Archive for category art
Frank Santoro on Cold Heat, Comics Comics
Posted by admin in Literature, art, comics, pop culture, sequential art on November 5, 2008
Frank Santoro is a Pittsburgh-based artist who first became known in 1995 for Storeyville, a “perfect match of form and content” that was re-released in 2007 by Picturebox. More recently he has collaborated with Ben Jones on Cold Heat where the two storytellers are “applying Jones’s surreal, biting prose to Santoro’s elegant yet dynamic renderings”. Many folks will also recognize Santoro for his rather passionate opinions about comics and storytelling in general as shared at the group blog, Comics Comics. Through such efforts as Cage Match at the blog, as Santoro recently noted: “It was—and remains—our hope that people care enough about comics to take a stand, one way or the other. To get involved, to build a dialogue that will help create an emotional as well as intellectual foundation for the comics of the future.” This email interview took place soon after the initial David Heatley Cage Match, but before Heatley responded to critics (and the ensuing comments section from hell).
Tim O’Shea: If you had the chance to tell Heatley in person what you thought of this work, would you be this passionate? In asking this I’m not implying you would not have the guts per se to say these things in person, but rather the written word allows nuances and complexities lost in standard conversation. You were excited about his potential five years ago, but now feel far differently. Do you think Heatley squandered his talent and failed his potential–or that you were mistaken in seeing potential in his efforts in the first place?
Frank Santoro: I might not be so “passionate” but I plan on being honest. I’ve known him for years. He’s a nice guy. I don’t think he’s squandered his talent but I do wonder, openly and in a public forum, what the big deal is about his work. Why does it get so much attention? I think it has more to do with David’s “provocative” themes and his careerist approach to the new “graphic novel” landscape within the publishing industry than it does with how sound his comics are.
Bill Kelter and Wayne Shellabarger on Veeps
Writer Bill Kelter and artist Wayne Shellabarger have brightened this election season with their new book, Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance (set for release in November). In a departure from Top Shelf’s typical publishing material, this non-fiction effort is described by the publishing house as follows:
“It’s a tired but true cliché that every American Vice President is just a heartbeat away from the most powerful job in the world … a job they’ve often never really interviewed for. Who are these people? We all know about the one who shot his hunting partner in the face, but how about the tavern owner who once married one of his slaves and then sold her at auction when she tried to leave him? Or the one whose President went to his death regretting that he hadn’t had his Vice President hanged? Or the one who was too frequently inebriated to serve out the whole of his term? Over more than 200 years, the American voters have sent a platoon of rogues, cowards, drunks, featherweights, doddering geriatrics, bigots, and atrocious spellers to Washington D.C. to sit one bullet, cerebral hemorrhage, or case of pneumonia away from the highest office in the land. VEEPS tells the sordid, head-scratching, perversely-entertaining stories of these men we’ve chosen to ride shotgun in the biggest rig in democracy, without ever seriously considering the possibility that they might have to take the wheel. [296-Page Illustrated Hardcover (Non-Fiction), 5 5/8" x 8 1/2]“
I’m amazed at the efforts connected to the fun book. As Top Shelf co-publisher Brett Warnock wrote in a recent email: “. . . because this story is too big for a book, along with the upcoming release of Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance, Top Shelf Productions and Rufus Pictures are proud to announce a companion film to the book. Road To Insignificance tells the story of Veeps creators, Bill Kelter and Wayne Shellabarger, and their search for a new narrative for themselves along the road to the election and inauguration of America’s 47th Vice President…I actually co-directed this film, and the experience was outstanding, and made me even excited more about the book.”
I recently exchanged emails with Kelter and Shellabarger in a pretty fun exchange of emails about the book and the film. Enjoy. (And yes, in case you were wondering, the name Sarah Palin does come up…) Also, please note I asked a question or two based on galleys of the book, which has since been revised. But the authors’ candor was so amazing and unfiltered (about the creative process and outside struggles) that I felt it was extremely insightful (and hopefully beneficial to others on several fronts).
Tim O’Shea: Both of you are established as long-term fans/supporters (how would you characterize yourselves) of vice presidents. How was it that you decided to tackle the appreciation of VPs in a book?
Bill Kelter: Ah yes, the genesis story. The Veeps Project originated from one very drunk morning at my apartment in the Corbett-Lair Hill neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in late 1999. It was two years after my girlfriend had moved out, and while she was there, she prodded me into nudging the landlord into letting us retile the bathroom floor. We replaced an old brown-and-white floral linoleum with alternating 10” x 10” tiles of white and British Racing Green. It looked fancy and modern, but aside from that, it did little for me.
Three Questions for Dean Haspiel
Posted by admin in art, comics, pop culture, sequential art on September 22, 2008
Few storytellers have as rich a career as Dean Haspiel has experienced before his 40s. As unique as his career may be, his current creative efforts are even more intense and busy. How busy? The guy has five different links for his myriad projects. Here’s his offical bio at present (I’m sure he’ll add another project sometime soon, though…in addition to the Marvel upcoming work he discusses in this interview): “Dean Haspiel is the creator of the Eisner Award nominated, BILLY DOGMA, and the webcomix collective, ACT-I-VATE, and the editor of Smith Magazine’s NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR anthology. He has drawn superheroes for Marvel and DC Comics and Pulitzer Prize winning, Michael Chabon’s THE ESCAPIST. Best known for his collaborations with Harvey Pekar on AMERICAN SPLENDOR and THE QUITTER, this Fall will see the release of THE ALCOHOLIC [Vertigo] {To be exact, THE ALCOHOLIC goes on sale this Wednesday, September 24}, his original graphic novel collaboration with author Jonathan Ames, and MO & JO, a children’s comic book collaboration with underground legend, Jay Lynch, for Francoise Mouly’s TOON BOOKS series from Raw Jr. This summer Dean launched STREET CODE, a new webcomic series for Zuda.
Dean is a founding member of DEEP6 Studios in Gowanus, Brooklyn.”
I have had the good fortune to interview Haspiel in the past. And, over the years, I’ve seen Haspiel’s popularity substantially grow (as well it should) . As I already stressed, he’s a busy man–and always highly in demand on various fronts. So, when I contacted him recently for an email interview, I was grateful for any time he could spare. I could honestly get a one-question interview with Haspiel and be happy. Fortunately, he spared the time to answer three questions. And we covered a lot of ground with those three questions.
Art Hunting
So I decided to see if I could find a good site to locate art in public places–or more exactly in my home state of Georgia.
As part of my search, I stumbled across this state government orchestrated Georgia’s State Art Collection. Apparently at some point, the state of Georgia had a Georgia Art Bus Program. Well that program ended in 1991 and now totaling around 600 works (“sculpture, photography, printmaking, painting, ceramics, jewelry, fiber and silver work”), the art (from folks like “Benny Andrews, Lamar Dodd, Cheryl Goldsleger, Roccio Rodriguez and Joseph Perrin”) is definitely worth checking out.
Wow, I never get tired of find ways that my tax dollars are spent.
Fred Chao: On Johnny Hiro
The overall buzz on Fred Chao’s Johnny Hiro (Half Asian, All Hero) [AdHouse] frequently boils down to words like “genuine” or “fun” or both. What else can you expect from a series that involves giant monsters, stolen lobsters and David Byrne? Well that’s just some of the things encountered in the first three issues. So naturally I was eager to interview him about his work, as well as an upcoming exhibition of paintings he has this Saturday, April 5 at Charmingwall Gallery.
Tim O’Shea: In terms of the backstory, I’m curious with Mayumi, why did you opt to create a character (in Johnny Hiro) who clearly is still learning the nuances of the English language but she makes a living as a copywriter (or is she a copywriter in her native language)?
Fred Chao: Perhaps it’s a weakness in my writing–I’m not sure yet–but the indulgence I let myself fall into most is humor. So a lot can be put aside for a good joke, as long as it doesn’t go against the characters. That said, I just thought it would be funny for Mayumi to be working on the editorial side at a major publishing house despite English being very obviously her second language.
Museums at Your Fingertips
I can’t possibly link to all museums on the web. But fairly quickly, in searching the U.S. government’s official website, I found the following list of museums.
I include for your enjoyment, the following links, along with periodic commentary:
Now what’s cool to me about this museum’s website is its blog. In pretty short order, with two clicks, I was directed to this item that ultimately led me to this exhibit, A Thousand Kisses: Love Letters from the Archives of American Art
Government’s Flickr: Library of Congress
Posted by admin in Music, Uncategorized, art on March 1, 2008
Every once and awhile, I hear someone understandably questioning what we get for all the taxes that U.S. citizens pay (for those of you reading outside the United States, sorry for not writing to you). Any time I run across a government service, I always assume that my taxes have paid for a big chunk of whatever it is. And I’m happy to say, most of the time as delusional as I may be, that thought makes me feel just fine.
Look at the following picture:
Chic-Evolution in Art
Last year when I decided to start this blog part of the thinking was to explore subjects far beyond my customary area of knowledge, but of interest to me. Volunteering at my son’s school allows me to interact with folks from a variety of professional and personal backgrounds. Bottom line, I get to befriend a lot of interesting and intellectually engaging people. One of those engaging folks is Michelle Bishop Turkington. Turkington is one of the forces behind Chic-Evolution in Art, a business that helps clients to find art that best suits their respective needs. I could try to go into more detail about it, but I think Turkington explains things far more effectively, of course.
Tim O’Shea: When and why did Chic-Evolution In Art begin?
Comics Experience with Andy Schmidt
Posted by admin in art, comics, sequential art on January 14, 2008
Andy Schmidt is a former Marvel Comics editor who I found consistently brought an engaging vibe to the books that bore his name. When I learned last year that he was going freelance (for a number of positive reasons, most importantly to care for his newborn child) , I was eager to see where his professional path went next. Soon enough, I found that path included tapping into his teaching and editorial skills in one spot, Comics Experience. As detailed at the website, Comics Experience is where “…you can learn to be be a comic book writer; be a comic book artist; self-publish your own comic book; [and/or] learn how to break into comics…”. The latest round of classes started last week (January 7). Schmidt and I discussed what’s coming up in the short-term as well as the long-term.
Tim O’Shea: At present, the main classes are Introduction to Comics Writing, Introduction to Comic Book Art, as well as advance versions of both classes. Based on response and interest, are there any other classes you might consider offering down the road?
Andy Schmidt: Oh, definitely, I’ve been talking about doing an inking class and a coloring class and even more recently a Manga class. The response to what I’m offering has been incredibly positive from students and creators alike. So, I’m hoping to grow this out a bit.