rock
star” artist is no different than the young student—seeing work that provides
inspiration, and an incentive to take their work to the next level, is critical
in order for anyone to grow as an artist. IlluXCon provides an extra “kick” to
this inspiration because the exhibition is not prints, or giclees, or coffee
mugs, but original work, which possesses an impact that simply cannot be
captured by any reproductive medium.
This is something that the exhibiting
artists have recognized from the very beginning. One unique aspect of IlluXCon,
as compared to other events, is that we have no Guests of Honor. Every single
artist who attends the show does so at their own expense, including paying for
their space in the show. The fact that we have repeat exhibitors from not only
across the United States but Great Britain, Australia, Germany, the
Netherlands, and Eastern Europe is a testament to the importance of that
inspiration.
What
do you hope that those attending your show—be they buyers or simply lovers of
exceptionally fine art—get from their experience at IlluXCon?
For first-time attendees, we hope that they take advantage of this opportunity
to really see the best that the school of imaginative realism has to offer. In
the end, some may decide that they don’t care for it, just as I personally am
not a huge fan of abstract expressionism, and that’s fine—but we want people to
have the chance, and take the time, to experience the work in an appropriate
context before evaluating it. A comic book convention or expo mart, while great
in their own way, are not the proper context for this to happen—that’s why
we’ve moved the show to the Allentown Art Museum, to provide a setting for the
show that allows the work to be seen not as “gaming art” or “SF art” or “Conan
art” or “book cover art,” but just as “art.” Two weeks ago, the spaces that
will be filled by the IlluXCon artists were hung with a magnificent collection
of Toulouse-Lautrecs. Two years ago it was filled with masters like Tiepolo and
Canaletto. That’s the context in which this work deserves to be seen and
experienced.
One of the things we found doing the At
the Edge exhibition at the same museum last year—with record-breaking attendance—was that many art
lovers had no idea that this field, or these artists, even existed…but when
exposed to the work, they loved it, finding it both inspirational in imagery
and dazzling in its technical virtuosity.
For those who already know and love this particular genre of artwork, we hope
that they leave with an even greater appreciation for the work and the creators
in the field and, if they are artists themselves, a determination to produce
the finest quality work they possibly can in their own artistic endeavors.
What
do you get from doing all of that hard work? Obviously, this isn’t an event
that can be put together overnight, or even in a couple months. So what keeps
you doing all of that hard, behind-the-scenes work that makes a show like IlluXCon
function effortlessly?
IlluXCon is a full-time job in and of itself. We are always planning at least a
year out, and sometimes—as in the case of the move to the museum—more than two
years out. But we do the show for one simple reason—it has to be done. For
nearly 100 years imaginative painting has been relegated to illustration only,
but the changes in the publishing market in recent years has rendered that a
poor option for the future. The only way this genre and the artists who
practice it can succeed and sustain themselves going forward is to branch back
more into the artistic mainstream where their predecessors—the Pre-Raphaelites,
the Victorian painters, the Symbolists—were able to build successful careers.
As long as the field is evaluated principally by the usage of its imagery,
rather than the imagery itself, its future remains in jeopardy.
Could
you lay out the major events of this year’s IlluXCon, when and where they’re
happening, and how readers can learn more details about attending the show?
There are a wide range of events happening at this year’s show—the Main Show
exhibit, the Weekend Salon—both juried—the weekend Showcase event, three days
of demonstrations and lectures, the Thursday evening Jam and SketchFest…full details,
including a schedule of programming and events as well as a complete list of
all exhibiting artists, are available on the IlluXCon website.
Anything
else to add before I let you go?
Nope, nothing to add!!