Based in Neuchâtel, John Howe received a visit from our colleagues from the Swiss daily Le Temps for an interview. In their columns, he evokes his attachment to the work of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, what heroic fantasy brings to our society but also his profession as an illustrator.
Fascinated by JRR Tolkien at the age of 14, the 62-year-old Canadian artist has become a reference by giving his most beautiful images to the world of The Lord of the Rings. To the point that Peter Jackson naturally called on him to make his films, being carefully inspired by his feather lines and framing. Classic of the genre of heroic fantasy, John Howe sees in Tolkien " one of those authors whose visual evocation is extremely strong, what he describes triggers visions ".
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The illustrator still remains very attached to the universe even after having worked for years on the books and then on the six feature films. Publisher HarperCollins will be releasing a new edition of Tolkien's Unfinished Tales in October with, as it should be, illustrations by John Howe but also Alan Lee and Ted Nasmith. And if that wasn't enough, the artist is working on the Amazon-produced series slated for 2021.
The heroic fantasy " help to open the eyes "
More than 70 years after the first book, Tolkien's universe continues to attract new followers. " It's an indication that heroic fantasy, when it's written well, answers questions every generation asks, " Howe explains. And since heroic fantasy is neither scientific nor religious, the answers are much less demagogic. I would call them eye-opening novels. "
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But if the Lord of the Rings is a classic of the genre today, it is not the only one to excel in its category. Beowulf , the Song of the Nibelungen or the Volsunga Saga , a Nordic saga from which Tolkien was inspired, offer John Howe “ a window into another era. There is a considerable volume of literature, which comes to us from a past when the world was a place on the edge of the marvelous, still full of possibilities, of things not explored, of dangers. I find them fascinating ”.
By transposing these mythologies to our time, “ this would allow us to better situate ourselves in an ecology that is both moral and environmental ” , reveals the illustrator. " By constantly pushing the limits further, we ended up meeting each other, but we are no closer to having found the answers to our eternal questions ", such as the place of Man in this world.
Versatile " graphic designer "
John Howe's place is already all found, brush in hand, even if his activity is still stuck on certain points. “ The profession of illustrator is not a profession recognized as such. In the register of the chamber of commerce, I am registered as a graphic designer . " This does not prevent him from having other concerns. In addition to the Amazon series, the artist is preparing for the Arte channel a series on fantastic literature in which he will honor the authors who have renewed the genre in their own way.
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John Howe evokes the novelists Robin Hobb, Ursula K. Le Guin, Naomi Novik or Anne McCaffrey. " I believe that the border between writing and drawing is indicated to us by the resulting product, and not by the process which is at its origin " says the artist. A link between drawing and writing that he had his students study at an art school in Neuchâtel. “ For those who have not given up on drawing, since all children draw, it shows that they have not resolved what this means of expression could bring them. And for those who give up, it means that after a while, the drawing no longer gave them the necessary answers. But it remains mysterious. "