ALTERNATIVE COMICS STREET ART PART 2

HEY APATHY! Alternative Comics

Early street art displays continued from yesterday...

While being courted by several reputable collectors and galleries I repeatedly encountered two unusual trends. On one occasion a patron reneged on a large scale purchase after I refused to join him in his apartment for a private dinner. Similar motivations presented themselves in the galleries as I recall being pawed at and offered Champaign and narcotics during various early morning business meetings. The galleries that I was in talks with also had a tendency to request that I recreate drawings that sold well in the past only not as installations but in small marketable series. The combination of these bizarre social formalities and the creative restrictions led to my preferences of self representation and public exhibitions. However in hindsight I can see that these people were primarily attracted to the magazine attention and were not interested in the art. Since that time I have met and worked with many incredible gallery curators and who have supported me only the most honourable of intentions.

At the same time that I was exhibiting in the galleries, I was also experimenting with public venues. I displayed my artworks at the T.O.A.E. in both 2002-2003. The large scale outdoor festival presented an entirely different audience and approach from that of the art galleries. Thousands of people strolled through the exhibition. There were people from all over the world and of all walks of life. The show offered an incomparable opportunity to interact with many people, most of which had never even been to a gallery. I found this experience extremely inspiring and I met many amazing characters, from little children to Grand mothers. I don’t recall making any connections to the outdoor festivals and performing as a street artist at the time, but the outdoor festival interactions certainly prepared and inspired me to experiment in the streets.

It wasn’t until the spring of 2004 than the combination of a these past experiences and a new set of circumstances led me to display my art on the street. For the first time since 2001, I was unable to secure a winter exhibition space and was no longer eligible for the College’s scholarship competitions. I was hanging out in Kensington Market pondering what to do about my financial situation. I was out of house and work when I met some people who sold jewellery in the streets. Co-relating all my weird thoughts I instinctively asked if I could join them. I put a scrap of black cloth and a hand full of small drawings inside a little black box I could carry in my hand comfortably while riding a bicycle.

My first attempt was on Bloor street on an Thursday or Friday afternoon. My friends did very well selling pipes, and jewellery while I myself didn’t sell a single thing. I wasn’t to discouraged though and the street jeweller told me that the other spot was better. The following morning I went join the other vendors on Queen Street and the scene was entirely different. There were tonnes of people, other buskers and many vendors. The weather was perfect and there was lot’s of energized activity. I met a whole bunch of weirdoes and sold enough art to go back. I worked every weekend through out the summer of 2004 earning enough to get by, by drawing pictures in the sun. In these early experiments my display featured scribbled monster comics and creepy surreal roach humanoids accompanied by the occasional crawling pig’s head. continued tomorrow...



 more drawings, street art and murals at http://www.heyapathy-comics-art.com/