March Madness
March Madness
Mad About The Cartoon Business? About This Crazy Humor Business? Or Just Things In General? Get in Line.
The following was created with New Yorker cartoonist and the author/illustrator of Puzzlelopedia, Robert Leighton. His website is here and I will be discussing his work in future issues. Here’s the intro to the piece which appeared yesterday in The New York Times Book Review:
Now that we’ve set our clocks ahead one hour for Daylight Savings Time (for possibly the last time if the Sunshine Protection Act is passed by the House), let’s revisit a few DST-inspired classics.
from Funny Time
Quiet-Quitting My Job as Performance Art
Dear Jurors of the NYFA Grant Committee,
I would like to respectively apply for a 2022 NYFA Artists' Fellowship to complete my current art performance, which documents getting canned from my job. With your help, my vision can be realized.
With the successful completion this summer of my of most recent project, Downsize, in which my partner of twelve years walked out on me, I have spent the past two months packing boxes and deliberating over my next artistic venture. I plan to lose my job at a financial company by quiet-quitting (by pissing off my boss by working on my screenplay during work hours). Sacked will be my ambitious statement on the current employment landscape, a spontaneous dramatic performance demonstrating that I have a “phoning-it-in” attitude in everything I do, including art. Questions emerge; is this staged or not? Is my firing consensual or concessional? Do I understand the difference? Wouldn’t it be wiser to just keep what seems like a decent job?
A grant would cover the expense of a GoPro camera for the Break Room, the hiring of three mimes used to portray the message of quiet quitting in the workplace, funny hats and wigs to test the limits of my boss’s and HR’s tolerance, renting a local theatre for the premiere, and a set of new run-flat tires for my car for commuting to my soon-to-be former job.
Making poor life choices is a reoccurring theme in my work, says my sponsor, and one I take great pride in. I can’t escalate the levels of my mistakes without proper funding. Ideally, my blunders and missteps will only grow and be more distressing to loved ones and fans of my work. In Sacked I will explore other errors in judgment to make I’m hoping to make. With financial aid I can place a deposit on a new apartment I can’t afford which in turn, would present new opportunities for me and future art projects. Examples could include buying bagpipes which, no doubt, will get myself evicted. Or a large 100-gallon salt-water aquarium that has major leaking problems. Raising a large number of beagles in a one-bedroom apartment is something I’d love to consider and see it as having great artistic potential. Whatever path my muse takes me, it has to be organic. That said, I cannot provide more information as to how the money would be spent. I just ask you send it and I only promise whatever I do next, it will be infused with limitless performance art potential as well as innovative financial setbacks and turmoil.
I hope you recognize the merits of my resume. I have dedicated myself to performance art in public since my first major art piece Your Insecurities Are My Broken Limbs (1998), which consisted of me being shoved down a flight of stairs. In the new millennium, thanks to a MacArthur Genius Grant, I explored getting stuck in everyday things (most notably; wet cement, a washing machine, retractable ladders) in mundane locations (new pavement, laundromat, fire escape) as a metaphor to getting stuck in life. I have since made a natural transition to TikTok working with cats, ping pong balls and Kiboko dancing. These gifts to the art community do not come without a price.
I ask you to consider and process my request for a NYFA grant briskly as the tenuous time frame for this ongoing piece is “any day now.” I promise I will ingeniously use class and ethics of power, both apparent and concealed, with the actual act of crossing work boundaries to create conflicts and address issues of self-esteem with irony, because I am also quiet-quitting my vocation as a performance artist. Most of these goals will never be reached, including anything as simple as obtaining and installing a GoPro camera for the project.
My resume and character I know speaks for itself and will make yours an easy decision.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Eckstein
The following exchange was not me but a “friend”:
Feel free to disagree or share here, anonymously or not, if you wish.
I will be promoting different cartoon and humor people each issue:
I have been cross-posting my friend Jason Chatfield’s newsletter, New York Cartoons. Funny guy and only kidding that there is a feud going on between us. But if I were to hold a grudge against someone, he’s my man.
Inkspill is the most comprehensive place for anything related to The New Yorker cartoons. It’s Chief Editor is cartoonist Michael Maslin (Peter Arno: The Mad Mad World of The New Yorker’s Greatest Cartoonist).
Let’s mention some more books out there: Legendary cartoonist Nick Downes’ Polly Wants a Lawyer: Cartoons of Murder, Mayhem & Criminal Mischief. Speaking of murder, Hilary Campbell has written the engrossing memoir Murder Book (Her Substack newsletter is Cartoons by Hilary). Finally, the hilarious Ali Solomon’s has her new book also filled with mayhem: I Love(ish) New York City: Tales of City Life. A great book for anyone planning to visit or live in New York City. It brought back many memories. I have read all three books and highly endorse them all, all are very funny and all three have been guests on The Cartoon Pad podcast, hosted by Michael Shaw and myself. Their interviews can be found here.
Speaking of interviews, one of the best at conducting them is Gil Roth. His podcast, The Virtual Memories Show, includes the best writers and artists of our day. Please check that out.
Three Questions. This month’s guest is Mark Shatz, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Psychology at Ohio University and author of Comedy Writing Secrets. If you get a chance to take his workshops, they’re fantastic. Mark has been helping me occasional with my humor work and I’ve learned a lot from him and his bestselling book.
Bob Eckstein: What do you make of Scott Adam’s racist rants? How do we encourage a safe haven of free speech in humor when there are those who’s words or art represent hate?
Mark Shatz: Every humor professional has the right to share their opinions. Yet, freedom of speech comes with the responsibility of accepting the consequences of that speech. The marketplace will deliver a quick verdict on Adam’s rant in today's media-driven universe. [Mark correctly predicted this as this statement was before Dilbert was dropped from all the newspapers and his syndicate.] The social justice court is occasionally hypersensitive to bad humor attempts but its judgments of racist and sexist comments are usually spot-on.
Long story short. If Scott Adam wants to tarnish the legacy of a creative cartoon strip by shouting racist and ill-informed comments, it's his choice. A foolish and costly decision, though.
BE: On a lighter note. The last time I laughed really hard involved an ATV and a barbecue. What do you think about the State of the Union for comedy on the stage? On the page?
MS: As a humorist, I embrace the “It's just a joke” mentality. I'm also a psychologist, and I recognize that cultures evolve, which means that humor appreciation changes over time. Sadly, the current cultural tides are ripping the “fun” out of being “funny.”
Making a living by being funny has always been challenging, and in today’s culture, it’s brutal. So, I believe the present State of the Union for comedy is shaky because everyone with a phone and a social media account is now a critic, the comedic universe is being pulled toward the black hole of censorship.
I’m curious how comedy will handle the latest challenge: ChatGPT. The professionally funny can immediately recognize when someone is ripping off another comic’s act or a cartoonist’s style. Will pros be able to distinguish whether AI wrote a gag or bit? Will writers start using AI to improve their work? What happens when ChatGPT learns to draw?
A comedy routine or cartoon created by a computer sounds like bad sci-fi but may be the future of comedy.
BE: Many pros worry that social media and other outlets drown out their work. It is like anyone can be a comic…or cartoonist. Personally I feel everyone is on stage…and nobody is in the audience.
MS: Social media has its merits. Supposedly. But social media saturations the world with crap. Social media also promotes humor delusions: uploading a rant, video, or photo does not make you funny. Or important.
BE: What was the last time you laughed hard?
MS: I’m a single dad, and the holiday tradition with my son is to rewatch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Although we have seen the movie nearly 20 times, watching two comedic geniuses, Steve Martin and John Candy, wake up in the same bed is comedy gold. “Those aren't pillows!”
BE: Who do you think is the funniest person in the world at this time?
MS: George Santos.
Drumroll….this issue The Felix goes to Paul Noth.
Full transparency, I don’t really know Paul. I’ve enjoyed maybe a chat or two with him and he’s in my cartoon books and that’s all. But I will add his work has really inspired me and some of my favorite cartoons are by him (and so many have said the same). There’s a group of cartoonists I continue to steal learn from and I will sometimes go back to their books to get in the right frame of mind and most importantly have a level to reach for. Here is his website and one of my all-time fav cartoons on CartoonStock.
To order online at Bookshop, CLICK HERE.
And with that, this ends another issue of The Bob. I do appreciate anyone sharing the newsletter and helping me get the word out. And thank you for all the very nice feedback I’ve gotten from the newsletter so far, it’s greatly appreciated.
The Bob is published every second Monday morning of the month.
I loud-quit a client last week. Not my most graceful exit, but it was better than Stockholm Syndrome. Thanks for the timely toon.
Thanks Bob!