On the occasion of his recent feature filmmaking debut, we invited Illustration alumnus and Linkin Park turntablist Joe Hahn to share his thoughts on the creative process and his Art Center experience.
I attended Art Center in the fall of ’95. Having a love for comics, illustration and films, I knew that I wanted to pursue a life where I could create things. Attending Art Center for 2 semesters was the beginning of the journey I’m still on. For me, it was an institution of talented instructors and a mixed bag of talented students that were on a journey of their own. Although, my focus at the time was Illustration, my mind didn’t settle on the fact that I would settle on that as a career. It was more of a feeling than an intellectual acknowledgement that I would realize years later. However, many of the principals in the foundation of art and illustration are principals that I apply to all of my creative endeavors that anchor much of my intentions. These endeavors include art, music, film and communication.
A key moment at Art Center was being in the same class as Mike Shinoda. As entering freshmen, we became friends having common interests in art, music and being fresh out of high school. Along with some other guys across town, we started a band. Unfortunately, after a year of school, I couldn’t afford to continue with my education. But, by that time, I was good enough to get some work as a conceptual illustrator with special effects groups around town. Being in the pit of pre-production, I learned how films are made. That made me want to apply what used to be a desire to make comics into a desire to make films.
The irony is that I never had the intention of making music as a career. It was just something that was fun. In hindsight, that was always the key element. Do something you love. Also, together with all 6 guys in the band, we were able to exponentially magnify our potential and eventually apply all of our individual talents with the support of each other. This has given us the foundation to have a long career. Sometimes when you look at art, you can feel what the person who created it is feeling. That is what we were able to do with our music.
I have been fortunate to have the success in many fields that have led me around the world to experience things that I can draw upon when creating. I’ve created over 30 music videos which led to my first feature film, Mall. To me, filmmaking is such an amazing experience which draws upon so many disciplines and collaboration with talented people.
Whenever I come back to Art Center, I am impressed by the caliber of work that the students are creating. Having the advantage of technology and tools that I didn’t have growing up excites me about the next generations and how I can learn from them. I am honored to come back to this school to share my work with the students who will soon be my professional peers.
