{"id":16705,"date":"2024-03-26T16:53:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T20:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=16705"},"modified":"2024-03-26T16:53:47","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T20:53:47","slug":"episode-582-keith-mayerson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-582-keith-mayerson","title":{"rendered":"Episode 582 – Keith Mayerson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 582:
\nKeith Mayerson<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/virtualmemories\/Episode_582_-_Keith_Mayerson.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“I loved comics growing up; I was too young and stupid to appreciate fine art.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>How did an eBay search lead to the discovery of a lost classic of comics? How can art help us build a better America? Artist and teacher Keith Mayerson<\/a> joins the show to talk about co-editing the amazing new book, Frank Johnson: Secret Pioneer of American Comics, Vol. 1<\/a> (Fantagraphics) and his multi-decade “wordless novel” in paintings, My American Dream<\/a> (Karma). We get into how Frank Johnson made thousands<\/em> of pages of comics in private, never published, and may have created the first American comic-book in history, whether he constitutes an Outsider Artist, how his creative legacy contrasts with Henry Darger<\/a>‘s, and what it means to make a lifelong body of work with no sense or expectation of a readership. We also get into Keith’s My American Dream<\/em> project, its roots in 9\/11 & the GWBush era, how his paintings play off of each other like panels in a comic (and how the curation of art exhibitions is a form of comics), the mash-up of key cultural figures of modern America, his art-subject trinity of James Dean, Elvis, and Keanu Reeves (and his story of meeting Keanu), how My American Dream<\/em> works to synthesize aspects of Warhol & Rembrandt (& Haring), and the vitality of his painting of Kermit the Frog on a bicycle<\/a> and the significance of the Muppets in his vision of America. Plus we discuss Keith’s art & comics upbringing, the process of building comics programs at SVA and USC, his cult classic queer horror graphic novel with Dennis Cooper<\/a>, the artistic act of suturing in to his subjects, why the job of art is keeping hope alive, how he felt when he found a parallel, secret history of comics taking place solely in one person’s mind, and a lot more. Give it a listen!<\/a> And go read Frank Johnson: Secret Pioneer of American Comics, Vol. 1<\/a> and ogle My American Dream<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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“If good comics take you on a journey, then Frank Johnson’s comics do it. They really send you into this other space where you really get to know the characters.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n