As a young boy growing up, one of my greatest influences was Calvin & Hobbes by the infinitely talented Bill Watterson. By the time Watterson retired in 1995, I had practically memorized every strip he had ever written. Looking back, I think I really identified with the character of Calvin—an introspective and introverted little boy who, despite his best efforts to be good, always got into trouble. When you’re young, being a little different can seem very lonely, and like Calvin I often relied on my imagination to keep my life interesting. This has certainly influenced my development as an artist as well as a person. Watterson was also an insightful writer and many might say philosopher, and it wasn’t until I was older that I appreciated how incredibly sophisticated his vocabulary and jokes were (especially for an 8-year old reader)! In the strips above, Watterson uses his comic medium to create a surprisingly perceptive commentary on the state of the modern art world. Hobbes and Calvin poke fun some of the pretensions that I’ve personally always found a little silly about the way people view art. I am a huge admirer of Bill Watterson and his groundbreaking work as a cartoonist, as a writer, and as an intellectual.
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