BILLBOARD PROJECT



I had previously mentioned Paul Butler's Billboard Project that Jason Mclean so kindly asked me to be a part of. Jason basically asked me what work of art affected me most/earliest.
My response was put up on a billboard on the side of a convenience store on Queen West.
The pic is tuff to read so this what it said:

As a little boy my Grandmother had a box of comics for all of her grandchildren to dig through. I already loved comics but nothing really stuck out until I grabbed an old, coverless copy of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen no. 143 from the box. I still have it to this day. This comic had everything I could ever want as kid: Superman, classic movie monsters like The Wolfman and Dracula, a green, horned planet, and a flying robot dog- all mashed up into a new forward thinking form. This comic book really excited me. I didn’t even know that it was by Jack Kirby until years later. As a teen I went through a short period of growing pains where I rejected the work of Jack Kirby- I’ve talked to a few Kirby fans that went through this phase. As an adult, I would say that he is my single most influential artist for many reasons. This Jimmy Olsen comic book, like all of his 70s work, has his familiar crackle and bubbling energy. Panels burst like they were three-dimensional. It is distinctively his. Every panel is a work of art that connects to other panels on pages that connect to other pages in sequential stylized flow. And he churned out a few comic books a month while reinventing the form every ten years or so. I once had a dream that I met him.


The comic in question is here:

ART JAZZED

My friend Anna May has a tee shirt that says Jazz in a bouncy script, it may be for the airline or maybe, just maybe, the album by Queen. Either way, I feel jazzed. Not only is there the big show this Saturday nite Oct 3rd with Jean-Paul Langlois at 107 Shaw that I been working my feelings to the bone for (see previous post for more info)(most of my working energy is spent on self-doubt: I will be sure to make a future post on that) buuuut...I am part of Paul Butler's billboard project! Selected by the great Jason Mclean, I wrote about the art that first moved me (ie. Jack Kirby) to be put on a huge billboard at H & H Variety at 616 Queen Street West ! That's just West of Bathurst and mere blocks from the Studio Visits art show at 107 Shaw that I hope you will all attend!

Here is press release:
For Immediate Release The Other Gallery presents ART MOVES Throughout downtown Toronto’s 24-hour convenience stores Scotiabank Nuit BlancheOctober 3rd, 2009, Sunset to SunriseToronto, ONFor Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, The Other Gallery’s Paul Butler will invite members from the art community to ask someone of their choice to describe a will be displayed in and outside 24-hour convenience store across Toronto’s Maps will be available for pick up at the ZONE A INFO CENTRE, and downloadable on The Other Gallery website, othergallery.com.The “Scotiabank People’s Choice Award” invites audiences to vote for theirfavorite project by visiting scotiabanknuitblanche.ca online. There is also an iPhone application, the “Scotiabank Nuit Blanche Night Navigator,” which provides maps, information, and voting opportunities for the event.For voting purposes, ART MOVES is found under:Zone A Independent Project # 47 Downtown Area.Participants include: AA Bronson asking Matthias Herrmann, Aganetha Dyck / Tricia Sellmer, Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir / Gudmundur Oddur Magnússon, Ashley Neese / Marie O Neese, Chen Tamir / Barbara Tamir, Dave Dyment / Paul But-ler, Derek Sullivan / Jessica Bradley, Eleanor Bond / Jason Mclean, Robert Dayton/ Courtney Burke, Erica Eyres / Garnet McCulloch, Euan Macdonald / Pat King, Guy Maddin / Dennis Randolph / Jones Miller, Jennifer Delos Reyes / Laine Gabel, Joe Friday / Monica Keller, Kirsten Stoltmann / Brad Phillips, Kitty Scott / Tom Mc-Donough, Lisa Gabrielle Mark / Channing Hansen, Micah Lexier / Tom Koken, Michael Dumontier / David Fair, Michel de Broin / May Lee, Mitzi Pederson / Lynn Lu, Ruth van Beek / Basje Boer, Paul Butler / Sam Gould, Red 76 / Zefrey Throwell, Richard Boulet / David Boulet, Robin Simpson / Maryse Larivière, Steve Loft / Erin O’Hara, Tatiana Mellema / Mark Clint-berg and Zoe Crosher / Andrew Berardini.Media space courtesy of Adapt Media Inc.Printing courtesy of Eclipse ImagingFor more information contact:Paul Butler647.867.1945othergallery@gmail.com