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The Ghost Parade (and photographic evidence of Yokai)

November 16, 2010 in Art - Recent Work, Exhibitions & Events, Featured, Japan, News, ` | 3 comments

The Ghost Parade illuminated cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: circumference – about 2.5m (about 8 feet 3 inches); diameter – 80cm (about 2 feet 7 inches)
medium: cut paper, light (frame made of wood, line, wires, etc)

The ghost parade was born from the lucky confluence of an urge and an event.

The urge had been hanging around for ages, quietly poking around in the back of my brain. For the past year or so, I’ve been trying to work larger, to give more dramatic impact to my cut paper work. I’ve also been experimenting with adding depth, using chunky blocks of wood and refining the way layers are used. On top of this, illuminating the paper, using the translucent quality to play with light and shadow and form is something I have a million tiny ideas I want to try out. (special thanks go out to Tim Budden for inspiring me with his own paper experiments).

The Ghost Parade illuminated cut paper art by Patrick GannonThe event was my first solo show, “The Night of the Yokai”. With the opportunity to utilize the ceiling as well as the walls, the first thing that came to mind was to create a three-dimensional cut-paper design. Through the sketch process, this evolved into a giant cut-paper chandelier (which fit nicely into my haunted, ghostly theme). The original design called for one more small ring inside. That was abandoned in time; it might have played havock with the clean shadows of the inner ring on the outer ring. Maybe in the future, I’ll play around with multiple layers.

If I had been any good at math, I think I might have been an engineer instead of a paper cutter. I love figuring out how to make things work. The real test was the frame. It’s cobbled together from items I found at the local DIY and craft stores. The added challenge of making it transportable by train – and thus easy to take apart and reassemble, was great mental exercise. Next time, I might just seek out a carpenter, though. This first experiment has given me a ton of ideas. Here’s hoping I get to watch them play out soon.

More of the Ghost Parade and other pictures from Night of the Yokai are now available on:

Flickr
and Facebook (Facebook has the added bonus of work-in-progress shots).

In the Corrosive Grip of Acid Reflux. And a Bear.

August 25, 2010 in Art - Recent Work, Exhibitions & Events, Japan, News, ` | 2 comments

To Endure Beyond This Moment cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 7 7/8 x 11 15/16” (20 x 30cm)
medium: cut paper on wood

I’ve been too good. Giving up my seat on the train to old people, rescuing kittens from trees,putting a stop to the nefarious invasion plans of gooey alien races. And that was just this past week. I’m tired of it all. I need to be bad. I want to exercise my evil muscles. I yearn to grow an appropriately twisty and sinister mustache.

Luckily, Kevin Conn, the erstwhile creator of The Incandescent Lava-Roid, has once again come to the rescue (remember him?). Pictured above, you can see our Molten hero cringing striking an action pose in the face of two of his most dastardly enemies. Introducing the all-new Acid Reflux and the all-improved Heimlich the Cyborg Nazi Bear. Previously known as plain, old Heimlich the Nazi Bear. And yes, that is a Hitlerian mustache under his snout.

This seems a good time to let everyone know about the next show I’ll be participating in: American Comics Exhibition 2010 ~Bad Guys~
From Anti-heroes to Supervillains opening Sept. 26, 2010 here in Tokyo. Check out the website here.

Oh yeah, and my first solo show is coming soon to Tokyo. Want a hint? Leave your Halloween open.

For now, I think I’ll go find a kitten to put in a tree.

Where the Forest Ends and the Flesh Begins

January 6, 2010 in Art - Recent Work, Japan, ` | 12 comments

Where the Forest Ends and the Flesh Begins cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 38 x 27.2 cm ( about 15 x 10 3/4″ )
medium: cut paper on illustration board
Private Collection
click here or the image for a more titanic tiger

Each new year is a time of renewal, a clean slate where the previous year’s missteps have been scratched out to make way for hopes, plans, schemes and triumphs. Who better to lead us out of the dark than the fearsome tiger.

Of course, the trick with a beastie as temperamental and finicky as the tiger is to know whether it’s leading you into the light or pouncing on you from the inky shadows.

One year ago, I waxed and whined about how weird it was to use cut paper to mimic another medium (in direct opposition to my cardinal rule of paper cuttery). Well, I still feel a little awkward faking sumi-e, but I really liked the result so I decided to try it again. This time, I tried to take it even further, playing around with different shades of grey (and some truly cool new papers) for the bamboo. The tiger’s outside line also got nixed, playing up the natural camouflage /positive/negative aspect that makes this cat so cool. Read the rest of this entry »

A Hero Must Know How to Accessorize

October 11, 2009 in Art - Recent Work, W.I.P.s, ` | 11 comments

A Hero Must Know How to Accessorize cut paper art by Patrick Gannon
size: 11 3/4 x 8 5/16″
medium: cut and torn paper on wood
click here to Super-size her!

A superhero uniform has only a minimum of necessary features. Gloves and boots are always a good idea for those whose skin is not made of stone or steel. Capes are optional; not everyone can carry them off. Certain nocturnal avengers may favor utility belts and pouches, while those with metahuman powers would find them superfluous.

The only absolute necessity, the one thing a hero or heroine cannot do without, is an insignia. Their logo. Preferably prominently displayed. After all, what’s a hero without marketing?

It’s fascinating to watch the evolution of the superhero costume over the decades. The dudes’ costumes have become less colorful and more practical with body armor, a plethora of pockets and pouches, and most happily, less spandex. The girls’ uniforms… well, they didn’t exactly toss on a pair of overalls to tussle back in the 30′s. These days, it’s gotta be a challenge for the artists to pinpoint which scrap of cloth they can erase without the whole thing disintegrating into separate atoms.

Below you can see a couple pose studies. Read the rest of this entry »

A Great Ol’ Bear

September 3, 2009 in Art - Recent Work, ` | 12 comments

A Great Ol' Bear cut paper art by Patrick Gannonsize: 5 7/8 x 5 7/8″
medium: dimensional cut paper

The power of myths and fables lies in their ability to magnify human traits, feats and frailties. The gods and men and monsters who inhabit these stories are larger than life, and so too are their flaws. Zeus may have been a god among gods on Mt. Olympus, but the guy had the libido of 200 teenage boys and the moral code of a brain damaged weasel. Match that up with his supernatural fertility and he seems to have been solely responsible for 90% of the demigods and heros tromping around Athens and Sparta.

Poor Callisto, tomboy nymph that she was happened to catch his wandering eye one day. Things just went downhill from there. Nine months later she gave birth to Arcas. Which ticked off Zeus’ wife Hera who, as far as I can tell, was the goddess of misaimed jealous rages. She turns Callisto into a bear. A decade or so passes, and Arcas, now a precocious hunter like his mom, draws back a bow and takes aim at… do I have to say it?

Zeus had the decency to feel guilty and he stops the matricide. He grabs momma bear by the tail, swings her around a coupla times, and plants her up among the stars. Because, I suppose, that’s better than being human again. Arcas is turned into Ursa minor. This is how gods fix their mistakes, I suppose. So what’s the moral of this story? Always have deity-strength pepper spray on hand, maybe?

A Great Ol' Bear cut paper art by Patrick Gannon, photo

Aside from just loving mythology, this piece was an attempt at some new techniques with cut paper. For one thing, this is all about pattern and positive-negative space, instead of color and texture. For another, this is the first piece I’ve done where the front layer is suspended above the back. In the right lighting, there are some pretty cool shadows at play… although not in these photos. Every once in a while, it’s nice to stretch my brain and do something different. And I’ve gotta admit, some of those wacky celestial patterns were a ton of fun to draw.

Avoid the Roid! (The Blistering Lava-Roid)

August 21, 2009 in Art - Recent Work, ` | 9 comments

Avoid the Roid! (The Blistering Lava-Roid) cut and torn paper art by Patrick Gannon
size: 7 7/8 x 11 7/8″ (and more than 1/2″ thick)
medium: cut and torn paper on wood
click here or the image for more girth!

Today I have discovered that I am not a comedy writer. For hours I’ve been trying to come up with a bad… nay, a mind numbingly awful and cringe-worthy pun. The kind of joke that is mythical in its horrendousness; horrifying in its banality. That leaves a flaming path of devastation and wailing in its wake. A joke about superheroes. It goes like this:

superhero1: Metahuman?
superhero2: … (insert punchline here).

See? It’s got the potential to be truly, memorably bad. And, in some dark, perverse corner of my brain I love a good bad pun. But nothing I can come up with elicits more than a quiet groan. Maybe you can do better.

Happily, Kevin Conn doesn’t have this problem. Aside from rocking the world as Unemployed Skeletor he has created The Smoldering, Torrid Lava-Roid.

LAVA-ROID Phillip Manchester was just a normal cop until his big twin brother was murdered in cold blood …

Really, what more do you need to know than that? Kevin asked me to do a pinup for the preview comic coming out soon. I threw caution to the wind and jumped at the chance. You can check out the molten metahuman, the sweltering superman on Myspace or Facebook. And take a gander at the costume below. Read the rest of this entry »

Regrets of a Mad Scientist

June 28, 2009 in Art - Recent Work, Exhibitions & Events, W.I.P.s, ` | 14 comments

Regrets of a Mad Scientist cut paper art by Patrick Gannon
size: 18 x 25.5 cm (7 1/4 x 10 1/8 inches)
medium: cut paper on wood

Worn out by waging constant war against the laws of physics and nature, one minor miscalculation can lead a superb scientist down the paths of melancholy and madness. Not to mention artificial breathing apparatuses and a whole lot of boneless limbs. There’s a whole lot here to regret: a whole world lost and left behind in a mad dash for scientific advancement, a lifetime of breathing recycled air, a lack of opposable thumbs.

What drew me to this guy (who has been sitting in my sketchbook for ages waiting for the right moment to come to life) was the sense of weariness. It’s tough being a mad genius all the time. Not to mention the old-school Eroll Flynn mustache.

As to why there is a sentient snow globe on his noggin; well, your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps a receptacle for memories of another life? But whose footprints are those tracking through the snow?

“Regrets of a Mad Scientist”, can be seen right now in San Francisco’s Gallery 1988′s “Battle Royal” group show, until July 18, 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

Creative Creature Camouflage

May 14, 2009 in Art - Recent Work, ` | 6 comments

Creative Creature Camouflage cut paper art by Patrick Gannon
size: 10 x 15 cm (about 6″ x 4″)
medium: cut paper on wood

This world is a nasty, brutish parade of danger and peril. All manner of people and things want to crush, smother, stomp on, rend, tear, shoot, dismember, discombobulate, confuse, bite, claw, batter, smoosh, mutilate, strangle and eat us. Or worse, sell us something.

How lucky we are that evolution has provided us with the means to protect ourselves. Take, for example, this lil’ fella here. Defensive mimicry proves that nature knows how to play a little joke on itself.

Then again, maybe defense is the last thing on this beastie’s mind. It all depends on which end is leading the parade.

Flailing Purple Tentacles of Beastie Destruction!

March 18, 2009 in Art - Recent Work, Exhibitions & Events, Japan, ` | 6 comments

Flailing Purple Tentacles of Beastie Destruction cut paper art by Patrick Gannon
cut paper on wood
10 x 15 cm (about 4 x 6″)

Ancient legends tell of a gargantuan, trident-wielding, octopus-headed beast that will rise from the deep, tentacles flailing, to bring a new age of chaos, darkness and destruction to the world of man.

No, I’m not referring to everyone’s favorite Great Old One, Cthulu, who also waits in that long line of slimy, world-munching monsters. I’m not even talking about Emperor Guillotine from Japan’s “Giant Robo” (ジャイアントロボ ), known in the US as Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot, although the alien with a cephalopod for a head almost certainly was the influence for this guy.

No, instead I refer to the Beastie Boys’ unnamed adversary in their “Intergalactic” video. With his bulbous purple noggin’, stylish sackcloth robe, and starfish bling, this tentacled menace set his bugged-out eyes on metropolitan Tokyo. All I can say is, thank goodness for Giant Boxy Robots.

For extra credit: Can you name more evil, octopus-headed Big Bads? Squid critters also count. Read the rest of this entry »

Go Beastie Ranger!

February 15, 2009 in Art - Recent Work, Japan, ` | 10 comments

Go Beastie Ranger! cut paper art by Patrick Gannon
cut paper on wood
10 x 15 cm ( about 4 x 6″ )

Now is the time on PaperCuts when we dance. And fight giant monsters from outer space. Then, when that’s all done and the world is safe again, we flip the music back on and kick out one last celebratory shimmy.

“Go Beastie Ranger!” is one of a trio of pieces created for Gallery 1988 LA’s Beastie Boys-themed show, inspired by the video for “Intergalactic”. Take a peak at the video and the Giant Robot here.

Where the Giant Beastie Robo-Machine pulled it’s inspiration from “Giant Robo” (ジャイアントロボ ) and the Kaiju monster movies, the Boys’ look is equal parts Japanese construction worker and Super Sentai (スーパー戦隊). If you live outside Japan, you might be more familiar with the Super Sentai in their US form as the “Power Rangers”, a show which kept the battle scenes from the original production, and changed pretty much everything else. The dance moves in the video parody the theatrical attack poses of the Super Sentai. I dove back even further in time to the 60′s (Super Sentai started in ’75) for this pose, using the classic Ultraman ウルトラマン battle posture. When you’re wearing a silvery rubber suit, you need a funky pose to get your point across. Read the rest of this entry »

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