Come to The Medicine Show!

Ladies and gentlemen!  Boys and girls! 

The time has come for a reprise of 

the phantasmagorical, sensational, mystical 

Strombolli's Medicine Show!

Saint Paul Comic Jam - Jan 2012

This January, the Saint Paul Cartoonist Conspiracy brings you:

Free Sexy Panty with Every Purchase -and- We Loan on Firearms

Alchemy: Its history and theory

My friend Michael McConnell is designing a gallery exhibit about the periodic table of the elements.   I am a rabid Alchemy enthusiast, so Michael gave me a special assignment:  By Spring 2013 I shall create a 10 minute (or 10'x10'x10') presentation on the elements as understood by the Alchemists.  To prepare for the project I wrote this "thesis" to base my work around.  Here I shall take a "just the facts, Ma'am" approach to the history of Alchemy and focus mainly on what was pertinent to the periodic table.  Still, talking about Alchemy is not an exact science because Alchemy itself was not an exact science, but rather, a "philosophical art" for which each Alchemist had his own unique approach and theories about what he was doing.

The origin of Alchemy:

Hellenistic Egypt, ca 300 BC.  Greek colonists look at the religion of the Egyptians and see similarities between their god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth (The-Thrice-Great).  Both were gods of language, gods of magic and psychopomps (in charge of transmitting souls from one world to the next, like the grim reaper) In the minds of some, the two figures merge into one character called Hermes Trismegistus. 

New Year's Resolution(s)

New Year's resolution(s):

Henceforth I will publish one thing —a piece of flash fiction, a picture, a poem, a comic, a song, etc.— every day (or some rate close to that).

January is watercolor month.  I will work on a watercolor painting every evening after dinner.

2012 sees an increased focus from me on my relationships.  Friends are there to uplift, challenge, team up with and champion each other.  Such relationships are arguably the only things that matter.

2012 is also the year I turn commercial.  I will endeavor to show off, sell things, get jobs, and generally be a presence like never before.

Shortly I will have converted the "junk room" in my house into a studio out of which I will base my artistic endeavors.

And friends:  I hope to have your support as I try to do this stuff.  I need all the help I can get, and feedback is always craved.

Allons-y!

—Thomas Boguszewski

"Structural Model" of Creative Consciousness

I was thinking a lot about what made my strongest past work strong and what motivates me to create. A topic on which I'm always generating new theories.

Sometimes I say "it's a common aesthetic quality, a matter of taste."
Sometimes I say "It's because I crave artistic challenges and puzzles."
Sometimes I say "It's all about educating people."

But every time I come up with a generalization like that, I can see where it doesn't apply and I quickly throw it out.

Then I realized that my FAVORITE work resonates on all three levels.
An unconscious level, a personal level, and an interpersonal level.

These three "levels of artistic consciousness" correspond roughly to Freud's idea of the "Structural Model" of the psyche — Id, Ego, and Super-Ego.

Diagram of Art

(Diagram and statement from 2010)

On Art's Place in the Scope of Unique Human Activities.

There is often debate among both artists and critics about what constitutes art. To some, art comes from the play instinct. To others, art is about communication. To others, art is about self-expression and is deeply private. Others see art as public and believe it is about improving (by either provoking or beautifying) the community.

Proponents of each definition of art sometimes are at each others' throats. Each could cite perfect examples of things that are purely communication, purely play, purely private or purely public works —or some combination of two or three of these attributes— that are not *quite* art. Frequently, Theorists use these examples of "not-art" to attack their opponents positions.

Art isn't synonymous with Communication, Play, Public Work, or Self-Expression. But it IS these things!
Well... Which is it?

St Paul Comic Jam - December 2011

The Saint Paul chapter of the Cartoonist Conspiracy met in December to bring the world

KRAMPUS in: The Power of Positive Drinking

You'll notice that this one is only 5 pages because there weren't very many people there that day.
Also, you'll notice that I worked in a shot from the gritty christmas superhero story that I'm working on:

—Thomas Boguszewski

The Elixir

. .

An ugly man turns to the secrets of alchemy to make his inner self apparent on the outside —at any cost.

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Process Statement:

I created The Elixir as my final for Sight and Sound: Film in the Tisch School of the Arts way back in June 2010. It was shot on 16 mm film using an Arri S 16mm Camera from 1952.  The story of how this film came to be is long and colorful.  Technical and personal difficulties abounded in production.

Friday Friend Feature: Sam Freiberger

Sam Freiberger (sometimes known as Sam Sandak) is a filmmaker, writer, troublemaker and self-proclaimed Duke of Sherman Oaks, CA.  He studies film at NYU and minors in blowing minds.



Sam creates a very special presentation for his dorm's talent show in this short documentary.
Shot by me and edited by Daniel LaCosse,

The events of "I Want To Be, Anarchy" point out several of Sam's defining traits:
-Constant rebellion against rules that constrain artistic expression.
-A desire to cause a stir, stand out, and affect minds.
-Intense dedication and commitment to whatever task he has at hand.  Perfectionism.
-A love and deep respect for great works of art.  Film, drama, and *sometimes* even poetry.

Winter Dreams at HoBT - Design Internship

NOW PLAYING at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (1500 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN):  A show called Winter Dreams

Winter Dreams  is about the ways that all the animals of Minnesota manage to sleep through the winter.  See hibernating bears, turtles who hold their breath for 3 months, snakes who bury themselves in a pit in the ground, frogs who freeze themselves cryogenically, and more!  It's a kid-friendly show with some ingenious puppetry —some of which was designed by ME.

To be more specific, I took a design internship at HOBT this fall and did 3 jobs:

1.  I performed image research and factual research to figure out what certain animals look like and just how their bodies work.

2.  I was tasked with designing and building a shadow puppet sequence based on the Wood Frog —The frog that can tolerate being frozen solid in the winter and resume living after it thaws itself out.

3.  I was also put in charge of fleshing out a sequence that had already been started - one about bees.  In a beehive, the worker bees will crowd around the queen and pulse in order to keep her warm (fun fact, the drones, who usually hang out at the hive, are sent out one by one to die during the Fall)

So I took copious WIP pictures.  So without further ado, this is art in progress.

(read more for pictures!)