Pet Memorials

I just finished this one for a friend that recently lost their beloved boxer.  The other two are older, but now that I have done three, I figured I could publish them as a series in progress.  I have lots of friends with pets.

They're everywhere!

I'm going to hang these by the local drugstores.

I Had No Ideas Today

But I did have some guacamole.

Cathartic Evisceration of the Art Scene Continues

 Oooh, I'm so excited I can already taste the throw up in mouth!  Let's have a party...  an Art Party!  I think I'm going to wait until First Friday to release this one. 

A Word of Advice to Struggling Artists

To be a fine artist, indeed, one must use more than just one's hands.

Justice

I actually did this one about six months ago, but I finally got around to making posters of it.  It was really meant as an exercise in portraiture, but I think its starting to work in the overarching theme of my new body of work.

On Camelot and other disasters...

I call it,

"Death Panel."

Face it, man!

Battle Royale

In the immortal words of David Hasselhoff, "this is a mess."  I mean. . .  You see, I just saw the James Ensor exhibit at the MoMA (go!) and Francis Bacon at the Met (you slept, its over) last Thursday and riding my bike back from the bus station I past WHYY's scrolling message on 10th Street and it said Michael Vick had just signed with the Eagles and , and , and . . . E. A. G. L. E . S.       go!

"City Inlet"

I once made a stencil which read, "YOUR TRASH RUNS INTO YOUR SOUL!"  and painted it by the sewer grates in my neighborhood.

Here is the mother of depravity and her two devil's spawn.

New Poster

"If love be courtesy refined,

And you be civil in profusion,

That you will to my hopes prove kind,

Is but a natural conclusion." - Antonio's Song, Don Quixote pt I, chapter XI

"Portrait of a Family - 2009"

All Done.

I'll look at it again tomorrow and see if anything else needs to be added.  Then I'll paint out the pencil lines.

One More Day

A few more leaves at the top, some stars, motion lines and a title.

Took a Week Vacation.

It was nice to get away from this one for a while.  As always, it's taking a lot longer than I anticipated.  I'm happy with the frog and spider.  I think I'll save the two shells for last.  We'll see.

Getting Close Now

Some Space Emerges

First Figure and Face

I'm trying to capture the likeness of the family that commissioned this piece: Wife, husband, daughter, two dogs and two cats.  They do not, to my knowledge, own a crab.

Cats and dogs

Crab, Cactus, Turtle and Grasshopper

I'm looking forward to working on some of the long lines.  I can't wait for some depth to develop.  I hope that it does.  

The Weekend

I'm trying to save the most fragile parts for last so that I don't have to tip toe around them later.

Day 3: 29 leaves

Day 2

Fireflies and flowers.

So it begins!

I've been working on the drawing stage of this commission for over a month now and I finally began cutting it today.  Stay tuned...

My Band, The Nite Lights, releases our sixth "The Poster Series" song.

"The Poster Series"  are songs free to download at www.thenitelights.com.  Put 'em on your ipod/itunes/mp3 player and the poster will show up where the album cover art is displayed.

This next poster is just for the series in general...

And here are the other five songs!

More coming soon!

Six little cutouts for six great Moms!

Controversy Over "Canine Fecal Death Act" poster, An Exchange

I've been getting a lot of responses to my latest poster. Many people have suggested that my fantasy punishment should be directed more at the people who don't pick up after their dogs than the dogs themselves. But, I ask you, if you kill the owner, what do you do with the dog? Shelters are already at capacity and besides, last time I checked, dogs are merely considered property under the law. Which punishment is more draconian? I'd love to hear City Council debate over it. Until then, the following is the best negative email I received on the matter followed by my response:

Hi Joe,

I saw some of your posters plastered around my neighborhood today, and while I appreciate both your frustration with owners who don't pick up after their dogs and your spirit of community activism, your posters direct the retribution towards the animals, who are not at fault. Inciting violence towards animals is not only inappropriate, but may in fact be illegal. I've removed any of the posters I could find in my area, but if you happen to repost them with the punishment being directed toward the real, human offenders, then I'll leave them alone. Might I suggest "Any person caught not picking up their dog's shit will have said deposit forcibly shoved down their throat" or something along those lines. - J.

My Response:

Dear J., I first want to thank you for taking the time to respond to one of my paper cutout posters and assure you that I believe it is as much your right to remove them as it is mine to put them up. I believe, however, that you have misinterpreted my meaning. I in no way see myself as embodying an activist's spirit and the poster, although admittedly provocative, is not meant to advocate for or against anything. All of my posters originate from a single sheet of black paper with the white parts cut out with an xacto blade. The process is painstaking and the result (if successful) is very graphic and direct, so I am always grateful for an emotional response. Far from promoting violence I am simply expressing (I hope in an elegant, humorous and nuanced way) my own outrage and indignation at the shitty situation in our neighborhood; the same outrage I sense that you share. However, I question your moral certitude in regards to your preference of forcing a man to eat dog shit (presumably by threat of force) to killing a dog. I think this is a subject worthy of debate. You are not alone in your criticism of my latest poster and I hope that you don't mind if I post your email and this response on my new blog,www.joeboruchow.blogspot.com , in the hopes of airing such a discussion. Respectfully, Joe Boruchow

This is my first blog post and my most recent paper cutout posters!