We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Poul Lange a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Poul, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have always been drawn to creative activities. As a kid vacationing on my aunt and uncle’s farm, I would make detailed drawings of the livestock, and as a teenager I took evening classes in classic print techniques instead of doing sports like most of my friends did.
I never really planned to make a living as an artist; nobody in my family had pursued creative careers, so I had a hard time even imagining how that could be possible.
On a whim I applied to get into the art and design school in Copenhagen, where I grew up. I didn’t get in at the first attempt, but I tried again, and was accepted the second time around.
At the school, I still wasn’t sure where this all would take me, but I fully enjoyed 4 years of studying drawing, photography, printmaking, typography, and graphic design. It was only when I won a competition for a book-jacket design and had the cover published, I realized that my artistic “hobbies” were potential for income.
After graduating in Denmark, I applied for an extra year at School of Visual Arts in New York City, and was there for two semesters in 1984. That was a real eye-opener. I ended up living in East Village, where the art scene was exploding, and the inspirations – both in school and on the street – had a wilder edge than what I had experienced in my more classically aligned education in Denmark.
When I came back to Denmark, I took my portfolio around to publishing houses. My not-so-typical-Danish approach to editorial design was appreciated, and pretty soon I found myself working full time as a freelance book-jacket designer.
Only then did I start considering myself a creative professional.
A couple of years later I returned to New York to work for my old teacher, Milton Glaser, but that’s another story.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have always loved reading – as a child my favorite pastime was a trip to the public library. So when I realized I could make a living designing book covers, there was no doubt in my mind that was the right path for me.
Collaborating with the writers was especially satisfying. I see myself as a translator of the written word into a visual image, and when my solutions are appreciated by the writers I work for (and their editors, of course) it is a great thrill.
I always try to create the images I use myself (as opposed to use stock photos etc.) It seems fair to put myself in the same situation as the writer, and create a something out of nothing.
I can give an interesting example of this process: I was assigned to design the cover for Paul Auster’s novel, “In the Country of Last Things”. The book follows a young woman trying to survive in a city that is falling apart. In a key scene, the woman is lured into an empty building by the promise of new shoes. Only at the very last moment does she realize that she’s in a human slaughterhouse, and she’s intended to be sold as meat in a world where food has become impossibly scarce.
For the cover, I arranged a photo shoot with my friend, Rose Mary, where she would be pushing a shopping cart through streets similar to the ones described in the book. I chose to go to Alphabet City in New York, and we were lucky enough to find an abandoned shopping cart. A guy showed up and declared himself the “owner” of the cart, but he was gracious enough to let us use it for the shoot.
I took a couple of pictures of the shopping cart owner that I liked enough to include in my photography portfolio. Years later, back in NYC, I showed the portrait to a friend who declared: That’s Daniel Rakowitz – the “Sweeney Todd of Tompkins Square.” As it turned out, some time after I ran into him, Rakowitz (a former chef) had achieved notoriety by murdering his roommate, Monica Beerle, cutting her body up, and (supposedly) serving her for the homeless population of Tompkins Square.
Sometimes the scenarios you create can get a little to close to the fictions you’re trying to illustrate, but this crazy coincidence did tell me that my instincts had taken me in the right direction.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

At this point, I think the most pressing issue is how we as a society choose to use AI.
The creative field has been hit hard by the unrestricted use of Artificial Intelligence.
Many of my colleagues (mostly illustrators) have lost significant amounts of work to image generators driven by AI.
As a cruel irony, the technology that’s killing their livelihood is based on artwork that can very well be of their own creation.
There must be regulations put in place that protect and compensate working artists.
Unfortunately, our current times seem to bring less – not more – regulations of technology.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal is to enjoy what I’m doing, the mission to make enough from doing that to survive.

Contact Info:

• Website: poullange.com poullange.work
• Instagram: @poullange
• Facebook: Poul Lange
• Other: https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/dont-drink-and-collage-poul-lange/https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/poul-langes-existential-botanicals/https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/the-book-of-holes/

  https://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/collage-construction-art-from-books/

Image Credits

Portrait of Poul Lange by Kayoko Suzuki-Lange

Cover design for Paul Auster’s “In the Country of Last Things”, Danish edition by Per Kofod Publishing.
Photo collage and design: Poul Lange

Photo of Daniel Rakowitz by Poul Lange

Spread from “Storied Sips” by Erica Duecy, a cocktail book published by Random House.
Collage illustration and calligraphy by Poul Lange

“The Picture of Dorian Grey” by Oscar Wilde. Danish edition by Gyldendal. Photo collage and design by Poul Lange

“Rest, Vibration, Balance” Assemblage of vintage instrument parts by Poul Lange
“The Angel Esmeralda” by Don Delillo. Danish edition by Per Kofod. Collage illustration and design by Poul Lange

“The Book of Holes”, a childrens’ book and app. Written and illustrated by Poul Lange.

“To Be Or Not To Be” Collage by Poul Lange

“The Unconsoled” by Kazuo Ishiguro. Danish edition by Gyldendal. Photo illustration by Poul Lange

“The Human Stain” by Philip Roth. Danish edition by Gyldendal. Photo illustration by Poul Lange