Discussion with Ty Jones

Cover Story, Damon Renthrope's Process

The article as it appears on page 23.
Author	Clarence Meriweather
Genre	Interview
Published	EF Issue 2020.3
Pages	5
Website	Full Issue PDF, courtesy of caricature.org

Interview conducted via text message by Clarence D. Meriweather with an introduction by Tom Faraci

Article Transcript

The article as it appears on page 24.

The article as it appears on page 25.

The article as it appears on page 26.

The article as it appears on page 27.

CM: How long have you been a caricature artist?
Ty: 16 years.

CM: What got you interested in drawing caricatures?
Ty: I saw a caricature by Grigor Eftimov online. And I wanted in. LOL

CM: How old are you?
Ty: 32

CM: Fairly young. Are you a member of ISCA?
Ty: Not anymore.

CM: When was the last time you were a member?
Ty: 2012.

CM: Why did you leave the organization?
Ty: To be honest, I had some racist experiences with people at the convention. So I decided to distance myself from the caricature community.

CM: So it was specifically at conventions or racism prevalent at parks and gigs also?
Ty: At the convention and with coworkers.

CM: Can you speak more about the conventions?
Ty: I attended two in 2010 and 2012. I competed. Well, some of the people aren’t acclimated to black people. I’ve had questions like can I afford health insurance to blatant racism, like calling me the N word. Most people are nice, but there’s a real bad crowd that attend those conventions.

CM: Wait. I’m not sure I understand the “health insurance” question. Can you expound a bit?
Ty: Some white guy asked that as if I couldn’t afford health insurance as if I’m too poor to afford health insurance. He asked me like, “can you even afford health insurance. I bet you can’t.” He was being racist and condescending.

CM: Oh OK, that makes more sense. I know it can be difficult expressing sarcasm or tone in written form. Was he an artist himself or patron? What was your response to this person?
Ty: I believe he was an artist. I was in so much shock, I just kinda brushed it off and walked away. Looking back I should have said something. But I was so shy back then I didn’t even think to speak up for myself.

CM: Yeah, I understand that. I had something similar happen to me when I was just out of college. Wanna hear about that?
Ty: Sure.

CM: It was my first graphic design job out of college. I was young and I don’t know that I have ever felt so stupid but I kept working hard asking questions and eventually making less mistakes.One day, our boss took us to HOOTERS for lunch. It was a small company, 10 white fellas, 2 or 3 white ladies and me. Anyway, I’m sitting at the bar with one of the guys who had been at the company a fairly long time. They ate there for lunch all the time, so they knew the cooks and wait staff fairly well. So, one of the cooks walks over... I get introduced and they start talking. The cook looks at my coworkers and asks them if they wanted to hear a joke. I was still looking at the menu, not interested. They were like, “yeah, go ahead.”The cook asked them, did they know what the car Pontiac meant. They looked dumbfounded, but you could tell they were anxiously anticipating the punchline. I’m still looking at the menu. The cook replies,”Poor Old Ni**er Thinks It’s A Cadillac...PONTIAC!” They immediately bust out laughing.
Ty: Wow. Sorry to hear that.

CM: I’m looking at them like WTF?! My chest got tight and I could not breathe. I was standing there but my body was empty.
Ty: Damn

CM: I felt like I got kicked in the chest. My coworkers were still laughing... I had shock face. I wanted to just start punching m****f**kahs. The cook looks at me and says, “It’s just a joke, man,” puts his hand out like “gimme five.” I remember looking at all three of those a**holes, saying nothing, and leaving the restaurant. I started looking for a new job the next day. I still have to say almost 30 years later, that episode still hurts like it was yesterday. I still remember the laughter and looks on their faces. I still remember NOT knocking one of thosef**kers in the mouth because I needed that job. It’s a scar that is still very sore and tender. So I understand.
Ty: Yeah. It’s a tough thing to get over. Racism stains the soul.

CM: It scarred me for life.
Ty: Yeah, for sure.

CM: So, tell me about getting called ni**er at the convention.
Ty: Well, one dude I lived in his house for five months in PA. I immediately got bad vibes from this guy. And heard stories about this guy and his negative outlook on life. When we lived together, he was saying racist sh*t all the time. Like black people are disgusting. And one day at the stand, I overheard him and his boss saying “It’s the first of the month so the welfare checks are out.” So I already had beef with the guy. Well at the convention, he says a comment about me and my ex not hanging out anymore. A girl I met prior to the convention in 2010. And I say back to him “I’ll just find another one.” And he says... “yea whatever ni**er.”

CM: So that was his regular personality and manner?
Ty: Yeah, I believe so.

CM: Any other incidents worth mentioning?
Ty: Yeah, working with racist coworkers who made fun of black people speech and hairstyles. And working with racist caricature company owners who would make off-color black jokes. Just the whole caricature community has a problem with racism. I faced it in every place I’ve worked except for when I worked for Tim Reed and his crew. They’re nice people. But every place else has some real problems with racism.

CM: Did you ever tell anyone at the convention what happened?
Ty: No I didn’t. I just kinda kept it to myself.

CM: Why not? Not tryna be a d**k but I have to ask.
Ty: I really don’t have an answer for that. Apparently times were different back then. I didn’t even think to tell anyone.

CM: I get that. For me it was like “What the f**k can they do?” Pssht and kept it moving. Did you ever travel for gigs or were you always in parks?
Ty: Just parks. Did a few gigs here and there. But they were all local.

CM: Did you ever have any issue with patrons?
Ty: Sometimes. You can tell when a customer doesn’t want to go to the only black guy out of all the white guys. That’s until they see my work and they usually ease their slight racism. Lol

CM: I’ve had that happen. No one wants to sit in your chair. You wonder if it’s because you don’t think my sketch is dope or you think I can’t get down because I’m black. I’d like to believe all artists, regardless of color, go through that experience but I dunno. I really don’t. Why do you feel the caricature community as a whole has a racism problem?
Ty: That’s America, in general it has a problem with racism. The caricature community is just a microcosm of the (larger) symptom.

CM: Dig that. Can you tell me your experiences with racist/bigoted bosses/owners?
Ty: Yes, I worked for one artist that was just awful. He was just a repugnant racist. He would make racist jokes all the time. He was just a wicked man.

CM: Tell me about your time with him and his crew.
Ty: Yeah, he’s the worst. His crew was OK. They only focused on money. Which is technically not a bad thing. But he was just racist.

CM: Did you work with anyone that can corroborate your allegation?
Ty: I worked with a popular caricature artist, but he wasn’t around when the racist comments were made.

CM: I had one question I need to ask before I forget. Did you see another unarmed black man got shot a couple of days ago? How is all of the current wave of social unrest affecting you? Personally? Creatively? Are you able to draw or sketch while in recovery or is this a forced break?
Ty: I’m still able to draw... but I am scared I’m going to be shot by the police.

CM: How is it affecting your creativity?
Ty: It’s not affecting my creativity. I’m fine on that front.

CM: That’s good. I find it hard to concentrate. I don’t know why. I think it has a lot to do with my frustration with the current times. And the helplessness that goes along with that. I teach, which helps because it forces me to put my energy elsewhere, my focus elsewhere. I already fight depression too... teaching keeps my mind in the place of solving problems and getting the best out of my students.
Ty: Well that’s good you have teaching then.

CM: I saw you put those 5 artists you felt were racist on blast on Facebook. Shortly before that incident, I wanted to interview you for the ISCA BLM issue and you turned me down cold. Tom (Faraci, ISCA President) spoke to you on my behalf. All he said was, “You had moved on and wanted to leave all of that behind you.” What changed?
Ty: Sorry about that. I thought I was behind it all. And all the things with police shootings conjured some old feelings out of me. I guess I wasn’t over it like I thought.

CM: That’s OK. I hold no judgment brotha. If you felt you needed to get that off your chest. I saw responses from one artist in particular that really caught my attention because he called you a “ni**a” publicly. That pissed me off.
Ty: He’s just evil.

CM: Simple enough. I assume you no longer have any other dealings with him. Why do you associate with him on social media?
Ty: Yeah, I completely cut him off.

CM: Did anyone else in that particular post that you named as racist reach out to you directly?
Ty: Yeah, they all reached out and said sorry.

CM: How did that go over with you? Did everyone seem sincere?
Ty: Yeah, they seemed pretty sincere. I accepted their apologies.

CM: That’s definitely wsup. I’m glad they did. Hopefully that helps you with your healing. I assume that did not include the “evil” colleague. What responsibility do you believe ISCA has with fighting/discouraging racism and bigotry within the industry and its members? To developing caricaturists of color? To promoting diversity?
Ty: Yea all of that. According to [President] Tom [Faraci] they’ve made steps to be more inclusive. I’m still not going to attend another ISCA [convention] though. I’m just over caricatures. And caricature art.

CM: I understand. I don’t know that I asked, what are you doing now with your heart? Do you still use the framework of caricatures?
Ty: Not really. I’m doing comics. It’s a different skill set.

CM: How long have you been drawing comics?
Ty: Eight years.

CM: Cool. I’ve always wanted to draw comics. What titles are you working on? Independent or your own stuff?
Ty: My own stuff.

CM: Are you drawing, writing, lettering… The whole kit and caboodle? What is the subject matter?
Ty: Yeah, I’m doing it all myself. In a nutshell it’s about Trump and his presidency.

CM: Any idea when we will see something in the market?
Ty: I’ll be done with it pretty soon. I don’t have a specific date.

CM: Any words of advice for any young caricaturists or young people of color interested in pursuing art?
Ty: Sure. Be patient with yourself. Don’t get upset that your art isn’t good yet. It took me 10 years of mediocrity to eventually get my work to my liking. So just wait until your talents match what’s in your head.

CM: That’s awesome advice bro. Do you have any contact information that you would like to share in case someone wants to hire you for commissions or comic work?
Ty: My email is artman88@outlook.com and my Instagram is Tyjonesart

See Also

• Ty Jones
• Clarence Meriweather

External Links

• Join ISCA

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