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	/// interviews
>> Kenn Munk “When advertising and corporations are tapping into the street scene, they have to do it right ... there's a big difference between inviting and invading.“	>>> Please introduce yourself and tell us about your professional education and career ... I'm Kenn Munk, I'm here to rescue you. Well, I'm not really, but it's something that I've wanted to say to a space-princess trapped by an evil empire since I was a kid and that's actually where my education started: Star Wars, German TV-advertising, Lego, model kits and pens and paper. Later it was formalized at design school were I graduated as a graphic designer, oh God, ten years ago. I then worked in advertising, and slowly built up my own company alongside that. A couple of years ago I decided to do my own thing full time. >>> Please describe your style of work ... It's hard, but stylewise it's oddly minimal – I tend to stick to black and white because the limitation makes for some interesting challenges. Range-wise it's anything but minimal because I like doing things I have no clue about. This spring (2008) I tought a semester of architecture even though I have no formal architecture education. >>> How do you feel about an ever-growing interest and commercial exploitation of the street art phenomenon as new pop culture ? Hm, big subject. First of all: Street art will survive, it will only become better. Also, the "Street" element is getting washed out a bit, I just consider it art and I'm a bit annoyed with the idea of "street" as an attitude or a style, It's just a place for art. When advertising and corporations are tapping into the street scene, they have to do it right. Adidas did it right by transforming their Adicolour advertising billboards into walls for people to paint on. Sony did it wrong by trying to transform the walls people paint on into advertising, there's a big difference between inviting and invading. >>> Please tell us about a cooperation or project that really sticked out ... One of my favourite design-projects doesn't involve any lasting graphics, object or whatever. I did a thing called "Sweaty Sightseeing" in my home town last year as part of a cultural festival. It was basically a guided run around town. I've been invited back this year and I've done a test in Berlin. The things I spoke about on these runs were also slightly off beat, street art and the like and the nice thing was that it was mainly people outside the scene that participated. I'm thinking about taking it to London where I live part time. I liked that I designed something that only lasted about 40 minutes, but changed they way people viewed their town. >>> Do you see your art as universal, as globally understandable ? Don't ask such hard questions, my initial thought was "no way" but I don't know... My Antlor DIY hunting trophies are probably universally understandable as every culture knows hunting and trophies. The funny thing is, I don't consider what I do "art" I think of it as design. But art and how we see it is always a product of our culture and therefore things are interpreted differently in different cultures. >>> Which aspect of your work is often overlooked ? I find it hard to understand what becomes popular and what doesn't. I would have thought the Antlor would have become a hit with the "designer toy" crowd, but the people who liked them were not really the ones that collect hundreds of little vinyl figures. I would have thought that I could find sponsors for my Sweaty Sightseeing, I worked with Puma (Denmark) last year but they didn't see the street-element, they just kept talking about the sports element, they didn't get it. I think that's what bothers me most, when people don't get the joke. People are afraid to be wrong. Particularly Danes. They don't want anything they haven't had before and that is very. very sad. >>> What comes next ? More Sweaty Sightseeing, hopefully more teaching, more graphic design for clients, having taught a lot this spring I really miss working with clients. Maybe it's time I tried my hand on fashion. >>> Any last remarks ? I love your A-Z.
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