Artist Talk and Performance
Jim Woodring: Artist Talk and Performance
Walker Cinema
Midnight
A man is drawing with a seven-foot-long pen. The nib is sixteen inches and made of brass-plated, cold-rolled steel. The handle is lathe-turned poplar, painted with black lacquer. The ink is a specially formulated acrylic blend. A vase functions as the inkwell.
This isn’t a dream but rather a live performance with famed underground cartoonist Jim Woodring. At this special Nightshift midnight event, the author of Seeing Things, The Frank Book and Weathercraft will draw live on-stage at the Walker with his handcrafted Giant Pen — an oversized version of the classic steel dip pen nib and wooden handle used by artists and calligraphers. Woodring will be making large ink drawings (up to 6 feet) while conversing with the audience as he works, and it will all add up to an in-depth tour through his surreal oneiric landscape.
Woodring’s Giant Pen was built with funds raised through United States Artists Special Projects. Nightshift is presented by the Walker Art Center in conjunction with mnartists.org and Rain Taxi Review of Books.