Whatsa Paintoonist?
Whatsa Paintoonist? by Jerry Moriarty, published by Fantagraphics Books on August 30, 2017, is an 88-page exploration of the artist’s reflections on his past. At 76 years old, Moriarty returns to his childhood home in Binghamton, New York, after spending nearly five decades in Manhattan. Through the act of painting, he engages with his memories, using the fictional character Sally, inspired by his sister Pat, to facilitate conversations about his life and experiences.
Readers will find a unique blend of pen-and-ink sequential panels and full-color acrylic paintings that evoke the styles of David Hockney and Edward Hopper. The book presents a dialogue between Moriarty’s present and his recollections, illustrating how art serves as a means of revisiting and interpreting one’s history. Whatsa Paintoonist? encompasses themes of art, biography, and memory, offering insights into the artist’s life and creative process.
Official synopsis Publisher
At the age of 76, the painter/cartoonist Jerry Moriarty moved from his studio loft in Manhattan, where he lived and worked for 49 years, to his childhood home in Binghamton, New York, where he spent his first 12 years. The artist uses this as an opportunity to interrogate his past via the act of painting as a mnemonic. He invents the teenaged Sally, based upon his sister Pat, with whom he talks and shares his paintings: “The painting becomes a time machine and I am there in the past visiting my Dad,” he tells her.
The book alternates between unconventional pen-and-ink sequential panels that take place in the artist’s present self as he converses with the past; and full-color, acrylic paintings in the manner of David Hockney and Edward Hopper recreating his recollection of that same past. Whatsa Paintoonist? is a masterpiece of concision, remembrance, imagination, and artistry, imbued with the love of life and the love of the artist’s own life.
Publisher
Topics
FAQ
What is “Whatsa Paintoonist?” about?
Who is the author of “Whatsa Paintoonist?”?
When was “Whatsa Paintoonist?” published?
What is the ISBN for “Whatsa Paintoonist?”?
What are the book details (language, pages, edition)?
