I'll drink to that

This has easily been one of my least favorite semesters, right behind fall of 2001 at IUPUI. I'm eager to get out of Bloomington and jump into "real life" but I'm a nervous wreck about debt and finding a decent job after graduation. I've managed to convince myself that all of my peers are smarter and much more successful than I, which is only about 95% true. I have to realize that there are another 5% out there doing about as well as myself or slightly worse.

Things are looking up though; I received an e-mail a few days ago from Columbia University's Columbia Scholastic Press Association informing me that I won 1st and 2nd place in their Collegiate Golden Circle awards for best informational graphic. Strangely, I share credit for one of them with Jen Nentrup. I very rarely work with someone on a graphic, so I'm quite perplexed. Moving on...

Yesterday I received yet another e-mail notification informing me that I'm nominated for best informational graphic by The Society of Professional Journalists. I even got invited to the dinner/award presentation in Indianapolis; I just hope the dinner is free. If I end up winning, I'm going to treat myself to an expensive beer at The Rathskeller. If I don't win, I'm going to treat myself to a moderately-priced beer at The Rathskeller.

Craziness: a vital ingredient to becoming a famous artist

At least it seems that way. I'm referring to a New York Times article about 47 year old Daniel Johnston, a bipolar magic marker artist who is on the verge of becoming world famous for his quirky drawings. This guy lives with his 80 year old parents in Waller, Texas, just outside of Houston. He also has a residence in Crazyville, population: him.

His drawings, which feature cryptic dialog and a mix of popular comic characters and some of his own creation, have at least two art collectors, Jeff Brivic, a Los Angeles dealer and Jeff Tartakov, Johnston's former manager, desperately pursuing anything produced by Johnston.

Despite the fact that Johnston has been at this for many years, only now, with the help of Brivic and Tartakov, is he getting praise for his visual art. He had a critically acclaimed (albeit obscure) music career, reaching a pinnacle in 1985 with an appearance on Mtv. His mental illness kept him from hitting the mainstream, but many artists, including Beck and Kurt Cobain, have given praise to Johnston, even going as far as covering his songs.

Ok. I don't want to sound insensitive, but I find the acclaim given to Johnston's art to be a bit suspect, to say the least. I'm not criticizing Johnston himself; he's just trying to make a living while wrestling with his own health problems and personal demons. I am, however, annoyed with the art critics and dealers who are selling many of Johnston's drawings for $1,000 a pop. Not only are they capitalizing on Johnston's eccentric behavior and mental disorders, they're placing value on work that I quite honestly could produce in a few minutes on a Denny’s placemat. I am an art student and consider myself an artist, but I have a hard time understanding the appeal of Johnston's drawings. Perhaps that is due to two facts:

1. I'm not a 'real' artist
2. I'm not crazy

I have always felt that my sunny disposition and well-balanced nature has kept me from creating great art. The only things I've created resembling art lately has been graphics for the Indiana Daily Student. I basically get paid to make clip art. Though I'd like to be a successful painter or illustrator, I'm quite content being mentally balanced and mostly happy. I don't toss and turn at night wishing I was a little off in the head, in hopes that it would bring about artistic brilliance, or at least the assumption by others that my art is brilliant because I'm off my rocker.

I'm at ease with living a happy life while having a mediocre career. I'd certainly hate to be a wealthy and famous artist with no friends I could trust, or a mental disorder that makes it hard to even get out of bed. Despite accepting my fate as an "average Joe" I have a strong desire to act crazy/depressed/constipated to achieve artistic greatness, only to stand up on a stage at an exhibition one day and say "Ha ha ha! Just kidding, assholes! I'm just a charming-yet-average dude who just duped all of you pretentious art snobs into thinking I was an edgy and disturbed young artist! Screw you all for taking advantage of my emotional torment and mental disorders for your personal gain! By the way, that 1981 Cabernet you're drinking and raving about is actually Charles Shaw...I graphically designed fake labels."

Art imitating...video games?

Another week, another opportunity to create a video game themed graphic for the IDS. This one was created for a story about Dan Wolfe, an up-and-coming game designer pursuing a Masters of Immersive Media Environments degree here at Indiana University. The graphic was intended to represent those create-a-player screens so common in video games.

In other news, $3.75 23 oz. Killian's drafts are a great way to start the weekend early. Booyah.

Oh, and here's a joke my brother just told me:

A golf club walks into a local bar and asks the barman for a pint of beer.

The barman refuses to serve him. "Why not," asks the golf club.

"You'll be driving later," replies the bartender.

A fine day for a parade

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the weather can change in the midwest. It was 15 degrees yesterday morning; It was 40 this morning. It is currently holding steady at 52 degrees and sunny. Enough about the weather...

...let's talk about chicken mcnuggets. It is a known fact that you always get at least one mcnugget shaped like the state of Indiana. Some modification is sometimes needed...such as taking a small bite out of the northwestern corner to represent Lake Michigan. The Hoosier mcnuggets can be further modified to make Italy...you can even use the chunk you took out for Lake Michigan and use it for Sicily.

In keeping with the theme of randomness, you should check out artist Brandon Bird. That's his magnificent painting in the upper left corner. I don't really have heroes, but if I did, he'd be one of them.

Oh, and happy Hallmark Day.

The death rattle of freedom of speech?

I've refrained from posting anything about this issue, but things have begun to spiral out of control to the point that I can't ignore it any longer.

Back in September, twelve drawings depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammed (among other deities from other religions) were published in Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper. These drawings were created at the request of editors at the paper, because they felt that the media as a whole was being far too reluctant to addressing Muslim issues. These editors were later fired.

Recently, a Norwegian newspaper also printed the drawings. Several European newpapers reprinted the cartoons, some claiming to cover the controversy, other as a show of solidarity in support of freedom of expression. Several of those involved in the reprinting have been fired. Two newspapers in Jordan just reprinted the cartoon and arrangements for the arrests of each editor-in-chief have begun. As far as I know, American newspapers/media have opted to stay out of this, perhaps as an act of self preservation, i.e. fear.

I really don't know where to begin, but I'll give this a shot.

1. Islam prohibits depicting Mohammed or Allah, though there have been a few exceptions. This doesn't apply to non-Muslims, does it?

2. The best method for illustrating that Islam is a peaceful religion (contrary to its depiction in one of the cartoons) is NOT by torching embassies of Denmark and Norway in Damascus and the Danish Consulate in Beirut.

3. It's truly ridiculous that entire nations...entire unions of nations...continue to be held hostage by a relatively small group of extremists. It seems freedom of speech and expression doesn't apply to Islam. As a friend of mine quipped "The middle east has become a tantrum-throwing brat in the middle of a grocery store."

I'm not big on politics. I still know little about Islamic religion and culture. But I am an artist. When the tools of personal and artistic expression are rendered impotent, the whole of humanity suffers. We are blazing a dangerous trail, one that leads to totalitarianism and a muzzle on every man, woman and child. Think I'm crazy? Think again.

Senator uppercut!!

The Indiana Legislature is trying to pass a bill prohibiting the sale or rental of violent and/or sexually explicit video games to minors. This gave me an excuse to create a violent video game themed graphic for the Indiana Daily Student. Smell the irony...

Faking the funk

I've recently rediscovered my affinity for creating fake magazine covers. It offers a respite from academic work, while also honing my skills as a graphic artist. I'm using the latter as justification for an academically lackluster semester.

Anyway, if any of you out there want to be featured on a magazine cover, or have an idea, feel free to let me know.

As of this moment, I am done with this semester. Andy, my roommate, graduates tomorrow morning. There will be a lengthy bar crawl, accompanied by moments of nostalgia, with a 90% chance of inebriated acts of destruction by yours truly.