Once again, we here at SiDEBAR must confess to being late to the party. We really just became acquainted with Brad Holland's work in the last three years or so. Well...actually for me (Swain), that's not accurate.
You see, my father had a rather sizable Playboy collection and I used to sneak them out to ogle all the interesting artwork (never cared much for the articles). Anyway...
Brad's been a 'creator of images' (that's a nice safe title) for almost four decades now and he's still going strong. In our opinion, his career and contributions to the art community are marked in several ways.
One, by his work for the earlier referenced Playboy Magazine. A gig he got when he was in his 20's and his big break, some would say.
Two, his terrific pieces published on the Op-Ed page of the NY Times in the mid '70s. The page's editor was the late Harrison Salisbury, a noted author himself and Pulitzer Prize winner.
And three, by his tireless efforts in the area of preserving creative copyrights for intellectual properties. Brad's one of the founding members of the Illustrators Partnership of America, and he's been a vocal opponent of things like the Orphan Works Bill from day one.
Prolific is a word often given to describe Holland's output of art over the years, but it's horribly understating. A rough tally of his body of illustrations falls somewhere in the, ohh...7000 range! That's a good 'guestimate' from the man himself and a staggering one, to say the least.
Our talk with him ended up being everything we strive for in a podcast—interesting, funny, informative, honest and insightful. If you hear Dwight and I being curiously silent during the conversation (it doesn't happen often, so cherish it), it's because we were listening.
And absorbing. And digesting.
You see, Brad's an extremely well read guy and we didn't wanna pretend we could hang. We decided to adopt a boxer's philosophy—we stayed on our toes, but stayed out of the way!
After all, it's not often that these two art nerds get to hear a fella like Brad Holland tell his story. We didn't wanna miss a thing.
**Our thanks to Brad for making some time to chat with us—it was surreal (he'll get that).
Also, many thanks to Jason Manley at ConceptArt.org, Richard Solomon and Bryan Beus for their help in facilitating Brad's appearance on the show. It was invaluable.
Picture provided by Jonathan Twingley.
Click here to download the show.
Another excellent interview guys! I just discovered your podcasts last week through Irene Gallo's site, and I've steadily been listening to all your interviews while I work. Only about 60 to go! Keep up the great work.
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Thanks Colby, we appreciate your diligence, nice work & site man!~D
Posted by: Colby | May 31, 2009 at 16:27
5 stars, guys, 5 stars . Thanks for interviewing guys like Brad Holland who most of the younger people in the field might not know about. By the way, ever consider doing an interview with Sam Weber? He does a lot of work for NY times, Tor, and DC comics . www.sampaints.com. I think you guys won't be disappointed .
Posted by: Ray Bonilla | June 01, 2009 at 08:14
what, what , what Brad holland?
You guys just keep steppin up the game.
You are crushing all other podcasts out there sirs.
Keep on bringing it. YES!
this is how a podcast should be done.
Thank you very much,
Proud member of the Nation.
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Thank you kind sir and welcome citizen of the Nation;).
As to our colleagues their is plenty of room out their for us
all. ~D
Posted by: Steven Russell Black | June 03, 2009 at 10:02
Hey guys, that was a great interview. Professional as always and Mr. Holland was very insightful about so many things.
(Swain re: I agree, TIM, he was a fountain of knowledge---no joke. We really did just try and keep up.)
Posted by: TripleIronMonk | June 03, 2009 at 17:29
Outstanding interview gentlemen. Sidebar rocks!
Posted by: Adolfo | June 03, 2009 at 19:50
Loved this podcast! What a funny guy.
Posted by: Tabatha Alcina | June 12, 2009 at 10:28
You guys have Brad Holland down pat. I have had the privilege of knowing him since 1967 at HALLMARK CARDS. I just spent two afternoons with him in NYC, LISTENING to some of the most interesting stories. He should present a one-man show, such as Hal Holbrook's "Mark Twain Tonight", 'cept it would be "Brad Holland Tonight - LIVE".
The entire creative community owes a great dept to Mr. Holland for his efforts to fight - AND WIN - the "Ophan Works Bill" and save their copyrights.
(RE: Indeed, thank you Harry.- Dwight)
Posted by: Harry A West | June 26, 2010 at 14:16