i am alive.

before the show on April 20th i wrote 'don't tip the monkey' on several surfaces in and around Montserrat, attempting to build up the anticipation in a mock underground vein. if anyone payed attention is a bit of a mystery. in retrospect i wish that i'd worked harder on this phase.

i was very excited to paint the show sign!
for my senior illustration show i decided to build an ice cream truck and serve home made ice cream out of it on opening night.

the connection is made when 'dont tip the monkey' turns up at the show.

my worry about illustration shows over my years at Montserrat had been that the shows, the work in which was meant to be viewed on the printed page or computer monitor, did not translate to a gallery atmosphere very well. work tends to hang at equal distance at eye level and tends to hover around the same scale. the artists in the "Eye Candy" show did a very good job warding off this style of presentation and ended up having a very handsome exhibition.

i hold to the idea that this project does belong in an illustration show. it is/was a living, breathing manifestation of my aesthetic and thematic fixations in my 2D work and is an attempt at portraying a scene or conveying a narration of sorts. all of it is exactly what you would find in a Mike Vance illustration, only now it interacts with the viewer's space in the gallery.

the monkey made a late night appearance. a special treat for the good folks who hung around at the show and didnt just eat and run.

i had an extremely fun and memorable night and my hope is that everyone there that night did as well.


documenting courtesy of Valerie Rafferty


mv