If it's Assman, then the campfire dying out is a good thing.
Well now, I just got back from home after driving somewhere, and for some reason I was thinking of this thread as I was on my way; it's remarkable how much of the eastern slope of the Sandhills of Nebraska in autumn resembles Connecticut in autumn, or at least Connecticut in autumns of the late 1970s and early 1980s when I was through there several times.
Miles and miles, thousands and thousands of trees, in all their autumn glory, green, yellow, gold, brown, red.
I thought about buying a disposable camera when I was in the big city to snap photographs, but then figured no, I don't want any more pictures, and besides, if anybody wants to know what the eastern slope of the Sandhills in Nebraska looks like in autumn, there's plenty of pictures of what Connecticut looks like in autumn.
Excepting minus toll-booths and traffic. One can go for a long time without seeing another vehicle, and the lanes are wider and smoother (so as to accommodate agricultural machinery). Otherwise, the trees, the roads, the rivers, are just the same.
Anyway.
You know, we rib Atman a lot about his "art," and while much of the disdain is deserved, not all of it is. This piss-poor example he proudly hung in Skins's island is far from any of his finest works. In fact, I was surprised he chose this one to show off, it's so inferior to other stuff he's done.
I think Atman is pretty good at caricature, but could be outstanding at it, if he dropped his Hate and rage and politics when working on it. That does show through, and it degrades what could be a fine, expertly-drawn caricature down to simply another run-of-the-mill dime-a-dozen coarse Hate-cartoon.
I'm a fan of caricature, and Atman does have potential. Potential.
He's got to sit down, relax, and get mellow, shedding himself of his Hate for other people, and vote Republican, after which his remarkable potential can become reality.
There's a framed caricature of franksolich hanging on the wall near the computer here, made in chalk by some itinerant Russian caricaturist in Kiev the spring of 1995. I've only ever had custom-framed, and hung, two pictures of myself; this one, and a profile of myself in silhouette when I was seven. (They're both way too large to scan, sorry.)
It's a very good caricature, and it's obvious this long-ago Russian artist and Atman came from the same school, with similar styles and manners and flair. The only difference is, Ivan drew his with love and humor, while Rob draws his with Hate and anger.
