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“Before, to see a new cartoon, you had to wait a week for the next issue of the publication that published it. And now, you open the immensity of the Internet and ‘eat it’ so much that your head starts to hurt”, says the artist. We spoke with R. Vičius about what led him to become interested in the cartoon genre, what the line is between humor and offensive ridicule, and what the community that brings together cartoonists is doing.
– What made you interested in the cartoon genre? What was the beginning of your creative career as a cartoonist?
– I became interested in this genre when I was a child. I don’t know why, but I started to love cartoons a lot, I was probably already born with a laughter gene. At that time, there was still no Internet, so I was looking for cartoons and vignettes in magazines, newspapers, school textbooks, especially stories. I tried to copy them and one day I drew something similar myself, choosing my classmates and teachers as models. I loved that the classmates knew who I was drawing, laughing, showing all my drawings. This encouraged further development. I was also encouraged by the inner satisfaction that someone liked what I was drawing, which I was lucky enough to make fun of even those who are usually very serious.
– What inspires you to create cartoons: world and country news, personalities, everyday events?
– Everything that surrounds you can inspire you: both life and human professions, their defects, hobbies, actions, manners and nature, their phenomena and animals, and many other things.
– How do you discover, notice exactly the detail that becomes the accent of the cartoon and reveals the theme / motif chosen in the work in all the colors of the rainbow?
– Einu gatve. It’s starting to rain. I see, near the square of the flowers there is a special machine with water and a person who waters those flowers. Sure, their job is to water the flowers in the city, but the job is strange when it rains (laughs) at that time. I immediately memorized such an image. This is how ideas arise, spontaneously, spontaneously. If you need to draw a person, I scan it with my thoughts and everything becomes clear. Popular cartoon characters are politicians who stand out perhaps for some facts, speeches, or something else, not to mention appearance. Well, if I have a place to write, draw a sketch. It is true that in these modern times, when mobile phones represent everything, capturing ideas is much easier. After catching them, I go to the studio to create.
– Is the biggest challenge in creating a cartoon balancing clever irony and offensive ridicule?
– The line between witty irony and offensive ridicule is very fine. Sometimes even unnoticed. What seems witty to one, insulting to another. I never want to insult, make a lot of teasing. I want to portray everything with hilarious humor. But it has certainly been the case that when a cartoon is drawn, a person feels offended. However, such a human reaction means that it is accurately described, just perhaps too much in the center. It’s funny when there is speculation left in the cartoon, there’s no question what is actually depicted here.
The line between witty irony and offensive ridicule is very thin. Sometimes even unnoticed. What seems witty to one, insulting to another.
– What techniques do you create? Does the technique you choose depend on the idea that comes to mind?
– I try to be different because I want to try a lot. While writing the master’s thesis, I had to become interested in the different materials, techniques, etc. used in painting, which became an inspiration to try something new in the cartoon genre. For example, painting with plasticine. Plasticine is not new to art, especially animation and sculpture. But the cartoons painted with clay lost their sight. I painted on cardboard, canvas, metal, wood. I remember being surprised by many people for the first time. Later I tried to combine paint with paint with plasticine paint. The knowledge of my profession (R.Vičys – restorer, author) helps me to prepare the material on which I intend to paint with plasticine, so that the work remains unaltered and undamaged for a longer time. But the closest thing to me is painting in oil, because the smell of paint alone encourages creation. I also like watercolor, acrylic, gouache, pencils, and mascara. For now, I’m looking for that Rolandian technique.
– Cartoons used to be popular in print publications, but now that publications are moving into the virtual space, this genre is no longer so relevant.
– I do not agree that this genre is no longer so relevant. The cartoons simply moved into a virtual space where deeper waters, faster rivers, higher waves. And the competition, I think, is more. Like cartoons in cyberspace, cartoons more readily available, include the feeling that this genre is no longer as relevant as expected. Previously, you had to wait a week for the next issue of the publication that published it to see the new cartoon. And now, you open the immensity of the Internet and you “eat” them so much that your head starts to hurt.
– Is the cartoon genre changing?
– Perhaps technology has changed, now computer graphics are much more diverse, the technical possibilities are wider, but much depends on the artists, their choices. Of course, over time, the news and topics differ.
– Is there an active community of cartoonists in Lithuania? What activities do you do?
– Of course, active, although cartoon and not many. They are united by the association “Humor Sapiens”. There is still “Shaipokai”. The community of cartoonists organizes exhibitions, advertises works, encourages communication between them and creates and improves.
– You mentioned about “Šaipokus” – Kaunas comedy club, to which you belong. How unique are Kaunas cartoonists?
– As a Kaunas resident, I can say that Kaunas cartoonists are some of the best. The “Šaipokai” are like brothers and sisters, always famous for their warm and sincere communication, for their mutual help. It’s a shame there aren’t many new and young developers. But you want to be positive.
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