Tony Lewis
Fool! Tomorrow
2018
Graphite and color on paper
Courtesy the artist and Blum & Poe New York
Tony Lewis born 1986, lives and works in Chicago
“To create Anthology 2014–2016, Lewis deconstructed hundreds of Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, reordered them, and ultimately shaped them into poems through a process of erasing, editing, and rearranging dialogue. Each poem is assembled as a collage of individual drawings that explores the collaborative nature of creativity and authorship, leaving meaning open to a range of interpretations. Through this series, Lewis realized that one can write through drawing. He says, ‘This is the clearest form of writing I’ve done to date, transferring authorship from Bill Watterson’s dialogue to a distinct writing process. Calvin and Hobbes was a literary and artistic savior growing up in the ’90s. By physically destroying it, appropriating it, editing it and rebuilding its narrative, I find new language and ideas that culminate with an intimate collection of poems.'”
– hirshhorn.si.edu, 2018