The Usual Gang of Idiots in Queens, Scribbling with KAL, & Asher Perlman's Brooklyn Book Launch
#451: Plus! Roz Chast & Ellis J Rosen talking Transit Toons, A New Dog Exhibition in NYC, An Al Hirschfeld exhibition at the Algonquin, AI Artists at DragonCon & Morris' new sitting position...
We talked about everything from political cartooning and satire to caricature and live portraits in Paris. I can’t wait for you to see the replay if you missed it. I’ll publish it tomorrow morning for you.
(I’m sorry to those who got the email that said “Friday Noon” instead of the one that said “Tuesday Noon” — for that reason, I’ll be keeping this replay free, and above the paywall so you can all view it if you missed out from waiting ‘til Friday.) If you want to learn a little something about KAL before the replay drops, read the post below.
Perlman had his book launch at the Bell House in Brooklyn on Friday night, and he blew the roof off! The brilliant Gary Gulman interviewed him on stage while poring through a selection of cartoons from the book— and that was after a slew of killer comics doing sets about the book, and roasting Asher.
“The ThinkerGul”
If you missed our chat last week and want to find out more about the book, click the post below. We had a lot of fun drawing and talking shop together:
I went into this episode of DMA expecting the usual blend of cartooning shop talk and digital doodling. What I got was a deep dive into creative authenticity, delivered by someone who's figured out that being yourself is both the hardest and most obvious solution to every artistic problem...
Speaking of cartooning dogs— next Tuesday, my pals at the AKC Museum of the Dog are having a big opening of their new exhibit: The New Yorker in Dog Years.
The New Yorker has been at the forefront of cartooning since its inception. In an announcement of the magazine’s launch written by Harold Ross, the importance of cartoons can be seen: “The New Yorker expects to be distinguished for its illustrations, which will include caricatures, sketches, cartoons, and humorous and satirical drawings in keeping with its purpose.”
Tuesday, September 16 6:00-7:30 p.m.at 101 Park Avenue, NYC (entrance on 40th Street) Light refreshments will be served, and festive attire is requested.
The Usual Gang of Idiots on the Streets of Queens…
Saturday night, the calm streets of Sunnyside were invaded by the Usual Gang of Idiots from MAD— Tom Richmond, in town teaching one of his caricaturing workshops, was the toast of the meet-up before longtime Art Director, Sam Viviano, Facetimed the great Sergio Aragonés so we could all wish him Feliz Cumpleaños!
A storm was passing through the city, so we huddled under the awning of a local funeral home to make the call. Because of course we did.
This is just the beginning… As much as I applaud Dragoncon for taking the actions they did on this occasion, it won’t stop here. I can see them even fencing off a separate section for people selling AI art in the coming years. The problem is, once the technology inevitably improves, it will become impossible to discern who is a legit artist in the application process… perhaps we’ll have to have each applicant draw something live, using their (human) hands?
“The internet nearly broke this week with the news that an "artist" hawking work created mainly by A.I. (their pieces reportedly did have some real paint embellishments in a lame attempt to pretend it was real art) was kicked out of Dragoncon's Artist's Alley in Atlanta this past weekend. Vendors/attendees complained to the convention staff, and the offending vendor was asked to leave for violating the vendor agreement, which specifically forbids the selling of images created using AI.
The vendor refused to leave, so police had to be called to escort them out.
Bravo to Dragoncon for taking action. All conventions need to do this and actively toss out anyone who attempts to sell A.I. images in their Artist's Alley space. That vendor was taking a space that real artists who were waitlisted would have loved to have had. Exhibitor areas are one thing, but Artist's Alley is a space for people who create their own art, and for attendees to go and support those people by buying their work. Having Artists Alley tables taken up by A.I. prompt jockeys is not acceptable.“
The SketchbookI’m sharing with youthis week is a selection of the sketches I did of peoples’ dogs as gifts this past week. If you have a friend with a dog, send me a photo and I’ll draw them into the book for you.
ROSEN & CHAST & TRAINS (Oh, my!) The legendary Roz Chast will be speaking about cartoons at the NY Transit Museum with my good pal and brilliant cartoonist Ellis J Rosen. (Here’s my Artist Spotlight on Ellis from 4 years ago).
Via Ellis:
Come see me talk live!Better yet, some see me and one of the greatest cartoonist of all time, Roz Chast live! On Sept. 11th we will be at the New York Transit Museum talking about cartoons, process and New York City, baby!
KELLY BOYS IN NYC I met up with Non Sleep Deep Rest expert Kelly Boys while she was in New York last week. Kelly’s sessions on Waking Up are excellent— Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn how to relax (something I’m still working on…) Listen to her guided sessions here.
COUNTING THE NINAS AT THE ALGONQUIN Last night I found myself in the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel—the old Round Table haunt—surrounded by swoops of ink that still feel louder than a brass section. We were there to celebrate Al Hirschfeld, easily the greatest caricaturist alive or dead… even if he preferred ‘characterist’ (a word he invented because of course he did.) I’ll be writing up the exhibition in a post later this week. But in the meantime, if you’d like to see it, the details are below:
Resilience under Pressure
You might be watching the new Amanda Knox adaptation on Hulu at the moment. I should drop a reminder that she also has sessions on resilience on Waking Up— I drew her portrait for the course. Click the image to listen.
