Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

COMIC "COVID UPDATE"

Date

2020

Materials

PAPER, INK

No. Pieces

1

Length

46

Width

30.5

Description

COMIC PRINT. BLACK INK ON WHITE PAPER. 9 PANEL COMIC. NARRATIVE FEATURES DR. DEENA HINSHAW IN FRONT OF PODIUM, AT A PRESS BRIEFING. THERE ARE FLAGS BEHIND HER AND SHE IS POINTING AT A POSTER WITH ILLUSTRATION AND SNAPPING A POINTER STICK. AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THE POSTER “’COVID UPDATE’” “MARCH 27, 2020 ERICK DYCK” IS SIGNED IN PENCIL. 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 COMIC TITLED “COVID UPDATE” CAME FROM THEIR MEETING. ERIC OUTLINED THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THIS COMIC: "WITH THE ‘GUIDELINES FOR BERATING YOUR LOCAL DOCTOR’, [GOVERNMENT OF ALBERTA HEALTH] MINISTER SHANDRO…AND HIS WIFE HAD ESSENTIALLY CORNERED [AN] ALBERTA DOCTOR WHO ACTUALLY WAS A FRONTLINE INFECTIOUS DISEASE DOCTOR, TO SNARK ESSENTIALLY ABOUT A MEME THAT [THE DOCTOR] HAD SHARED ON FACEBOOK, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF DR. HINSHAW’S…DAILY CORONAVIRUS UPDATES. AND TO SEE SOMEONE SO…PROFESSIONAL AND MEASURED ON TV EVERY DAY AND TO KNOW THAT BEHIND THE SCENES IT MUST HAVE BEEN JUST- I MEAN SHE WAS BEING UNDERMINED. [SHANDRO] WAS DEMONSTRATING NON-ESSENTIAL HUMAN INTERACTION AT THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC.” “WE WERE VERY MUCH NOT SURE HOW ALL THIS WAS GOING TO SHAKE OUT AT THAT TIME …I HAD ACTUALLY PITCHED ['THE SPRAWL'] A COMIC WHERE I...SHOWED SHANDRO SCREAMING AND YELLING AT THE DOCTOR ON HIS DRIVEWAY AND IT WAS A LOT- IT WASN’T FUN TO DRAW. IT WAS SUPER NEGATIVE…I DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE HIS FACE THAT MUCH TIME AND AS I WAS SKETCHING IT OUT, MY WIFE AND I HAD DR. HINSHAW’S UPDATES ON THE TV AND, THE IDEA OF DELIVERING A REPRIMAND TO SOMEONE AS OBVIOUSLY AS ARROGANT AND SELF-CONFIDENT AS KENNEY IS, [AND] I WANTED TO TRY AND ADDRESS THIS BUT THROUGH DR. HINSHAW’S VOICE. DR. HINSHAW AT THE TIME, IT HAD PROBABLY BEEN A WEEK OR TWO MAYBE OF THESE REGULAR UPDATES WHERE SHE BECAME THE FACE OF ALBERTA’S RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, AND ACHIEVED A SORT OF CELEBRITY STATUS WHETHER ONLINE OR, JUST IN PUBLIC. COINCIDENTLY JULIE VAN ROSENDAAL’S SISTER...HAD PRODUCED A DR. HINSHAW T-SHIRT AS A FUNDRAISER FOR CALGARY FOOD BANK. AND SO HER FACE, YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO PUT HER NAMETAG ON. JUST AS SOON AS DR. HINSHAW’S FACE SHOWED UP IN THE COMIC EVERYONE KNOWS WHO WE’RE TALKING ABOUT. EVERYONE RECOGNIZES THE STRAIGHT BANGS. EVERYONE RECOGNIZES THE PROFESSIONAL TONE.” ERIC EXPANDED ON FIGURES REPRESENTED IN THE COMIC: “I LISTENED TO ONE PARTICULAR VIDEO OF [DR. HINSHAW], ADDRESSING SOMETHING SHE VISIBLY DID NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT LOOKING FOR HER CADENCE AND I TRIED TO MATCH THAT WITH THE WRITING IN THE COMIC. THE COMIC USES SOME VISUALS- SHE’S POINTING AT A PLACARD ON AN EASEL WITH A LITTLE POINTER STICK WHICH I DON’T THINK SHE’S EVER DONE. HOWEVER...HER BODY LANGUAGE MAKES IT VERY OBVIOUS THAT-EVEN THOUGH I’M PUTTING WORDS IN HER MOUTH, HAVING HER PERFORM ACTIONS THAT SHE DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO- I FELT VERY CONFIDENT THAT EVEN THE FICTIONAL WORDS I WAS GIVING HER WERE...GOING TO LOOK AS MORE OF A CRITIQUE OF SHANDRO AND NOT OF HER... IN A WAY IT SAYS MORE ABOUT HER THEN IT SAYS ABOUT SHANDRO, AND THAT SHE MANAGES TO MAINTAIN PROFESSIONALISM EVEN THOUGH SHE’S WORKING WITH AN ADMINISTRATION THAT MAY OR MAY NOT SHARE HER OUTLOOK.” “I ALSO REALLY WANTED TO DRAW DR. HINSHAW BECAUSE OF MY FAMILY’S PERSONAL CONNECTION TO HER. SO DEENA’S FATHER…WAS MY DAD’S CO-WORKER… [THEY] WORKED QUITE CLOSELY TOGETHER AT ADVISOR GRAPHICS IN RED DEER… SO I’VE ENJOYED EVERY TIME THAT DR. HINSHAW’S IN THE NEWS OR GETS A PROMOTION OR SOMETHING. MY PARENTS REACT TO THAT EVERY TIME JUST BECAUSE OF THAT CONNECTION… JUST WATCHING HER UP THERE…VERY PROFESSIONAL– [SHE] HAS IT ALL TOGETHER.” “IT [HAS] BEEN QUITE AN EXPERIENCE. HITCHING MYSELF TO HER HAS BEEN ENTIRELY POSITIVE JUST BECAUSE SHE’S JUST SUCH A CLASS ACT AND SO CONSISTENTLY- EVEN WITH THE CARGILL STUFF FOR WHATEVER REASON. IF THERE WERE BAD DECISIONS SHE HAD MADE, NONE OF IT STUCK TO HER IN PART BECAUSE THE POLITICAL ACTORS AROUND HER WERE JUST SO SELF-SERVING AND TOO ARROGANT TO EVEN COVER THEIR OWN TRACKS THAT SHE DIDN’T SEEM TO GET MIXED UP IN A LOT OF THAT MESS.” “[DR. HINSHAW] GAVE US COMFORT. SHE’S WHO KNEW THE STUFF SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT... 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.” ERIC COMMUNICATED THE REACTIONS TO THE COMIC: “IT WAS REALLY POSITIVE AND I WASN’T SURE IF I’D GET BACKLASH BECAUSE I WAS PUTTING WORDS IN HER MOUTH. I DIDN’T HEAR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I KNOW THAT DR. HINSHAW HAS SEEN THE COMIC… I SUSPECT THAT SHE’S SOMEWHAT OVERWHELMED BY ALL THE ATTENTION EVEN WEEKS AND MONTHS LATER.” THE COMIC WAS ONLY PUBLISHED ON SOCIAL MEDIA: “WE TALKED ABOUT THE EPHEMERAL NATURE OF THE DIGITAL COMICS. SHANDRO ACTUALLY STANDS OUT COMPARED TO THE POSTERS. THIS WAS ACTUALY PUBLISHED BY ‘THE SPRAWL’. THE PITCH WAS TO THEM, THE FORMAT I PITCHED TO THEM WAS FOR USE ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA…IT WAS ONLY SHARED ON THEIR STORIES. SO FOR EXAMPLE, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM WHICH IS OWNED BY FACEBOOK, HAVE HIERARCHIES OF SHARING. THEY HAVE THEIR PERMANENT POSTS... THEN THEY HAVE STORIES WHICH ARE- I THINK YOU CAN SET IT FROM 24HR TO A WEEK- EPHEMERAL POSTS. SO…THE SHANDRO COMIC WAS POSTED BY 'THE SPRAWL' ON THEIR EPHEMERAL FEED…” “I KNEW AT THE TIME THAT THAT’S HOW IT WAS BEING SHARED… [THE COMIC] WAS IN 9 BITE-SIZED PANELS FOR THAT REASON. IT WAS PRIMARILY GOING TO BE ON PEOPLE’S PHONES, EVEN BECAUSE INSTAGRAM IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY A MOBILE INTERFACE…SO THE SPRAWL'S MANDATE HAS TO DO WITH DEEP-DIVES AND LONG-FORM…JOURNALISM…BUT [WITH] THE IDEA THAT THEY’RE NOT REACTING TO DAILY THINGS… THIS [COMIC] WAS AN ANOMALY FOR THEM. THEY WERE…FRUSTRATED BY SHANDRO’S BEHAVIOR AND THAT THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY ZERO CONSEQUENCES FOR [IT]. THEN WHEN KENNEY GOT ON TV TO TALK ABOUT IT…HE HUNG THE [BERATED] DOCTOR OUT TO DRY AND [DID] NOT REPRIMAND HIS OWN MINISTER FOR UNPROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR. AND SO THERE WAS JUST ENOUGH EMOTIONAL CHARGE TO WHAT WAS GOING ON AND IT REPRESENTED BIGGER PROBLEMS ‘THAT SPRAWL’ WAS DEALING WITH THEY WANTED TO SHARE IT, AND SO THIS ACTUALLY GOT SHARED THROUGH ‘THE SPRAWL’ NOT THROUGH MY OWN WEBSITE. HOWEVER, I BELIEVE MY SOCIAL MEDIA FEED IS ACTUALLY THE ONLY PLACE TO SEE IT RIGHT NOW. IT WAS OF THAT MOMENT. IT WAS EXPRESSING FRUSTRATION OR ADDRESSING BIGGER ISSUES INSIDE THE GOVERNMENT THROUGH THIS ONE PARTICULAR THING, BUT IT WAS AS EPHEMERAL AS IT GETS, EVEN FOR DIGITAL IN THAT IT WAS POSTED AND DISAPPEARED.” “THERE’S AN ENERGY AND URGENCY TO [THE COMIC] THAT I ENJOY…ALSO- BECAUSE I KNEW THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE POSTING IT THAT WAY- ['THE SPRAWL'] EVEN TOLD ME ‘BEFORE YOU DRAW THIS, KNOW THAT IT’S NOT GOING TO BE PART OF THE EDITION IN ‘THE SPRAWL’ ARCHIVES’ IN THE SENSE THAT WHEN PEOPLE READ ALL THE COVID ARTICLES THIS ISN’T GOING TO BE ONE OF THEM IN THE WAY THAT THE POSTERS ARE, AND THE ESSAY THAT I WROTE WITH THE POSTERS. I WAS ABLE TO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT…HOW DATED THE COMIC COULD FEEL. QUITE OFTEN WHEN I’M WORKING WITH SOME OF THE OTHER LONG FORM COMICS THAT I DO WITH 'THE SPRAWL', I’M VERY CAREFUL TO KNOW THAT I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS AS READABLE A WEEK AFTER IT WAS POSTED, AND A YEAR AFTER IT WAS POSTED. WHEREAS THIS…GIVES NO CONTEXT OTHER THAN THE PEOPLE WHO ARE READING IT READ IT [IMMEDIATELY] AFTER THIS [EVENT] HAPPENED, AND IT HAS THE LUXURY OF BEING EXTREMELY RELEVANT FOR THAT MOMENT AND POOF... SO I WAS OKAY WITH THAT. EVEN CONSIDERING WHAT’S HAPPENED WITH THE PANDEMIC IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS COMPARED TO THE FIRST FEW MONTHS, THIS ISN’T RELEVANT IN THE SAME WAY. THIS DOESN’T HAVE THE EMOTIONAL CHARGE THAT IT DID WHEN THE SHANDRO INCIDENT AND OUR OWN RELATIONSHIP TO A CIVIL SERVANT LIKE HINSHAW VS. POLITICAL ACTORS LIKE SHANDRO AND KENNEY. IT DOESN’T RESONATE THE SAME WAY AT ALL AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT IT EXISTED THAT WAY IN THE MOMENT… IT WAS VERY KIND OF AN ESOTERIC SILLY LITTLE THING THAT EXPRESSED WHAT A LOT OF US WERE FEELING AT THAT MOMENT… I’M NOT BIG ON PUTTING NAMETAGS OR LABELS ON PEOPLE WITHIN AN EDITORIAL CARTOON- THAT’S A VERY CHEESY EDITORIAL CARTOON TROPE. I ABSOLUTELY JUST LET IT BE RELEVANT IN THAT MOMENT AND THAT’S IT.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200015009

Acquisition Date

2020-05

Collection

Museum

Less detail