“Non-Stop”
17″ h x 13″ w, archival print (signed, numbered 3/12) (2019)
One of my first “what do I want to be when I grow up” thoughts as a child was to become a cartoonist. I was especially enamored with Calvin and Hobbes, and would meticulously trace Bill Watterson’s panels as a means of practicing my drawing. I still have all my Calvin and Hobbes books (and Doonesbury, The Boondocks, Foxtrot, and many others), and as I returned to the art world as an adult it became clear that my tastes remained strongly influenced by my love of comics. It will not surprise you to learn, for instance, that Roy Lichtenstein ranks very highly among my favorite “blue chip” artists.
Jappy Agoncillo, a Filipino artist based out of New York City, does a great job of evoking that pulpy, cartoony vibe. This print in particular is one I can imagine as an “inside-the-cockpit” view of Lichtenstein’s famous “Whaam!” It’s a different type of pulp than what Lichtenstein did, but still brings out the over-the-top earnestness of the 50s in a similar fashion.
David Schraub 