About Mike Bennewitz and all this artwork
Hi There,
Thanks for taking some time to check out my artwork here. In an endless sea of images you are here looking at this, so thank you very much for your time and attention. Making this stuff is a weird business and it’s great when any one gives a damn about it.
I make a lot of different sorts of artwork. While this may be unadvisable career advice I am what I am. I thought it would make sense to sort of compartmentalize these different directions via pseudonyms. This may also be unadvisable. The compartments have definitely leaked, so I’ll try to clarify things here for anyone who might be wondering.
butcherBaker
Design and Illustration Collaboration for Music & Media Packaging: CD Jewel Cases, Digipaks, LP & EP Jackets, Tour & Gig Posters, Tee-Shirts, Ads
My freelance design and illustration work is credited as butcherBaker. Most of these jobs entail designing and usually illustrating the entire packaging for an album or dvd. I tended to work as a chameleon, taking on whatever style the project suited. Most of these had some strong concept coming from the band and I tried to embody that. Sometimes it was easier to have a pseudonym to remind me not to get too hung up on my own aesthetic motivations and keep the band’s vision at the forefront.
After doing my first album cover I decided I should use a pseudonym. Why? Mainly because I’m terrible at remembering visual artists’ names. I remember musicians all right, but illustrator and painters names escape me. The other main reason is that while someone might remember my name, they almost never spell it right. It’s not Benowitz, thanks.
Son of Witz
Personal Artworks and illustrations
I began using Son of Witz mostly as a goof on more personal artworks. I’ve always used silly pseudonyms.
I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of my favorite bands. Sometimes if felt just stupid to sign this stuff as butcherBaker, so I started crediting the illustrations as the Son of Witz where I had used my own concepts, not the band’s. butcherBaker was the designer then. If you’re not confused yet, you’re lucky, because I’m lost.
Built By Bennewitz
Built by Bennewitz was what I put on the cover of Trog because I thought Mike Bennewitz just looked stupid. I stuck with that for a few years while working on the never-as-yet-realized followup to Trog.
Will I make your album cover or band logo?
Maybe. Drop me a line.
Thanks.