Derek Hess was born in 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio. He is an artist whose pieces have appeared worldwide in “the Louvre, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in tattoo parlors” (Hess, n.d., n.p.). He attended the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit. His interests began by drawing poster art for his shows. It was clear to many that he delves into work that resembles dark and intense themes typically resembling human anatomy. Hess struggled with bipolar disorder and alcoholism throughout his career, influencing his art.

Hess originally began working with art designed for shows. His art career started before he knew it by developing pieces for poster art. Hess created his pieces for shows at “the Euclid Tavern” (Hess, n.d., n.p.). When he got discovered by Marty Geramita, he started creating posters for bands, album covers, and apparel lines. As he became most open about his mental illnesses, he moved towards the darker themes mentioned previously. Many claimed that “it was clear that Hess paid attention in anatomy class” (Hess, n.d., n.p.). His more recent pieces focus on human anatomy in the negative aspects. Hess used ink as a drawing material to express his work. His compositions use forced perspective by scaling the size of different objects in the image to show that something is closer or farther from the aesthete. One of my favorite works that Hess created was called Cardiac Arrest, which showed an expression of, as Hess put it, “being in a bad relationship” (Hess, n.d., n.p.). Many of his other pieces have a deep meaning; Hess shows those experiences by incorporating an anatomical view, forced perspective, and his love for creation.

The pieces mentioned above each have a story of their own. The cross-hatching in a few works like cardiac arrest and do not hold strong opinions about things you don’t understand shows the figures’ shadows well. You can see some cross-hatching in Gabrielle II with the rays from the sky. I think I disconnect from you has a strong message within the figures, but there is much white space below the cable. Besides that, the artwork seems to fill the area on the paper well. I am into 80’s rock, and there are plenty of bands he has done album covers for that I like, so my opinion may be biased. Overall, I love his style of work.