expeditions along the edge of the knife – the cut-paper art of Patrick Gannon
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2007.
Its still pretty early going with this drawing here, somewhere between a sketch and a comp. Chances are, it will have changed quite a bit by the time I go to final and get down to picking papers. I’m trying some new things, what with the morphing of the character and the flow of positive and negative shapes, and I’m trying to figure out as much as I can now so I don’t have to re-cut super-complicated pieces later. Good thing I like a challenge.
The awesome folks over at Gallery 1988 (Los Angeles, this time) just asked me to contribute a piece to their upcoming Stan Lee tribute show, “Under the Influence”. There are about a billion killer artists in the show, all playing around with characters and themes derived from the House Stan and Jack built. I would write about the debt art (yeah, comics can be art, and complicated art at that) and pop culture owe Stan Lee, but it would start as a gush and just get messier and more flowery from there. Let’s just say I’m thrilled to be included. And I wish I could get to LA, ‘cuz Stan will be at the show.
If you’re curious which piece is in the show, you can find it in the archives. Just think “Gamma Rays”. By the by, this 7 color art print by Daniel Danger, which just happens to be awesome, will be available when the show opens.
I supppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the world of hand-made and decorative papers is governed by the same capitalist rules that come to bear on everything else. I kind of was, though. If a certain design or color proves to be popular, the company continues to produce it. And vice versa. What all this means is that my supply of a particular paper is finite, and when I run out, well…that’s it. Oh, I might get lucky and find a sheet of my favorite color buried in some dark and dusty corner of a forgotten back-street stationery shop, but that’s a bit unlikely. And, sadly it seems that I like the less popular papers. Go figure. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the things I enjoy most about working with cut-paper is the ability to try something different on a piece, without having to destroy what’s already there or start over from scratch. Read the rest of this entry »
When we’re being excessively lazy, do our souls get bored? These are the kind of thoughts that tie my brain in knots on those nights I can’t sleep. Even though I can force my body to be lazy, my brain is a different story. Ten years ago, I had Jean-Claude Van Damme movies to help me get a good, healthy mental shutdown. Thankfully, drawing odd critters seems like a good way to empty the old noggin. And the cutting process can be very meditative. When I’m not poking myself with the point. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m torn.
I’m a big believer in analysis and observation. Occasionally to the point of excess (seriously, never go shopping with me for anything that costs more than twenty bucks [¥2000] or you risk an assault charge). Somehow, though, it seems wrong for me to delve too deeply into a piece that is clearly about analyzation. Read the rest of this entry »
