Interview with Christophe Desse
by Jeremy Rayment
Some may know who Christophe Desse is, others may have only known him through his characters posted online. I recently had the opportunity to take some time from his full schedule at DNA Productions, where he is a modeler on their latest 3D feature length film, to ask him how things are going, and to get some insight into how he thinks.
Q: So a lot has changed in your life in the last year. Can you tell us what is going on with you these days?
A: Well, some big changes happened again in my life. I left Germany and I just joined DNA Productions 2 months ago as a modeler, and will be working on their next feature length movie.
Q: So what finally made you head state side? Was it your fondness of beef jerky or something else?
A: Besides the attractiveness of having the possibility of joining the great team of artists at DNA Production and becoming a part of something big, I was mostly driven by my curiosity and my lust to travel. I have seen a lot of countries around the world, from Europa to Africa, the Middle East to Singapore. And now that I am over here, I will learn the American way and enjoy seeing that everything is far away from being as bad as the media in Europe tends to make us believe and…yes the perspective to get as much beef jerky or jelly belly's that I could ever wish for was a major plus in my decision making.
Q: Your recent work has seemed to evolve leaps and bounds. What has been some of the reasons behind this?
A: That's true, over the last 5 years when I look at my work...even the one from 6 months ago, I shake my head and laugh at myself... about how bad I was 6 months ago...and how I have improved my skills...and I hope that in 6 months from now I will shake my head and laugh at myself again, about how I have improved my skills, until then and so on and so on until I ultimately leave this world.
Self Improvement is the eternal quest that we, artists are doomed to try to fulfill.
Q: So what’s up with the infamous Jack Napalm we all fell in love with? Is he off hunting the “evil doers” or is he laying down with a terrible vodka hangover?
A: Yes, I just sold the exploitation rights for the Jack Napalm franchise to a company with a lot of international contact in the entertainment business. I would not be involved in production but I still keep the art direction, and final decision in items of general business. Right now they have some talk about a computer game, but if everything goes well and the way they want, you can expect to be able to order some toys soon and some DVDs later. You can have a small look at the initial web page: www.jack-napalm.com
Q: I’ve always been fascinated with your work and the type of imagery you create. Could you maybe explain to us where you think your visions all come from?
A: I like to get my inspiration from the stuff that happens around me, you know the kind of things that you see in the media that make the people think. Or at least should make them think. Most of my politically incorrect work was inspired, in a way or in another through a personal need of provocating people in a subtle way.
To put it simply, a lot of people like my characters and a lot of people don’t like them, but at least they don’t forget them. I truly believe that the purpose of art is to provoke a reaction from the viewer, a good or a bad reaction… but a least a reaction.
