Thursday, March 31, 2011

CulturePOP Photocomix: Cynthia Von Buhler

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This week's new installment of CulturePOP Photocomix Profiles of Real-Life Characters is the 24th and the season-2 finale. To mark the occasion, I present my profile on artist Cynthia Von Buhler.

Cynthia and I started work on the piece last fall. We discussed concepts and she soon sent me a first draft of a script, which is nearly identical to the final version. I read through it and learned about her history and the history of her family and was floored by the scope and with how well she broke down the beats of the story by page and text box. It gave me to perfect map for planning out the profile.

But, how the hell was I going to set scenes taking place during Cynthia's childhood and during the 1920s and 1930s? Cast actors and green screen in virtual sets? No, Cynthia had a far more ambitious idea. She would build miniature dollhouse sets and figurines for me to photograph. Wasn't that going to be difficult to do, I asked. No, she said, my last two books were done that way. If you haven't seen her books, But Who Will Bell The Cat <www.butwhowillbellthecats.com> and The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside, <www.comeinsidekitty.com> you should check them out.

We did our first shoot in December, which comprised of most of the shots of Cynthia herself. I crossed off panels from the script as we worked. Then Cynthia began constructing the sets and our period characters. It took her some time to put together the prohibition speakeasy, a birth scene and a death scene, and her own childhood bedroom, among others. She also had to collect the various prop items; a bathtub still, gun, skunk, coffin, and many, many more. When I arrived at her Connecticut studio last week I was absolutely astounded by all she had wrought. But, don't take my word for it...

See it here - http://activatecomix.com/104-24-1.comic

Comments welcome and appreciated, as always. Hope you enjoy it!

CulturePOP will be back in a few months!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

CulturePOP Updates

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Since the CulturePOP Photocomix scheduled to publish today is being delayed (more later) I thought I'd take this time to deliver some quick updates.

I've self-pubished a limited edition of 400 CulturePOP Photocomix books It's a full-color, 36-page, 5.5" x 8.5" horizontal format and it collects four remastered versions of the profiles; Sucklord, Baron Ambrosia, Lisa Natoli and Carlos 'Mare 139' Rodriguez. I'm going to debut it at the MoCCA Arts Fest on April 9 & 10, at the ACT-I-VATE table. Please stop by if you plan to be at the show.

This is somewhat of an experiment for me as I've never self-published anything before, but I figured it was about time I produced a "product." I might do more of these in the future and/or explore the possibility of getting a "proper" book published, but not until after I get some more profiles under my belt.

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I plan to release the final profile of season-2 on March 29, two weeks from today. As I said, it's been delayed. The cause of which is a mixture of my recent trip to Chicago (to cover several subjects for my upcoming book, Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics) and because of the ambition going into this final piece. The subject is artist Cynthia Von Buhler and we have been working together on her profile for several months now. The piece will be unique for several reasons, but primarily because it delves into Cynthia's fascinating family history. To visualize the past, Cynthia is building doll house sets and figurines for me to photograph. It's going to be amazing.

Finally, There will be another live CulturePOP reading at Tom Hart's Sequential Artists Workshop Easter Fundraiser at KGB Bar on Easter Sunday, 4/24. I'll announce the details soon.

Thanks for your continued support!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Hip-Hop: A Cultural Odyssey

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My photos of DJ QBert and Kid Capri are featured in the new book Hip Hop: A Cultural Odyssey - a 420-page, 16-pound opus, stuffed with hundreds of rare photos and 70 essays that cover 30 aspects of the culture and profile 40 icons. It is available for $300 here - http://aria-me.com/books/

I'm very happy to have my work featured with the likes of fellow photographers; Christian Witkin, Dana Lixenberg, Estevan Oriol, Frank W. Ockenfels 3, Gordon Parks, Janette Beckman, Jonathan Mannion, Martha Cooper, Ricky Powell, Trevor Traynor and many more.

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The above photo of DJ Z-Trip was taken at the book launch for "Hip Hop: A Cultural Odyssey" at The GRAMMY Museum on February 8, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. My photo of DJ Q-Bert can be seen in the book. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/WireImage)

Friday, March 4, 2011

GRAPHIC NYC: Dwayne McDuffie

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The GNYC Profile: Dwayne McDuffie: A Career of Diversity

Christopher Irving and I had the honor of profiling the late, great Dwayne McDuffie just ten days prior to his death. We were very saddened by the news, but glad to have gotten him for our book.

See the profile here - http://www.nycgraphicnovelists.com/2011/03/dwayne-mcduffie-career-of-diversity.html

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Long and Shortbox Best of the Year 2010

posted his 2010 in a Shortbox Best of the Year and one of my CulturePOP Photocomix profiles made the list!
I'm honored to be in such great company as "41" from "Daytripper" #4 by Moon & Ba, "Electric Ant" #1 and #3 by David Mack & Pascal Alixe, "Batman's Last Case" from "Batman" #702 by Grant Morrison & Tony Daniel, "Angel" in OVERFLOW Magazine #6 and on ACT-I-VATE.com, by Dean Haspiel and many more greats.

See the whole list here - http://www.longandshortbox.com/2011/02/2o1o-in-shortbox-best-of-year.html

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BEST SHORTS (under 22 pages)

reportage and photography by Seth Kushner (@)
The way Kushner laid-out photographs here to bring the reader through a narrative while maintaining the beauty of the photographs themselves is nothing short of remarkable.

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CulturePOP Photocomix: Nancy Schwartzman

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Today's new installment of CulturePOP Photocomix Profiles of Real-Life Characters looks at filmmaker/activist Nancy Schwartzman.

I met Nancy a decade ago when she was the creative director at Heeb Magazine, where she commissioned me to do such wacky culture jamming imagery as a DJ's hands spinning a piece of Motzah on a turntable, for the cover of the first issue. After a while Nancy left Heeb and began concentrating on her film, The Line. I remember asking her about it and learned it was about her personal experience of being raped and about "rape culture." From the film, Nancy started a campaign, WhereIsYourLine.org, about consent, sex, pleasure, and healthy boundaries, which has led to her speaking to young people at schools and college campuses. This piece is about how someone can turn something negative into a positive.

See it here - http://activatecomix.com/104-23-1.comic

Nancy is currently hard at work on her next film, xoxosms, "a documentary about love in the 21st century." Check out the trailer and help support it a Kickstarter-
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/931046546/xoxosms-a-documentary-about-love-in-the-21st-centu

Today's new Photocomix is the penultimate one of season-2. That's right, only one more left and that one will be on artist Cynthia Von Buhler and Cynthia and I have been working on it for months so it should be a doozy. Please check back in two weeks.

Comments welcome and appreciated, as always. Hope you enjoy it!