Creative people have a variety of paths they can possibly encounter. Some dedicate their lifetime to fine art, some give up entirely, and some find a way to adapt their unique skills into a fun and fulfilling career.
Adam J. Kurtz is a New York-based artist, author, and designer of the most hilarious kind. His artwork expresses everyday emotions in tones that vary from inspirational to delightfully snarky.
In addition to creating merchandise, relatable to the majority of millennials, Adam uses the internet in conjunction with his artwork to facilitate real life interactions with his viewers. In projects like “SOMEDAY MY PRINTS WILL COME” (2013) and “Post Card Of The Month Club” (2011), subscribers were mailed various objects and messages from Adam on a total surprise basis. His book 1 Page at a Time: A Daily Creative Companion is an interactive diary that seeks to draw people away from their computers and establish daily moments of personal reflection.
For someone that has a published a book that’s been translated in eight different languages around the world, has multiple collaborations with brands such as Urban Outfitters, and has over 54k followers on social media, Adam is refreshingly humble.
Q: Tell me about how you started your career as an artist.
It was a mistake! I didn’t know I could be an artist. I studied graphic design because building fan-sites was my teenage hobby. A friend told me that I never made anything that wasn’t “for a thing” so I started by making postcards, then some objects, a calendar, etc. The rest has grown very organically, and slowly too. I mean, I do a lot, but it’s been a gradual process. I didn’t just wake up and make a painting and call myself an artist. It took a long time to use that word. I mostly use it so people can boil me down very quickly, and because they already were.
Q: Did you ever consider comedy? (If you took improv or did standup, we need an anecdotal story)
Not as a real thing, but I want to take a UCB class! I mean, I live in New York, why not? I’m Jewish, it seems logical to me.
Q: Did it take a while for people to take you seriously, or were we culturally ready for Adam JK?
Nobody takes me seriously, my name is literally “JK.” Those are my birth initials, I was born to be an Internet idiot.
Q: You use a lot of Internet lingo, is this social commentary or do you just find it all hilarious?
It’s both. The Internet is real life. “Internet lingo” is just how we talk. It’s our every day. I make objects intended to be gifted, to be used to facilitate conversation or say what people can’t quite say. It makes sense to use native tongues.
Q: Explain to me your mail art project “SOMEDAY MY PRINTS WILL COME”…Did people sign up and you sent them fun stuff or what?
That was the first year, but I’ve been doing different subscriptions since. SOMEDAY was a bit more conceptual, there were more mailings and strange emails from different body parts (brain@adamjk.com, hands@adamjk.com). It was a self-discovery through objects exploration. Since then, they’ve been more straightforward. Subscribe to sporadic packages of new and old work, plus treats. I think I’m abandoning them for next year in favor of individual Surprise Packs that people can choose to purchase case by case.
Q: Your work was in the New York Times…did that feel like your “I’ve made it moment?” If not, has there been that moment yet? (Besides this interview)
That was an editorial illustration, so I wasn’t the focus in any way. But it was a privilege to create something for them and I hope to do more editorial work in the future. It’s just not something I’ve pursued at all lately. I’m busy right now!
Q: How did you come up with the idea for your book, “1 Page at a Time: A Daily Creative Companion”?
I didn’t, an editor at Penguin emailed me and was like “do you want to make a daily book” and I said “okay.” Of course the direction is mine, the metaphor and the life journey and the weirdness. But yeah, totally not my idea and I never thought I’d even make a book ever. It did not cross my mind at all.
Q: Has anyone taken the book seriously as a self help guide? Any plans to start a cult?
I think so, but the book isn’t really a guiding voice so much as an inquisitive one. The book has reminders, but the real content is what you put in. “Things are what you make of them.” Maybe they’ll lead someone to follow the cult of themselves. That seems ideal.
Q: There are a million zine-ish artists out there, what do you think has made your work such a success?
I don’t know if I am such a success. I also don’t know if I am zine-ish, I mean, I meant to be but it hasn’t totally happened that way. My gift shop project has really become a much bigger thing than intended, I’ve gotten used to taking feelings and turning them into objects. I would like to do more self-published paper projects, but now that I’m doing those for bigger publishers, it’s hard to save some for myself, plus all the hard goods.
Q: Does your gift shop have a return policy? Do you ever get angry purchaser feedback (‘my patch wasn’t nearly patchy enough, my sticker wasn’t sticky enough,’ etc.)?
Official policy is NO RETURNS but of course that never happens and I handle things case by case. I am a nice guy, and I am not trying to separate people from their money. I’ve had one or two angry customers and in every case it was either a package destroyed by the postal service in transit, or in one case, a woman who ordered the wrong thing entirely and was upset until we talked it through. Christmastime makes everyone a little crazy.
Q: What’s your next big project/collaboration?
A: I’m working on a second book right now, plus I’ll be launching my annual Kickstarter campaign for my self-released 2016 weekly planner! That is always a lot of fun, but as an entirely self-directed project it can be a little overwhelming. Lots of mailing to do.
The best way to understand Adam is to go to his “Internet Gift Shop” where you can see his works that have been repurposed into t-shirts, patches, stickers, and basically all the other things you don’t need but totally must have. To see the original sketches that inspire his merchandise, check out Adam’s Instagram (he is also hilarious on Twitter if you’re looking for a laugh).
Like this article? Don’t miss our article on similarly hilarious artist Chloe Wise, or other emerging artist interviews and highlights.
