A couple of pieces of mine are featured in Human Rights Foundation's ART IN PROTEST online exhibition, namely:
While I appreciate the foundation's efforts to highlight the work of artists attempting to speak truth to power, I must say I am rather astonished that in their survey of “A Year In Global Protest Art” as indicated on their website, their list of 15 countries represents every continent on Earth except three: Europe, North America, and Australia—which I find wholly appalling.
This is, after all, 2020; the year in which the Black Lives Matter movement was revived with vigor in the wake of George Floyd's murder by police and sparked protests of unprecedented mass in almost every metropolitan city across the United States, inspiring similar solidarity protests across the entire planet! Neglecting Europe discounts the plight of Polish women fighting for abortion rights and the over 100 protests in France critical of the country's new security bill. And what of the protests staged by Aboriginal Australians? Who only demand the end of their murder at the hands of Europe's colonial descendants.
This very obviously non-accidental oversight shows how the “Human Rights Foundation” view on human rights is a completely politicized and racialized one wherein violators of human rights can only ever be governments helmed by “brown, black, and yellow people” but never ever the righteous oh so civilized “whites”.
Despicable.
Happy fucking new year.
#Journal #Work
Finally made it to a spread I've had in mind since I first conceived of THE SOLAR GRID some 5 years ago. Feels great to finally relieve my mind of retaining it.
Still, a lot more stuff trapped in there looking for a release.
#Journal #Work #TheSolarGrid #Comix
The above piece featuring my friend Mona Eltahawy went out to the Letterform Archive in San Francisco, which acquired it for its permanent collection along with a couple of process pieces, namely:
Didn't even know such a typography-focused artspace existed prior to this. Looking forward to paying them a visit once this pandemic is no more and it's cool to board planes again, which from the looks of things shouldn't be too far off. 🤞
2020 is coming to a close, and looking at the work that was done this year... y'know, not entirely a bad year! There are even a couple things not yet listed on the site that got done, but won't be announced till January. Would've liked to get more THE SOLAR GRID out the door, but hey, there's always next year (and hopefully ONLY next year!!!).
My resolution will likely involve getting distracted by less things and finally bringing THE SOLAR GRID to a close (though I must admit I'm feeling the nastiest urge to create more erotica, but it's totally possible that it's just the pandemic getting to me).
It's becoming clear to me that I am almost always attracted to things that involve a combination of art, rebellion, and sex. So it makes sense that that's exactly the type of art project I oughtta set out to do.
#Journal #Work
Temperature is down to 8 degrees Celsius (46 Fahrenheit), which may not be as cold as some other places, but it's cold enough for me. Cold enough to rock my snuggies outside with zero fucks given (yes, that's what the pants pictured above are called, yes).
My virtual talk with Kickstarter's Oriana Leckert for Society of Illustrators went online, and today I'm back to work on TSG06! A scene that takes place on Enceladus to be precise.
The other thing in the above sneak, the brush-strokey ornamental wing, that's part of another thing I should be able to share by next month I think.
Okay, more coffee, more drawing, all in my snuggies.
#Journal #Work
Yesterday was the first day for me to catch a breather in two very intense sleepless weeks. Spent it tending to all the things I'd had to neglect in the meantime: scrubbed the bathroom, tidied around the office, cleaned the studio garage, and responded to email. It was a good day.
I always love the comedown after the high of a good grind. Can't get one without the other.
It's been a period of music-related collaborations, the fruit of which are beginning to see the light.
FLAP MY WINGS by The Lazours is the first single from their upcoming album FLAP MY WINGS: SONGS FROM 'WE LIVE IN CAIRO', which revisits some of the key songs from their hit musical WE LIVE IN CAIRO. The album's title song, FLAP MY WINGS, is a powerful tribute to Khaled Saiid who's murder by Alexandrian police ignited the spark for the events that would topple Egyptian dictator of 30 years Hosni Mubarak.
YA HABAYEBNA by Ramy Essam is a kind of electro-rock remake of a track by original revolutionary Sheikh Imam (known for writing songs critical of Nasser's regime in the 60's as well as Sadat's in the 70's together with poet Ahmed Fouad Negm). The song asks friends and loved ones “Where are you? Do you still remember us?”, which can be taken as a call for help from those in prison, or a tune of longing from those in exile.
[FLAP MY WINGS dropped yesterday, and YA HABAYEBNA drops tonight! Also, another one I worked on for Ramy (EL AMIIS EL KAROO) dropped a few weeks back.]
#Journal #Work
It's been one helluva 1000mph week and it's still not over. Today is the day I deliver all assets for an animated music video. It is also the day I participate in this webinar hosted by the University of Edinburgh (“Disappointed Hopes: Reclaiming the Promise of Resistance”). Tomorrow I've got the Society of Illustrators talk together with Kickstarter's Oriana Leckert.
Mood:
But also: 💪
Above image, btw, is the cover art I did for new single from Ramy Essam, El Amiis El Karoo (“Flannel”), which you can find on Youtube and Spotify.
#journal #work
It's been a minute since I've found the time to journal, working round the clock on the art for an animated music video. The animation itself however will be done Paul MacLachlan, otherwise referred to as The Wizard for numerous legitimate reasons.
Also, I have another virtual talk coming up! This time for The Society of Illustrators together with Kickstarter's Oriana Leckert who graciously asked me to present with her on alternative comics' place at Kickstarter! December 8th the day and 6:00pm EST is the time. Don't miss it!
Work aside, the wife and I managed a short getaway to Austin over Thankstaking weekend, where we stayed in an utterly pleasant artist-run AirBnB. To enter the house, you have to walk through lush a greenhouse. There were many paintings of flowers and fauna, and chickens freely roamed the property.
A different kind of artist than myself or anyone I know. The kind that lives the way artists live in the imaginary when we think of the term “artist”. Apparently, she lives and thrives outside of the imaginary as well.
#journal #work
Tired of hiding all your explicit wall art when family and prudes drop in? Introducing HALAL PORNOGRAPHY, the third series in my reworked poster releases.
Abstract art and kink copulate in these sly works of concept pop, available as huge 12”x36” posters (roughly 61x91cm) only from Garage.Ganzeer.com
#Work #Art #Design
Having added this “murder wall” on a whim inside the lunar police captain's office (THE SOLAR GRID, Ch. 6), some function in the back of my head is now tinkering with the thought of a serial killer on the moon. This has no place in THE SOLAR GRID proper and there will be no mention of it, but if in the future I ever want to mess around with a detective procedural type thing, I may be enticed to set it on the moon in the world of THE SOLAR GRID. I wouldn't want the setting to be pointless dressing of a run-of-the-mill detective story though; it would have to be an integral part of the concept and tie in closely to notions of trade, migration, and imperialism (what with the Moon acting as a kind of port city in space within this particular world). One thing I hate about most detective stories is that they (knowingly or not) act vehicles of police propaganda, so I imagine I'd want to turn my story around and make it an indictment of policing instead.
Simple though, and not overly elaborate; a tight slim graphic novella. Then again, I've littered THE SOLAR GRID with so many little easter eggs that could all very easily warrant their own little graphic novella spanwlings.
This is perhaps where a regular magazine might come in.
There's a bit in the introduction to KALILA & DIMNA that does not mince words as to the work's approach, an approach that very much speaks to my own philosophy of Concept Pop: Wisdom enveloped within entertainment. The wise come unto it for the wisdom, and idiots come unto it for the fun.
And there's a bit in Thomas Mann's DEATH IN VENICE speaking to me in equal measure. The bit that describes Gustave Aschenbach's epic on the life of Frederick the Great (wherein both Gustave and his work are of course fictitious): “Outsiders might be pardoned for believing that his Maia world and the epic amplitude revealed by the life of Frederick were a manifestation of great power working under high pressure, that they came forth, as it were, all in one breath. It was more the triumph for his morale; for the truth was that they were heaped up to greatness in layer after layer, in long days of work, out of hundreds and hundreds of single inspirations; they owed their excellence, both of mass and detail, to one thing and one alone; that their creator could hold out for years under the strain of the same piece of work.”
It's been 5 years of THE SOLAR GRID to date. Hopefully not more than 1 more year to go. After which, I may need to indulge in a perverted masquerade or two.
Not in Venice necessarily.
#Journal #Work #Comix #TheSolarGrid
For the past couple of weeks now, I end my days without completely ticking off everything on my deck because my assessment of what I can handle has been a bit off. Today however is the first day in a while where I got all the things done and even added a couple more since I had the time. Squeezed in a short workout too, and whipped up a mean chicken fajita bowl for dinner. Life is good.
Pencils for THE SOLAR GRID Ch.6 are getting looser by the day (see above) as a result of having taken on multiple work-for-hire stuff this month. Which may not be a bad thing. It just leaves more room to actually draw stuff in the inking stage. Something I'm gonna need to account for when allotting time for it. Keeping inks till after I'm done with these other projects.
#Journal #Work #Comix #TheSolarGrid