An art world is nothing without museums, galleries and artists. But, of course, those artists must be trained. Sam Peeters (1976) is a cartoonist, illustrator and lecturer at two different art academies. It is the beginning of the new academic year, and he tells us about his work.
WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY TEACH?
‘At Academie Minerva in Groningen, I teach illustration. Students are mainly concerned with form investigation: what kind of illustrator do they want to be and how do they get there? I have an assisting, coaching role in that. One-fifth of students will occasionally engage with comics. Sometimes I do give some cartoon assignments, because I like it when people get a taste of that. At Minerva, students can go in any direction. At Academy ArtEZ in Zwolle, where I also teach, hardcore cartoonists are trained.’
HOW DID YOU END UP HERE?
‘Actually by accident. Lamelos, the comics collective I am a part of, had a work placement student from Minerva. Her work placement supervisor asked if we wanted to give a lecture sometime. After that lecture I got a call that they needed an external expert, and the moment I became that external expert they said they were also looking for an illustration teacher. That was ten years ago now. I think it just keeps getting more fun.
I went back to school in the meantime, so I now have the pedagogical-didactic certification as well. In the beginning, I just got in front of the class. I started teaching the students what I thought was important. I still do, but now I have a much better idea of why I do it. I really enjoy it. People come in when they are 17-18-19, still children somewhat. At the end of their studies, they walk out of the room as adults. That's wonderful to experience all the way through, really awesome.’
HAS TEACHING CHANGED YOUR WORK AS AN ARTIST AS WELL?
‘Definitely. I have become much more conscious about what I want to say. I've also changed because I say things like, “You just have to do it, try it out, make a lot of stuff, sketch a lot more, test, test, test!” When I myself am struggling with something now, I notice that the teacher inside me activates. Whatever I would say to my students then, I have to do myself. I obtained a master's degree in Comic Design at Sint Lukas in Belgium three years ago, so I was a student again at that time. There I had to make a comic book in a year. I then threw myself into the deep end, and imposed the roadmap I follow with students on myself as well.’
HAVE ANY INTERESTING CARTOONISTS GRADUATED IN GRONINGEN IN RECENT YEARS?
‘Yes, including the Stalinskis, who are still very cool. And Maria van Driel graduated several years ago: she was among one of the first batches I taught. Last year, the people from Knetterijs graduated, which included some real cartoonists. And also some people who make graphic novels, but not comic books. That always makes me very happy.’
HOW DO YOU GET STUDENTS EXCITED ABOUT YOUR FIELD?
‘Since I am a comic book artist myself, I can easily get students excited about that as well. I think making comics without text — from the image — is one of the most fun things to do. To play a kind of game of not just challenging the reader to read it, but challenging them to learn to read all over again. I just got a new book by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Maya Angelou: It is a textless graphic novel about a love gone wrong with many missed opportunities. I also love comics with text, but because I do it without text, you have to rely on the cartoon. Showing what can also be done with comics is something of a mission."
WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR STUDENTS TO LEARN?
‘Some want to learn this, others want to learn that. If someone wants to tell very realistic, journalistic stories, I like that too. If someone wants to make almost abstract comics, I think that's awesome too. Over the years of reading and making comics, I've become familiar with a lot of comic strips, and I know what's out there. I try to let them discover what the next step might be in their creative process.’