Øistein Kristiansen, formerly known under his artist name Einstein Kristiansen (born 12 September 1965), is a Norwegian cartoonist, designer, TV-host and co-founder of Singapore-based Earthtree Pte Ltd, who together with his two business partners Henry Steed and Mark Hillman, produces children's television programming, animation and image campaigns for MTV Asia, Nickelodeon and Singapore network Mediacorp TV12 (present-day Okto channel).[1][2]
Einstein Kristiansen | |
|---|---|
 Einstein Kristiansen (2011) | |
| Born | Øistein Kristiansen 12 September 1965 |
| Occupation | Cartoonist |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Website | https://www.oistein.com/ |
Born in Sarpsborg, Norway, Kristiansen grew up in Greåker, a borough of Sarpsborg. His career began at age 9 when he draw a cartoon depicting a Norwegian farmland which became featured in the front page of his school newsletter.[3] After leaving school at age 19, he became a freelance illustrator drawing caricatures of people on the streets.[3] He formed a graphic design company at age 21 and studied at Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Arts for a year at age 22.[3]
His illustration work was featured in publications like Vogue, ELLE,[4] Mad Magazine[3][4] Sesame Street and The New Paper.[3] A keen traveller,[3] Kristiansen was backpacking through Southeast Asia with the intention of travelling on to find work in Japan. Finding himself stranded in Singapore and short of money, he was reduced to drawing cartoons for tourists in Clarke Quay. He found there was a demand for his quirky, childlike vision of the world, and soon enjoyed some celebrity as a cartoonist for the Singapore newspaper, The Straits Times. At age 27, he formed his own design company called Square Eggs[3] and held his first exhibition on how cartoons are used in other art forms.[3]
His television career in Singapore began in the mid-1990s as an extra for Mediacorp drama productions, but he was not taken seriously in the local market until the year 2000, when Perth-based CVA Productions began production of the children's arts and crafts comedy show Art Factory for three seasons.
Subsequently, Kristiansen, together with Art Factory director Mark Hillman, co-produced a new show for MediaCorp. Cows n Crayons, Earthtree's first successful show, ran for two seasons. It was followed by Super Einstein, a superhero-themed art show, which ran for two seasons, and "Einstein's Tingkat", a cooking and arts show.
In 2005, Kristiansen appeared in a self-funded series of live action shorts called "Right on Top". The series was transmitted on the Nickelodeon Southeast Asia feed. One season of "Art Mad", the show's long form, has been purchased for broadcast by German corporation Faber-Castell for transmission in Indonesia.
In 2011, Kristiansen started a YouTube channel named "Box Yourself".[5] On the channel he posts tutorials on how to create various items with cardboard. The channel was started in 2011, but he did not post until 2014. The channel has since gained 783000 subscribers (as of November 19, 2021). In the channel description, Kristiansen describes the channel like this, "Think it, Make it! Box Yourself inspires kids all over the world to see themselves as designers, creators and makers. We make design easy, engaging and fun."
He published a book entitled "Draw Robots with Øistein Kristiansen: Get The World To Draw! (Learn To Draw)" in March 2014.[6]
TV programs
edit- Art Factory
- Cows n Crayons
- Super Einstein
- Einstein's Tingkat
- Right On Top
- Art Mad
- Wild About Cartoons
- Christmas with Øistein
- That's Imagination (2009)
- Learn to Draw (2012)
- Box Yourself (2013)
- Box Yourself Minis (2015-2016)
- Learn to Draw Minis (2014-2016)
- Doodle (2015)
- Box Ideas (2017)
Legal controversies regarding Kristiansen
editKristiansen's company, Earthtree Pte Ltd, was originally known as Einstein's Earthtree Pte Ltd. However, lawyers from The Roger Richman Agency, on behalf of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, issued warning letters to protect the image and identity of Albert Einstein. The lawyers also contested his use of the moniker "Einstein Kristiansen", and so in 2007, he changed his professional name back to his original name, Øistein Kristiansen.
References
edit- ^ Knutsen, Annelise (2 March 2007). Lager PC-spill og TV-serie, Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian)
- ^ (9 June 2008). Øistein er Norges Super Mario, Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad (in Norwegian)
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Einstein of cartoons". Weekend East. 8 July 1993. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ a b (22 April 2006). Kids Carinval, The Hindu
- ^ (14 May 2019). [1], Box Yourself on YouTube
- ^ Draw Cows with Øistein Kristiansen: Get The World To Draw! (Learn To Draw). 3 March 2014. Retrieved 2019-08-30 – via Amazon.