Atlanta-based artist, photographer, musician, and educator David Batterman is a true Renaissance man. His passion for creating thought-provoking pieces that challenge societal norms and explore the complexities of the human experience has led him on a remarkable journey, culminating in the release of his self-published book, Tonight’s Programming.

In this interview, we embark on a journey through Batterman’s artistic odyssey, from his early days honing his skills in photography and printmaking at art school to his discovery of the power of collage after burning out in the world of corporate graphic design. We dive deep into the influences that shaped his unique perspective and helped uncover the story behind his book, including his childhood experiences growing up in an Air Force family and his critiques of militarism and commercialism.

Join us as we launch into Batterman’s world to challenge the status quo and invite us to question the forces that shape our society. Along the way, he shares invaluable insights and advice for aspiring artists looking to self-publish their work and gain recognition in the competitive art world. This is a must-read interview for anyone seeking artistic inspiration, professional guidance, or a deeper understanding of the bookmaking process.

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You’re an artist, photographer, musician, and teacher—tell us about your journey to where you are today and how you juggle these diverse roles.

When I started college, I wanted to be an English professor, but a few long-form papers on really dry classical literature changed my mind. I eventually moved to Atlanta and went to art school with a concentration in photography and printmaking. Once I graduated, I worked in the photography field for a few years. 

I got into graphic design at that time and worked a few corporate jobs, starting as a production artist and then moving up to art direction, but after 15 years in that industry, I was burnt out and wanted to do something vastly different. My wife encouraged me to go back to grad school, where I got my Master of Art Education. I started working with Fulton County Schools, where I’m about to start my 10th year of teaching. 

As far as my personal artistic and musical output, they’ve always been with me and have ebbed and flowed throughout my professional life: it is hard to find time to do it all. Usually, the late hours, after my family is in bed, is when I get the most done, so my sleep suffers, but there is a benefit to having a certain chunk of time you can depend on. I’ve always been a night owl anyway. 

Your work often explores themes of militarism and commercialism. What drew you to these themes, why are they critical today, and how do they manifest in your art?

I grew up in an Air Force family, and as I discuss in my forward to the book, the aesthetics of military hardware, mechanical design, and the dated formality of governmental installations were omnipresent in my childhood. By the time I was in high school, I was reading a lot of history, philosophy, and foreign affairs. I became particularly interested in the work of the Beat Generation, who were very critical of America’s militaristic traditions. 

I think this struggle between my fascination with the engineered elegance of planes, engines, and weapons of war and their ultimate usage in the destruction of human life is a driving force in my work. My critiques of commercialism are also tied in with this, as the American arms industry is just another facet of our overall consumption-based economy: our wars are sold the same as our toothpaste. 

The work of people like Winston Smith and a lot of the DIY imagery of the punk scene that I love have had a huge influence on me, both artistically and musically. Visually, you see this in my work as these worlds collide in a literal sense: imagery based in the language of mid-century marketing intersected with bomber engines, carburetors, and other industrial ephemera. 

While our actual “boots on the ground” stance has changed in the last decade, the United States’ financial well-being still depends a great deal on our status as the world’s largest arms dealer, so these issues, I think, continue to retain their relevancy. 

How does your background in traditional film photography influence your current multimedia and collage work?

I think if anything, the connection there is with the idea of perceived obsolescence and the idea of working in both digital and physical realms. When I graduated college in the late 90s, digital photography was in its infancy. While film has never gone away, it was really spotty there for a while as far as manufacturers and availability. 

In the last few years, there’s been a wonderful resurgence in film, and I’m lucky enough to still teach film-based photography at my school. Showing students who have never known a world without smartphones an image appearing in a tray of developer is like sorcery to them, and it connects them to the roots of the medium. 

So, while I have made both digital and traditional hand-cut collages, I am keenly aware of the arc that I have seen between these two worlds, purely by the accident of my age. I tend to avoid imagery in my collage work that is contemporary: the out-dated is more removed from modern contexts and can be reworked into new meanings through juxtapositioning. 

Your book, Tonight’s Programming, features your seen and unseen collage work from the past decade. What led you to self-publish this collection?

I realized that it had been 10 years since I had earnestly started pursuing collage and that I needed to be properly archiving it. In that process, I realized a great deal of it was either unseen or only available on my website and social media, so I wanted a more accessible, tangible way for people to view it. I limit reproduction of the collages to keep exclusivity for collectors, so I felt that this was an outlet to make the work more widely available.  

Describe your bookmaking process for Tonight’s Programming—from collage creation to curation to final design. What were some of the challenges and rewards?

For the collages, I included both traditional hand-cut and digital works. Both processes are similar, poring through the collection of physical materials I have and either cutting out or scanning individual elements. Then comes the longest part: assembling, editing, and moving pieces around until the composition and narrative I’m trying to produce is there. With cut paper, there are steps like prepping the panel, ensuring the glue process is tight, and varnishing or final finishing. 

The hardest part was the process of curation and narrowing down which collages would be in the book. I wanted to keep it affordable for an art book, so with the page limitations, I started thinking of it in a chronological way. Starting with the initial multi-media collage I did as part of my master’s thesis, I looked for the standout pieces from each general time period as the work developed. 

I am most comfortable with InDesign for layout, so I used the templates to put it all together, trying to keep it minimal but comfortable and to let the images have the space to display themselves. I did go through several digital proofs before the final submission, catching a mistype or positioning issue. Overall, the process was pretty linear with the Blurb website, and it made it easy.

How do you approach marketing your book, and what strategies have been most effective?

I’ve used social media and word of mouth—the usual channels. Honestly, it wasn’t in my vision to sell millions of copies or anything, just as long as I had the physical result available to people who were interested. 

What is the relationship between commercial and fine art in your career, and how do you navigate the two?

Commercial art is what I did for so long for a living, and I still do occasionally. But in my last nine years as a teacher, fine art is now what I live and breathe every day in my classes (in addition to emailing parents, telling Johnny to get off his cellphone, trying to help that one kid who is struggling while keeping another one away from the x-acto knives). So I feel very fortunate to have experience in both, but I am definitely happy to have a firm foot in fine art nowadays. I still pick up commercial jobs for extra cash, but I love teaching and that process of open inquiry and experimentation.

Can you share some tips for other creatives considering self-publishing their books?

Only in the simplest way: DO IT. Seriously, there’s nothing stopping you. Consider what kind of book you want paper-wise, think about your layout, and just put it out there. Father Time takes his due eventually, you’re not going to be here forever, and it’s a pretty simple process. The thrill of having your work in book form in your hand is worth it.

You have shown your work many places! What advice would you give to artists struggling to get their work noticed by galleries and media outlets?

There’s a reason why people say 90 percent of success is showing up. If you want to be more known in the art world, you need to spend time in it, meet people, and make friends. I owe so much to my two dear friends, Beth Malone and Courtney Hammond, who introduced me to so many people through the Dashboard organization they founded, and through documenting their exhibitions, I met even more people. 

Talk to folks, get to know them, and show them your work. If they like it, great. If not, who cares? You’re not doing this for them; you’re doing it for yourself. There are people out there who will believe in you, even if you have to eschew the whole gallery system and do it yourself.

Looking to the future, what projects are you most excited about, and how do you envision your work evolving?

Currently, I’m working on incorporating more painting into my collage work. I teach drawing and painting, as well as graphic design and photography. While design and photography are always going to be my favorites, I’ve been lucky enough to love painting and drawing again. 

I have a few things I’m working on now that allow me to establish a certain narrative without the constraints of only available imagery. I am also being featured in a documentary on Atlanta photographers called Colors ATL, which will be coming out this year on PBS. That process inspired me to concentrate more on fine art photography and re-engaging the non-commercial side of my love of that medium.  

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