ALTERNATIVE COMICS A Business Demi-God and the SNEAK

HEY APATHY! Alternative Comics

As the monstrous metropolis spins infinitely around the cenrtifugal eyeball of thoughts and consciousness, a diabolic business Demi-God perpetually attempts to corrupt the routines for reasons we could never understand. Seeping technological tentacles from his mechanically exposed cranium the villain aggressively annihilates, assimilates, and hypnotically intervenes with the lives of the citizens. His powerful influence knows no bounds. Terrorizing the young and old alike, the mass homogenization threatens even those apparently unaware. One such unsuspecting individual resides within a large billboard advertisement. Losing his head for a moment, the individual quickly grasps the top half and returns it to it's proper place. Unfortunetly, during that brief euphoric and headless state, a dripping mechanized eel-type creature quickly made it's way into the victims psyche. The SNEAK, a vicious minion of the Corporate Deity, has infiltrated yet another mind!

This 20 x 30 inch HEY APATHY! Pen and ink drawing was made out on Queen Street West during my street art performances. Throughout the busy summer seasons I would do all sorts of crazy rapid live monster paintings. The character of the business demi-god first appeared in one of these spontaneous creations. Inspired by the rapidly increasing appearance of hand held devices, ear phones, head sets, and the corresponding zombie walk, I developed the villainous figure as an embodiment of the technological terrors. At the end of the tourist season, I would usually stop doing live drawings and sit back in the beautiful early fall sunshine to work on more sustained versions of the performance based ideations splattered across the sidewalk throughout the hot summer days. This ink drawing took about three days to complete and was the first detailed depiction of this mass mediator and evil assimilator. lots more unusual art at http://www.heyapathy-comics-art.com/

Alternatve Comics City Monster vs Saxaphone!

HEY APATHY! Alternative Comics

Made up of all the cars, people, wires and energy of the metropolis streets, the City Monster rises with a booming crescendo of maniacal sounds. Screeching over the traffic the creature engulfs pedestrians and digests the denizens with routines and stress. As the passing clouds cross the billboards, a tiny little person wearing a noir suit opens up his case. Fastening the glimmering weapon to his chest the defiant performer breaths heavily. Upon inserting the reed, and taking a firm foot hold of concrete, out bursts the sound. Swiftly echoing through out the wind tunnels the saxophone slices through the chaos offering a hypnotic resistance to overbearing city sounds. A release removes worries the music makes the madness palatable for another moment. Such is life in the City of Gears!

“The Saxophone vs. the City” 18” x 24” Pen and ink drawing made live on Queen Street West. This follow up to the “Attack of the City Monster” was inspired by the amazing prowess of music to enhance our lives in the city. All throughout the downtown core people are enjoying music. Quite often a saxophonist will step out in the streets and play out for the entire surroundings. The magnificent power of the instrument combined with the shared public experience of a beautifully played song is always outstanding. This illustration places the heroic musician center stage versus the horrific metropolis.

I revisited this drawing as a 10 x 12 foot street painting/performance in 2007. That summer I did a large mural on Queen Street West almost every Saturday. When I was drawing the “Saxophone Vs. The City Monster” there was a large crowd of teenagers and adults hovering over the artwork. As I laid down the final brush strokes I could here them attempting to figure out what the painting represented. They had figured out the crowds and the city but were stumped as too the squiggly lines and figure. Then, just as a became concerned that I had botched the drawing, a little girl step out from behind the shopping bags and, tired of all the silliness, simply proclaimed “ it’s a Saxophone !”

Alternative Comics and the Anonymous Crowds

HEY APATHY! Alternative Comics

Land of TV’s and the home of the slaves is a little commercial poster design I did to promote the earliest HEY APATHY! artworks. In those drawings the city was announced as a giant gear propelled by an endless sea of faceless denizens. Envisioning the city as a superficial conglomeration of misdirected commercial ideologies the nihilistic landscape paintings would often point a finger at the mass media.

The ridiculous commands put forth by the news, radio, magazines and movies appeared as an indestructible diabolic. It would seem that the business demi-gods had mastered mesmerism and therefore ensured the homogenized annihilation of man and women kind. Then I turned off the tele, found some good books, researched world films and documentaries and discovered a world so different from the one which had stolen all personality.

After my awakening I chose to investigate the matter further. I infiltrated numerous advertising agencies and bankers meeting quickly assembling the data to reveal a new dark truism. In fact I did not discover any plotting, scheming, nor even the slightest use of any sophisticated hypnosis, rather something much, darker, much more evil. The people whom I'd assume were manipulating the crowds were actually catering to their every whim. Nothing can be sold to the crowds that they don't really want. Many attempts would and will fail, but the darkest truth of them all is that we want it this way.
 
more pictures and stories at http://www.heyapathy-comics-art.com/