Luba Lukova is a Bulgarian-born, New York-based artist and designer. Internationally recognized, her posters have been exhibited around the world and won many awards including “World’s Most Memorable Poster” at the International Poster Salon in Paris. Her graphic work has been featured in The New York Times, Time, and The Nation. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Library of Congress, Washington, DC; and Bibliotheque Nationale de France. Luba Lukova is regarded as one of the most distinctive image-makers working today.

What initially drew you to the language of comics? How would you characterize your particular approach to the form?

LL: Actually, I’ve never been a comic artist and this was the first time I’ve participated in a project with other comic artists. My goal has always been to tell a story with a single image, without any words. I like to play with visual metaphors and let the viewer discover their own meaning in my pictures. In that sense, the piece I did for you, “Shredding a Dictator,” is not exactly comic art. I think, being a singular image, this drawing can easily become a sculpture or a moving mechanical piece. Still, I enjoy the charm of comic art and it was interesting for me to be a part of this project.

How do your experiences growing up in Communist Bulgaria inform your artwork and how you see the role of art in society and politics?

LL: These experiences have impacted me profoundly. But when I was growing up there I didn’t think so much about the role of art in society. I just could not take the hypocrisy and injustice around us. It was towards the end of my studies at the National Art Academy, I had this thought that if I’ve spent so many years learning how to speak with my art, I should use that skill to say something meaningful and truthful, no matter the consequences. I guess this is a simple idea but it is relevant to me to this day. I don’t think that how my beliefs are shaped depends so much on my country of origin. In every society there are people who feel strongly for what needs to be fixed in this world as well as people who don’t want to be bothered.

Did your time as a poster designer for a theater company in Bulgaria, where free and open expression was highly limited, influence your ideas about art’s ability to communicate with broad publics?

LL: I’ve been convinced about the impact art has on us much earlier than that. My grandmother was an artist and in my childhood I was surrounded by her and other artists’ work. Her paintings and collection of art books were so magnetic to me. My first job at the theatre was a great experience because my posters were immediately plastered on the streets of that little town and I could see right away the reaction of the people. I took it as a great recognition when one day someone stole the poster from the theatre lobby. Quite a few times my posters were banned by the regime, but instead of feeling sad I always accepted it as proof that I was able to hit a nerve.

Your work is strongly rooted in the techniques of graphic design and illustration, yet you’ve shown in several “fine art” contexts. Where do you see yourself positioned in relation to the art and design communities?

LL: I don’t make a big distinction between these genres. I always say that art is not a definition; it is an experience. If a piece moves you and makes you think, then it is art and it doesn’t matter how an art critic would label it. Still, when we distinguish these categories the notion is that high art is created because of the artist’s own will, while design and illustration serve the needs of the client who commissions them. I share the same ideas with many of my clients and I don’t feel I’m compromising in any way by working for them. I recently published my Social Justice poster portfolio. It was released by my publishing company, Clay & Gold, so I guess I am now my own client. Are these posters art or design? Is it really so important what we call them? I also think that contemporary visual art is often too distant and difficult to penetrate. I like my work to be formally accessible but to carry a complex message. That’s why I think it’s appropriate for me to use the language of graphic design. I hope I can reach a broader audience by doing that. Graphic design by nature is democratic and easy to understand. I’d like these to be qualities of fine art as well.

You created the logo for the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault’s “Say So” campaign in 2008. What attracted you to this opportunity, and what did you learn from it?

LL: I worked on this because I thought I could help people who’ve been hurt and suffered. The organizers first asked me to do a poster for them, but when the poster was printed they got such a positive response that the image was adopted as a logo. What I learned from this opportunity is that we are capable of so much compassion and support for each other. Working on this project made me feel good.

So many of your works employ an economical, pared down graphic sensibility with very little or no text. And yet you have fearlessly tackled some of the most complex social justice issues of our time. How do you choose what issues to focus on, and how do you find imagery to express them?

LL: When I did the Social Justice series I did not spend much time selecting the themes for the collection. They just came to me provoked by the events around us and I have plenty of topics to tackle in the future. Finding the imagery is the hard job but this is what I love doing. I research and sketch a lot, and always push myself to express the complexity of an idea in the most concise way. Also I think the effectiveness of an image is stronger when there is an unusual, unexpected twist of something banal and recognizable.

What kinds of comments or reactions have you received about the piece you did for this series?

Well, I posted the image on Facebook and I received immediate comments from Iran. The next morning, a couple of the messages were erased and one person wrote to me saying that they liked the piece a lot but were afraid to express their opinions. I know first hand how these young Iranians feel. At least they have the Internet to be connected with the outside world. Today, computer screens have become like miniature poster kiosks and it is getting more difficult for the censors to rip off banned posters from these digital kiosks as they used to do during the Communist regime.

What are the issues facing us today that you’re most interested in, concerned about, or motivated by as an artist? What should we be paying attention to?

I’ve always been interested in humanity—in all aspects of it—good or bad. And we should pay attention to everything in life. I think no social issue can take precedent over the others because they are all interdependent and rooted in human nature. As an artist I’ll always be interested in interpreting these themes. I would also like to see my work expanding into different art forms like theatre or public art.