Rorschach –

With the Alternative Press Expo knocking at the door, I really don’t have much time to spare. But after reading your comments about Atom! and Portlyn’s show, I feel compelled to mention a few things. I hope you have a moment to give them a quick read and think about them a bit as you go about your day.

First, I’d appreciate it if you’d temper your assumptions about the politics of the artists involved in the exhibition. I encourage you to develop your opinions about their work only after checking them out in person. Your initial impressions may turn out to be absolutely correct. Then again, you may find out that there’s more to each artist’s work than you initially realized. Either way, it’s extraordinarily unfair to make blanket statements about the event and the artists involved in the show without first taking a look at what they have to offer.

Personally, I’d like to invite you to check out the comic I finished up last year called The Homeless Channel. When I worked on the graphic novel, I attempted to explore the issue of homelessness in America from multiple perspectives. I wanted to actively question how a person might attempt to make a change both from within and from outside the system (a concept I think many of us here have enjoyed wrestling with since we read our very first superhero comics.)

Personal politics aside, you’re right: there’s really nothing new about providing artists a space to express their opinions about the political climate in which they live. I would, however, suggest that hosting an art show in a comic shop that highlights politically-themed issues is, in fact, a pretty novel idea. But, you are correct, offering citizens the right to free speech and artistic expression really hasn’t been a NEW idea since somewhere around 1791. But no matter how much we take that right for granted, it still remains a courageous act.

I’d also like to point out that the article and flier promote the fact that the event is open for submissions. I invite and encourage you to sit down at your drawing table and create something for the show. Of course, you’ll have to risk exposing your well-reasoned ideas, your hard work, your imagination, and your willingness to actively participate in our democratic community to potentially harsh critical feedback. Who knows… someone may even dismissively belittle your efforts in an anonymous internet post.

On the other hand, if you participated in the event, you might change someone’s mind about something important to you, you might inspire someone else to participate, you might make a difference in your community in a way that steers things in a positive direction, or you may simply provoke an intelligent debate over the very serious issues that confront each and every one of us today.

On the eve of this particularly historic election, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate our democracy.

Best,
Matt

I only have a couple things to add to Matt’s excellent response.

1> The “Now Third Term” button that we used as an inspiration for naming the show is an antique dating back to the Eisenhower administration. We used it because we felt like it was non-partisan and had no direct connection to the presidential campaign. There is no political statement attached to the title. The fact that the first person to see one there was goes by Rorschach is it’s own brand of humor.

2> While there will be statements about the Presidential Race, I know that there are planned pieces making statements regarding California state propositions and local government. Silady’s work has very little to do with presidential politics while saying much about the issues presented to those candidates.

3> We have put out the call for any artist with any political position to use our platform to make their voice heard. I would encourage anyone who feels so strongly about the position to put that energy into something that would enrich and inform others. It it our genuine desire to provide a home for such.

Hope to see you all there! And DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!

-A!

Ah, good ol’ Mengy. So predictable.