"Commercial art is forced homework for painting."
January 21, 2010 10:43 AM   Subscribe

 
Panter is responsible for the awesome Jimbo comic. Additionally, he did the set design on Pee Wee's playhouse. The two things pretty much indelibly marked me, like he had created the cartoons and designs right inside my brain.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:01 AM on January 21, 2010


Almost all of these links are blocked at my work, but I love this post anyway.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:06 AM on January 21, 2010


oh man, I had never even heard of this guy, despite his incredible effect on my life. My friends and I are such avid peewee fans that we're running as the cast of peewee's playhouse in this year's idiotarod. thanks for this.
posted by shmegegge at 11:23 AM on January 21, 2010


we're running as the cast of peewee's playhouse in this year's idiotarod

There's nothing about that sentence I didn't like.
posted by DU at 11:38 AM on January 21, 2010 [4 favorites]


by the way, the word for this thread is "Art," so anytime anyone says "art," you all scream, ok?
posted by shmegegge at 11:40 AM on January 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


AHHHHHHHHHH!
posted by lumensimus at 12:07 PM on January 21, 2010


I miss Step-by-Step Graphics. It was an ugly magazine, but the content was awesome, especially the Master's series. The detailed descriptions and photos of the creative process were just fascinating and very instructive, especially for an illustration/design student.

Unfortunately Step-by-Step Graphics evolved into STEP. It's a beautiful magazine, but the content is crap. In my opinion, they gave up a nice little niche when they decided to focus on "revealing the world of design from the inside out and go beyond the “who” and the “how” to explore the “why” of contemporary design." The "who" and especially the "how" was what made Step-by-Step stand out.
posted by Kabanos at 12:09 PM on January 21, 2010


So, like, a handful of years ago, maybe two handfuls, I made my living as a plumber. I lived in Brooklyn and did a lot of work for arty people and one of the contractors I did a lot of work for had this really nice space at Metropolitan and Roebling. Later he got in a car accident and had to retire and walks with canes now, but at that time he was a really sizeable, really nice, really enthusiastic guy who threw lots of work my way. Well, he had his space and then the space next door, and in that next-ddor space he had built a couple studios and one of his tenants was "Gary." He told me, Gary Panter, Pee-Wees playhouse and etc., and so, I knew the guy was nothing to sneeze at, but I'm an asshole and I've met a lot of people and I'd never watched Pee-Wee's playhouse and so what. So ... I don't remember the circumstance anymore but we swung by for something - I think something plumbing related I dunno anymore.

And he opens the door and he's the nicest guy I'd met in I don't know how long. ... and he showed us this quasi-puppet theater thing he was working on and we talked about this and that (I think heating for his 'new' house - that might have been why we were there) and then... I don't remember how this came up but there was a guitar and I asked him if he played, ha ha (my friend, very poorly, "played guitar") and he said yeah, but not so well. Though he had cut an album. Back when he'd lived in Austin, he' gotten together with some friends and put it together, though it kind of sucked (he said), and now, whenever he needed a break he played a little guitar. He picked it up and played a little. Not particularly well but not poorly. I dunno, we finished what we had to talk about and that was that. But damn if his way of working, a little of this, a little of that but always something and that something honestly and with intention and enthusiasm. Guitar breaks here and there. One of the first artists who I had met who I wanted to be like.
posted by From Bklyn at 2:01 PM on January 21, 2010 [3 favorites]


did a lot of work for arty people

Aaa- shit, does that count? can we get a ruling on that?

One of the first artists who I had met who I wanted to be like.

Aaa- god damn it. fuck it.

AAAAAAAAGHHH!
posted by shmegegge at 8:18 AM on January 22, 2010


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