Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Macfarland
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Like all kids I drew. The difference is I never stopped. Throughout the years I’ve painted, animated, created sculptures, videos. Many instructors at Otis practiced and espoused Conceptual art, which essentially means the artwork is driven and determined by the initial idea. But even at Otis, I was trying to find a way to weasel in some cartooning and/or comedy content into the stuffy setting, with mixed results. When my son was born in 2014, I made the practical decision to commit myself to making comics almost exclusively. Since then I’ve produced over 25 comic books, from the directly autobiographical like “More Seasons of Gary” about my relationship with my dad, to “Dark Pants”, which focuses on a mysterious pair of magical pants and the people that wear them.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Haha. Not at all. I guess if anything I’m grateful that I’m stubborn, and that I knew I wanted to be an artist and I stayed on that path. Many people make the practical decision to make a living and support their families by choosing a career with a steady paycheck and job security, but I either wasn’t that smart or WAS that selfish. I am definitely not one of the .5% of artists that makes a living off their work, but I have found a way to survive, through teaching, which I love. Teaching essentially affords me the time and energy to work on my art. I started teaching art to elementary age kids when I graduated from Otis in 2003, and have been steadily teaching since. In 2017, I became and associate Professor at ArtCenter where I teach “the Graphic Novel” course. I get to assign several graphic novels to my students to read and they write about them, and then we have discussions in class. I also make them draw Comics whenever I can, since many of them are extremely talented illustrators. As I mentioned I pretty much stopped making the type of work I made in Grad School, which included paintings, sculptures, and videos, and began exclusively making Comics in 2014. I was a little nervous as I’d make some good connections in Grad School and I had about 10 years of showing in galleries and artist-run spaces around L.A., so it seemed like a pretty drastic pivot in some respects. But now I’ve been making comics for over 10 years, and I’m happy to say that my work is finally starting to get some attention, which is nice. Always feels good to get some validation for the stuff you make! I even got to chat with Art Spiegelman at the Cartoon Crossroads in Columbus, Ohio and Matt Groening at Comic Arts Los Angeles this year when I was tabling, so that was definitely a highlight. Those kinds of interactions make it worth the struggle!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an artist first and foremost, but over the last 10 years I have almost exclusively made comics. My comics tend to be either directly autobiographical, inspired by the autobio comics and cartoonists of the 90’s like Julie Doucet, Adrian Tomine, Joe Matt and others…OR a thinly veiled slice of life story that is indirectly informed by my life experiences in the vein of Daniel Clowes or Peter Bagge. I enjoy the flexibility the Comics medium allows. I enjoy telling stories in words and pictures. That’s how my brain works, so it is the most fitting medium in which to express myself. Even when I’m working on 4-panel gag cartoons like “Scenes from a Marriage” my objectives are 1. to represent a general truth about being in a relationship and 2. to be funny. I think if I can check those boxes in my work, then it is a successful project. Often the humor occurs organically when I fulfill the first criteria of being truthful. “It’s funny because it’s true” is a common (and perhaps trite?) expression for a reason. I always try to put some kind of unique spin on the stories I’m telling. For instance, I wanted to relay the trials and tribulations of my online dating experiences 10 years ago, but I also knew I didn’t want to make it directly autobiographical. My solution was to fictionalize some of the beats of the story, and to represent all the characters in the story as mythical creatures or Cryptids. This allowed me to have a little emotional distance as a creator and just attempt to tell the most interesting story without being overly concerned with veracity. OKCryptid was the result.
How do you define success?
Financial success has never been the driving force for me. Otherwise, why would i have devoted my life to making Comics?! To make alternative/independent comics you have to really love the medium and love the process. I live for the feeling when I stumble upon an exciting new story, concept, or way of delivering a story that is unique. This elated feeling usually only lasts a few days, but it is helps set the wheels in motion to actually make the thing. Luckily for me, I am also a completionist. If I start a project, I need to finish it. Obviously when it’s done, that’s when I can put it out in the world and assess whether it resonates with people or not. But on a personal level if I am excited about the idea and I am able to execute it in alignment with my vision and then put it out in the world for people to engage with, that is a big win! For my new book, Cookies and Herb, I worked with some editors at Fieldmouse Press to fine tune the story. Essentially it is a graphic memoir about my wholesome relationship with my elderly neighbor when I was a kid. When I was told that I would have the opportunity to work with Rob Clough and Norah Clous at Fieldmouse I was elated! It was like being in grad school again, where your peers would get to critique your work. I always found that process nerve-wracking of course, but mostly extremely valuable. Everybody is working in concert to try to improve the work. Sometimes people’s input is misguided or contrary to your vision, but as the creator you don’t have to implement every suggestion. You sift through and find what’s applicable. I loved the process working with Rob and Norah, and I know that the book that we ended up with is the best possible version of the book that could exist. In that respect, it is a huge success, even though it hasn’t been released yet, and I have no idea how people will respond to it!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mattiemac.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macfarlandart/
