Henrik Andreasen: Could you tell us a little about attending artcollage. Dave McKean: It was an artschool, a fine art section, where I took a graphic design course because I thought I wanted to do graphic design, but in the end it didn't make sense to me. I ended up doing illustration, life drawing and video, and getting through the course doing as little graphic design as possible. HA: Did you already in artschool get an interest for other medias? DM: Yes. Artschool is a great place to openning up. If you are very closed and blinded, which most of us were, they force you to toy and look at other things, because you have 4 years with no commercial pressure. You don't have to make a living, just play and try a lot of things. HA: Is artschool good in order to keep you from focusing on just one thing? DM: It is always down to the particulary teacher you get, it isn't the building that does it. I was lucky and got two teachers who were very good. It is just an appreciation of more abstract qualities, problem solving, dealing and communication with people. All of these things are basic fundamental human qualities, and in artschool they bring them out in you.
An interiew with Dave McKean, from Seriejournalen, May 1996
