In which I actually discuss the subject of unicorns
You might say I have “unicorn issues.” I like them; that should be fairly clear by the fact that this blog is called blackunicorn.org. I don’t tend to draw unicorns, though. I used to, back when I was in junior high, or early high school. And then I just stopped, I suppose because the College Board didn’t take kindly to my AP portfolio having a bunch of fantasy art in it. I didn’t pass, which was a devastating blow to my ego.
I didn’t really do anything remarkable in college- there isn’t a whole lot other than my graphic design work that was very good- my drawings were very stiff, or very obsessive about detail. I learned a lot, but I don’t have a whole lot of work I’m proud of to show for it.
Meanwhile, this movie came out my senior year. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it- Napoleon Dynamite. I hated this movie. I can’t remember another movie I so viscerally disliked as Napoleon Dynamite. I could never get on board with the whole “Let’s start wearing the uniform of the un-cool social group” trend. You know, how all of a sudden it became edgy and cool to wear t-shirts with sentimental pictures of horses? See, I was one of those kids who wore stuff like that in school, and I was ostracized for it. And now the cool kids have adopted that? That’s not fair. (also trucker hats piss me off, but that’s another rant entirely. Breifly, I think it’s subtle class warfare)
And unicorns, too. Cool kids suddenly love unicorns. But only ironic unicorns. Because if you earnestly like unicorns, you’re not in on the joke, as a matter of fact, you’re kind of the object of ridicule. Well, I like unicorns. I like this shirt collection I found on CafePress because it reminds me of all the good and sweet and magical things I liked about unicorns in the first place. And the cool kids can’t have it, because it’s not ironic enough. I think maybe if the star and moon didn’t have smiley faces it might skate the line between good-enough-for-the-cool-kids and Just Good, but it’s just too nice to be in on the joke.
I think there’s a place in the world for earnestly cute and sweet things. There needs to be some innocence left, untouched by that making-fun-of-nerds subtext that seems to be all over the place nowadays. I think I need to start drawing unicorns again.
hey I found this site and I thought you’d get a kick outta it
http://www.sketchswap.com/
I hated mapoleon dynamite too…i sat thru like 10 mins of it and i was like I cant take this…and shut it off..no one can believe i would hate “such a cool movie.” whateva =P
screw the college board, what do they know…your fantasy art hangs in at least three Valley homes that I know of (mine, the ‘rents, and Beth’s family’s got a couple pieces too)…and I go “my sister did that!!”…just this past weekend we found some surrealist thing you did tucked between your bed and the wall, curious piece with a bi-plane and a girl on the phone and a stick figure kid that kinda looks like homestar runner with arms…
and re the movie, never saw it, but I’m so far on the uncool side that I didn’t even know it was a “cool” movie…yai unicorns!
Oh, well, I’m at a point in my life where I couldn’t care less about how the AP exams are scored, but at the time it was the be-all/end-all. And I’m not saying that’s necessarily the reason I stopped with the fantasy art, but it was the first thing that came to mind. The point is that unicorns are decidedly Not Cool, not just to the kids, but the grownups, too, unless they’re ironic. And that’s annoying.