DigiBarn Friends:
Kiel Bryant Hosier
A cartoonist for the DigiBarn Collection
(along with your curator ;-)

As featured in Wired News!

Born in "Surf Town, USA," when Reagan still reigned, Kiel Hosier has been an avid artist since his baby-hands first gripped a crayon, with a natural love for all things speculative and mechanical. This love bred a voracious consumption of science fiction: Asimov, Clarke, Baxter, followed by Gibson, Stephenson, and Sterling. Very much influencing his work, Kiel often spent a lot of time staring at picture books: books of cross sections, books of space ships, books of architecture, books of nascent technologies. Later on he could identify his favorite illustrators by their style alone -- Syd Mead, Donato Giancola, Doug Chiang, Hans Jenssen, Craig Mullins, and the list goes on. Soon the problems he encountered illustrating were easily solved: he could think in the mindset of a conceptual designer, and had a vast reservoir of inspirations to fall back on.

Graduating early from high school, Kiel wasn't quite sure where he wanted to go, what he wanted to do -- though principally he was a designer and illustrator, his talents were not restricted to that alone: briefly he had shown an intense interest in musical composition and writing. Filmmaking seemed a good way to go . . . so he wrote several screenplays, and even more outlines. They went no-where.

It was time to find a Job: at 17, he landed the haughty position of "Director of Promotion and Marketing" at a high-power corporate management firm in San Jose, Calif. As director of promo-design, Kiel imagined he would be able to create as he pleased -- but reality did not agree; instead, "the boss" gave precise instructions, and Kiel felt his originality rapidly slipping from his grasp. He left, deciding at once to "go it alone." It was a difficult transition. Day and night blended into one. But the bet paid off.  Soon Kiel was back on his feet, dispensing his creativity in exchange for living means.  He now resides in a comfortable home in Sunnyvale, California, where concept design and architecture remain the objects of his affections.

Kiel's vintage computer collection

Want to know more? Contact Kiel via e-mail: citizensane@mac.com

See Also:

Kiel's Compubots for the DigiBarn

Kiel and his mom Addie at the DigiBarn!