The cartoonists Matt Groening (“Futurama,” “The Simpsons,” “Life is Hell”) and Lynda Barry (“Ernie Pook’s Comeek,” What It Is) have been friends since they attended the same college, where, they said Saturday afternoon at the Metropolitan Pavilion, Matt tormented hippies and Lynda modeled nude for four dollars an hour. They also found teachers who inspired their offbeat work. Matt’s seminars on Kierkegaard and Nietzsche led to his “Life is Hell” theme, and Lynda’s art classes led to her belief in a natural biological instinct in humans to create “images,” whether by making a drawing, talking to an imaginary friend, or by merely recognizing the personality and significance of an inanimate object.
Also, they are really funny people. Lynda dispelled the false notion that a person should only make art if he or she can make a living from it in the following way (I’m paraphrasing):
That’s like having a baby and as soon as it’s born you jump on it and say, ‘Take me to the store and buy me dinner and go to work and make me some money!’
The point she was making was that you don’t have a baby in order to make money, you make money so you can take care of a baby—just like you make money so you can have time to make art, which is an enjoyable experience. The point I am making is that she pantomimed having a baby and jumping on its back and galloping to the store.
They also had a great interview with Dilbert creator Scott Adams: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/cartoonlounge/2008/10/scott-adams-dilbert.html
follow me on flickr
follow me on twitter
follow me on facebook
my resumé
No comments:
Post a Comment