2006/11/17

IF: Thanksgiving

The problem is that I don´t live in the US and
have therefore a very rudimentary and generic idea
of what thanksgiving actually is, and no emotional
connection to this subject - and looking it
up in Wikipedia isn´t something I want to do.
We do have a similar occasion in German by
the name "Erntedank", but it is not a big
celebration like Thanksgiving.

Instead, a take on the turkey/turkey wordplay:



Keep in mind that this is not a political caricature
or something, to avoid misunderstandings. It´s just
a weird thing that a bird and a country share
the same name in English.
And making jokes about that is indeed corny.

I hope that in the future we keep getting
topics that anyone can relate to, worldwide.
(Too bad someone already had my initial
idea of someone who is giving a "Thanks"...)

And please, no christmas topics in
december. Please, no. That only invites
stereotypical ideas.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Nicely put and I agree wholeheartedly.

Evan said...

you are funny. I like this alot. I agree that the topic is pretty corny, but you made the best of it. Let's see if I can come up with an idea.

John Coulter said...

total excellence!
http://johncoulter.blogspot.com/

Jeannetto said...

funny! I hate the topic this week, too. but I love your take on it, no cornucopias and family get togethers. perfect for a bitter lonely old hag like myself.

Roy Blumenthal said...

Wow, dude! Your drawing is awesome! That figure in the background looks so damn sinister! Hectic! I love your linework. Very powerful stuff.

I'm kinda sad that you said this work ISN'T political. In a way, I'd prefer it if you took the word 'Turkey' off the t-shirt, and let the work stand as a comment on violence.

(The only way I'd KNOW for sure that the foreground figure is actually a turkey is cos you've told me. Sure, he's got some turkey-things on his face. But that looks like sheer weirdness, deformity, ugliness if I didn't know he was a turkey.)

Blue skies
love
Roy

PS: My pic is one of those that interpreted this as 'giving thanks', rather than the American holiday. I think these topics ARE universal. Cos it actually allows Americans to see that there are OTHER cultures out there. Hehehehe. Here's my pic... Thanksgiving

Frederik Jurk said...

Hey Roy,
I want to comment your work but I am not in the mood for signing up a Flickr account, so...
You nailed the idea pretty well - the meaning of Thanksgiving is being happy about the harvest and prosperity. So, on a second look, this topic isn´t as generic as I thought; it´s just that it INVITES generic interpretations so much.

Likewise, making a non-kitschy image about christmas, stripped from all Hollywood influences might be a very stimulating task, too.

And thanks again people for your comments, I hope I find time to check out your stuff too!

steve said...

Wicked drawing here. Glad you decided to challenge yourself and participate regardless of the subject.

marcisenders said...

Very funny!

Terry Border said...

I thought of all the international illo people and kinda felt for ya. on the other hand, a generic sense of Thanksgiving is all some Americans have also!! Ha!

Willie Baronet said...

Those are some badass turkeys! :-)