[Math] x [Art] = Inspiration

“Art is really just problem solving in action.”

Artist Seth Fisher ’94 could have been an art major at CC, but he figured it would be difficult to meet the foreign language requirement. After he received a “C” in Japanese, he switched to math.

Ironically, Fisher headed to Japan right after graduation, determined to force something foreign into his brain. “I figured I would go for a year, teach English, and start my career as an artist.” As it turned out, his art needed more refining and his students needed more help with pronunciation, so he ended up staying in Tokyo, where he and his Japanese wife Hisako live today.

While math didn’t always come easily to Fisher, he doesn’t think it unusual for a math major to turn to artistic endeavors. “Art is really just problem solving in action. You start with a few lines, then you try to balance those lines with other lines compositionally, then you balance that with trying to explain a certain space or emotion.”

In fact, Fisher considers art and comics, his passion, to be mathematical sciences. “Perspective, composition, timing, and color theory are technical skills. You have a problem, and you have this toolbox full of techniques that you use to paint a totally unique bridge from an assumption to its implications.”

Fisher uses his toolbox well. He was nominated last year for an Eisner Award, one of the biggest comic industry awards, for best penciler/inker for his work on several comic books, including one about Tokyo.

Fisher often applies himself as though he is still on the Block Plan. “A deadline comes in, and I charge my chi energy and attack my work like Godzilla, after Mothra keyed his Lexus. The Block Plan prepared me for that kind of intensity. I work hard, then I play hard. Even a small amount of time combined with a focused effort yields powerful results.”

So what advice does this former math major turned illustration artist have for current CC students? “Three things sell an artist: art, personality, and work ethic,” says Fisher. “Learn your kung fu from artists with mad skills. Cultivate your relationships as if each person might one day save your life. Never use the word ‘work’ to describe what you do with your day.”

Fisher says it took a long time to get to the point where he really adored his own work. But he always believed in himself: “It was always clear to me that I was an artist waiting to happen.”

For more about Fisher and his work, see www.floweringnose.com

– Lisa Ellis ’82