Review of The Year 2011: January

Wow, remember January? All that hope, optimism and snow. Then the snow melted, along with all the hope, optim…you see where I’m going with this. Cheap. BUT January was where it all began as far as 2011 was concerned, here’s how it looked from where we were standing…

2011 will be remembered as the year when a lot of different people in a lot of different places decided enough was enough, and the seeds were sown in January. In Tunisia the first demonstrations of what would become the Arab Spring took place, and less world-changingly there was a also a big protest in Belgium. I know! According to Wikipedia the marchers’ slogan translates as “Shame: No government, great country.” Which may be why we didn’t hear much about that one…

On It’s Nice That there was no talk of revolt, we just knuckled down to doing what we do best. Yevgeny Dobrovinsky’s playful puddles were a massive hit, as were Julian Wolkenstein’s intriguing photographic portraits. Oh, and guest posters Chambers Judd were responsible for wasting A LOT of our time with this folksy online game.

My 2011 – Antonio Ladrillo

To give us his rundown of January is an illustrator who’s had a breakthrough 12 months, Antonio Ladrillo. We’re not saying it is because was one of our guest posters in January, but we’re not saying it wasn’t that either (although it definitely wasn’t, he’s a genius). Bet you can’t guess who his person of the year is…

What was the best thing you saw in 2011?

I didn’t know Andre Butzer’s pictorial work and my friend Mike Swaney showed it to me. Undoubtedly it is one of the things that I discovered and one of the most interesting for me in this 2011.

Who would you give a Best Person of 2011 Award to?

Although it could seem a little strange I would give the Best Person of 2011 award to a person who lived around the year 179. Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations has been on my thoughts frequently in my daily life during this year. It is awesome to see how the ideas are still valid, how they contribute to a way of seeing and conceiving the world. That’s enough to choose him Best Person of the Year.

What was the most memorable thing that happened to you?

Uff! I’m not very good choosing memorable moments. In general terms, this year has been full of very good moments.

Were you in any (metaphorical/not metaphorical) fights this year? Did you win?

To keep doing everyday what I like sometimes turns out to be a battle. But it’s one of those things it’s worth fighting for. It doesn’t matter if youwin or loose, the most important think is to be there, working on it.

What would you take from 2011 and give to 2012?

Meeting my friends in the terrace of Marta and Pablo. Talking under the sun while Pablo (aka Chef Escámez) prepares a delicious paella with attention to all details. It is something that I’d really like to keep doing next year.

What were you doing in January?

In those days I must have being working on my second T-shirt collection, “Animal Heads”. It was a series of cut animal heads’ drawings. I had made these drawings some time ago and they were conceived as animated gifs and I had really wanted to do something else with them. So, that’s how I started 2011.

(Top image from Richard Nicholson: Analog).