Comics Tue Jul 01 2014
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Alexander Stewart.
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Alexander Stewart's work ranges from film and animation to drawing and printing, but its his exploration within the parameters and limitations of these mediums that brings a cohesion to his pieces. Stylistically, he often employees a clean flatness to his shapes and lines, stripping the images down to a bare elegance. We're presented with gauzy, Xerox-textured panes and hair-like bands, which float in a negative space that maintains its own significant weight.
And all the while, there's a sense of Stewart's mind at play. This is an artist who dismantles everyday concepts of the benign, which have receded into the clutter of our media landscape, and placed them in the foreground, requesting our attention. They're accomplished meditations and inquisitive studies, which dance away from being humorless, cold, or detached.
You can view more of Alexander Stewart's work by clicking HERE.
— Grant Reynolds
Comics Tue Jun 24 2014
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Sarah Mosk.
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"Mosky," as I sometimes refer to her (regardless of her preference on the matter, which I'm honestly not sure of), is a visual artist, whose clear vision is consistent across mediums. Whether it be collage or animation, the viewer is drawn ever deeper into her familiar scenes of idealized domesticity, then disoriented as she fractures their deceptive nostalgia for days gone by. Like a hall of shattered mirrors, we're left with image fragments that don't quite piece together, and therein lies our own portrait.
My comic this week is a response to her work, which has been an unusually tough nut to crack. Up until the last minute I had no idea how to approach it, and I sat at my desk into the wee hours, jittering from coffee and exhaustion, as I tried to make my Tuesday deadline. Even now, it's 7pm the day it's due, and I'm just posting it.
I can sense the progression of this weekly series as the comics evolve from being tribute-responses rooted in aesthetics to something more personally conversational. There's an exchange that's beginning to take place, as my own emotions and recent experiences tinge the work. This series is helping me to better understand the art that my peers make, but it's also drawing out something from within me, which I'm giving them in return. All in all, it's a pretty great journey.
To see Sarah's artwork, please visit her website.
— Grant Reynolds
Comics Tue Jun 17 2014
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Nicole Ginelli.
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I first became consciously aware of Nicole Ginelli's work after her recent performance at Brain Frame 18, but a strong sensation of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon followed suit. She'd colored Ben Marcus' piece for the 2014 comics issue of Lumpen, and collaborated on an earlier glow-in-the-dark Brain Frame poster with its creator/host Lyra Hill. My artist friends kept uttering her name in conversation. I was delighted!
My comic this week is a response to her online Sundaes series, which you can access through Ginelli's website.
— Grant Reynolds
Comics Tue Jun 10 2014
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Lillie West.
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— Grant Reynolds
Comics Tue Jun 03 2014
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Fred Wood.
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— Grant Reynolds
Comics Tue May 27 2014
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Rachel Niffenegger.
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Rachel Niffenegger stands at the gates to some realm beyond our humble human perception, and what she chooses to let squeak through into our world is what we refer to as her artwork. Girl's blowing up like mitosis, and soon she'll have transformed our reality into hers. Her work at once makes the viewer a participant in its unease, but it's the lasting personal resonance that one will be unable to shake. She's showing us something we didn't know about ourselves, or, at the very least, try not to acknowledge. For more information on Rachel and her work please visit her website.
— Grant Reynolds
Comics Tue May 20 2014
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Max Morris.
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Max Morris is a comics artists in a state of ecstatic fervor. He has risen again to remind us of our fallen punk oath. Additionally, he's an organizer for the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE), and the editor of the Vacuum Horror anthology. This poem-comic was created in response to his performative comics reading at Brain Frame 17, which has been described by its host, Lyra Hill, as having a "propulsive energy and mounting tension." For me, it was akin to a frenzied religious experience, wherein I was swept up in Morris' good word. For more information on Max and his work please visit his website.
— Grant Reynolds
Comics Tue May 13 2014
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Edie Fake.
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Edie Fake is a masked and writhing Tweety Bird. He's a comics artist, and a fine artist to boot. His series Gaylord Phoenix was collected by Secret Acres in 2010, and dude's also a member of Trubble Club. In 2013 I attended his art opening of Memory Palaces at Thomas Robertello Gallery, and now those same drawings are available in a juicy monograph by the same name (also published by Secret Acres). Meet Edie and buy Memory Palaces! His book release party is at Quimby's on May 17 at 7pm. For more information on Edie and his work please visit his website.
— Grant Reynolds
Postcards from the Mess is a weekly poem-comic about and inspired by art/artists, music/musicians, performers/performances, etc. This week, it's about Night Terror.
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Night Terror is a giallo-inspired musical project, which haunts the Chicago underground. Its sole member is Tyson Torstensen. This poem-comic was a reaction to his performance at Situations after Zine Fest 2014. For more information please visit the Night Terror Facebook page.
— Grant Reynolds
