Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

COMIC N. T. (THAT WENT VERY W-WELL)

Date

2020

Materials

PAPER, INK

No. Pieces

1

Length

28

Width

21.5

Description

COMIC PRINT. BLACK INK ON WHITE PAPER. 1 PANEL. IMAGERY FEATURES ALBERTA PREMIER JASON KENNEY WEARING DR. DEENA HINSHAW’S ICONIC PERIODIC TABLE DRESS WITH TWO OTHER PEOPLE STANDING NEARBY AT A PRESS BRIEFING ON ALBERTA’S COVID-19 SITUATION. THE PERSON ON THE FAR LEFT—RANDY DZIWENKA, THE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER FOR ALBERTA'S COVID UPDATES— IS SIGNING "BULLSHIT". ONE WHITE SPEECH BUBBLE (WITH COMMENTARY DIRECTED AT PREMIER KENNEY) IN BLACK WORDING SAYS “THAT WENT VERY W-WELL, SIR. I’M SURE YOUR POLLING IS R-I-IGHT UP THERE WITH DR. HINSHAW BY NOW” IN PENCIL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE COMIC IS SIGNED “ERIC DYCK, APRIL 9, 2020”. PRINT IS IN MINT CONDITION.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

FINE ARTS

History

LOCAL CARTOONIST AND EDUCATOR ERIC DYCK DONATED 9 OF HIS COVID 19-RELATED ARTWORKS TO THE GALT MUSEUM, AND ON THE 17TH OF JUNE 2020 MET WITH COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN TO DISCUSS THEM. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ABOUT THE SINGLE PANEL EDITORIAL CARTOON INVOLVING JASON KENNEY (“THAT WENT VERY W-WELL) CAME FROM THEIR MEETING. ERIC CLARIFIED THE REPRESENTATIONS USED IN THIS COMIC: “I THINK THAT WAS MAYBE ONE OF THE FIRST [COMICS OF THIS TYPE]…I GOT TRACTION…WITH KENNEY WEARING DR. HINSHAW’S ‘SMOKING LILY’ PERIODICAL TABLE DRESS, IN AN ATTEMPT BY KENNEY, NOT ME, TO BE AS APPEALING OR TO CURRY AS MUCH FAVOR AS HINSHAW WAS OBVIOUSLY DOING.” ERIC EXPLAINED THE CULTURAL MOMENT SURROUNDING THIS PRINT: “KENNEY IN THE DRESS WAS JUST EXPRESSING THE FRUSTRATION FROM MYSELF AND WHAT I COULD TELL FROM OTHERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WAS…WE WERE THERE TO SEE DR. HINSHAW. SHE’S WHO GAVE US COMFORT. SHE’S WHO KNEW THE STUFF SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT. AND PEOPLE WERE FRUSTRATED WHEN KENNEY OR SHANDRO WOULD SHOW UP ON THAT 3 O’CLOCK TIME WHEN WE’RE ALL THERE TO SEE DR. HINSHAW TO GET THE STRAIGHT [STORY AND] TALK ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON AND THEN WE GOT POLITICAL SPIN FROM THEM... PEOPLE SAW IT AS KENNEY TAKING UP HINSHAW’S TIME AND SAYING HER STUFF IN WAYS THAT HE DIDN’T FULLY UNDERSTAND AND THEN WE HAD TO WAIT FOR HINSHAW TO COME ON AND SYMBOLICALLY ROLL OUR EYES AND HEAR HER DELIVER THE SAME CONTENT, BUT IN A WAY THAT SHOWED SHE UNDERSTOOD IT. THAT FRUSTRATION WITH SOMEONE WHO LIKES TO BE LIKED, LIKE ANY POLITICIAN DOES, BY SHOWING HIM WEARING HER FAMOUS PERIODICAL TABLE DRESS WAS A MEANS OF JUST EXPRESSING THAT FRUSTRATION... WE WANTED TO SEE A CIVIL SERVANT, NOT A POLITICAL ACTOR.” THIS COMIC WAS A SINGLE PANEL, A FORMAT ERIC HAS USED INFREQUENTLY: “THE ‘THAT WENT WELL’ IS A SINGLE PANEL, WHICH IS VERY UNUSUAL FOR ME…COMICS LIKE THE ‘GUIDELINES FOR BERATING YOUR DOCTOR’ [ARE PRESENTED ELECTRONICALLY [VIA A] VERTICAL SCROLL…EVERYONE CAN ENGAGE WITH THAT AND READ [IT] CHRONOLOGICALLY IN THE SAME WAY. THE OTHER THING THAT’S BEEN IMPORTANT WITH THE MULTI-PANEL COMICS HAS BEEN INSTAGRAM WHICH IS BY FAR…[GETTING] THE MOST EYEBALLS ON THE COMIC. NOT ON FACEBOOK OR TWITTER AND DEFINITELY NOT ON THEIR OWN WEBSITE. VERY MUCH SO ON INSTAGRAM IS AT LEAST WHERE MY METRICS SHOW THE MOST ENGAGEMENT… HOWEVER, THE SINGLE PANEL COMIC HAS OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OF ESTABLISHED [HISTORY]…PEOPLE READ A SINGLE PANEL COMIC, THEY KNOW IT’S AN EDITORIAL CARTOON AND THEY KNOW THERE’S A NARRATIVE OR HUMOR BEAT TO BE EXPERIENCED WITHIN THAT. I DON’T WORK THAT WAY A LOT. I REALLY DON’T CONSUME A LOT OF COMICS THAT ARE LIKE THAT. I DON’T FIND THAT [FORMAT] SUCCESSFUL- ESPECIALLY FOR SOMETHING AS IMPORTANT AND RICH AS POLITICAL CARTOONS.” “[THE COMIC] DIDN’T NEED NINE PANELS TO COMMUNICATE THAT. I WAS LOOKING FOR JUST SHARING THAT SPARK THAT I FELT EVERY TIME I SAW [KENNEY’S] FACE ON SCREEN WHEN I DIDN’T WANT TO, AND THAT SEEMS TO HAVE RESONATED WITH FOLKS AND A SINGLE PANEL MIGHT BE ENOUGH FOR THAT.” ERIC EXPANDED ON HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT EDITORIAL CARTOONS: “I THINK [SINGLE PANELS ARE] ARCHAIC AND LEAD TO FLUFFY AND SUPERFICIAL THINGS LIKE YOU WOULD SEE BEING CHOSEN NOWADAYS FOR THE [LOCAL NEWSPAPER]. MOST OF THE WESTERN CANADIAN NEWSPAPERS CHOOSE THE SAFEST, THE LEAST OFFENSIVE, THE MOST BENIGN EDITORIAL CARTOONS BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY THE EDITORS ARE JUST LOGGING ONTO A WEBSITE. THEY’RE PAYING A WEEKLY FEE. I BELIEVE ITS FIFTEEN DOLLARS…IT IS EGREGIOUSLY LOW. AND SO THEY JUST PICK THE EASIEST MOST VISUALLY UNCHALLENGING THING THAT CAN BE ON THE EDITORIAL PAGE THAT DAY. THAT’S HOW EDITORIAL CARTOONS WORK IN 2020 IN CANADA. AND SO THE MOST EXCITING CHALLENGING EDITORIAL CARTOONS ARE MOSTLY GOING TO BE IN THE EASTERN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY— VERY FEW NEWSPAPERS BUT A COUPLE OF THEM. MICHAEL DE ADDER HAS REALLY SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE A REALLY CHALLENGING CARTOONIST. I’M A MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN CARTOONISTS...AND THEY HAVE THEIR OWN COVID RESPONSE SERIES, BUT NONE OF THOSE INTERESTING CHALLENGING COMICS MADE IT INTO NEWSPAPERS... SO THROUGH 'THE SPRAWL' [MAGAZINE] AND THROUGH MY OWN SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS— I DIDN’T [WANT TO] PITCH THE EDITORIAL CARTOONS TO THE [LOCAL NEWSPAPER].” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200015004

Acquisition Date

2020-05

Collection

Museum

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