MTV, the Moon Man, and the Art of Collage
The MoonMen Before You , October 18, 2021 One of the Inktober prompts in 2021 was Moon . Instead of drawing a picturesque moon floating over a purple ocean and sky, something I’d done before, pop-culture me barged in and took over- much like when I chose a Pikachu theme for the Ash prompt in 2019. I thought of the little MTV Moon Man instead, the astronaut who would gradually shape my visual aesthetics and train my musical ear growing up, (right after my dad’s old jazz). The Moon Man was originally a bravado announcement: a shiny new cable channel staking claim on unexplored terrain. Here I give it a colonial jab. The original one flag became many. By the time he arrives in my drawing, others have clearly been there before. As if to say: You think you’re first? Cute . MTV showcased videos full of quick cuts and color jolts, beauty and chaos dancing in the same frame. It debuted in 1981, when I was four years old. Both sets of my grandparents had the channel before we did. My gra...