HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (2001)

With the holidays closely looming I was hoping things would slow down, as I was busier than I wanted to be, but still grateful for the work.  I originally signed up for two conventions (pandemically postponed from May/October respectively now moved to December a week apart), and I had four different upcoming gallery shows, including the one you are reading about here. It was going to be tight, but I had faith in myself.

Having just completed my piece for their ‘Fake Gig Posters (2)’ show, I had another exhibition with Gallery1988 in December dedicated to films from 2001, with very little time between the deadlines. Thankfully, I had narrowed it down to a short list of films from the year including: ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’, ‘Amélie’, or ‘Ghost World’. I determined, that out of these films, I don’t recall ever seeing work inspired by ‘Hedwig’, which is a true travesty.  The film is a masterpiece, and this is coming from someone who admittedly isn’t very fond of musicals. The music in this film however serves a greater narrative purpose, and that is where actor/director/writer, John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask’s work really shines. It’s as sad as it is hilariously heartwarming with stellar performances by Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Trask, Andrea Martin, and Michael Pitt, to name a few. Also, representing this film was important as the media had left this community mostly ignored during this era, and the film was relatively mainstream (or at least well known enough to have a Broadway show).

I typically approach most illustrations in a way that allows me to tell the narrative visually. This movie was however more difficult to pinpoint visually, especially with the music being so prevalent. After a few watches I determined the best way to house the image was to do so rather abstractly.  I’m still not sure it was the best way to present the image, but it was the concept I had in mind. In the film, our protagonist ‘Hedwig’, goes through her own transformation, in connection to our antagonist ‘Tommy Gnosis’ (Pitt). To represent this ‘transformation’, I divided ‘Hedwig’s’ face and utilized the musical lyrics from many of the films songs to fill in the negative space (with moderate success). I also wanted to include some ‘Easter eggs’ alluding to the different characters, or segments in the film that resonated with me. I used different fonts, and played with them a bit for the lyrics, attempting to give the aesthetic of a ‘punk’ style poster, along with a bit of Russian constructivists movement thrown in there as well. Afterall ‘Hedwig’ does have communist roots, sadly, a poke at humor most likely last recognized by Gen X.  I’d be surprised if anyone under the age of forty would remember the Berlin Wall, or even the U.S.S.R. for that matter. I’ll pause for the irony of the Ukraine invasion, and then we’ll awkwardly move on.

We good?

Okay, cool. So I started the image around October 28^th, 2021 and settled on a sketch/layout around November 9^th, 2021 with the entire piece taking me to the 16^th, with a due date of the 20^th. Did it happen? Oh, no. No, no, no. No it didn’t. Don’t fret the story has a good ending. You see November was the beginning of a busy month, especially for a print shop like the one I use. Also, with Covid still being an issue, and the questionable supply chain, challenges awaited.

 

Yay! 🎉🎊🥳

I manage to squeak the image into my printer’s by the 16^th, however, it took two rounds of proofs to correct the image (🤬), and with Thanksgiving being the last full week, I wasn’t able to obtain my final images until the 3^rd of December. The show opened the 4^th. Friday, December 3^rd, 2021 was perhaps one of the longest days I’ve had in some time. I was due to be at the Los Angeles Convention Center by noon, for the first convention (the Los Angeles Comic Con) I had signed up for (postponed by a year?), and I needed to pack the car, get the prints, drop-off said artwork to the gallery, and then go set up at the convention center.  Sweet Jesus. I managed but it was hectic, and I had already started working on another piece as of the 26^th (of November), for an upcoming show in the New Year, due on the 18^th of December. It. Was. Crazy. I was so distracted at the convention that I ended up cancelling my next appearance, as I knew it wasn’t going to be lucrative.

Looking back at how rushed I was with this one, I would have liked more time, I see several ways I could present the image, some I think a bit more successfully at least in my imagination. I would like to revisit this piece someday, as unlikely as that is. I feel like I need to get it ‘right’, even though it isn’t a complete miss, as there are many elements here I would retain.

The 11” x 17” piece printed on white pearl linen paper was featured at Gallery 1988’s “20 Years Later: Movies from 2001”, which ran from December 4^th, 2021 until December 18^th, 2021. At this time, the image is exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the show including mine.

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here. You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting or painting.

 

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