The big question about his work, that keeps Christoph Niemann up at night is “Will they get it?” In an ever-shrinking world, we have to communicate across time zones, languages and cultures. Visual metaphors can change their meaning within hours, and even though we are surrounded by millions of new images every day, there is no set of rules that defines what these images mean. Niemann will talk about love for readers, line weights, mutual funds, Chinese letters, good, evil and the virtues of having a miserable time while trying to be funny.
After completing his studies at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts, Christoph Niemann moved to New York City, where he has been working as an illustrator, animator and graphic designer since 1997. In that time he has produced numerous covers and illustrations for the New York Times Magazine, the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and BusinessWeek, as well as work for Citibank, Amtrak and Nike. He has also been awarded honors from AIGA, SPD, ADC and American Illustration. He is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale. Along with his collaborator Nicholas Blechman, he is the publisher of the artist’s book series 100%, which he describes as presenting “editorial illustration without an editor.” The latest issue, 100% EVIL, was published by Princeton Architectural Press. Schwartz Wade books published his first children’s book, The Police Cloud, in spring 2007. Niemann lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two sons.
