Dichotomy in Our Work
How can we create works without losing our humanity? Maybe Jack Black can help us!
Last week I shared a Tenacious D song, Friendship, in my Today’s Tune section. I don’t know how many of you make it to the songs at the end of the post, but they’re specially curated as a backdrop of my work and these entries. Last week, I got back from SiouxperCon and had so many people on my mind, a song about friendship seemed perfect. Sure, it’s a goofy tune. Goofy and fitting.
Simultaneously, I received some comics I created in the mail last week. I received several copies of a youth-oriented book I edited and illustrated, Meg and the Eggstraordinary Egg. Meg is different for me. It’s not dark and violent, like Champions. It’s digital work, not meticulously hand-drawn, like my figure work. And, most of all, it’s all-ages. My work these days is adult oriented. This dichotomy brings me right back to Tenacious D and their front man, Jack Black.
Dichotomy: a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.
Jack (we’re on a first name basis) is a comedian of the highest order. He can sing, he’s quick, and he’s versatile. Seeing his body of work range from the extremely explicit and ludicrous — I’m looking at you Saving Silverman — all the way to family affairs like the Mario movie, makes Jack Black definitionally dichotomous. There are few families that would take their kids to a matinee of Mario and also spin Kielbasa on the way to the theater. Regardless of this dividing contrast, Jack’s still maintaining a robust and powerful career.
When I transitioned from young adult comics to adult illustration, I found myself having to wrestle with challenges of managing my image. I work with kids on a regular basis. That crowd is important to me. But I also need room to be myself, learn, explore, and try new things. Am I even allowed to have a cute coloring book in my portfolio if there’s a burly man wearing only a towel in there too?
“If you wanna rock, you gotta break the rules,” urged Jack Black playing Dewey Finn pretending to be Ned Schneebly in Richard Linklater’s, School of Rock. As I’ve elucidated in the past, I see artwork through a punk-rock lens. If you’re sticking to the rules, you’re not upsetting anything or anyone, and you’re just another cog in the status quo. I’m not advocating for bringing adult illustration into every circumstance. Rather, I’m advocating to bring the lessons learned from any experience with you.
I gravitate toward Jack Black for a multitude of reasons. When people ask why I have two websites, or how I can do residencies while drawing what I draw, I bring Jack up. The biggest reason I resonate with him is because he wears his dichotomy openly. We’re human beings. We have varied and diverse interests. We can mature and still know what it takes to impart wisdom with younger folks. We can crack a foul joke one minute, and play a friendlier character the next. Jack Black is inspiration for me to live and create what I want to create, and know how to wear a rule-breaking persona in any environment.
This year, I’ve released several figurative pinups. The bloody and bleak ending to my flagship comic is on it’s way. And, now, an educational 12-page comic is available to everyone, and distributed throughout Iowa. I’m not a children’s performer. I’m not a coping nihilist comic artist. I am not a racy adult illustrator. I’m all these things, and more. When I work with a client, I’m not ashamed of my work. When I stand in front of a room, I bring the parts of me the room needs without denying the rest of what I am.
“My feeling is that labels are for canned food... I am what I am - and I know what I am.” - Michael Stipe
Creating often requires us to turn ourselves around and explore all of who we are, or want to be. Don’t pigeonhole yourself, and don’t be afraid to embrace the differences in your ideas and desires. We’re all a dichotomous soup of brains and guts. But my brains and guts are me, and that’s pretty cool.
If you want to read my latest all-ages comic about eggs, go download a copy now.
Today’s Tune
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