There's always this talk about whether illustrators are artists or not, which doesn't make any sense to my way of thinking. The word "artist" is bandied about so much it doesn't even mean anything at this point. I save the word "artist" for someone whom I believe has an extraordinary vision , combined with a certain facility with their chosen medium which enables them to "transcend the medium" so to speak, and create an experience for the viewer which is unique, and at the same time touches something universal, objective. There are many movie directors, but only one Bergman - many painters, but only one Rembrandt. Perhaps, this comes across as an elitist view in this day and age of "everyone's an artist" - but, for myself, I am grateful for those rare individuals who create a truly unique work "of Art" (the nature of what is Art, itself, is another topic for discussion). In some instances, it may only be a single piece out of an entire career that transcends everything before and after it (were one to be so fortunate).
I first saw the work of the illustrator, John Berkey, when I was just a kid, back in the sixties. His paintings of spaceships blew me away...the images were alive with a powerful energy... his uncanny ability to render insanely detailed objects with an abstract expressionist flair was mesmerizing. His facility with paint and brush enabled him to capture his extraordinary vision. There's an almost dream-like quality to his seemingly impossible vessels. Though, perhaps, designed with warfare in mind, some of the ships seem to vibrate with an inner dimension of peace and benevolence (something, hopefully to be encountered in the vast reaches of space, with more evolved beings, beyond the madness of the state of our own planet). His images still have the same impact on me today. Transcending his medium, he's an illustrator I see as a true artist.
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