“Why Do we Do What We Do?” by William Schaff
I first discovered William Schaff because he has done most of the album artwork for Okkervil River, but a while back I discovered his flickr account. There’s something about his style I really like. The aesthetic aspects of his work as well as the subject matter and what it inspires in me are what draw me to his art.
I saw this latest piece he posted today and something about it struck me. And its not just the question it asks, or the little story that goes along with it, there’s something about the colors, the gesture in the hands, the shadows on the closed, sunken in eyes. In addition to asking myself the question at hand, I wonder about the circumstances of the subject. Is he religious? Are his hands about to join in prayer? Is he just throwing them up in a questioning way? What is the significance of the colors on the shirt and the style of the pattern? Is it even a man at all? Why do I assume that the subject is male and a man? Is he or she sad about the question asked? Or just contemplative and complacent with it?
Schaff also does a lot of mixed media pieces as well. I’ve unfortunately never seen any of his art in person, but even over the internet I love it. I imagine that the mixed media would be that much more stunning in person. His drawings and the stories that he tells can be silly and funny or serious and heartbreaking, and sometimes both at the same time.
And this little comic makes me smile.
