Discussion with Ty Jones
 The article as it appears on page 23. | |
| Author | Clarence Meriweather |
|---|---|
| Genre | Interview |
| Published | EF Issue 2020.3 |
| Pages | 5 |
| Website |
|
Interview conducted via text message by Clarence D. Meriweather with an introduction by Tom Faraci
Article Transcript
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
External Links
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