keep on trucken honky
The Artful Readers Club for January
Artist's Journal Workshop: Creating Your Life in Words and Pictures by Cathy Johnson Sat in front of a local church on a sunny Saturday, then picked some flowers to examine. I only had a pencil so I added the watercolor later. Armed with few supplies, I went to one of my favorite spots and doodled. Lines added in Photoshop before posting...timid me. Please note: I recommend this book for any artist at any stage...my reference to 12-13 year olds in this review, is remarked due to the value of journaling. It's actually a very sophisticated book on many levels. In a brief shuffle through the pages of Artist's Journal Workshop , I found myself conflicted. The book contains numerous examples of a style of art making that toggles between the hugely personal and a publishable 'look'. So, with that...the book set up on my shelf for nearly a year. Now, after an honest read, I still feel a bit conflicted...but in a way that offers some inspir...
Very American image and title. I wonder why the word 'honky' comes into it? Since it's there, I'm thinking there is some kind of allusion to the 'Aryan' quality of the woman - blonde hair and blue eyes - although she has purple skin...
ReplyDeleteI think this image is playing with stereotypes and pulp fiction reproductions (like Lichtenstein's work - I find that 'Keep on Trucking' is actually a comic which plays with reproducing the same image over and over - maybe this is coincidental)... The purple probably emphasises the way that reproducing images for pulp fiction makes people into cartoons...
The pose is especially awkwards and strained and the model looks down on us... When we're nervous is when we feel most self-conscious...
"Honky" is used as a way of owning my own white trashness. You see the skin as purple? Hummm, am I color challenged or is it the computer or is it, you? I made it pink, or so it looks on this side of the pond. Perhaps the pose would make more sense if the camera was still in my hand. It was a 'looking through.' White trash can't look down on...thus, the white trash. Funny, the pose looks "awkward" I was thinking it was "cocky" and that was my stab at playing with a stereotype. Cocky white trash, does that even translate into London English?
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