Pretentious High Schooler Talks About Art : Philippe Druillet

· Artist Spotlight: Phillippe Druillet

· Introduction: If I remember correctly, I first learned about Druillet while I was searching through a retro 70s sci fi art blog. The art that he made that caught my attention was this little delight:

It peaked my interest so I did more research and I fell in love with his work.

· Personal: Phillippe was born in 1944 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France; but spent most of his childhood in Spain, before returning to France in 1952 after the death of his father. At the time his family had no work and no money. Phillippe wished he was born into a wealthy family with a castle, furniture, and books. Since his family wasn’t educated, so his access to books and culture required sacrifice. Philippe has also mentioned his family has origins from: the south-western part of France, Gers, Toulouse, and Bayonne along with every type of social class from: peasants to noblemen, to thieves, and to soldiers. However he also enforces the idea that what matters is the life you lead.

Philippe Druillet

Age: 15

· Career: Philippe’s first job was a photographer. With this profession he greatly struggled for a few years before eventually ditching it to make comics. His initial debut was 'Lone Sloane, le Mystère des Abîmes which translates to Lone Sloane, The Mystery of the Abyss. The story is set 800 years after an apocalyptic event called the “Great Fear”. The story follows Lone Sloane whose ship is destroyed and is thrown to another dimension where he becomes a space rogue and freebooter with mysterious powers. He also is wrapped up in an inter-galactic struggle between space pirates, giant robots, dark gods, and other interdimensional sentient beings. Kind of like Han Solo + Silver Surfer + Call of Cthulu. His stories often take inspiration from his favorite writers such as Van Vogt and Lovecraft with the art having a puzzling and infinite feel of M.C. Eschar. His work is known for being dark and psychological. While it was being published he was also working as a comedian. In 1970 he worked for the magazine Pilote and his stories of Lone Sloane slowly became more flamboyant with its popularity. While working there he was also given the nick name “Space Architect” for his structures being inspired by Art Nouveu, Indian Temples, and Gothic Cathedrals, being placed in a sci fi setting. The adventures and tales of Lone Sloane were compiled into a single book called Les six voyages de Lone Sloane, which has been praised as a masterpiece. Aside from working heavily in the fields of being a cartoonist and illustrator he has also delved into the fields of architecture, rock opera, painting, sculpting, and digital art.

· Significance: He is one of the most influential French Authors. He is known for his bizarre science-fiction stories. As stated before he’s taken inspiration from authors like A.E. van Vogt and H.P. Lovecraft. He’s also applied the infinite feel of M.C. Escher to his work. Also working in architecture hes applied his knowledge to his art creating beautiful backgrounds to his work. He was also one of the creators and most famous contributors to the magazine Metal Hurland/Heavy Metal (U.S. release). His work has also been hailed for it’s dark themes, beautiful artwork, and amazing story telling.

· Works: