Jason Rothenburg: Superhero & Portrait Artist Behind The Pen
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A Forest Hills Real Estate Office Takes On An Art Gallery
By Michael Perlman
“I am hoping my art will entertain families and kids for generations,” said 38-year-old illustrator dynamo Jason Ben Rothenburg of Forest Hills, who can be found drawing anywhere from six to eight hours, nearly on a daily basis. Simultaneously, he aspires to spread love and peace for his audience to think outside the box and discover the infinite possibilities with visual art, among all forms.
For decades, his father Barry Rothenburg, has been making a difference in the Forest Hills commercial real estate scene, where he operates Olympia Court Corporation on Austin Street and owns a number of properties. Walking up a flight, a guest can expect to find a number of rooms with office furniture, but in between and above, the walls are lined with his son’s intricate, whimsical, and energizing character and portrait drawings in color or black and white. Nearby are sketchbooks and art tools. With each turn, white walls feel like a canvas, and a diverse gallery is born.
He frequently uses light and dark pencils to portray his vision, and then inks copies and colors them. At one time, he was also immersed in the world of puppetry, and utilized everything from fabric to rubber clay.
With his hundreds of illustrations, one can encounter Werewolf, Woody Woodpecker, Nightwing, a 1950s tin robot, a 1960 Gear Robot, the 1960s Gumby and Pokey, Mutated Foot Clan Soldier concept art, Bartman, a “Cringer” He-Man sketch, Belligerent Bulldog, Cute Kitten, and Cartoon Dog playing fetch. Another superb illustration depicts Batman from the 1989 film, complete with the Batmobile. He also created the Street Fighter x Jurassic Park concept art crossover. Audiences can feel elevated like a superhero, march along with their favorite cartoon character, or visualize riding in an animated 1980s-classic car after stepping into a time machine.
“I often draw iconic superheroes, such as Batman, Superman, Daredevil, Black Panther, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, and Susan Storm from The Fantastic Four. My favorite superhero to draw is Spider-Man,” said Rothenburg. “I have also produced drawings of Martin Luther King, Jr due to my respect for him to advocate for equal rights, and in relation to my strong belief of never judging a person by their skin color, but rather their character and personality.”
Rothenburg was raised in Fresh Meadows. He attended P.S. 26, George J. Ryan J.H.S. 216, Francis Lewis High School, Hunter College, and School of Visual Arts. He achieved success in classical music, various visual art forms including stop-motion puppetry, pen and ink drawing with India ink, marionette puppetry, computer animation using programs such as Auto Desk 3DS Max and Maya. He fondly recalls studying with American comic artist Sal Amendola, who illustrated classic Archie Comics such as Betty and Veronica, along with certain Superman comics.
Art is a form of symbolism and is therapeutic. Rothenburg explained, “Art is a medium to express my creativity and channel the positive energies that the body naturally produces. Visual art is not only spiritual, but celestial and makes me feel more positive about my friends, family, and life in general.”
At 17, he acquired a two-bedroom apartment in Forest Hills, where he turned one bedroom into an art studio. “It gave me space to become independent and really creative with my drawing,” he said.
“Once I began going to my father’s office, I would draw superheroes on loose-leaf paper. Then I discovered I had the tools and the talent. When I began drawing on traditional art paper, I displayed my artwork in my father’s office about two years ago,” reminisced Rothenburg.
Besides drawing everyone’s favorite characters, he is interested in further producing original characters in the future. “They are anthropomorphic like Sonic the Hedgehog,” he said. If a party of interest wishes to purchase Rothenburg’s artwork, they can email olympiacourt@aol.com His artwork is not exhibited publicly at the moment, but he is hoping to create opportunities in the near future.
A number of Forest Hills businesses are enhanced by Rothenburg’s illustrations. They include Mr. Vino’s Cucina at 71-03 Austin Street, as well as Narita, a Japanese restaurant at 107-08 70th Road. For Pet Club at 71-24 Austin Street, he produced seven portraits based on photos that patrons provided. Friends and neighbors also purchased his drawings to boost the character of their walls.
In addition to embracing a gallery ambiance, Rothenburg enthusiastically visualizes having his artwork displayed in a newspaper, children’s book, a movie, and a commercial. He is also a humanitarian at heart. “I am currently working on and hoping to use my characters to create coloring books or a children’s book. I really want my work to make sick kids at St. Mary’s Hospital For Children to be able to see and color my characters. My children’s characters consist of Disney-like drawings, pets, and superheroes. I believe it will bring much joy to them.”
Rothenburg owes much gratitude to his family. His mother’s name is Rita, who retired from general education as well as special education pre-k to the sixth grade. She taught art on an elementary grade level. He explained, “I can remember from the young age of five, seeing my mom’s art and becoming very interested in creating visual art. It really inspired me to do the same, along with my aunts, my sister, two sets of grandparents, and of course my father, Barry Rothenburg, who is a commercial designer and builder. I come from a family of artists. I am most grateful for having a family that supports my creative ventures. My mom and dad have always supported such things.”
He also feels grateful for and inspired by his friend Eric, who passed away from leukemia at the tender age of 18. “I can recall one of the last conversations that we had. Eric suggested that I study stop-motion puppetry, like his idol Adam Jones of Tool,” said Rothenburg.
During his childhood, one of his largest inspirations was cartoonist and screenwriter Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield. He reminisced, “One day, I decided to send him a letter and included a drawing of Odie, Garfield’s dog friend. In the letter, I asked when he began drawing Garfield. To my excitement, Jim replied and included a signed photograph of him and Garfield. He also included a note stating when he began creating Garfield.”
Rothenburg’s path of creativity is also inspired by Ray Harryhausen, Adam Jones of Tool, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jim Danforth, Willis O’Brien, Jan Švankmajer, Tim Burton, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Phil Tippett, Stan Winston. He has not met these creative inspirations, but feels fortunate to have studied with instructors who have. He explained, “My art professor, Aurelio Voltaire, met Ray Harryhausen, who unfortunately passed away. Professor Voltaire recalled seeing his cyclops puppet from ‘The 7th Voyage of Sinbad’ movie.”
Rothenburg is also a skillful puppet maker, who proudly shares his creations. “I find that stop-motion puppetry to life aspect and movement of inanimate objects most appealing about stop-motion animation. The idea of building your own figure that you can move is very exciting.” He designed and built an estimated 30 puppets, ranging from 12 inches to nearly 20 inches, depending upon the construction of their armatures, muscles, and sizes of their head. None were named. “Once upon a time, it would take one or two months to design and build puppets, but I no longer pursue it due to hazardous chemicals associated with stop-motion puppetry,” he said.
In the short-term and long-term, Rothenburg strives for an established career in the visual arts and will explore omnidirectional paths, to uncover the surprises that the industry can present.
Rothenburg offered words of wisdom to current and future generations of young artists. “If you are new to the visual art world, I would say stick with one art form and slowly master it. Then explore and learn new ones. Most young artists need to keep that in mind. It normally takes years to master a visual art form.”
Visual art opportunities surround us. In front of the real estate office taking on a gallery, a prized form of historic art was resurrected nearly two weeks ago, after this columnist collaborated with Barry Rothenburg and Chief of Staff Raimondo Graziano from Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr’s office, as well as the FDNY. “This is truly a great honor, and I am extremely proud of the FDNY replacing the toppled 1929 Beaux Arts Nouveau fire alarm pedestal with an identical antique model, complete with an accentuated torch this time around,” said Jason Rothenburg. This columnist also collaborated with his father in 2010 to preserve the legendary 1940s-era Buster Brown Shoes sign that once graced Austin Street, and features Buster Brown with his dog Tige.
